You have that for a recurve and you are fretting about longbows? Shame, shame on you. I wish I could get one that would be a few inches shorter, really nice bow (!).

Heh, yeah I know. Tough situations for sure!  

Trying to max out your draw length for more power is a-kin to arching your back as you do squats. Not Smart.  Try lifting weight off the floor without your legs, use your back by bending over at the waist and lift in a twisting and jarring motion!!
 Not Smart at all.
A decent bend in the arm,  enough to where it "almost," but not quite, causes you to use arm muscles to keep it from collapsing, pushing from there and "not straightening it out at full draw."

'Real' longbows are, IMO, the D-style straight grip variety with low-mass risers and high-mass limbs.  They are an acquired taste and after some trial and error you'll probably either hate'em or love'em.  They will thump ('handshock') more than will anti-longbows (high mass riser/low-mass limbs) but they won't 'hurt' if held according to what their design dictates.  The how-to-hold-them part of it is a beaten dead horse...see the million past threads on it in the archives and pick your method.  

My two Widow MA recurves are low-thump bows (too smooth...girly bows really).  The Shrew, Pronghorn and Traditionalist on my rack I'd rate medium thump (a compromise between extremes).  My Hills and Abbott are more in the heavy thump category, the hardest to shoot and control but easily the most fun, satisfying and quiet to shoot.  All these bows feel and shoot differently and are acquired tastes, each adding it's own spice to the grand experience.  

I think the assessment of "handshock" really depends more on the shooter's ability (or inability) to learn from and adjust to the bow's design, much more than it does on the bow's ability to conform to the shooter's own preconceived ideas of what's comfy.  Not everyone was made to shoot a 'real' longbow.  It's a subjective question that only you can decide the right answer to.

The above pictured recurve can be shot as fluidly as any longbow and with the same form. I for one do not care how many bends the limb has. Function and pointability are the most important things with today's bows. That's right, I am still jealous.

QuoteOriginally posted by TSP:
I think the assessment of "handshock" really depends more on the shooter's ability (or inability) to learn from and adjust to the bow's design, much more than it does on the bow's ability to conform to the shooter's own preconceived ideas of what's comfy.  Not everyone was made to shoot a 'real' longbow.  It's a subjective question that only you can decide the right answer to.

The question is, is there something else to a Hill style bow that makes it worth putting up with the thump.  Obviously, for lots of folks there are.  Hills are quiet, stable, durable and carry a great heritage.  If that rates higher for you than a smooth shot, I reccomend you pick up a Hill.  

For me, the decision has absolutely nothing to do with experience.  I've been shooting traditional bows for 21 years now, longbows for 19.  I started with a Hill-style bow (A Ben Pearson Ol' Ben.  Talk about handshock!).  I built selfbows for years.  I think most of them kicked worse than the Pearson!  After some elbow problems a few years back, I had to do one of three things, build bows, shoot bows or give up archery.  My joints just wouldn't take the abuse anymore.  I was able to switch to a hybrid-style longbow in almost the same weight I had always shot and continue without pain.

I can shoot a Hill-style bow.  I just can't do more than a round or so a week with one, and there will be lots of pain and ice packs in-between.  

Hill style bows kick.  I'm still glad they are around.  Hills are still about the prettiest thing going when bent to full draw.

I am in the same boat that some others are in. Personally, I love HH style bows and have owned many throughout the years. I developed a wrist injury using them however and since then have sold all of them. I tried many different remmedies including shooting heavy arrows, trying different grips or hand positions (I can not count how many times I heard that one),etc. I could cut down on the amount of shooting that I did which seemed to help a lot, however, that was not acceptable to me.
Still love the bows, only wish my body could handle them.