RE: Long bow or recurve
As far as I' m concerned, the longbow has only two things going for it. It' s a little bit quieter than a recurve, typically and more importantly to most, it' s more " traditional" . Since I don' t care about how " traditional" my gear is, I opt for a quality recurve. They' re usually a bit shorter, faster and more accurate than longbows, although the longbow guys will argue those points exhaustively. Longbows account for about half the traditional bows at most shoots I' ve been to but also acount for the lowest scores at the shoots I' ve been to and I don' t think it' s coincidence.
So, it all depends on what you want.... longbows are effective. They' re very light in the hand. They' re reasonably accurate. Recurves can be set up to be very fast and even more accurate. I' ll take the additional speed and accuracy for hunting, thankyouverymuch.
Good longbows..... too many to mention but 21st Century bows show up in the winner' s circle a lot.
Good recurves.... ditto.... lots of good ones. Lots of good USED ones, too, at a fraction of the cost of a new bow and if you' re just getting into it, I' d recommend going with a used recurve of about 45 pounds and in the $100.00 or less range on Ebay. Once you' ve been shooting it awhile and your muscles have adjusted you' ll have a much better idea what you' ll really want and can more wisely spend the extra buck for a " better" bow if you care to do so.