Traditional Archery help / advise

[jrebel]

Gonna be buying a recurve bow and would like a little advice from the guys that shoot traditional.  I have played around with traditional (long time ago) but would like to get back into it. 

What are good brands / bows in todays market?
Is a takedown bow good, bad or indifferent? 
What is a good draw weight for hunting with traditional equipment?  I pull 70 lbs with no problem on my Mathews. 
Tell me about arrows....carbon vs wood vs ? 

Anything else a guy should know?

Thanks in advance. 

Jrebel

[Special T]

I shoot both a recurve and a compound. I hunt with the compound but would like to shoot a deer with the recurve. The recurve i purchased was a Samic Sage. They no longer produce them but knock offs are a plenty.  I purchased mine at Riverside archery in Mount Vernon  because they had numerous l8mb poundages for me to try at the shop. I went with a 45lb bow. It was reasonable to pull back, and I was able to find an anchor that mimicked my compound shooting.  I have both carbon and wood arrows for  my bow. Carbon arrows are nearly impossible to destroy and seem to last forever.... if not lost.

[IFunk]

Gonna be buying a recurve bow and would like a little advice from the guys that shoot traditional.  I have played around with traditional (long time ago) but would like to get back into it. 

What are good brands / bows in todays market?
Is a takedown bow good, bad or indifferent? 
What is a good draw weight for hunting with traditional equipment?  I pull 70 lbs with no problem on my Mathews. 
Tell me about arrows....carbon vs wood vs ? 

Anything else a guy should know?

Thanks in advance. 

Jrebel

There are a ton of good brands out there.  It just depends on how much you want to spend.  What is your budget??

I love takedowns because they can be broken down for travel.  Also you can swap the limbs on them with lower poundage for training or up them for a hunt .  You may want to go with with an ILF riser because the limbs are generally more affordable.  Proprietary limbs for custom bows are usually in the neighborhood of 300 and up.  You may want to get a used bow if you're just getting into it.  There are some great bows on RMSGear.com.

For draw weight I would suggest less is more.  A lot of used bows on the market in the 65# range.  Don't overbow yourself, it's asking for an injury.  Start with lower poundage to develop good form.  25#-35# is great just for target shooting and form practice.  Up this to 40#+ for legal hunting of big game . 

I prefer carbon arrows although I enjoy shooting wood arrows as well. Make sure to check them for defects often. 

Cheers

[Sandberm]

I'm far from the best source of info on this topic but...

I bought a used recurve from a buddy. 55lbs at 28 inches. I draw about 27. Being just north of 50 years old now I wish I had a 50lb bow. I think I could draw and hold longer, be more accurate as a result. My buddies 50lb longbow is a sweet shooting setup, rediculously light to carry.

I shoot wood arrows that i make myself. I'm not the best arrow maker but its part of the fun of shooting traditional. When hunting season rolls around i find my best shooters and put broadheads on em.

Theres a guy who posts here, can't remember his screen name but he was featured in the Blacktailbows.com website. https://www.blacktailbows.com/classic-series-production-bow.html

[pianoman9701]

I had a Jim Reynolds Thunderstick - heck of a bow. I had to sell it when it started injuring my shoulder as I got older. The full draw for me was approximately 63#. I would imagine 50# would be just about right for me to practice and hunt. I believe that bow goes for around $550-700 now.

[Latakia]

Id recommend an ILF rig. Its not as pretty as a hand crafted wood bow but a cheaper way to learn. Id start with low (30lbs) limbs to learn proper form on then buy a nicer set of stronger hunting limbs.

[jrebel]

Gonna be buying a recurve bow and would like a little advice from the guys that shoot traditional.  I have played around with traditional (long time ago) but would like to get back into it. 

What are good brands / bows in todays market?
Is a takedown bow good, bad or indifferent? 
What is a good draw weight for hunting with traditional equipment?  I pull 70 lbs with no problem on my Mathews. 
Tell me about arrows....carbon vs wood vs ? 

Anything else a guy should know?

Thanks in advance. 

Jrebel

There are a ton of good brands out there.  It just depends on how much you want to spend.  What is your budget??

I love takedowns because they can be broken down for travel.  Also you can swap the limbs on them with lower poundage for training or up them for a hunt .  You may want to go with with an ILF riser because the limbs are generally more affordable.  Proprietary limbs for custom bows are usually in the neighborhood of 300 and up.  You may want to get a used bow if you're just getting into it.  There are some great bows on RMSGear.com.

For draw weight I would suggest less is more.  A lot of used bows on the market in the 65# range.  Don't overbow yourself, it's asking for an injury.  Start with lower poundage to develop good form.  25#-35# is great just for target shooting and form practice.  Up this to 40#+ for legal hunting of big game . 

I prefer carbon arrows although I enjoy shooting wood arrows as well. Make sure to check them for defects often. 

Cheers

Money is not a deciding factor.  Not willing to break the bank just to break the bank....but also have never been one to buy cheap just to save a buck.  I am of the mindset buy once cry once and have one that will last and shoot well.  I really like the idea of the take down bows and being able to upgrade limbs as needed / wanted. 

[boneaddict]

Well, you know what I shoot, and as far as I know you can’t get another one.   It is a takedown, though I never take it down.  I shoot carbon. I would eventually like to get some nice wood arrows, though spine and weight are always factors, and I believe mine is at 80 at full draw.  It’s a lot. 

[hughjorgan]

Gonna be buying a recurve bow and would like a little advice from the guys that shoot traditional.  I have played around with traditional (long time ago) but would like to get back into it. 

What are good brands / bows in todays market?
Is a takedown bow good, bad or indifferent? 
What is a good draw weight for hunting with traditional equipment?  I pull 70 lbs with no problem on my Mathews. 
Tell me about arrows....carbon vs wood vs ? 

Anything else a guy should know?

Thanks in advance. 

Jrebel

For hunting big game I would look at something in 50-55# range. Your draw length is probably going to be a little different as well (shorter).

I used to shoot cedar shafts but if I were to shoot trad again I would go with a heavy carbon setup. Check out grizzly sticks.

Brands I would look at are blacktail bows, Schafer silvertip, bob lee or  blackwidow bows.

http://www.blackwidowbows.com/
http://www.schafersilvertipbows.com/
https://bobleebows.com/
https://www.blacktailbows.com/

Don’t forget your going to want to figure out if you are going to use a tab or gloves, how to store it(not strung) and your going to be using feathers not vanes.


The leather wall is a great resource as well

https://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/THREADSX2.CFM

[Machias]

I really like shooting my Reflex/Deflex takedown longbow.  A Sapphire Hawk and I have 2 sets of limbs, The zebra limbs are 59#, the Shedua limbs are 48#. Nice set of "getting to know the bow" limbs and a good, solid, carbon backed, rocket launching set....  I like shooting a heavy broadhead on carbon shafts.  Sizzles and is super quiet and a dream to carry.  I've killed one bear with it.

[carpsniperg2]

Take a look at stalker bows. South is a good dude.
I’ve been shooting his bows for years and 4/5 other trad brands.

Take downs are super handy for travel!

I have bows from 45/60lbs at the ranges you shoot with trad bows. A good heavy arrow 50/55 seems a pretty sweet spot. If your snap shooting you can go heavier but if your anchoring and aiming to much weight will be a bad thing.

[jrebel]

Thanks for all the advice so far, been doing a ton of researching the internet.   

Brings me to my next question….recurve vs long now?  Any advantage with one over the other.  Still want a takedown regardless. 

Also, any thoughts on the Stryker rk1 bows.  I like the aluminum riser and ability to interchange limbs.  Thoughts? 

[metlhead]

I shoot a Hoyt recurve and simple xx75 aluminum shafts. Not the prettiest setup but it works flawlessly after thousands of shots and hits anything I want it to. I pull 31" @58lbs. Always wanted to get another set of 40lb limbs for it. As for longbows, I've carried some very nice ones on 3D shoots. They look cool and shoot so smooth. Absolutely hate to hunt with one anywhere other than very open timber. It's kinda like carrying a flyrod into some deep secluded steelhead hole.

[LDennis24]

I just bought an old used Damon Howatt original and it has me pretty stoked to try my hand in it as well.

[npaull]

jrebel I've hunted big game almost exclusively with traditional equipment since I was a teenager.

Here's my 2021 deer with a recurve:
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,265178.0.html

I've shot Wes Wallace bows forever and I can't say enough good things about them.
GO LIGHT with draw weight. I'd say 50# MAX.
Takedown is a lot more convenient than one piece if you ever think you'd want to travel to hunt.
An average carbon arrow is vastly superior to the best wood arrow. They're straight or they're broken, they're tough, they recover from paradox faster... I wish it were otherwise but they're just way way better.
Recurves are much easier to get consistent with than longbows. (I've hunted with both. Shot caribou and moose and deer with a longbow, lot of deer with recurve). Longbows have very little mass and a simple grip which makes consistent form a lot harder to achieve. Accuracy with trad equipment is all about consistency (after all, a machine using a trad bow could hit a pinhead every time) and it's a lot easier with a heavier bow with a contoured grip. Especially going from compound I'd say start with a recurve.
Fred Asbell's "Instinctive Shooting" is a good book. Some of the later ones I thought got a little hokey but the first book is very helpful.