The bow I'm currently shooting is 30+ years old and still ticking along nicely. As long as they haven't been abused and/or miss handled, most older recurves and longbows still have a lot of life in left in them. You'll probably find longer length bows, 62"+,more comfortable (smoother feel, etc) to shoot than shorterones. Particularly if you have a longer draw. Poundage wise, kind of hard to say. Different folks have different natural levels of strength. Around the 45# mark would be a good starting point. You can always bump in weight at a later date, if you feel the need.You'll find pulling a compound is very different from pulling a recurve orlongbow with any given weight.A compound with letoff, taxescertain muscles differently than arecurve orlongbow that has no letoff.