I am looking for a bow for late members wife.  He was in the process of getting one for her when he passed and I was trying to see that through.  I have a huge question.  Should I buy a beginner woman shooter a recurve or a long bow?  Is one easier to shoot than the other?  

The reason I ask, is because I have been shooting a recurve on and off for about 10 years and I am not any good with it.  My buddy picked up a Dryad Soothsayer and it hits where I wanted it to, so was that because this was such a good bow or is it because it was a long bow instead of a recurve?

The woman is 5'2", 115#.  She is a first time shooter.  She has shot my 40# 62" AMO recurve and said it is "manageable".

I would ask her what she would like, Recurve or Longbow....

I'd let her shoot both if possible, then decide
Personally, I shoot recurves better than longbows

Thats a personal question thats hard to answer.

I guess I would say used in either recurve or LB 30#'s tops with light arrows since she most likely won't be hunting and if so not right away.

"Personally" It's been my observation that on average recurves are easier to learn on.Thier not likely to rattle your teeth or bite your arm as easily as a LB would.Not all LB's are the same the newer one's are less shocky than the classic D shaped.

The only real way to know for sure is to ask and have her try out both.I like LB's and started with a recurve I know a fella that has gone thru alot of LB's trying to find one that shoot's as nice for him as his DAS

Only she can say for sure Good luck

i would think a recurve or a longbow would be fine as long as it has a center shot recurve style riser so the hand can be placed in the same spot every time, this can be tricky for the beginner