New to Traditional Bows?

[Rob the rookie]

I have just bought a nice used bow to learn off of and need some advice on the following:

1) I have a 60" Indian Deerslayer. It has a 45# draw weight @ 28". Does anyone know the string length required/recommended for this bow?

2) Is shooting off the shelf better than off a rest?

3) What arrows are better out of a recurve? Carbon/aluminum/wooden?

4) Are feathers preferred over plastics?

5) Can you paper tune a recurve the same way a compound, or are there other methods to go by?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm from the new school era trying to keep the old school alive. I have always liked shooting recurves, unfortunately I don't know anyone that still shoots them and need some education. This bow was bought with the intention to learn off of, and hopefully progress into a second option for taking into the woods after I become proficient with it ( I think this may take a while!!)

Thanks!


Rob the rookie<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

[amosgreg]

1)If the 60&quot; is the length written on the bow then that is the string length to buy.
3)As for arrows, shoot a number of different shaft types spined to match your draw weight 45#'s Pick the one that feels/flys best with the weight tip you are going to hunting with.
3,4)Feathers off the shelf - vanes or feathers of a rest.
Keep in mind a recurve is designed to be shot off the shelf and is not centercut for a rest and this will cause the arrows to trackleft(for a right ahnd bow) as the distance increases due to the off center position caused by the rest(BTDT).
5)I have never tried to tune my recurve with paper so I can't say. Anyone else?

Advice I can offer is to start shooting at close distances. If you have shot compounds then spend a little time shooting the compound, paying attention to the flight of the arrow in relation to your pins. Then transfer this picture to the recurve. After a bit you will find that your compound shooting improves as does the instinctive shooting.

Good Luck and hope this helps!


Greg

&quot;Getting close to the game is the joy of Bowhunting for me, the harvest is a bonus.&quot;

Live 15 ft Python after eating a small Antelope!

[lamb1647]

Rob,

To determine the string length you will need, measure the distance from nock to nock on the backside of your bow when it is unstrung. It should be 60&quot; or very close to that. You should buy a string that is 3.5&quot; to 4&quot; shorter than that, or 56-56.5&quot;. Make sure the string is B-50 or B-500 Dacron. The Indian bow is very likely not built to handle fastflight type strings.

As for arrow type that is a purely personal decision. There are folks that sware by carbon arrows, others sware at them. Some of those that sware at carbons, sware by aluminum, all the others sware at the aluminum. Those who don't shoot carbon or aluminum sware by woodies, the others sware at them. Even if you decide upon woodies, you haven't reached your destination until you decide what type wood!

YES, you can paper tune with a recurve. Primarily what you are looking for is nock high condition. If the tear on the paper is nock high, raise your nockpoint and repeat the process until you get a single, or nearly single, point of entry.

As far as shooting, buy a couple of books and read them. One of the best is Byron Ferguson's &quot;Become the Arrow&quot;. Another is by Dr. Jay Kidwell, I believe it is titled &quot;Instinctive Archery&quot;. It is something like that. It is an excellent book. I would also recommend the shooting vidoes by Ricky Welch.

I think you will find that you will take bits and pieces of recommendations from all three of these sources and adapt them into something that works for you. There are probably as many different shooting styles and techniques as there are members of this forum, and then some!

Have FUN and welcome to the addictive journeery we call traditional archery!

Bill

Praise the Lord, He is worthy

Edited by - lamb1647 on 09/17/2002 10:50:20

[Rob the rookie]

Thanks Greg & Bill for your advice. I'm sure it will prove to be helpful. I'm actually looking forward to shooting it this weekend.

Good luck this season!

Rob the rookie<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

[Wahya]

Hey Rob, welcome, it's good to see you here.

My first concern is the actual condition of the bow. It's an older bow and the glues weren't as good as they are today so check it over very well for any hairline cracks. Especially in the glass of the limbs. Delamination can prove to be a very painful experience if you happen to have the bow at full draw when it comes apart. While you're looking it over, check for any twist in the limbs.

Once you've inspected or had the bow inspected by someone in the know and it's found to be solid, then get a stringer and string it up. I'm assuming that the bow hasn't been strung in awhile so once you have it strung, hang it up on the wall or lay it flat under a bed. Don't stand it in a corner and don't hang it in a vertical possition from one limb. Leave it strung for a few days so the bow starts to remember that it's still a bow and then gingerly give it a tug. If after short drawing the bow a few times it doesn't feel like it's locking up and it's still in one piece, go ahead and draw it to full anchor and hold it for a short time. Then let it down and pull it back again. Do this several times until you are comfortable that you can shoot it without concern. I'm probably over doing the caution here, but in my opinion it pays to be careful with an older bow. Oh, if you have an overly long (30&quot; plus) draw length, you might be better off not shooting the bow unless it is in exceptional shape and doesn't stack (add excess weight unevenly). You could get used to the stacking part, but finger pinch could be a problem.

Anyway, I hope it turns out to be a good shooter for you. Have fun.