why so many longbows?

threeundr · September 20, 2015, 09:00:00 AM

QuoteOriginally posted by snakebit40:
[QB] I made the switch this season to an HHA Wesley Special because I just loved the simple look. Then I shot it, and the more I shoot it the more I love it. The simple thud, light weight, no stringer, seems to shoot where I look with less effort, and again I just love the simple D shape look. I looked at HHA's for years and have always been drawn to them, and finally this year found one at the perfect weight and length.

X2, well said!

Bowwild · September 20, 2015, 09:19:00 AM

No idea. The recurve holds 100% of the attraction of archery for me.

It is 90% aesthetics too me, I love the look and feel of recurves.

Cyclic-Rivers · September 20, 2015, 09:32:00 AM

To me, Recurves and Longbows are the same as far as shooting. Of course there are some i shoot better than others but for me, the last 2 years I have hunted deer with the longbow because I can stick the tip in my boot and it holds the bow perfectly for me. (thanks for the tip Kenny M.)

I can do this with my recurve also but it is uncomfortable on my ankle. That's not to say I will not hunt with a recurve again, I'll just have a different way of holding/hanging it.

ChuckC · September 20, 2015, 10:05:00 AM

Charlie, sew a small "pocket" onto your favorite hunting pants, inside one leg, maybe knee high. Place the bow tip in there. Fuddle around a bit to see which leg is most comfy for you.

Hint, if you use a recurve, sew the pocket offset so the tip goes in and out easier, for longbows just sew it upright and it will be fine.

Keep flinging them arrows
ChuckC

Sirius Black · September 20, 2015, 01:27:00 PM

I like longbows too, for all the reasons stated.

killinstuff · September 20, 2015, 02:57:00 PM

Well to be honest what most guys call a "longbow" is a hybrid or a recurve riser with straighter limbs than "recurved" limbs. A 56" pistol grip bow with semi straight limbs isn't a longbow. Not that names matter anyways. I think guys just like to say they shoot a "longbow". Sounds cooler.

COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE · September 20, 2015, 04:52:00 PM

I'm certainly not the authority on such matters, but in an old copy of Bowhunting Digest from the 70's that I have squirreled away somewhere it talked about the difference in the two. The author defined a longbow as being one that the string does not contact the belly of the bow when strung, and that's been the definition I've used since.

TSP · September 20, 2015, 08:10:00 PM

The early definition of a longbow that C in C refers to is still being used today in many circles, but of course bow limb design efficiencies, materials and performance capabilities have changed significantly since the the old days.

Most any moderate to severe R/D 'longbow' limb can now be made to fit that 'string doesn't touch the limb when the bow is strung' definition and will still 'look' like an old-style longbow. But are they really the same in how they perform? Hardly. Add to the mix the modern carbon/ composite arrows (morphed from early arrow technology developed to take advantage of the compound bow's increased efficiency) and you have a completely different playing field for what once was a reasonably simple 'longbow' concept.

We haven't recognized the scope of the change and we haven't developed terminology that fairly reflects the equipment and performance advances. That is a disservice to the 'idea' of what a longbow is because it muddles the identity of what longbows started out as.

I suppose the world will keep turning if 'longbow' means pretty much anything we wish to think of it as. It's not like we won't survive our inclinations to manipulate the checker board. It's just that ignoring 50+ years of technological changes while constantly insisting that it's 'all the same' doesn't pass the straight face test by any measure.

The longbow world is a jumble of garden produce all waiting for us to name them each something other than 'vegetable'. Lettuce begin.

killinstuff · September 20, 2015, 08:57:00 PM

Yeah, what Tony said :confused: Anyway if you can bolt two limbs to a riser, it's not a longbow. If it's not straight limbed, it's not a longbow. Not that it matters. Like I said some guys just feel better when then say they shoot a longbow. Validation of some sort.

kennym · September 20, 2015, 08:59:00 PM

I just have a bow... :D

September 20, 2015, 09:58:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by killinstuff:
Yeah, what Tony said :confused: Anyway if you can bolt two limbs to a riser, it's not a longbow. If it's not straight limbed, it's not a longbow. Not that it matters. Like I said some guys just feel better when then say they shoot a longbow. Validation of some sort.

I totally disagree! I bolt both my limbs to my riser, and it is the sweetest shooting longbow I have ever held!!!

Bisch

tomsm44 · September 20, 2015, 10:01:00 PM

I get all the arguments against calling a modern R/D bow a longbow, and I agree that based on design, there are really quite a few different categories of bows and not just a simple division of recurve and longbow. But is it really any different than calling a glass laminated Hill style bow a longbow when it's so much more advanced than the old English yew longbows? Is a 2015 F150 not really a truck because it's so different from the trucks from back in the 1920s? It seems that a lot of guys get all upset because somebody with a bow that's not as "pure" or not as "traditional" as theirs wants to call it by the same name. Why do we get caught up in this argument about who's more traditional, or what gear even counts as traditional for that matter. A bow is a tool, no matter what it looks like. It can only do what a man or woman chooses to do with it. Essentially, archery is what we do. A bow and arrow is what we do it with. A person's attitude, character, and dedication to his craft/sport/etc does a lot more to make him a "traditional" archer than the direction his limb tips point. JMO. And to be open and honest, I shoot both recurves and an R/D longbow. I would like to eventually get a Hill style and a self bow, and maybe eventually even some of the other historic bow designs from other cultures.

mike g · September 21, 2015, 10:02:00 AM

My HHA Longbows are just "COOL"

longbow fanatic 1 · September 21, 2015, 10:57:00 AM

I shoot R/D longbows and the only reason I call them a longbow is that the bowyers who build them call them a longbow. If they were called hybrid recurves by the bowyers, that's what I would call my bows. I really don't understand why some people continue to argue that true longbows are only those ASL types of bows.

September 21, 2015, 11:22:00 AM

QuoteOriginally posted by longbow fanatic 1:
I shoot R/D longbows and the only reason I call them a longbow is that the bowyers who build them call them a longbow. If they were called hybrid recurves by the bowyers, that's what I would call my bows. I really don't understand why some people continue to argue that a true longbows are only those ASL types of bows.

That is pretty much the point I was trying to make above! My R/D is a longbow, and another guys ASL is a longbow. Just shoot and have fun with what you want to shoot, and let the next guy have fun with what he wants to shoot!

Bisch

Ric O'Shay · September 21, 2015, 11:38:00 AM

The great golfer, Ben Hogan, was once asked why he liked the new golf ball (at that time) better than the old Balata ball. He thought for a moment and responded "Because they are better". And so it is with the longbow...... :D

McDave · September 21, 2015, 12:36:00 PM

As I read through these posts, I wonder why it matters to some folks which bows are called longbows. The only thing I can figure out is that a r/d longbow will outshoot a straight-limbed longbow, which I believe is true, and so the playing field is not level. But then I see other posts that say r/d longbows aren't really any better; people just need to have the dedication to learn to shoot straight-limbed longbows. Okay, if someone has the dedication and has put in the time to where he can shoot a straight-limbed longbow better than someone else can shoot a r/d longbow, then I think that would be gratification enough that he wouldn't care what the guy he just outshot calls his bow. But I doubt if there are many people who can do that, which brings us back to the level playing field. I assume this is mainly a tournament question, since you can hunt with whatever you want, and you don't get any more points by bagging a deer with a r/d longbow or a recurve than you do if you bag one with a straight limbed longbow; it is purely a personal choice. I suppose they could set up separate classifications in tournaments for r/d and straight limbed longbows, like they do for primitives, but wouldn't that be an admission that straight limbed longbows are inferior to r/d longbows? I'm not sure the people who care about this issue would like that either, so what is it that you would like to see done about it?

September 21, 2015, 01:49:00 PM

My wife's favorite bow is her NAT longbow, it is not long, it is a nice bow, but it is not a longbow, it is a hybrid recurve. I am selling my Robertson longbows, they shoot great, but they are not longbows really either, I would call them hybrid longbows. I just want to shoot real longbows. I like to see it when folks get all touchy about semantics, that way I know that I am not the only one that is a bit funny in the head.

Mudd · September 21, 2015, 03:02:00 PM

If you read my last post on the HH Bug thread it explains in detail why "Longbows" are my choice of bow.

God bless,Mudd

TSP · September 21, 2015, 03:05:00 PM

Ok, following the popular but unsubstantiated opinion that all longbows are the same (despite decades of riser and limb design changes, technology upgrades and performance enhancements) doesn't that also mean that bows of ALL types are basically the same? Under that approach a longbow is a recurve is a compound is a crossbow. We don't need all these different labels, just call them all 'bows' and be done with it. Sorta like this is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl. Makes perfect sense.

Excuse me while I go get my Mathews Switchback tuned up for the 2016 IBO national traditional barebow competition.