I am starting to search for a bow for my wife. Is it easier to learn on a recurve or a longbow for your first one. By the time I shot my first longbow I had already shot my recurve for quite awhile. Didn't seem that different. Just want to start her our for success. I know everyone has there favorite but I am looking for opinions on easiest first bow.
As long as she is not over-bowed with the weight, she will enjoy shooting either one. I really don't think that one is easier than the other to learn on. Just get the weight right and match the arrows to it and let her have fun....Terry
Stay away from wrist-slappin' low brace height longbows with a lot of handshock.
What do YOU shoot?
Killdeer :campfire:
I shoot a 3piece recurve. Military, travel a lot.
Has your wife shot any bows? What were her impressions? What did she like or dislike?
It's still Killdeer... :rolleyes:
Only bow she has ever shot is one of those red fiberglass bows with poor shooting arrows. I have it in my garage just incase someones kid wants to fling some stick in the backyard.
Killdeer is right.It really depends a lot on what she likes.Doesn't matter how good the bow is,if she doesn't like it for whatever reason she won't do well with it.
If it were me,for a new bow,I would get a Quinn Stallion and have them make some 25-30 pound limbs for it.
Is she tall? Strong? Petite and girly? I feel like I am pulling hens' teeth here.
Stock answer would be, I guess, get her a used bow, something she can pull and hold comfortably for twenty seconds or more. An old Ben Pearson Colt 707, a Damon Howatt Triumph,longish target type recurves with medium weight risers. Likely twenty-five to thirty-five pounds for a beginner is good. Add some aluminum shafts of appropriate spine and length (1616 to 1716) and she should be good to go. Bear Grizzly, Ben Pearson All-American or Collegiate, these go for hardly anything and are good solid shooters. If she is small, a Kodiak Magnum, or the discontinued Lady Kodiak may be a good choice.
There was a target Bear, made in the early to mid sixties, called a Polar, but a full recurve instead of the semi-recurve that most Polars are...looked like an elegant, slim Super Kodiak and came in very light weights. I have one that pulls 18# @ 24", zebrawood sight window. Look around, there are any number of bows that will fit your wife.
Killdeer
I saw a hoyt at a garage sale today. It was 34# at 28. Had her pull it back and asked if it was hard. She laughed and said it was easy. I didn't think about her draw being a little over 25". Too bad the limb was twisted. She is 5'6 and used to carrying our 20 month old boy around when he is tired of walking.
Twisted limbs can usually be fixed. You could likely get the bow for a song since it is "damaged".
Killdeer :)
My wife has shot both recurve and longbow. She prefers a 3pc longbow. She has confidence in it and that alone has really helped her shooting improve.