Strung up an old Kodiak Hunter a bit ago for the heck of it....got the bow used on a deal and never spent any time with it...held on to it to let others try their hand at the trad bow. It crossed my mind to string it up and shoot a bit, as I havent shoot a recurve in about 2 years now. First few were kinda iffy, but still in the general spot. After about 24 arrows, I was getting pretty good. Took the recurve back into the house and grabbed my longbow that has been my go - to. Now I dont know what the heck happened, but man....I couldnt miss! I mean just slammin' shafts on top of each other like I was in the zone big time...top of my game on a best day! So....what do you all think may be some reasons for this type of thing? Im thinking of keeping that recurve around to take out every now and then if it makes me that dead on with the longbow. Usually you hear of people shooting the recurve a bit better....not so much the other way around?! :archer2:
Shooting the recurve probably straightened up your form a bit.
I shot a recurve, tried a compound for two years, went to a longbow for 10 years. Picked up a recurve again around 1992 and the longbow has been gathering dust since. Guess I'm just a recurve shooter. ;-)
after using my kodiak and titan I shoot all my bows much better. My form become much more solid. That being said the longbows mostly just sit on the rack because I just shoot the titan so much better and enjoy it more. kinda want to sell te longbows but having a hard time parting with them lol
Usually a recurve will be a bit more finicky to flaws in your form so I bet your form had gotten a little sloppy with the longbow and the recurve made you really focus on doing everything right.
I think your longbow just got jealous of you fondling another bow and had to prove it's still your #1 squeeze.
I think John nailed it.. might as close this thread down LOL
Got jealous haha....maybe so! Well Im honestly thinking about holding onto the "form tightener" bow! Didnt cost me much and appears to be an effective training aid :knothead:
I have posted this a number of times in the past but here goes again
I own both and shoot both fairly regularly . I can pick up my recurves and seem to "Group" my arrows better from the first shot . BUT cant get center I'll shoot to one corner or the other every time I pick one up and after shooting for a half hour or so I'M IN THE MIDDLE and on target . NO matter what long bow I pick up I'M CENTER from the very first shot and never seem to go astray , even "fliers " are usually pretty close. I seem to hit more naturally with the long bow than the recurve . I LIKE them both but just seem to be more "ON" with the Long bow
I find the same thing with my shotguns. I have one I shoot 99.5% of the time. Every once in a while I take out my side-by-side hammer gun and don't do to shabbily. Just have to work at it a bit. Go back to my regular over/under and my clay bird count goes up.
I think the change forces us to "get back to basics" and really focus on what we're doing.
I have noticed this, too. For me, the recurve tends to have a more tactile grip. When you warm up with it and pick up a longbow or a bow with less pronounced "memory bumps" then it makes your hand and brain work harder to find grip consistency in each shot. After I realized this, whenever I am having a bad day with a bow, I pick up a Morrison Cheyenne with pinecones and get back on target. That bow will enhance your grip feelers in a heartbeat.
I have a couple recurves and longbows and switch frequently depending on my mood. I always shoot better immediately after the switch than I do later after several shooting sessions. It doesn't matter if it is recurve to longbow or vice versa. Always drilling like a pro right away and it never ceases to amaze me.
For me, I think it has more to do with the act of picking up a bow I'm not used to and concentrating more on good form, grip, aim, etc. After awhile I get accustomed to the new bow and I'm back to normal accuracy.
Everyone I ever shot with always shot a brand new bow better than their old one. We call it "New Bow Syndrome". And before long they are back to earth and looking for arrows in the weeds again. :)
I have a Kodiak Hunter and maybe it is the high wrist grip that changed it up - I'm sure it is a lot different than your longbow.
I usually shoot my longbow...
But a couple of weeks ago I started up with the recurve again. When I picked up the longbow after shooting the recurve for a while, I was picking spots and shooting arrows in every one of them. It was amazing, and I have no idea what was behind it. Too bad it didn't last...!
I'm right handed.
I recently started using a thumb draw, shooting off the right side of a recurve bow, and my accuracy improved.
I can switch to Meditereanean draw shooting off the left side of my longbow, and I'm still enjoying improved accuracy.
Same here, but the other way around. My longbow makes me better with my recurve. But come to think of it, I think just switching it up helps me. I shoot the recurve very differently than the longbow, but when I first switch from one to the other, I have to concentrate on form before it starts getting "automatic" and the arrows start going every which way.
I found this thread interesting. I've always been a "1 bow guy" and hardly ever switch bows. I've been spending all my time with my Centaur Carbon Elite and have been happy with my shooting. After seeing this thread yesterday I grabbed my Centaur and my Bruin Recurve when I got home last night. I shot the Centaur for a few shots then grabbed the Bruin (which I haven't shot in a while). I shot very well with the Bruin after a few warm up shots. Matter of fact I was shooting it so well that I was questioning whether or not I should hunt it this year instead of the Centaur. LOL. I went back to shooting the Centaur and my groups were noticabley better as well. Can't say I know why?
That's funny, I also have an old Kodiak Hunter that I keep for the kids or friends to use. I picked it up a couple days ago and started drilling shots with it. I was shooting so well that I started wondering why I ever put the bow down. So after feeling pretty good I grabbed my longbow to do a comparison.....I probably won't pick up that recurve again for a long time. I can't say why but I just felt dialed in to the longbow. I shot it better, enjoyed the dead shot, speed and lack of noise.
I also switch back and forth between my Howard Hill and my BW recurve. My recurve seems to help me whenever my form or accuracy seems to be faltering with the longbow. As a bonus, I put a B50 string on my recurve and now both bows can shoot the same wood arrows.
Very interesting thread...I was just starting to think that I should stick solely to my 66" toelke and not shoot anything else for the sake of improved accuracy....maybe I should string up my Predator for some practice.
So this seems to go on for alot of folks....there must be something to it! I guess aside from critiquing for the "whys", it appears it may be good to switch it up from time to time....for curve shooters and longbow shooters. Kinda like a therapy from time to time. Man, I love traditional archery :campfire:
Great thread! Can't say why it works but it does. I have 3 main bows, listed below I think. Anyway, when I'm frustrated with one, I'll shoot with a different for a while. No particular order. My R/D Bamabow is my main one. But I'll grab the selfbow sometimes because it gives me a great site picture. And the Samick Sage recurve has a nice grip. Dusted the Sage off the other night cause its the only Take Down I have and I had to pack one for the TBOF, so I tied on some nocks and was zinging them right on target after 15 shots or so. But I can agree that I think it has something with improving your focus and form, where each bow will force you to do something different to shoot well, and all of it equals to better overall form and success.
I have to join the 'switch from recurve to longbow' guys. Every now and then, I switch from my recurves to a longbow.
For me, shooting the longbow takes more concentration on my form, and is more sensitive to small form breaks. After shooting the longbow (which is made by the same bowyer and has the same grip) for a while, I am much more accurate with my recurves. Alas; it doesn't last forever though.
On a lark, i took a Sky bow off the back shelf in the archery shop today. This bow was heavier than our normal bows, but all of us longbow shooters were lacing the bull at 15 yards.
"when you need a new idea, read an old book" can be modified to show a change in bows might fire up the desire again!
I think "Bladepeek" nailed it, focus is the key... Sometimes we get sedate with our regular bow and a little variation is good...
Gets our minds back on focus, which really is our whole sighting system...