hello, i'm new to this site and an active bowhunter.  some of you all may know me as kyhunter at bowcountry.com.  anyways, i believe a few of the members here told me to join up if/ when i had a trad question.  I have been bowhunting for almost 15 years now, and will likely be buying a recurve in the next month or so (after our season goes out).  Now I know when a new member joins my regular sight, asking the question "which bow is right for me" or "which one is the best"; the overwhelming answer is "shoot as many as you can get your hands on and go with what feels right for you".  I wish I could do that with a trad bow, but the problem is i rarely even see one at any of the shops in the area.  I have played around with my friends Hoyt Gamegetter II, but his rig has a whisker biscuit and sights (which he just recently removed).  Can someone point me in the right direction?  I really like how the Black Widow bows look, but at their prices, I don't know if they would be a good entry level bow, considering I might be very good or get frusterated easily.  Thanks for all your help.

welcome, post something in the classifides here, your gonna love this site

thanks for the welcome.  I kind of want to have an idea as to what to look for before i buy.  I just couldn't imagine buying a new compound sight-unseen.  I'm currently pulling a 70 pound drenalin with a release at 28 inches.  So i'm guessing the most I would want to shoot with a recurve would be 50-55?  How do I know how tall of a bow to shoot?  56,58, 60 inches?  I know what a recurve is, and a long bow, but what is a self bow?  Did I spell that right or is it a shelf bow (shot off of the shelf).  I'm pretty clueless, but I'm ready for a new challenge.

Welcome. Try to attend a traditional shoot and you should be able to try out a variety of bows.

kyhuntertoo,
First off, welcome to the campfire.

One thing I've learned about traditional bows is that if you buy a good bow and you don't particularly like it, you have a good chance of trading it or selling it and not loosing much on it, particularly if its taken care of and its a desireable bow.  On that account, most of the bows in the tradgang classifieds are priced well within reason, and not overly inflated like you would see on the auction site.  Members on this site are not typically the kinds of people to try and make money on bow sales.

Secondly, I would recommend something in the 58-60" length for someone just starting out traditional.  The longer lengths are for the most part a smoother draw and more forgiving to shoot.  The shorter bows tend to amplify the flaws in your technique.  If you prefer a short bow, there are plenty of 52" and 54" bows out there that will accomodate a 28" draw comfortably.

And lastly a self bow is a bow that is made from one stave, worked down by drawknife, hatchet, or some other tool.  If you do a search you'll find some older posts of buildalongs done by the members here.

Good luck with your journey.  Tim

Welcome!  

Welcome Jude     Tim is spot on with the comment of trad bows holding value, especially the used ones.  Wheelie bows don't seem to be worth much used, but with trad bows that's not the case at all.  The classifieds here are a great way to buy something you think you might like, try it for awhile, and resell if you want to try something else.  Can't tell you how many bows I've bought and sold without losing anything more than the shipping charges.  Then when you find out the style and type you really like you can order the custom of your dreams from any number of great bowyers.

If you really want a new one, the Black Widow is sure a top of the line bow and I doubt you would be disappointed.  If you're up for a great weekend get away, the Kalamazoo (MI) Trad Expo  in two weeks will have more bows under one roof than just about anywhere you could go.  Not sure how far of a drive that would be for you, but I can promisse it would be well worth the trip if you're shopping for a bow.

Welcome!!!! Lots of great people in here!  

Great bunch of guys,girls too,here.Your'e going to learn a bunch here-just keep an open mind and keep your pantlegs rolled up and enjoy.!

Hi there. Hap

thanks for your replies so far.  About a month ago, I saw where a local realator had listed about a dozen or so hunting properties.  I called him and asked if he ever ran into any leases.  He said no, and we ended up talking for about 45 minutes. Come to find out, he is strictly a trad shooter and has been since the early 80's, when he started making and selling his own bows.  He doesn't make many bows now to sell because he is so busy with real estate, but he told me to call him whenever i got ready to buy one and I could meet up with him to shoot any/all of his bows to find out what i liked.  I think i am going to take him up on his offer.  So far I gather that a longer bow is more forgiving, but wouldn't that usually mean it has a shorter brace height?  I stand at 6'0, and don't have particularly long arms.  I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Where a bouts in KY. are you.In April there will be the KY. Klassic that is a two day Trad event at Nancy KY. They have bow vendors there and a all you want to shoot fun 3D shoot and primitive camping. Also there is the KTBA club near Horradsburg that has monthly shoots. Welcome to TG. Lots of good stuff here and good people sharing.

I am in Bowling Green.  Never heard of nancy.  The KTBA club you are speaking of is probably in Harrodsburg.  I know where that is.  APRIL!!! come on now, that's turkey season.

QuoteOriginally posted by Ian johnson:
 post something in the classifides here,  

i still can't even find the classifieds  :(