The Best Hunting Bows (and Which to Give as a Gift)

Giving someone a bow is a big swing. It's a real piece of equipment, it costs real money, and it comes with something almost no other gift on this site has: a fit problem that can't be fixed by swapping a size. A bow has to match the person's arm span and their strength, and a bow that doesn't is not merely uncomfortable — it's unshootable.

The good news is that the archery industry solved this years ago, and most gift-buyers don't know it. A whole category of adjustable ready-to-hunt packages now exists: bows that cover a huge span of draw lengths and draw weights with a hex key, arrive with the sight, rest and quiver already fitted, and can be tuned to the person after they open the box. That turns a bow from a risky gift into a workable one. This guide ranks the packages worth giving, explains the two numbers you need to understand, and shows a live price on each.

These picks come from each bow's published specifications and adjustment range, the standing of the brand among archers, and one question we weighted above everything else for a gift: how likely is this bow to fit the person you're buying it for? That's why every bow here is an adjustable ready-to-hunt package rather than a fixed-specification flagship. A flagship bow is a wonderful thing to own and a poor thing to receive from someone who had to guess your draw length. Our full method is on the how we choose page. All prices are pulled live.

Draw length is how far back the string comes when the archer is at full draw, and it's set by their body — roughly their arm span. It is not adjustable by the archer once a bow is set up for it; the bow itself has to be able to accommodate it. Get this wrong and the bow is not shootable with good form. Too long and the archer over-extends and can't anchor consistently; too short and everything is cramped and inaccurate. This is the number that ruins gifted bows.

Draw weight is how much force it takes to pull the string back, in pounds. It's about strength and technique, not bravery, and the most common beginner mistake is starting far too high — a bow that's a struggle to draw teaches bad form, is exhausting to practice with, and makes the whole thing unpleasant. Most states also set a legal minimum draw weight for hunting big game, so it's worth checking the local rules if the bow is intended for hunting rather than target shooting.

An adjustable bow handles both. A bow that spans a wide draw-length range and adjusts across a broad weight span can be dialed in to the person after they open it, and adjusted again as they get stronger. That's the entire reason this list looks the way it does.

A bare bow is not a usable bow. To shoot it, an archer also needs a sight to aim with, an arrow rest to support the arrow, a release aid for most compound shooters, a quiver to hold arrows, and of course arrows themselves. Bought separately, those add up fast and involve decisions a beginner isn't equipped to make.

A ready-to-hunt or RTH package bundles most of that, already fitted. For a gift, that's transformative: the recipient opens one box and has everything except, usually, the arrows. It also means the bow is at least roughly set up out of the box rather than needing a shop visit before it can be shot at all. Check what's included before you buy, because "package" means slightly different things across brands — but every bow on this list arrives with the core accessories on it.

Bows are handed, and this catches people out. Confusingly, a "right-handed" bow is held in the left hand and drawn with the right — it's named for the drawing hand. Most archers shoot the bow that matches their dominant hand, but eye dominance also plays a part, and some right-handed people genuinely shoot left-handed bows because their left eye is dominant.

If you're buying for an existing archer, look at the bow they already own or ask which hand they draw with. If you're buying for a complete beginner, right-handed is the far more common configuration and the safer default — but this is another good reason to buy from a retailer with an easy exchange policy.

Worth asking before you spend, because they suit very different people. A compound bow rewards practice and is a genuine hobby — the shooting itself is the fun. A crossbow is far easier to become accurate with quickly, holds itself at full draw so there's no strength requirement at the moment of the shot, and is often the better answer for someone with a shoulder injury or limited time to practice. Seasons and legality differ by state, so that matters too. Our crossbow vs compound bow comparison works through the trade honestly, and best hunting crossbows covers the other side if that's where you land.

For everything else a bowhunter uses, see gifts for bow hunters and what to buy a new bowhunter. For the arrows that go with the bow, start with best hunting arrows.