There' s no " cut and dry" answer here benhuntin, because there' s so many different styles of bow on the market these days, and opinions vary. The basic answer is longbows are usually lighter in the hand, quieter, and slower. Recurves are generally more forgiving on arrow spine, longbows more forgiving of shooter mistakes. Recurves are generally heavier in the hand, noisier, and faster--but there' s a lot of exceptions to those rules.

I have shot longbows that felt like a recurve to me, and seen recurves with a longbow riser. I' ve shot quiet recurves and noisy longbows. I' ve owned at least two different brands of longbow (still have one of them) that were as fast or faster than most recurves on the market. I' ve owned recurves that were feather light, and longbows that were very heavy.

As far as accuracy, that is in the shooter, not the bow. Having that bow tuned, the right arrows, etc. will effect that. Howard Hill could consistently make amazing shots with his longbows (that style is my least favorite bow, but Mr. Hill could sure shoot them). Put a longbow, recurve, flatbow, selfbow, etc. in a shooting machine and it will be consistent. Some bows are easier to tune than others, and more forgiving though. Bows cut to, or past, center will be more forgiving of arrow spine. This is more common with recurves, but is also done with some longbows. This will, however, make the longbow illegal for some tournaments. I believe that is where the claim of one bow being more accurate than the other has come about. I questioned a bowyer not too long ago who had made the claim that the design he used was the most " accurate" , or one of the most accurate, but couldn' t get a straight answer. How do you measure a bow' s accuracy? Unless there is something wrong (i.e., out of tiller) it will shoot where it' s pointed.

There' s a lot of great bows on the market nowadays. I won' t post any names of new ones because of a conflict of interests , but there are many to choose from. In an older bows, many of the old Pearson, Bear, Shakespeare, Root, Browning, Wing, etc. still shoot great and can be found at a reasonable price. Bad thing is you won' t find as many " good" longbows for sale as you will recurves, and they generally cost more--new or used. You can get a cheap longbow, but every one I have seen is just that--a cheap longbow. I may be a bit too picky in that respect, as I have heard some folks say they really like a couple of the cheaper ones that I really don' t like. You can get a good recurve, new, for around $200--I have yet to find a longbow that I would shoot for that price though. About the only brand I flat-out avoid is PSE. I don' t care much for the newer Bear bows, but they have their following. Martin probably makes the best " production" bow on the market, but for what the new ones go for you can get a custom bow.

If possible, go to some traditional shoots--the larger ones generally have several vendors who are more than willing to let you try out their bows. You don' t have to feel obligated to buy one just beause you tried it out. Shoot several different ones and different styles, and see what works for you.

If not, think about what you want in a bow and try to find a used one to meet your specs and go from there. After a while, you will find what works for you and may want to order a custom made bow. Don' t worry about opinions, go with what works for you. I suggest shying away from the super short bows, longbow or recurve, as they are usually not very forgiving. Dang handy for hunting, but they will tell on you more if you make a mistake.

Personally, I prefer a reflex/deflex longbow (" hybrid" ). The better ones incorporate, as much as possible, the best of both. Fast, smooth, quiet, little to no felt handshock, forgiving. I like a lightweight bow, but you can get the hybrids in heavier models--either by wood choice and/or take-down models that naturally have a heavier riser. Whether is looks " traditional" or not doesn' t matter to me. I shoot a hybrid with fiberglass and a Dynaflight string, and have shot carbon arrows in the past. I shoot what works for me (I do love wood arrows though[:-]).

Chad