Do yourself the biggest favor right off the bat and order the G. Fred Asbell books on instinctive shooting (he is a sponsor on this site).  The first one is THE BEST because the last few chapters are hunting stories. Those tales flat get you fired up! I read it about 21-22 years ago and still vividly recall the stories. The most recent version of the book is great as well. DO GOOD YOUNG MAN. THIS SPORT NEEDS MORE LIKE YOU. As far as bow preference goes...if you can pick up either longbow or recurve and shoot each equally well, then you will know that you are where you want to be.  I shoot either and enjoy both. That is the joy...a couple years from now you will own or will have owned at least one of each. That is one of the great pleasures of this sport.

Welcome!

Welcome to our wonderful world! Good folks here for sure.

Welcome Chad there's alot of great knowledge and people on this forum to help you along.

Chad,

Look up Dave Pagel here.  He is close to you and a good guy.  If you want to take a bit of a ride up US-23, the first weekend of May at Exit77 the Michigan Longbow Association has its spring shoot and is free to members.  lOTS of longbows to shoot there.

Steve is correct Chad.  The Michigan Longbow Association is having our annual Spring Shoot the 1st weekend in May (Friday-Sunday) in Fenton, Michigan. The entire event is free to members only.  All memberships are a Family membership.  

Gates open at Noon, shoot Rinehart 3D course, judo course, kids course, and last year we had a Zombie course too.

Friday night there is a chili cookoff contest.  Admittance is to bring some chili to add to the communal pot or a side dish to pass.  

Saturday brings novelty shoots, American Round and all the shooting you can possibly do.  For dinner, we have the best pot luck dinner I have ever had the pleasure of being involved in.

Sunday brings once again more archery shooting.  

The only stipulations are that you are a member ($15 yearly) and you shoot a longbow.  Choice of arrow material is up to you.

I can guarantee when you leave this shoot, you will be looking forward to the next one.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  By the way, my Dad's roots come from Arkansas.

Welcome to the trad life. I think you will like it. I used to shoot recurves but have been shooting longbows almost exclusively since about 1990. There is something special about them that just grabs some us in an inexplicable way. They are smooth, light, and easy to draw. I think they are a bit more forgiving of an imperfect release. But the main thing is they are way cool and just a bit magical.

On the other hand, some of the recurves have all these desirable characteristics as well, and I know some guys who can cold shoot them! Hopefully, you will be able to shoot a large number of bows, both recurves and longbows before you totally settle in. Like many, you may find you like them both. Eventually, you will probably want to own both types. That is not indecision, it is variety. I still shoot my recurves, just not as much as my Hill longbows.

You will get a lot of sound advice and hear many solid opinions on this site. Ultiamtely, the choice of which bow you prefer will be yours alone, but you will be pleased at the amount of information you can glean from the folks on Trad Gang. As issues in shooting come up, spend a lot of time on the FORM forum. Welcome aboard!

As my Tae Kwon Do grand master used to say, the only way to excel is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! That applies here as well.

Welcome to the gang!! I started out shooting recurves but now I'm shooting my longbows more. I don't know why they just seem a little more forgiving to me. Don

Howard hills hunting the hard way is a great read.