Cheapest Bow and Arrow

 

So you’re on a tight budget. Yet, you still want to pick up a gratifying hobby. This hobby is of course archery. Is archery expensive? What is the cheapest bow and arrow currently available on the market? In this article, we’ll try to answer these questions and get you, the frugal future archer started on your archery adventure.

The price of archery as a hobby can vary greatly. Similar to automobiles, you can put your money into an extremely reliable Toyota Camry, and have a relatively cheap car to get you from point A to B. Yet there are some of us with cash to burn so we buy those million-dollar exotics. We don’t judge here. Whatever floats your boat.

 

 

Cheapest Bow and Arrow Considerations

 

Before we just go and list some of the cheapest bow and arrow sets for sale online, let’s take a look at some considerations you may want to think about before getting into archery and/or making a purchase.

 

What Kind of Archery Interests You?

 

There is a large variety of bows, arrows, and ways of practicing archery. There is also a large range of prices for each type of bow and/or type of archery. Do a more traditional bow and type of archery appeal to you? What about a state-of-the-art compound bow that you intend to go hunting with? All valid questions that you will have to answer for yourself. If you are a complete beginner, consider consulting our article on the many various types of bows. It will help inspire you to get started.

Another important consideration we should bring to your attention is

In the following sections, we will break down the cheapest bow and arrow according to major bow types. These will include the following:

• traditional self bows
• traditional composites
• modern recurves
• compound bows

 

 

We did much of the heavy lifting for you on this one. Searching for “cheapest bow and arrow” on the wonderfully useful Google gives you some good options which we’ll explore further in the next section(s).

As you can see, Amazon has the first offers listed so let’s check out what they have to offer.

 

Modern Recurve Bow and Arrow Sets

 

CLICK IMAGE FOR LINK, 53.5″ Archery Recurve Bow and Arrow Set

 

 

PRICE: $ 55 – $ 58

 

For about 50 dollars plus shipping, you can easily and cheaply get into the archery game! This is a great beginner set on the cheap and you get much more than just a bow. This set includes the following:

• 6 pcs high-quality fiberglass arrows
• 1 x recurve bow
• 6 x target faces
• 4 x Target Nails
• 1 x Armguard
• 1 x Finger Tab
• wrench
• bow stringer tool

Yes! You are reading this correctly! All of these things for about 50 bucks! I might just buy a couple out of principle. This set has mostly 4 and 5-star reviews, with many customers citing the good build quality despite the cheap price.

The riser is made from machined aluminum, and the bow has durable fiberglass limbs. The riser, mid-section has arrow shelves on both sides so it is ambidextrous. Check out the link by clicking the image above!

 

 

CLICK IMAGE FOR LINK, Archery Recurve Bow and Arrows Set for Adults

 

PRICE: $ 75

 

Another great deal for this price. Ideal for beginners on a budget, the Vogbel archery set is just that, a robust set of all you’ll need to get started in archery. The riser is made from durable nylon and the bow has fiberglass limbs. The riser can accommodate either left or right-handed archers.

This archery set comes with the following:

•  1 x recurve bow
• 1 x bow stringer
• 1 x arm guard
• 1 x Finger guard
• 1 x Allen wrench
• 2 x String nocks
• 1 x arrow quiver
• 10 x mixed carbon arrows

 

All that goes for about 75 dollars plus shipping. Considering all the extra accessories you’re getting, this is definitely one of the cheapest bow and arrow sets around.

 

Traditional Self Bows

 

We’re going, to be honest. We here at archeryhistorian.com have a bias toward the traditional. Especially when it comes to archery. So, it should come as no surprise that we will delve into the cheapest traditional bows first.

A self-bow is a simple bow made from one type of material. The most obvious and primitive example of this type of bow is one that is made from a single piece of wood. These bows are great for beginners and are widely available for purchase online.

It should be mentioned that traditional wooden self-bows come in a range of prices, they will be slightly more expensive than the modern cheapest bows and arrows. These bows are hand-made and can be labor-intensive to produce.

We here at archeryhistorian.com sell some fantastic wooden self-bows at very reasonable prices. Check out some of our choice examples in our archery shop.

 

 

The Holmegaard by Flagella Dei

We bring to you the ancient Holmegaard bow, based on archeological finds from Denmark in the 1940s. The Holmegaard has a distinctive shape, with wide limbs that transition into a narrow yet deep grip section. The limbs taper to a significant degree toward the knocks.

This bow is made from Osage Orange. Click the image for the product link.

 

PRICE: $ 289.99

 

 

The English Longbow by Flagella Dei

D shape traditional English longbow, so-called ELB. Bow length may vary slightly depending on the selected draw weight.

A warbow up to 100 lbs can be ordered. Materials: osage orange, horn nock, leather. Click the image above for the product link.

PRICE: $ 289.99

 

As you can see, a decent hand-made wooden self-bow will set you back at least 2-3 hundred dollars.

 

 

Cheapest Bow and Arrow – Traditional Composites

 

These bows were made famous by the mounted nomads of the Eurasian steppe. Yes, we have a strong bias towards these types of bows as well. The founder of archeryhistorian.com is indeed himself Hungarian, which has a long history with these types of bows.

Because of their predominant use on horseback, they may also be referred to as “horse bows“. There are some that do not like this designation but we’re not getting into the fine-tuning of designations in this particular article.

We did some digging and found that when it comes to traditional composites, the cheapest bow and arrow will set you back about 100 mighty dollars.

 

 

TOPARCHERY Traditional Recurve

 

Made from fiberglass and wood, this traditional recurve looks great and is a good buy at only 100 dollars plus shipping. It has mostly 4 and 5-star reviews on the good old amazon.com and you just can’t beat this price point. Click the image for the product link and check it out for yourself!

 

 

PRICE: $ 100

 

TOPARCHERY – Traditional Mongolian

 

As you may or may not be aware, the Mongols had a composite recurve in use since time immemorial. However, the original style and shape were gradually replaced by the Chinese Manchu-style bow. The Manchu is currently the most widely used in Mongolia and has been so since the 17th century AD.

This version of the Mongolian bow by TOPARCHERY is made from wood, epoxy, and leather. It comes in either a 30 or 40-pound variant.

Click the image below for the product link:

 

PRICE: $ 180

 

 

Scythian Horsebow – Flagella Dei

 

We could not in good conscience omit some of the bows we sell in our own archery shop. Most of our suppliers hail from Hungary, and they do make some fine bows indeed. Flagella Dei produces some great historical bows at very reasonable prices.

The cheapest bow from their portfolio we have on hand is the Scythian-style horsebow.

Especially popular with the ladies and younger archers. It is sold usually as a gift. Materials: wood, fiberglass, bandage thread, epoxy, genuine leather.

You choose the draw weight (20 to 50 pounds) & the type of wood (Yew, Ash, Zebrano, Mahogany, Black Poplar).

Click the image below for the product link.

PRICE: $ 229

 

 

Hungarian/Magyar Bow by Flagella Dei

 

Considered the real deal by many enthusiasts, the Magyar bow was the choice weapon of the tribes that bear the name Magyar. It was a relatively large Asiatic composite bow, and luckily for us, some remains of these weapons were recovered from warrior burials.

It was from these archeological finds that the modern bows have been reconstructed. For more on bows recovered from burials, we highly recommend you check out our article on archery archeology here. For more background on the Hungarians, check out our article on the Magyars here.

This particular model by Flagella Dei is made in the likeness of the bows wielded by the Magyars of the Conquest Period (9th century AD).

This bow has been very popular since it began production in 2003.  Materials: wood, fiberglass, horn, epoxy, genuine leather, bandage thread.

Specifications:

• LENGTH STRUNG 55 1/2″
• STRING LENGTH 53 1/2 (5)”
• DRAW WEIGHT (LBS)UP TO 60 LBS
• DRAW LENGTH UP TO 32″
• BRACING HEIGHT 7″
• BOW LENGTH 57 1/2″

Click the image below for the product link!

PRICE: $ 259

 

Cheapest Compound Bow

 

Last and certainly not least, the modern compound bows. How can you get the most bang for your buck in the compound market? Compound bows can be some of the more expensive bows out there so let’s take a good look and see what’s available.

Diamond Edge XT

 

Coming in draw weights from 20 to 70 pounds, the Diamon Edge XT would be ideal for younger archers or beginners.

 

 

PRICE: $ 469

 

PSE Archery Stinger Max RTH Compound Bow

 

Built for hunters, the Stinger Max compound has plenty to offer for under 500 $.

• All new SS single cam system
• 80% let-off
• Short limbs – 30″ axle-to-axle, great for hunting from the stand or blind
• Rotating module draw length adjustment
• RTH Package Includes 5-pin sight, biscuit-style arrow rest, 5-arrow quiver, FX4 stabilizer, mongoose peep, and nocking loop

Check it out at Cabelas (no affiliation) via link below:

PSE Archery Stinger Max RTH Compound Bow

 

PRICE: $ 479

 

Cheapest Bow and Arrow – Second-Hand Markets

 

When it comes to finding the cheapest bow and arrow we have to mention the robust second-hand archery market. You can get some really good deals on used archery equipment. Obviously, the main concern is the bow has been compromised in some way. You will be taking somewhat of a risk in this regard.

However, your local archery shop most likely has a selection of used bows which have most likely been inspected for defects and/or damage. Many archers, especially compound or modern recurve archers will sometimes trade in their older models to get a discount on the newest, shiniest model.

When considering a purchase of a second-hand bow directly from the previous owner, many of the popular markets have a wide selection. Popular markets include:

craigslist.org

ebay.com

kijiji.ca (Canada)

 

Closing Considerations

 

We’ve seen many bows and as long as they perform as they are supposed to, we like them, regardless of their price. For those archers who are new to the game, like with many other hobbies, it would be a good idea to start off with something less expensive in terms of equipment. If you catch the bug, you’ll be upgrading soon.

Another thing to consider when it comes to the price of archery is the price of accessories. You’ll need arrows, perhaps a target to shoot at, or a membership to an archery range. Perhaps you’ll want to consider archery lessons.

 

Thank you and take care!