Hi, I’m Travis

I’ve been shooting bows for over 20 years — recurve as a kid, then compound once I started bowhunting whitetail in my early 20s. I spent eight years working the counter at a local archery pro shop, where I set up, tuned, and fixed more bows than I can count, before going independent as a part-time bow technician and full-time archery obsessive. I’ve bowhunted across a half-dozen states and still shoot targets competitively most weekends.

I started this site because I remember exactly how overwhelming it was walking into a pro shop with zero vocabulary — draw weight, let-off, axle-to-axle, brace height, all thrown at you before you’ve even picked up a bow. I want people to leave every article here knowing exactly what to buy, adjust, or fix, without the guesswork or the upsell.

What This Site Is About

Compound Bow Guide exists to answer the questions beginners and bowhunters actually ask — not the ones that sell more product. That means honest buying advice when you’re choosing your first bow or upgrading, and clear, practical answers when you’re tuning a bow, diagnosing a problem, or trying to improve your form.

Most of what you’ll find here comes from time on the bench and time in the field: real bows, real setups, real tuning problems that got solved by actually doing it. Where advice depends on your state’s hunting regulations, I say so and point you to your state wildlife agency rather than guessing.

What You’ll Find Here

• Getting Started — draw weight, costs, and first-bow decisions for people buying their first compound or recurve
• Compound Bows — reviews and buying advice by budget and use case
• Tuning & Maintenance — paper tuning, strings, and keeping your bow shooting the way it should
• Technique & Form — stance, anchor point, release, and fixing target panic
• Arrows & Broadheads — spine, broadheads, points, and matching arrows to your setup
• Sights, Rests & Releases — comparing aiming and release gear so you buy the right thing once
• Bowhunting — hunting gear, setups, and season prep
• Targets & Practice — targets, backstops, and drills that actually improve your groups
• Recurve & Traditional — recurves, longbows, and traditional archery for anyone going the instinctive route

Get in Touch

If you’ve got a bow problem you can’t find an answer for, or a topic you’d like to see covered, get in touch — I read every message.