I know VERY little about traditional bows...long bows, recurves. I do not know what is a "good" one, and which brands to stay away from.

I've been bowhunting long enough where I've decided to try some instinctive shooting.

I shoot LEFT handed.

Any advice? How much does a good recurve cost? Stick with aluminum shafts? wood? carbons?

I currently pull 72 pounds on my Mathews. I think I could comfortably pull and hold 65 on a recurve as I've done it before.

Advice?

You are probably going to get more advice than you need.
I use a Herters recurve that was made in 1964 and shoots as new. I think you could spend time on Ebay and locate a good used laminated recurve as well as checking the classifieds in AR. I have a 47 lb pull and at 65 I am happy with what it can do in 25 yards. Instinct shooting is more accurate under 15 yards for me. I never draw and hold as the draw - release is all one motion. Being a pig hunter I shoot 145 gr broadheads and my problem is getting stiff arrows in any material. Don G has helped me on my project of making laminated ash arrows, but that is just to satisfy the my cave man needs.
You will have lots of fun, especially when you start to time your shots.

Doc, the zoot capri is Black Widow. Takedowns in longbows and recurves. Spendy but sweet. I've got a couple and they shoot! Plenty of good bows out there for a whole lot less, but I think Widows would suit your tastes.

Aluminum works for me, smaller OD's and somewhat heavier wall thickness. I shoot mostly 2215's -- if you shoot a compound at 70-75 think 55 lbs. at a draw length about 1 inch shorter than what you shoot in a compound. I.E. I shoot a 30" compound, and my recurves are from 50-58 lbs. @ 28.5"

Try a glove instead of a tab as well--I always shot a tab on my compounds, but prefer a glove for my traditionals.

http://www.blackwidowbows.com/

Great. I'll look into EBay and the Widows.

How long does it take to begin shooting good with these sticks 'n strings?

How long to shoot good???????? The rest of your life buddy, it's not the destination it's the trip that counts. Truthfully you should be good enough at 25 yards in about 2 weeks, it's that 30-35 yard thing that is my big hump to get over. Lots of good deals on e-bay. I shoot a pse impala and it's not a terribly high end bow but it suits me fine it shoots about 160 fps if I remember right. As with compounds hitting what you want isn't about aiming but about doing everything else right.

have fun

the chef

Doc - In VERY general terms, Recurves are a bit faster, Longbow are a bit easier to shoot. But, it really get down to preference.

No matter which you decide on, go light for your "Education bow" 45-50#. The goal of your 1st trad bow is to learn form....PERIOD!

At this point no one can tell you much more because YOU don't know what you'll like or shoot best.

Thier are several big Trad. shoots & expos in the U.S. every year. You can visit dozens of bowyers and shoot thier bows. There are also many used bows too.

There are always decent "education" bows on E-Bay. In the 50's & 60's thousands of 40-50# target bows were made. I've owned a few that shot very nicely over the years.

After , you get your form and change your mind a few dozen times ...THEM ..start looking for "THE" bow.

BTW - I'm a lefty and I'm down to 4 - last bow I'm going every buy bows.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
Great. I'll look into EBay and the Widows.

How long does it take to begin shooting good with these sticks 'n strings?

That's all on you. If you can throw a fast ball, cast a flyrod, or wing shoot you have better than normal hand-eye co-ordination and you may pick it up quicker than most.

If you can't hit the side of a barn with an apple.....yor going to have to work harder.

First of all, throw the compound away, otherwise you will want to keep falling back to what you know works! I've been shooting traditional bows since they before they were called that, since it was BC(before compounds). I did shoot wheelie bows for a while in the 70's, but never quit shooting recurves. I have a couple longbows also. For someone just switching out I would recommend a pistol grip type recurve, like a Black Widow MA or SA, they will be more familiar and easier to shoot than a straight gripped bow. I wouldn't order my first bow off of EBAY, I'd find out what I really want by shooting a few bows first. Black Widow are top of the line bows and usually what I hunt with, they have a "test drive" program where they let you borrow a bow to try it out and you only pay for the shipping. A better way though would be to do what Boss K said and go to one of the big trad archery conventions and look. talk and shoot. What is your draw length with a compound? It will shorten up an inch or two with a trad bow and you should buy a bow length based on your draw length for best performance. I would go along with what BK said on the bow weight as well and start out with one no more than 50#'s, thats heavy enough to hunt deer and other stuff with and will let you concentrate on perfecting your form. I would start out with aluminum arrows, lots of sizes and the easiest thing to start with really.

I can test drive a Widow for shipping only? That is an option.

One thing I did forget to mention is I have shot a recurve plenty of times for fun at Bass Pro and some other archery shops. So I'm not completely ignorant with them. They are fun. I can comfortably hold 60#.

My compound draw is 28". I have several hunting spots where my longest shot is 15 yards and the area needs Doe thinning. I thought this would be a great place to start.

Do you guys put the silencers and all that jazz on the strings? Or just a string and stick and arrows?

When you shoot your recurves, do you cant them sideways like I see Fred Bear do it? I know they have to cant to some degree but he looks like he does a good 45 degree.

This sucks. I'm already excited to get started and I don't even have the bow yet. I'm assuming I'd have to go with a 26" draw? Would 2216 arrows work? Will XX75's be OK? or do I need XX78's OR the cheaper GameGetter style aluminums?

Are broadheads an issue with recurves? I notice there's a lot of 2 blade shooters when using a recurve.

Doc, thats a lot of questions! Yes you can call Black Widow and find out what bows they have that would work for you and try one out for just the shipping charges. Feel free to use my name it probably won't help in anyway, but Ken Beck knows me and he is very willing to help, he's done me some BIG favors in the past. If you go with a recurve I would go to a 58" or maybe a 60" for your drawlength which likely will be 26.5 or 27". I do use string silencers and a single nocking point, thats all you need. Measure the string carefully from where it first touches the bow at each end, divide that number into thirds and that is the best place to put the string silencers. You will cant the bow a bit to shoot instinctively, it gives you a better view of the target and since you aren't using sights it dosn't hurt anything, I can shoot my bow in any position that I can draw it! Concentrate on hitting a small spot and let the form develop naturally. I don't like to snap shoot, its to easy to develop bad habits, so I always pause at full draw, it seems like a long time to me, but most compound guys think its snap shooting! It dosn't matter which model shafts you use, I use XX75's because they are stronger than Gamegetters and cheaper than XX78's. You could probably use 2216's with a 60# Black Widow and a 27" draw. You will want to use an arrow that is at least 8 grains per pound of bow weight and I prefer closer to ten. There are lots of good two and three blade heads, depending on your preferences, I would recommend that you get a head and adaptor that balances out your arrows to at least 10% foc and I prefer 12%.

quote:

I can comfortably hold 60#.

Do yourself a real favor and don't get hung up on draw wt. Holding a bow and shooting it acurately are not the same thing. The reason 40-50# are recommended is to learn form and not develope bad habits that come from shooting heavier bows poorly.

BWs are greatbows. But, just like rifles or handguns one size don't fit all. How many people buy one rifle, shotgun or pistol for thier whole shooting carrer. You easiesttransition will be with a riser/grip design that is close to your compound as you all ready hold a bow that way.

Funny, Rick mentioned gitting ride of your compound. I was given that same advice 10 years ago. You can't serve to masters....if you want to shoot that recuve well ....get ride of the compound. Best thing I ever did to improve my shooting.

Hey Doc, my DSL has been down for several days, so I'm just getting back to a few threads.

My setup on traditional stuff mirrors Ioboga's, nock point, hair or flipper rest, and some spider leg string silencers. XX-75's are fine, gamegetters do the same but are just painted instead of anodized, and a softer alloy, for tinkering and shooting some judo points in the wood you might save a few bucks with the GG's. Fletch or have fletched, your practice arrows with bright fletching, you'll be looking for a few dug up under the leaves or grass or whatever.

I tend to use a older style cut on impact type of broadhead, like a Zwickey or a Snuffer, or similar. I have used more modern fixed blades as well though, I just like the older styles for resharpening and their more 'cut on impact' styling.

As strong as you are you might venture up into the 55 lb + zone on draw weight, I'd guess you end up around 27" on your actual draw length. When I say actual, it is good to have somebody watch your arrow (which you should mark for length) and let them tell you where you actually draw to when shooting at a target. You will definitely need a little cant in the bow, it's pretty individual, I cant less then 30 degrees, but I've got a buddy who can really shoot the eyes out, and he looks like an Indian from 'Dances with Wolves' he's got the bow damn near horizontal!

I think Ioboga is spot on, 2216's are a good place to start, at your draw length you might find, as I did, that the 2215's were a great middle ground, just a touch lighter spine kicked em right into the slot for me--shot a bit more consistent than the 2216's.

One other thing, maybe obvious, but feather fletching only and I would definitely go with 5" length.

Getting to test shoot a Widow at the weight and draw length you would like for shipping costs sounds like a sweet deal to me--may try a new one myself--

Take care--Don

quote:

Do you guys put the silencers and all that jazz on the strings? Or just a string and stick and arrows?.

I used to use tail fur "balls" as silencers. I've been using heavier arrows and less strands in my bow strings and now just use a few spider legs(rubber stings) as silencers.

[/quote]When you shoot your recurves, do you cant them sideways like I see Fred Bear do it? I know they have to cant to some degree but he looks like he does a good 45 degree..[/quote]

I cant just a few degrees. Canting opens outyour sight picture a bit. There is a point of diminissing returns as to how far one cants the bow....That you have to work on for yourself.

.[/quote]Are broadheads an issue with recurves? I notice there's a lot of 2 blade shooters when using a recurve.[/quote]

I feel a two blade will slip between ribs better that a 3 blade, just due the the postion of the blades. Game I've shot over the years tend to support that theroy.

Good Luck!