How to Outfit Yourself for Archery

Choose an arm guard to protect your inner forearm from the snapping string. Excellent leather guards with elastic straps are available at many sporting goods or hunting stores - or you can use a small piece of cardboard with some heavy rubber bands to save money.

Decide on a method of finger protection. Not only does finger protection guard your fingers from the string, but it also allows the string to slide smoothly off your fingers. Choose from a full shooting glove (a glove with reinforced fingers), an archery glove (a glove with only fingers), or an archery tab (a small, stiff piece of leather that covers only the string and arrow nock). Gloves are easier to use than the tab, but the tab is definitely cheaper.

Buy only a few arrows at first, ideally purchasing several different types of single arrows from the racks. Beginning archers lose and break many arrows, so this will give you a chance to figure out what you like best. Once your shots consistently land on the target, go ahead and buy a full set of whichever arrow type works best for you and your shooting purposes. For a skilled archer, identical arrows are important: every little factor affects each shot, so having the same arrow each time allows you to make more critical adjustments.

Choose a quiver. This is not an essential device, but it sure makes life easier. Hunters usually prefer a quiver mounted on the bow, while target archers like either a ground quiver or one for the belt or back. Avoid sticking your arrows into the ground.

Buy or make targets (see "How to Make Archery Targets) and set up a range (see "How to Set up an Archery Range".) Now you're ready to start shooting.