What's the best packaging material to ship a one piece recurve bow by USPS?  Longbows are so easy to deal with but I can't find a good way to ship a recurve.  Who has good ideas?

build a box using heavy cardboard, then build another around it. Only way I know to do it.

Danny

I like this...
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=000055

The link provided gives a great idea. But you can save a bit of money and still get rock solid protection by using 6" drain line. Its the green pipe used for waste. I think a 10' stick will run you around 12 dollars. Thats 70" or so for the bow case and another section for an arrow shipping tube.
You can buy the caps or use a jigsaw to cut out wooden ones to screw inside the open ends. Or one glued on cap and a wooden removeable one on the other end. After you cut the bow tube ad arrow tube to length, you have a short piece to use as a template to mark out your wooden ends. A regular crosscut saw will cut the pipe  no problem.
My recurve wrapped in a small blanket fits snugly insude a 6" pipe, no movement at all. Used an old couch cushion and cut some round pieces out for padding the end. And if ya want the tube back just have em figger the return shipping without the bow inside and send along the necessary postage.
Even the post office can't hardly mess up a case like that,I still get insurance though!

I'm wondering if you can use the case for airline traveling and check it as a piece of luggage.

Terrys idea is great but pricey for just shipping to someone. Go to Lowes or Home depot or a carpet store and get a carpet tube, they come in different dia. and than package as shown, ya can go to again Lowes or HD and get some endcaps for testing pressure on pipes and use those and you are good to go and usually you get the tube for free! Shawn

I built a box frame out of 2x4, sided it with 3/8 plywood. I shipped a 64" blackwidow to the east coast for about $40.  over kill, maybe but the bow made it in "1 Piece".

I did sort of the same thing as DesertDude, but not so beefy.  I used 1x2 stock to build a frame just slightly larger than the bow and then sided it with 1/8' masonite. After that, I wrapped it in cardboard. Only cost me about $20.00.  I have always got feedback from the buyer commenting on how they appreciate how well the bow was protected.  I just got my new Roseoak 62" one-piece King Panther and it came in a priority shipping box from the post office.  It was pretty rugged and everything arrived in good shape, so maybe my overkill is not needed.
Burnsie

Thanks guys - I was wondering if anybody used drain pipe.  I think I'll try it.

get or make a cardboard box  ....... wrap the bow in foam rubber or some of that bubble wrap  .......... I've shipped lots of one piece recurves that way and had no trouble

If you have a compound dealer nearby, ask him for two of the boxes his bows were shipped in as they are often discarded, especially for display models.  Cut one end out of each and then slide them together and tape.  Wrap the bow with lots of bubble wrap and then tape the box up good.