can't shoot a longbow

[nightowl1]

I have tried and tried to shoot my hornes brushbow but i just can't keep my groups together outside of 12 yards. I started off with a ben pearson recurve... thinking of going back to it.
Is there that big of a difference for some people between longbow and recurve.

[vermonster13]

It's usually a grip issue.

[jacobsladder]

i agree with vermonster.... the grip is usually the problem... if i remember right that brushbow has somewhat of a narrow throat (i could be wrong)... .. thats assuming your arrows are spined correctly for your bow...... good luck and keep at it!

[lebecnal]

Yeah, the grip is the difference, but it's the anchor of the grip that makes longbows different from recurves. On a recurve, your pivot-point or anchor is in the "saddle" between thumb and first finger, but on a longbow, it's in the palm. This changes the relationship of the bowhand and the arrow.

[Danny Rowan]

Do not feel left out,LOL. I cannot shoot a longbow worth squat anymore. For me it is the mass weight of my custom recurves. Longbows feel too light and I just cannot shoot them consistantly. Strange since I shot longbows exclusively for many,many years then one day everything went to crap so switched to a curve and everything is fine.

Danny

[lebecnal]

Out past 12 yards, the arrow on a longbow tends to go up diagonally to the side opposite your shooting hand. It'll just take awhile for the brain to adjust to this concept!

[John3]

Can be a HUGE difference for some...

You can shoot your longbow well.. Make sure your set up is correct. Spine must be correct with a non centershot longbow. Need some specs.

Bow draw weight?
Draw lenght?
shaft spine?
tip weight?
bow brace height?

[myshootinstinks]

I generally shoot a 'curve better too, but can adapt either way and shoot well. Assuming everything is tuned, correct spine, etc. try this; Get both the the LB and the Pearson out, ready to shoot. Draw your LB and anchor as you would your Pearson,just as you would when about to release, stop for a few seconds, hold, and look at the arrow tip in relation to your target. Then do the same w/ the Pearson. Do this several times until you realize the difference in the two and adjust your bow arm w/ the LB to place the tip of the arrow in the same position as the Pearson that you shoot well. Practice this until you become accustomed to the slightly altered bow arm position. In other words, shoot the arrow, not the bow.

[JCJ]

I'm just the opposite. I shoot a longbow much better than any recurve I've owned.

[O.L. Adcock]

For most it's what Danny said..Mass weight...Any movement you do with your bow hand will be magnified with less mass..But nothing in stone says a longbows HAS to be lighter in mass other then perceptions....O.L.

[Wannabe1]

I guess I'm just the opposite. I can't shoot my recurves worth a darn. But, shoot my longbows very well. I started out on longbows so maybe that's it.

[30coupe]

Try putting a bow quiver full of arrows on it and see if that helps. Sometimes the added mass is all you need.

And don't peek!

[Daddy Bear]

I found in-depth reviews of the Hornes Archery Brushbow in the Dec/Jan 2007 issue of Traditional Bowhunter, the Feb/March 2007 issue of African Archer & Adventurer, and in the Bow Reports by Blacky Schwarz.  The Brushbow is fairly heavy with a reflex-deflex design, a recurve style 17inch riser, a tournament specification sight window, a recurve pistol grip, and a recurve friendly brace height. The Brushbow appears to be a departure from a traditional longbow in all areas, being more akin to a recurve except for the limb tips.

I am curious as to which type of recurve you are shooting well, and how does that particular recurve differ in riser, grip, weight, etc. from your Brushbow? You may be running into issues with your basic bow set-up and tune more so than difference in bow design. If your Brushbow is set-up correctly and tuned well, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how you'd run into problems if the only difference between this and your recurve is the limb tips.

When choosing backpacks, boots, baseball bats, rifle stocks, etc.; you'll sometimes find that selected gear which works exceedingly well for some, will be a complete abysmal failure for others. Selecting a bow is no different and maybe this is what you are experiencing:)

Good Luck,

Daddy Bear

[bentpole]

I'm very surprised that your having a hard time shooting a Horne's Brushbow. I owned two Brushbows, and presently shoot a Horne's Traditionalist Longbow. Out of all my bows I probably shoot the Horne's the most acccurate. The riser/handle is perfect in my hand.Anyway it does have a high brace height and most people do in fact shoot them well.My other Longbows have a lower brace height 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 .I have some Trad Ganger Buds that can't shoot them to save their lives because of that. If you really shoot your recurve better I'd say you have a big decision to make. Good Luck! Try like 30coupe says and put a quiver on it. It just may balance the bow a little better.Make sure your arrow nock doesn't slide on the string, correct brace height, anchor, and a good release is vital. Your arrows are correct for the bow as well?

[Ray Hammond]

I can't either.

[billy shipp]

Me either   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[30coupe]

Okay, I just went to the Horne's website. Now you have to add me to the I don't get it group. Here is an image, thanks to Photoshop, of the Brushbow with a Ridgerunner recurve superimposed next to it. The Brushbow is more recurve than longbow.



If you are having trouble with it, it's not because it's a longbow. There are other issues at play here: tuning, nock set, brace height, string, archer, etc.

Maybe you can't shoot that longbow for whatever reason, but I don't think it's inherent to longbows.

[JRY309]

I'm just the opposite,I can't shoot a recurve as good as my longbows.Like said for me it is a grip preference.I shoot my Kohannah Kurve just fine because it is more like a 50's style recurve,but much prefer the grip of longbows whether straight,dish or locator more then recurve type grips.

[Barney]

I won't say I can't shoot a longbow......but I sure can't shoot one well.  

[buckeye_hunter]

I have the same problem and I agree with Vermonster about it being a grip issue. I am much better with a recurve, but still have a long way to go!

Ok, just looked at the above pictures. Do their longbows "feel" similar to their recurves while drawing and are they cut the same amount to center?

-Charlie