I've always wondered why most of the best archery shots mostly shoot longbows. Howard Hill, Byron Fergeuson, Ron LaClair, Byron Tabor, etc. I can only think of Stacy Grosscup who was a truely phenomenal shot with a recurve.
I know there are a lot of great target recurve shooters out there, but I'm talking about reactive type gifted pure shooters.
Seems like most shoot a longbow. Is this purely from a forgiving aspect?
Seems like most of the concensus is shooting a longbow is harder. That's why I don't understand why Howard Hill is quoted for saying he's not good enough to shoot a recurve. :campfire:
Its cause Longbows Rule....
:0)
Know what ya mean. I always was a recurve guy, but it seemed like most of the best end up shootin' a longbow. Some say ya gotta grow into one, I dunno. But after giving them a real chance, shooting a few different ones.....
..I think I'm turnin' longbow. When ya get one that fits ya they truly are forgiving on the shot. Give 'em a real try and ya might be surprised.....................but Hornseekers still right. :knothead:
A very true evaluation, if you just stick with trick shooting. I agree and no doubt that the longbow is more forgiving, once you mastered it. The Recurve is to sensitive for trick shooting. Now I said recurve not a hybrid with lateral stability.
Without being a master archer, i find that shorter bows may be more powerful, but longbows are - as Toddster states above me - more forgiving once you've mastered it. A tiny little mistake with a recurve, and you may fail.
Don't fool yourself, the image of the longbow plays a big part in this as well. Robin Hood never carried a recurve, and Joe Public probably doesn't know who Papa Bear is.
Genghis Khan carried a recurve/composite though, and he's my idol <3 :)
After being a recurve shooter for a number of years and swearing by it, I decided to buy a longbow more "just to have one" than anything else. Once I started shooting it however, the whole "legend and romance of the longbow" thing must've of taken hold as I haven't gone back to the recurve at all for nearly a year now! I love my recurve so this was quite a surprise for me. It's my belief that the greats would be great with any bow so I wonder whether this wasn't a part of the appeal for them as well under the surface. It very well may be in our genes for all I know!
perhaps we all have a need for "simplicity" in our lives, and clean, long lines without distractions in these chaotic times. we humans tend to "make better" things that don't need fixin. I shoot most kinds of bows, enjoy em for what they do, but go back to a long bow as my companion in the woods, like a trusted friend.
sourowl
The longbow has a romantic history and some feel a familiar pull towards the longbow, almost like they knew it from another life.
Dreams from another life, by Ron LaClair:
I dream of days so long ago when a mans companion was his bow
Then men and bow would act as one sending clouds of arrows that blocked the sun
The iron tipped shafts piercing mail of chain making horses scream from the arrows pain
The broad heavy points of the clothyard shaft spilled rivers of blood in the wheat fields chaff
Gallant French Knights to war would go seeking glory in battle with their foe
Expecting a fight that was toe to toe they were killed from afar by the mighty Longbow
These dreams are clear as they can be, 5000 archers including me
stood side by side with deadly retort that day at the battle of Agincourt
QuoteOriginally posted by SourOwl:
perhaps we all have a need for "simplicity" in our lives, and clean, long lines without distractions in these chaotic times. we humans tend to "make better" things that don't need fixin. I shoot most kinds of bows, enjoy em for what they do, but go back to a long bow as my companion in the woods, like a trusted friend.
sourowl
For me Sour Owl expressed the long bow elegance perfectly; the feel and simplicity just pleases me. I am not saying that any one bow or type of bow is it; it is just where you want to be and with what. I am choosing to strive to simply be in the natural outdoors that I love and taking in as much of it as I can. One way that you can look at it is:
Shoot the bow that you have.
Walk in the desert and the woodlands.
Hunt where you are.
Refurbish what you have.
If you don't have it, go with out or make it.
When you do get something new, get it from craftsmen that take pride in what they make.
Pack light.
Sleep under the stars
Enjoy, that is what it is about.
and i also dont think you have to grow into a longbow. pretty much all i have ever shot was a long bow i had a brief romance with a recurve but that fling is over and im back to my longbows and will never stray again
Long bows ,for some reason just seem nicer to carry. I don't know why and I guess I don't really care why. But I still shoot both..lol...
Well done Ron! :thumbsup:
Right on brothers. The longbow rules. At least until I get tired of seeing my BW PMA-V collecting dust on my bow rack. :biglaugh:
I wanted to write a comment. Then i saw SourOwl's comment, and i did not have to write my comment. SourOwl was too quick.
Jamie, your sight on simplicity and 'make-do-with-what-you-got' attitude, is right on :)
QuoteOriginally posted by TheFatboy:
Genghis Khan carried a recurve/composite though, and he's my idol <3 :)
Thanks man! Oh Ghengis... Never mind.
:bigsmyl:
Ron , that was cool....someone said it ...Longbows Rule!!!!!!!!!!!!! mark#78
I will not venture to say why the great archers are longbow shooters,but will add my personal thoughts.
I am a relative newbie to traditional archery, having been hooked for about 7 years now. I started out with recurves, a Red Wing Hunter, then several different Bear bows. I love the history of Bear Archery, and the looks of Bear bows. I own several of them, and am always looking for a deal on a good one.
That said, I have 2 bows on my rack that are the ones I truly love to shoot. When my Thunderstick longbow is in my hand, it is part of me.
I love the feel of the grip in my hand, and the smell of the leather grip. It is feather light, whisper quiet, and smooth to shoot. It is simplistic archery. Stick and string, hand and eye.
I still shoot most of my recurves, but I do not truly lock on with anything but my longbow.
ron i love good poetry..., that was great. and what a story it told.
i love longbows for their simplicity and the enjoyment they give.
Wow, I'm very impressed by the responses but how is a longbow more "simple" than a recurve? Also, I thought the Turks were going to war with recurves way back when. Sorry I'm not a huge history buff.
I know longbows go farther back than recurves. What did they find with the "iceman."
Lucky I'm still too poor to afford the longbow I want right now. I have too many afflictions.
Longbow = simple and efficient
Ya start with a worm for bluegills and end up dry fly fishing for trout.
Bowmania
But why do most exhibition shooters shoot a longbow and not a recurve?
ttt
Longbows are generally lighter to carry all day,most times quieter,harder to torque the limbs, have less finger pinch and are easier for those of us lesser experts to shoot. I think they also have better cast on heavy arrows. I'm like Mr.Hill(except for the shooting)--not good enough to shoot a recurve.
the best way I can describe it is shooters of this type alot of times have to shoot very quick and alot of times at a moving target, in this case it is real easy to torque the string and this really plays havoc with a recurve where as a longbow especially a stringfollow bow is alot more stable in this case. The longbow is lighter in weight and points quicker. If you really break down a film of one of the greats shooting stuff out of the air frame by frame you will see alot of times they don,t even get to anchor but the just get r done. hope this helps. The reason I use a longbow is for hunting, when I was younger I used a heavy recurve but since then I have transfered the weight to me so something had to give, so I carry a longbow to help desperse the weight issue.
Notice that HH's longbows were not short. it's interesting to note how LONG an olympic tournament recurve is. Longer than some of the "LONGBOWS" out there. Less finger pinch, draw length variation has less effect on weight drawn (supposedly). Mechanical releases have allowed the wheelie's to be very short.
I will not use a mechanical release hunting and i have finger pinch issues that effect my accuracy, so longbow it is, and smoooooth.
rob
I believe Monty Markum and Stacy Groscup both shot recurves and were considered excellent trick shots. Howard Hill sold longbows so they shot best if he shot recurves he would have said they were best...
Don't forget Ben Pearson possibly the greatest game shot ever used a recurve. There is a film of him shooting passing ducks with his recurve.
Dan
i love both but it just seems that my long bow is my hand,most of the time.its a heckorybamboo backed bow, and it just looks good in my hand :) :biglaugh:
Awww heck,
Shoot what ya got and shoot it often...
Ya do that enough ya might get good at it... ;)
There is nothing like putting on a back quiver full of arrows and heading into the field with a longbow in hand. You just know that the ghosts of archery past are walking with you.
I don't know about the greats or their reasons or, even one being easier than the other. I shot a recurve the beginning. When my wife bought my L.B. it was alot harder for me to hit with but, I like it more than either of my curves.
I think that many of the great archers were products of their time (and started shooting what was available and stuck with it). Other great archers were products of their great mentors, and shot the same gear. Some had a choice of bows, and chose one over the other much like many of us prefer one over the other based on personal views on aesthetics and feel and what we happen to believe we shoot best. There are (and were) some phenomenal recurve shooters, too - Paul Schafer springs to mind. Interestingly, I was talking on the telephone to an experienced old gentleman who was a phenomenal bowhunter with the Hill-style bows he made (and still makes) - he holds views that are a product of his time, and was surprised to find that I hunt with a recurve, as surely I would find a recurve too temperamental and unforgiving for bowhunting (which I don't find).
Well, i've just ordered a longbow. I don't what it is about these that i like. Possibly, that they are almost the same height as i am. It just feels like it's more part of me.
Really looking forward to the delivery. Very, very much.