Recurve or longbow for me?

[jaydee2trad]

I have an old 60s model Bear recurve which I enjoy shooting, it is 45lbs, about my limit now. I have another bow, another factory bow which is a 45 lb longbow. As pretty as the recurve is, and it shoots better than me, I'm pretty much a longbow man. It is so much more forgiving with some of my releases and the feel of it canted over is just me. I cant the recurve too, just a little bit but still canted. I have had 3 custom long bows, one was made for me but ended up being too much bow for me at the time. But sadly I was in dire straights and had to sell them. My ex wife sure knew how to blow, I mean spend money that we didn't have yet. I have shot a lot of game with both styles of bows but my heart always swings to the longbow. Bow bows can be so beautiful but the sleekness of the longbow just screams fun and hunt with me. Don't ever see another custom longbow in the picture, just too many bills for the income now. I can tell a difference in arrow speed from the recurve to the longbow but oh well, it is what it is. The longbow just fits me so much better. so now I can concentrate just on the longbow.

[Grizzly]

In the mid 60's Dad came home with 2 Bear Tiger Cat recurves. One for the left handed brother and another right hand model. We shot them starting out and the first bow I bought was a recurve which was a short 52" Ben Pearson in zebra wood which was a good looking bow but one I never really connected with. Years later when I took up bows again - after trying that old BP first and not caring for it, I bought a really nice used 1966 Bear Grizzly and from then on it was almost consistently recurves. The only time I shot longbows was at large shoots when I'd try one out on the coarse in case I might want to own it. I did order a custom one year we went to Cloverdale. I like the one sample I'd shot there and so ordered one. When it finally arrived, the maker had not duplicated the grip and I never could get comfortable with it. After shooting it for a few weeks to a month, a pretty good sized splinter came off the riser or fade out - I can't remember exactly where anymore. So I called him and he offered to fix it. I asked if it would be possible to put a little more finish on it while he had it and I think he could tell in my voice that I wasn't thrilled with the bow. I gladly accepted his offer for a refund - which I'd not asked for but appreciated. I've shot other reflex/deflex (I think they were called) longbows over the years and always liked them but never saw any advantage over the recurves of similar size and length. I did run a coarse once with a short 54" or 56" reflex deflex that shot great for me and would have bought it but for the fact that I had Dad's old Browning Safari I of the same length and poundage which I've always felt was the sweetest shooting bow I've ever used. I actually bought another a few pounds heavier just to keep Dad's from getting all beat up so I couldn't really justify the purchase.

I came close once to ordering a traditional longbow with yew limbs and a cocobolo or ebony riser but can't remember exactly why I didn't. Maybe in comparison, the one I ordered at Cloverdale just shot better for me and that's what I went with. That was back when O.L. Adcock's ACS, the really fast longbow with that hollow curve in the limb construction was all the rage for speed. That was at Cloverdale also that year. There was a long backorder at the time, but this one was underweight and he brought it to the shoot for me to try. I hemmed and hawed long enough that someone else bought it. It was just a little twitchy in my hands and was easy to mess up a shot with - for me. It was really fast and accurate when my form didn't let me down. What really amazed me was that after shooting so many bows that weekend and wanting to order a new one, I finally went out to the car just to see how well they shot by comparison. I got out an old Browning 66" Apollo recurve that I'd paid $5.00 for during a fall festival drive one year since it had warped limbs and I didn't know if they could be straightened. Well they did straighten with some work and hot water in the tub and I think 3 or 4 shooters learned on that bow before I finally sold it to one of them. I got that old bow and shot it and actually liked it at least as much as all the new ones and maybe just a hair more.

[Captainkirk]

I've always been a recurve man..just like the looks of them. In fact, I never shot a longbow of any sort until I got ahold of my Elk Seeker that Triple L gifted me. Dang, is that thing a tack driver! Only issue I have with it is that it's a bit on the heavy side for these old shoulders so practice is usually limited to a dozen arrows or less. My normal shooting weight is down to 45# and under now.
When I first got my Kodiak Mag I was a little leery of shooting a short bow. I'd heard horror stories of stacking and such. Never had any such issues even with my 29" DL.

[jaydee2trad]

My Bear recurve is a Kodiak and it shoots very well. In fact, it shoots the 500 spine with 225 up front very well as I found out today. it is making a it hard to shoot the longbow right now this close to season. Heck I like shooting them all and always have. the Kodiak was made in the mid 60s and looks very well taken care of. This is one bow that I will not alter the grip or the shelf as I normally do with most bows. I had read Fred Asbells book where he talked about customizing your bow and so I did on several bows that I had picked up for $20 or less at pawn shops. And brother, it made a huge difference in everything shooting wise. I still have an old no name bow that is a little over bowed for me that I had altered the grip and shelf. Shot a lot of game and fish with that bow and will never get rid of it.