Recurve help

[CanvasGear]

Ok I bought cheap take down recurve on line at Three Rivers. I dont have it yet but would like some advice on anything else I will need to set it up. It does have a Berger insert and comes with nothing except the string if that makes a difference. I need arrows and anything else required. I bought this mainly to try traditional archery and to shoot grouse. I do have a compound but have never as much as picked up a traditional bow.

Thanks for any help
CG

[carpsniperg2]

you will need a good stringer. some bows will come with them some will not. do not use the step threw method to string you bow! the most common rest on the recurves are the nap flipper style rests. i have one on my dorado, i shoot off the shelf on my other trad bows. you need arrows points etc, make sure they are the right spine.

now to the bigger part. you need to make you decision to what you are using to shoot your bow.
glove or tab. i suggest going to a good shop that has both and try them out and see what works best for you. most prefer gloves then tabs. but that is up to you to find out. make sure you are commfy with you choice of the 2. you can shoot a release with a recurve as well but not very common and a lot harder to master. i shoot 2 of my higher poundage trad bows with a release because of my bone disorder i have. make it hard to grip the string on the higher # bows.

hope this helps you out. welcome to the addiction of stick and string pretty soon you will be knappin points.

[Billy]

Carpsniper put up a good list for you.  If you have never visited www.tradgang.com it is probably the best resource, I have found, for traditional archery. 

You may be surprised at how much your "wheelie" bow will sit once your recurve arrives.  Welcome to the Trad World!

[CanvasGear]

Thanks for the tips. Looks like I'm going to have to be patient and wait for the bow to arrive. Still a little confused about arrows. With my compound I've always just tried to get over 6-8 grains per pound. Correct me if I'm wrong, a recurve needs a much heavier arrow. I checked out a few wooden arrow supplier websites but that just made no sense without knowing my draw length. Again correct me if I'm wrong it will be longer than my compound. Would Federal Way Sportsman's be a place that can install a knock point and fix me up with arrows. I did go back and add a bear hair rest and plate to my bow order assuming I would need some sort of rest to get started.


CG

[Old Dog]

We don't have a lot of traditional tackle at Federal Way Wholesale Sports   I'm a traditional shooter, and it drives me crazy that I work in archery, and have to buy most of my accessories somewhere else.  We only have the carbon arrows.   I can, however install a string nock for you.  Come see me for a visit when you get your new bow.  I'll help you out as much as I can, and give you a few pointers on how to shoot it.

Larry AKA Old Dog

[Hornseeker]

Sounds like you are getting some good advice.... go see Larry since he's shot trad and he will probably be able to get you rollin...

Carbon arrows work exceptionally on trad bows...that is ALL i shoot...all i've ever shot on my longbows and recurves.

Tell me what weight the bow is? How tall are you? what do you draw your compound? It will be within about an inch of that, depending on your shooting style, which you will have to develop over time.

Good Luck!

[CanvasGear]

Sounds like you are getting some good advice.... go see Larry since he's shot trad and he will probably be able to get you rollin...

Carbon arrows work exceptionally on trad bows...that is ALL i shoot...all i've ever shot on my longbows and recurves.

Tell me what weight the bow is? How tall are you? what do you draw your compound? It will be within about an inch of that, depending on your shooting style, which you will have to develop over time.

Good Luck!

I'm about 5'9". My compound is 27" @72 lbs. may be a bit longer Ive heard Mathews is longer than whats stamped on the cam. The new bow is 50Lbs.

I was thinking Easton classics but If carbons will work and get the penetration for big game then maybe thats the route to go. Id like to start off with an arrow that can be used to hunt even if hunting with it is a ways out.

CG

[Billy]

With arrow weight, I usually shoot 10-12 grains per pound.  The heavier arrows will quiet the bow down and help increase kinetic energy at the lower arrow speeds.  I use both woodies and carbons.  My carbons have 100 gr inserts and 150 gr heads to bring the weight up.  You can also buy weighted tubes, for a more even distribution of weight. 

I've had Port Orford Cedar arrows made by Suzanne St. Charles.  She owns Northwest Archery (www.nwarchery.com) and does outstanding work.  She has a helpful chart for figuring out the proper arrow spine for your poundage and type of bow.  Her business is entirely internet based, but she is in the South Prairie area.

POC arrows are heavy.  My 29 inch shafts are running about 560 gr.

[Hornseeker]

If you are 5'9" and fairly proportionate... odds are, after some shooting and form development you'll shoot right at 27-28 inch draw on a recurve. Depends on shooting style though. The new bow is marked 50@28...so if you draw 27, it will only be a bout 47 1/2 pound bow... if you draw 29, it'll go up to 53 ish...

Personally, I shoot Beman MFX or Easton Axis arrows. You can get the MFX's in wood grain that really go nicely with trad gear but that doesn't matter...long as they work.

So, what spine arrow you get has a lot to do with what weight BH you want to shoot. I shoot heavy up front, like Billy...so you need a stiffer spined arrow to handle that heavy front end. Billy mentioned using weight tubes to weight up carbons more uniformly... dont do that...just use a heavy head and a heavier spined arrow to get the weight up. If you get the FOC % higher, you'll get better arrow flight (debateable) and better penetration on tough shots where bones may be contacted.

Id recommend the MFX or Axis 500's cut to about 30 inches... then you can get an assortment of field tip weights and start shooting them and tuning... they will likely fly well with a 150-200 grain front load...

There is a great tutorial on tuning a trad bow/arrow combo at:
http://bowmaker.net/index2.htm

Good Luck

[Old Dog]

  

 

[Hornseeker]

Also, I shoot about 9.5 gpp, but anything over about 7.5 is a pretty dang good number... If you are going to limit shots to under 20 yards, go heavy, 11+ gpp and you'll get great penetration with all that momentum behind the arrow... The arrow will be slower, which also helps a true instinctive shooter because the brain recognizes the trajectory....

Good Luck!

[CanvasGear]

Thank you for all the great advise. I'm still waiting for my new bow so have'nt been able to get anything accomplished yet. I did get to shoot a friends bow, exact same as mine. All in all for a first time I think it went well. I could hit a 3" group nearly every time at 20 yards. The grouping was good but an inch off to the left so need to figure out the whole aiming without a site. Also I didnt use a glove or tab, Im assuming those are for finger protection more than anything else.

CG

[Hornseeker]

If you can group your arrows into a 3" circle your first time trying, you should consider competing in traditional archery, as many of the top shooters in the nation cant do much better than that....and you are only getting started...

[CanvasGear]

If you can group your arrows into a 3" circle your first time trying, you should consider competing in traditional archery, as many of the top shooters in the nation cant do much better than that....and you are only getting started...

At 20 yards? I'm sure the pro's shoot further than 20 yards. My friend that owns the bow we were playing with shoots better, more comparable to how I shoot a compound. He shoots clay pigeons all the time thats what got me thinking traditional for grouse.

CG

[NWWABOWHNTR]

Don't know of any "PRO's" in the trad category competing,  but indoors is 18M for multicolor and 20 yards for blueface.... and if you are consistently grouping at 3"'s then you need to get out there and compete.  Outdoors (3D) you can and will be shooting much longer than that not much further than 50 yards at the State and below levels.  However for other outdoor shoots such as Field and Safari you would be shooting out to 101 yards (Safari) and 80 in the Field.  We need more trad guys out here in the WSAA and NFAA competing!  Lots compete at the local club levels but only a handful at the State level.   We get a pretty good showing at the National levels but could always use more.  Get involved with your local archery club and join the WSAA and NFAA!