I have asked why people choose to hunt with long bows, but I have never asked why about recurves. I know it's a personal preference, and I want to hear why it's a preference? Faster?, More powerful? like the looks? Me? I just started with a recurve because I was told they were easier to learn on, but i have no evidence of that.
When I started, early 1960s the longbow was thought to be inferior to a recurve. Recurves were shorter, said to be faster, smoother etc. The longbows back then were not anything like most of the ones we have today. So if the marketing hype back then was correct it certainly doesn't apply today.
Being a Bear Archery fan and I started my hunting adventures years ago with a recurve I guess I am sentimentaly attracted to the curvey looks and feel of the recurve. However like Jess stated longbows of today are a lot different now than in the late 60's early 70's, as I own several longbow's now.
when i converted from compound to recurve in 1992..it was because that is all I knew, Mr Owen Jeffery was in the next town over and made great bows...and also the grip was MORE familiar to me coming from training wheels.
that being said I enjoy all trad bows...I have a small collection of longbows, recurves and selfbows...some new some vintage. I love them all and just pick one for each major hunting season and rotate through some of them that way. I do love the light in the hand feel of a nice self or longbow when stalking or humping a pack all day long...and love the feel of shooting a longbow more...but I could not choose between them if asked. :)
Personally I like the extra weight in the handle I shoot better. With that being said the new takedown longbows have changed that, But for me their is something about the looks of a recurve I cant resist.
I started shooting bows, about the time I could walk. My Grandfather was a Penobscott Indian, and used to make my bows and arrows out of thin saplings found around the house. My 1st REAL Bow, was a Bear "Red Bear" recurve, that I got when I was around 6yrs old. When I was about 9yrs old, I saw Howard Hill on TV. The local Sports Store had a Ben Pearson Longbow "set" that I just HAD to have!!! I begged & pleaded with my Dad... Oh the promises I must have made!!!!! He talked to the owner... It had been around for a while... Nobody seemed interested... He gave Dad a deal!!! It was WAY too heavy for me, but I finally managed to get it to full draw and actually able to hit what I was shooting at!!!
About 1970, good laminated recurves were REALLY starting to hit the stores. I young boy with hard earned money, could finally own a REAL Bow!!!!! I started Bowhunting in 1976 with a 50# Bear Alaskan & cedar arrows, tipped with Bear Razorheads. I hunted with that bow,(although I had many others) until I bought my 1st compound in the early 1980's and I had ALOT of them!!! I had drank the Koolaid... But it left a bad taste in my mouth!!! I saw the writing on the wall... Newer, Better, Faster, Need a "New" bow every year...??? I could find LOTS of old recurves around, but I couldn't find strings for them..... So, I gave up Bowhunting.
About 1997, I met my Good Friend & Fellow TradGanger, Joe Skipp!!! I went over to Joe's shop & bought a 55# 1967 Kodiak Magnum..... Suddenly, I was 16yrs old again!!!!! The rest, is history...
Why do I shoot a recurve...??? It just feels RIGHT!!!!!
Grip is more consistent for me, also like a shorter bow for tree stand and still hunting, most recurves are cut past center allowing me to shoot a stiffer, heavier arrow, I like a little more mass weight in the bow and shoot with a bow quiver attached, just mostly preference I guess you get use to what you use the most.
You know Joe Skipp Woodchucker? I feel sorry for you. :biglaugh: Only kidding of course. Joe is a great guy. Met him a few years ago through a mutual friend, Bamboo, and have hunted with him a few times. Knows his stuff. As for why I shoot a recurve-I too like the looks of them. But I also shoot longbows. Haven't yet decided which I prefer. They're all fun to shoot.
It's what got me started shooting traditional. I mainly shoot a longbow now but my favorite bow is a very hybrid take down longbow that the riser is more of a recurve riser which I like. I prefer more mass weight in the riser than most longbows have.
Gabe
I like the mass weight. I've owned Hills and R/D longbows, but the recurve just feels better in my hand.
I hunt with a recurve on the days I am not hunting with a longbow...I pretty much regard them as interchangeable, especially my RER LXR where all I have to do it swap limbs
DDave
I went with one instead of a longbow just because it is what I shot as a teen.
For me it was seeing those old Fred Bear movies as a kid. I had no mentors, so it was just natural for me to pick up a recurve bow like ol' Fred.
I like the lines of a recurve and the 1950's style bows carry and shoot like a dream.
To sum it up, nostalgia and looks.
I do love my Great Northern 50's style Super Ghost
Because I love my Silvertips. Used to shoot only longbows when I was younger at 72-80# but have dropped in weight,55-60#, can still pull 80 but do not want to at my age, and can control my shot better with a recurve, still have one longbow, a Cari-Bow Silver Fox that I also shoot and love.
Recurves always caught my eye. I just get that kid in a toy store feeling when I see one. Love shooting longbows ect, but the recurve has always been my favorite.
Recurves because they perform so well. Shorter bow easy to hunt with. They are just beautiful and curvy... Like a woman!
To me its all looks...I like the curves of a recurve. I started out with a longbow. I think they are about comparable to a good reflex reflex longbow in shootability and speed. Longbows are generally quieter and can be smoother.
When I was a kid my uncle had a recurve in the rafters of my grandparents garage. One day I talked my mom into letting me shoot it. Never told my mom the arrows had broad heads, heck didn't even know what a broad head was back then. Well I just pulled back and tried to see how far I could shoot it. I was a kid after all. Yea...well I shot it...ended up putting an arrow right between two parked cars, thank god I didn't hit one. Been in love with them ever since. Love the curves of a recurve they just have them in all the right places. I will try a longbow but first I want to buy my dream recurve, time to start saving.
Aesthetics of curved limb tips anymore mass in the riser. Also, the reason I'm attracted to recurves (or longbows) at all is nostalgia -- it is how I started in the late 60's.
I won't even pick up a LB for fear I might like em.
I shot a recurve up until my two youngest boys gave me a long bow for my 56th birthday. Been addicted to the LB since.
It's all about the looks and rekindle the pass. Funny thing is, I have a longbow I shoot better than all my recurves and it sits on the rack.
Because I like the extra noise after the shot as confirmation of a release, lol. Just kidding around a little.
For me it's all accuracy. I don't shoot low mass longbows near as well as I do a recurve with a heavier riser. I like longbows a lot but, until I get better with them I'll just stick with what puts game in the bag.
I thought I was a long now man till I shot my tall tines recurve. I was having elbow trouble and this thing is silky smooth and I can actually shoot it pretty well. I think it's the grip for me. I do like how a longbow is quieter for me... But you can't have it all so I hear.
Because longbows are ugly!! Haha.
Really, they are only nominally different these days. You can get lightweight broom handle recurve (black Widow PSR) or heavy take down high or medium wrist grip longbows (see Habu or one of the many ILF longbow options).
No hand shock. Almost every long bow I have shot save one has been terrible on the hand shock department.
I don't hunt with a recurve ......I prefer a 60" hybrid long bow myself. Its got everything a recurve has except the LB has narrow deep core limbs that don't get hung up in the brush like recurves do.....
I do love the looks of those sexy recurves though. The additional smoothness of the draw is quite nice too.
My first hunting weight bow was a recurve in about 1965. Maybe that is why, I really don't know.
What I do know is I just shoot recurves better. And I have given longbows an honest effort. I have had a Kota, a longhunter, multiple Pronghorns, and a couple of Shrews. Maybe it is the grip because the Shrews were close. I personally think the weight helps also.
Love Blacktails and Tall Tines.
Gary
Do both. Took a buck last week with a Border recurve, now put it away and am hunting with a Centaur longbow.
I shoot both longbow and recurve also. I like the sexiness of my longbows but I love the beautiful wood risers of my recurves. Perhaps a hybrid might be my next purchase to get the best of both types of bows.
I have shot/bought/traded nothing but longbows for the past few years, but I'm fixing to try a 2015 Bear 59'er. I hear they're pretty nice, but if it is a poor fit, you all know where to find it.
I've only tried one longbow - a Dick Palmer Hunter that is a Hill style. Shot it exclusively for six years. Then I shot a 50# recurve someone brought to an indoor traditional league for sale; having used 35# recurves for target before I took up hunting. I bought it that night.
Never looked back. I also started to kill deer. For some reason I had a bad habit of overshooting deer with the longbow. :dunno: I found recurves to be faster and more accurate in my hands. Shorter and they can be quieted down sufficiently. I still have that longbow. But I now have a dozen recurves and it gathers dust.
I have borrowed recurve handled "longbows" (really American flatbows) and I really can't tell a differebce with them for performance. I like them fine. But with $100 to $150 getting you astounding recurves from the 60's why go there?
I hunt with a recurve because it makes me look taller!
I just always liked a little meat on the bone.
Grip fits my hand much better, so I am much more accurate with a curve. Just can not get the grip down on a longbow. Like them though.
Because It's just plain COOL!!!!
I love the weight of my recurve make me more stable
because I can!!!
I started off bowhunting back in the 70s with a Bear Grizzly. Screwed in a 3 pin cobra sight and a kweekie kwiver and some WWII limb covers. Recurves were all we knew back then. After 25 years with compounds I switch back to the recurve. I love the lines, the weight, the old school look. I have very little experience with long bows. I just can't get the feel for the grip and the wieght. Half the guys in our crew shoot them. They are bueatful bows and they shoot them very well. I just can't seam to take to the long bow.
I find my recurves and R/D Longbows to be interchangeable performance wise.
I shoot which ever one tickles my fancy for the day
I found an old Ben Pearson recurve in my parents garage when I was about 10 y/o. I shot that till my fingers hurt and then I out grew it.
A few years later one of the pastors at the church my parents attended used his take-down recurve as prop for a sermon. I never paid more attention in church!
I cut his grass, watched his kids and learned how to run the sound board in order for him to help me build my take down recurve.
I still shoot it today, almost 25 years later. I've killed all my animals with that bow. I like the weight for one, the grip is good because it's hard to not grip it right.
However, I do have a Skookum longbow that is being re-finished by Two Tracks. I can't wait...
So for now, that's why I shoot a recurve, it's all I know. But I think in the spring time I may be chasing turkeys in Nebraska with my longbow.
-Jeremy :coffee:
I like the feel of the limbs during the draw, or at least with my widow's the limbs opening up really smooths out the draw, my 60lb PSA draws much like my 55 lb longbow. the mass weight and as Mark Land said, shooting a heavier stiffer arrow, come to mind as well, as does the constant grip... I have my PSA quieter than any longbow I own. I guess the ONLY thing I don't like is having to use a stringer. So I normally just always leave it strung. I cant think of a poor hit on a animal ive had with a recurve, I wish I could say that about a longbow.. that to me is reason enough, if its confidence or just shooting better at crunch time, I don't know...
Over the last few years I have acquired three recurves from the 1960s. All three are listed in my signature below. I spent a lot of time getting the Red Wing Hunter and the BP Hunter tuned perfectly. Both are whisper quiet and shoot great. They are the two bows I've hunted with for the last three years without getting a shot. I got a longbow earlier this year, my first new bow, because I'd heard how much quieter, smoother, etc. they were compared to recurves. It is indeed smooth and shoots great, but I never got the noise level where I wanted it. It has a slight twang that I never fully worked out, but since it was still much quieter than any compound I've ever heard, I decided I'd hunt with it anyway. Long story short, I have gotten two shots this year and both deer jumped the string. I decided over the weekend to go back to my little 42# BP Hunter. I got it out and it didn't take any time at all to get the feel back for it. Hoping to get out with it this afternoon and tomorrow. One thing I like the most about it and my other recurves has nothing to do with performance. It's the nostalgia of it. All three are around 50 years old. I'm only 31. Who knows what adventures they have seen in their lifetime, how many "perfect shots" have been made with them, how many meals they have placed on a dining table. It's fun to hunt with a piece of history. I do have an idea of what I may be my issue with the longbow after a discussion recently with a friend. It never crossed my mind before, but he asked if it had a fast flight string. I'm not positive, but being a brand new custom, it seems pretty likely that it does. All my old recurves have Dacron, so that could be the difference. If I get a Dacron string for it and it fixes the noise, it could become my favorite bow, but until then, I think I'll continue to tag along with a few archery legends; Fred, Ben, and Bob. :campfire:
I started with recurves because they were the most modern bow ever. They not only had fiberglass belly and back - man-o-man, what an innovation that was - but their limbs were recurved to add power.
Like others, I went to compounds. They were certainly easier to shoot accurately with. But, every time I shot a deer, I said to myself: "I could have done that with my recurve!"
I learned that, for hunters, a recurve is more that adequate. For "shooters," ... well, they liked the compounds. To me, the compounds took the human element out of the equation.
Longbows were not modern enough for me. Ha! So, that's how a boy thinks! (and, of course, I was just not capable of adaptation... or something).
Primarily because I can't hit the broad side of a barn ( from inside that barn) with a longbow. Another huge reason for me is that it hampers about 20% of my shot rotation from a tree stand. I envy those that can shoot them in a big way.
Because it was love at first sight!
Love the sexy lines of a recurce bow.!!!! There is a reason they recurved the tips! It was for speed and performance...
I Hunt w recurve and longbow!
I hunt with a recurve because for me I can shoot them better/easier than a LB, but I do like the hybrid LB.
I hunted with a longbow for most of my life. Last year I really gave the recurve a chance. I took 2 big game animals, both pass thru, both short recovery distance under 50 yrds.
For me, I like the mass weight compared to a longbow and I shoot with a more relaxed bow hand. I also shoot an elevated arrow rest which allowed me to get great arrow flight.
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I am a lonhbow guy 99% of the time. I am hunting with a recurve this weekend because the place I am hunting has several popup blinds that my longbow will not work in!
Bisch