ORIGINAL: Vabowman
so none of them have an advantage over another when it comes to shootability or for say a beginner?? I would like to have something fairly cheap but will do the job on a deer... something that I can shoot comfortably for several months before I go into the woods with it... the guy at Bass pro said that he found one for the cost of na gallon of gas, which is pretty steep!! j/k but he said people often give them away or you can find one very cheap...but I want something that will do the job as well...Im not going to pay 600$ for one but I will give 250$ for one..
You can find a nice bow for 250 bucks easily. As for the differnce in the bows and advantages are;
Longbows tend to have a smoother draw with less stack. Easier to hold at equal weights compared to recurves. Longbows generally are slower than recurves, with exceptions of the reflexed longbows. Longbows tend to be more forgiving than recurves. Recurves are faster and shorter. But with the extra speed comes more handshock and more stack at draw lenghts. I build most of my longbows with reflextouter limbs (to get the advantage of a recurve) and deflexed inner limb (toreduce hand shock). Recurves tend to have a riser rather than a handle, so they feel more like a compound in the hand. With that said, you can find longbows with similar riser style handles. I build some longbows with a risers instead of a static grip. Since you are new, id stear clear of bend in the handle bows, like english longbows. And Id stick with bows that have a cut out shelf, that way you are not shooting off the knuckle. Knuckle shooting takes some practice and would add another element to learning that you dont really need to mess with until you get down the general form. One other thing to consider, the longer the limbs, the more foregiveness and smoother draw the bow will have.
Hope some of this helps.