setting up a traditional bow

[halfrack VIII]

do you shoot off the shelve or do you use some kind of flipper for the arrow. how about sights right now i'm shooting instictively but what kind of sights can you use on a recurve

[BobCo19-65]

I prefer to shoot off the shelf on all my traditional bows. I do however have a few recurves that shoot better using a rest. The only rest I really use is the cavalier.

Sights - I don't use.

[Arthur P]

Most traditionals shoot off the shelf, but a few do use flippers. The NAP Flipper II stick-on is good for wood riser bows without an arrow restbushing,and something like the Cavalier FreeFlyte is good for metal risers that are drilled and tapped for mounting a rest.

Very, very few traditionals use sights but it's not unknown. A lot of the old bows from the 60's have holes in them where they had sights mounted on them. If you use a wood riser, then get some screw bushings installed. Makes for a lot cleaner look and solid mount. Most sights these days are made for compounds with offset risers, so you might have trouble finding a sight that will adjust close enough to the riser to actually work.

Be aware though that sights are not legal for shooting traditional class in tournaments, and elevated rests are forbidden in some tournaments.

[burniegoeasily]

I shoot off the shelf, except with one bow. Ive got a recurve that the tiller is a little off so I use a cusion rest to raise the arrow a bit.

[Schultzy]

I shoot off the shelf.

Couldn't imagine shooting off a rest on trad bows.

[ranger56528]

2 without and one with(Kudu w/carbon arrows)rest.As far as site goes none,when I 1st tried recurve back in the 80's I taped a wooden matchstick on the front just to help then after awhile I took it off,I used it for a referance point untill I got used to shooting the recurve.

[Schultzy]

ORIGINAL: bigcountry

Couldn't imagine shooting off a rest on trad bows.

I couldn't imagine sights either, just don't look right!

[Chris W.]

Elevated rests and sights are nothing new on recurves. Back in the60's and through the 70's before compounds became poplular, they were quite common. Browse through the bows at http://www.archeryarchives.com/, you'll seea lotof therecurves through the 60's, 70's and even 80'swith flipper rests or feather rests. Shucks, my firsttakedown recurve, aMartin/Howatt hatifield, came from the factory with sight and plunger bushings installed. Did everyone usean elevated rest back then? No,but a good number of folks did.When recurves and longbows started really regaining popularity back in the late90's and were labeled as "traditional" equipment, somewhere along the way the elevated restand sights were labeled astaboo on a"traditional" bow.

This photo will make many in the"trad" communitycringe these days. Check out the hatfield riser on the far right. You can even see a stabilizer insert on the other hatfield riser. That use to be fairly common. Not these days though. Not "traditional" enough for most.


As for me, I've gotrecurvesset up with and without elevated rests. The ones without are for competition. Most shoots won't allow even a little flipper rest in the sight window. The ones with, I'll use for hunting, particularlywhen the weather's wet. I use vanesfor the arrows on those bows. Don't worry about feathers gettingsoaked and laying down.

[burniegoeasily]

Do yall remember the old bear bow that had a sight pin screwed right into the riser.Dont remember the model but it was the ugly yellow bow they produced in the 70s.