Buying my first trad bow. . .

[game4lunch]

I've also listed this in the trad section:

Living inCheyenne has so many outdoors benefits. But having a selection of trad bows is not one of them. I am forced to buy on-line and am asking for help.

I'll probably be buying from Hunter's Friend or Cabellas or equivelant so the brands available are somewhat limited. Bear, Martin, PSE are the most recognizable brands.

I've been shooting/hunting with a70#compound for almost 20 years. 27.5" draw. I want a bow that I can shoot recreationally/competition/hunt with. I hunt elk, deer, lopes, and bear mostly with a bow.

But what length is recomended? Do I get a take down, recurve, or longbow? I like the looks of the recurve take down by Martin . . . X-200. About $300.00 with shipping. Would be a comfortable price range.
What arrows shoud you get. I'm using the ST Axis carbons now.

Thanking you in advance . . .

[Arthur P]

A 60" or 62" bow would do ya fine. I'd probably stick in the 50-55 pound range. It might be a bit stiff in the beginning, but as long as you can shoot with good form, it shouldn't be too tough to work into it. If it was just deer, I'd have said 45-50, but when you tossed elk, lopes and bear into the mix...

The X200 is a good entry level bow, but it's not real high up on the performance scale. I'd suggest scoping out the classifieds here and at tradgang.com and try to find a second hand custom. You can usually pick up a good'un for around $300. Maybe a tad more.

If you want to stick with carbon, I'd suggest Gold Tip Traditional Hunters or Carbon Express Heritage.

[BobCo19-65]

I agree with Arthur with everything.

Personally, I like a bit longer length though. But it is not always practical. I have a 68" Brackenbury 3-piecethat is the sweetest pulling recurve I own. I got it on tradgang for I believe $275. I don't think I'd ever buy another recurve below about 62-64". But that's me.

Also, if you want to go the custom route, you can get a Check-Mate made which would be pretty much in your price range. Only problem is that you would have to wait for it to be built. LBR in the trad room is the person to talk to for that. Below is a pic of my Check-Mate Kings Pawn which I bought for I believe $300.

[Straightarrow]

Great advise from these guys. I will add what I've done. I have a longbow that is 50 lbs. and a Horne recurve that is 60 lbs. I use the longbow a lot when working on form (much easier with lower weight).

I got the Horne off the TradGang classifieds. It was barely used a few months and was half the price of new - a steal compared to the factory stuff coming from the mass marketers. There are now tons of great custom bows available. Some of these are amazingly expensive and hard to get, but deals can be found in the used market. Guys become addicted to the traditional bows and they want to try them all. They buy, sell and buy some more. If you're patient you can find almost anything, barely used and at a much better price (other than a Adcock).