Hi all

I'm thinking of learning to shoot a bow and I am not sure exactly what i need to look into before i start.

I know I want to go for a traditional bow, probably a recurve and have seen a whole range of bows and prices. where would you start and what accessories are also needed apart from the bow and arrows?

rgds
K

Here is what I did a few years ago when I wanted to start bow hunting. I had shot a straight bow and some recurves when I ws a kid, but not a compound bow except for a few times.

I went to a Bow Pro Shop, and told the owner I wnated to start bow hunting and I wanted to shoot a bunch of different bows to see which one I liked best. I also tole him I had no experience with a compound bow.

He was glad to help me out and get me set up with a good bow, and all the "stuff" that goes with it.

However, your situation is a little different as you wnt to go with a non compound bow, so you need to fine someone with experience with those bows.

Cjances are a good bow Pro Shop will have a couple of customers that shoot the traditional bows.

That is where I would start.

I assume "your" London is in the UK???

If so I know nothing about bow shops in the UK...

Where you start depends on your age, strength, your access to instruction, & equipment to try. If you intend to hunt big game, 45-50 lbs of pull at your draw length is probably minimum, but you may have problems learning to shoot properly with that much weight if you are older or not in good shape.
Check out 3Rivers Archery web site if you have no place locally for some good background information on bows, arrows, tuning & set up. Their entry level recurves are inexpensive, and you might consider starting with a lighter pull and moving up in draw weight as you shoot enough to develop good form and gain strength.
Arrows must have the correct spine (stiffness) for their length and the weight of the bow. Longer bows will be a bit harder to maneuver in the woods, but will pinch your fingers against the nock less at full draw and will be easier to release smoothly. You will not need a lot of stuff to get started. You will need some type of finger protection (shooting glove, tab, or mechanical release), an arm guard to keep the string from slapping your forearm, and something to hold arrows (bow quiver, back or hip quiver). Sights are optional - many people who shoot recurves shoot "instinctively",focusing hard on the target and letting instinct and visual cues from the tip of the arrow, sight window, etc take care of aligning the shot, much like shooting a shotgun. Some type of rest and a bow stringer should complete your initial " getting started" equipment list. Apart from the bow and the arrows, accessories are not expensive.
Good luck & have fun.

Oh, what fun. You are making a great decision to get a, not knocking compounds, just staying your chances to shoot go up exponentially. Yesterday my wife, daughter (7), son (5) and I all went roving with our bows shooting at cow pies, gofer mounds, what ever, fun was had by all. With a longbow or recurve, all you need is bow, arrow, shooting glove or shooting tab, a quiver, and an armguard. Not all longbows are long bows, a reflex deflex designs are shorter. Most recurves and modern longbows are center shot which arrow spine less critical. Depending on how big you are I would start with a 45 lb. draw weight bow, not too stout of pull but plenty of power.


There is a site called tradgang.com, lurk on there for a while and you will get a great deal of information. Its the AR of traditional bows.

Hey Fallow, I'm in Woking and you can come and shoot my stuff anytime you want. I'll walk you through what you need and what you don't need. Most of the traditional shooters I've met here are either interested in target archery or the "English longbow" neither or which are applicable to hunting. By the time I'm done with you you'll be a "dead eye."

Hey Chef,

Sounds like a plan. How about we do a swap and you come shoot some of my deer in return for a lesson?

I was looking at 3 rivers website and it is tough to say what is the difference between all the kit. I know the ones I like the look of but then I just sound like my wife when she's buying a car...."What colour is it?"

I'm looking forward to getting involved in some of this as I will be spending several weeks in Africa and the states this year so it would be good to be able to do some bow hunting.

Rgds,
Kiri

The long bow custom made for me 10 years ago is too hard for me to use very much anymore. But long bows are much more fun then the others

Fallow:

To start, get yourself a 45# recurve, Bear, Martin or other reasonable factory bow. You'll do this with the expectation you'll eventually want a higher performance bow but every archer needs a #45 pound 'fun' bow to have around. It's nice to have it when your form needs a touch up or you experience any shooting issues. Get a recurve as you'll have more fun initially, experience less handshock and have better early success. I would say use aluminum arrows as they are easy to fletch and to re-fletch when needed. Carbons are the rage but score them and they are done, I'm still shooting 20 year old 2117's with confidence. Rea Fred Bear and Howard HIll books... and most importantly, have fun. Oh, and I am available to shoot some of your deer of that's an open offer...

good luck!

Kiri, this is an old post but the offer still stands and you don't even have to share your deer. I'm just happy to help out.

Three Rivers Archery is a great place to start. Been drooling over one of their longbows for a long time.

Fallow,
Glad to hear you are starting the archery journey! It can and will be a great adventure. I started shooting a long bow in field archery competition at 9yrs old. I slowly drifted away to a compound for hunting then after 20 or so years came back to my roots and have been using long bows for 20 yrs now. My wife and I now hunt with long bows that I made. People usually drift to one style or the other, just personal choices. It makes things alot easier in my opinion without sights, releases and such in the field.
Enjoy the journey and welcome to the club.
There are as many choice in bows as there are people. You will just have to find the one that fits you.

Hey Chef,

I just got caught up in a hectic hunting season and put all ideas of bow hunting to one side.

However it looks like we will be hunting whitetail in Louisiana in October November so a bow might be back on the cards so I can start practicing through the summer.

Are you still in the uk or did I hear Adam say you had gone home?

K

Nope we're still here until July, it seems the Brits couldn't do without my wife's brainpower just yet! Fortunately my brain isn't needed and y'all are still welcome to come and fling some sticks. One thing though, as much as I love and promote traditional archery gear, with your trip so close at hand a compound might be the route. It's easier to attain accuracy fast with these contraptions than with recurves etc. we can still meet up though and you can make up your own mind.