Alright guys, I am about to get in to the sport, I have been shooting the pulleys for 3 years and it just isn't fun for me anymore. I imagine in about a month I will be putting a new bow on layaway at McCoy's and am debating on what I want my new affair to be.

I am sure this one has been done to death but I am still curious. Aside from limb design, what are the most distinctive differences between the two and what are your attractions to each?

They have a LH Recurve, I believe a Martin, for $300 (but he said he would knock $50 off for the used factor). And another custom LH Longbow for $399. The Recurve is a 62", 47# and the Longbow is 60" and 53#.

Just wanting a little info on the subject Gentlemen and I appreciate your time on the topic.


"Clutz by Nature, Hospitalized by Fate..."

Pyral

Go with the recurve. The lighter draw will help develop good shooting form. Arrows are easier to match(IMHO). A long bow is a little more touchy on form and arrow selection. Well I find that to be true but no doubt LBR and the other long bow shooters will have some in put on that Best shoot them both and go with what YOU feel most comfortable with. No help at all am I !!!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Well as you could tell, the most obvious difference is limb design. What may be less obvious is that the limb design effects the shot. Longbow limbs are typically longer than recurves, therefore smoother. Also, the recurve in recuve limbs stores more power. In other words, more force is stored in the limbs when drawn. The higher amount of force could lead to more perceived handshock. A 12ga. kicks more than a 20ga, why? Because the 12ga applies more force. Newton's Law states that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. There's more recoil to a 12ga because it's the equal and opposite reaction of the greater force applied. The difference in bows is that the handshock is the result of left over energy from propeling the arrow. Whatever energy isn't used to propel the arrow travels to the riser which is felt by the shooter. One way to get rid of handshock would be to shoot a heavier arrow. More mass equals more inertia so it would take more energy to propel the arrow. It is also the reason why heavier arrows penetrate better down range. The law of inertia states that the heavier an object is, the more inertia it has. Inertia is an objects resistance to change of motion. If a semi and a car are on the same mark and drag race, the car will obviously get there first because in weighing less it has less inertia and requires less force to overcome its inertia. Likewise, if the same semi and car are traveling at 60mph and are even, and both drivers apply the brake at the same time, the semi will take longer to stop because in weighing more it has more intertia, requiring more energy to overcome the inertia. Aside from the technical aspects, it matters more of what is aestheticly pleasing to you. Does a longbow look better than a recurve? To me they do. As Bodkin said, the recurve would be easier to start with because the lower poundage is easier to handle. That's essential because you need to have a good form, and if you can't handle your bow you won't have good form. Also, the recuve is probably center shot and will accept a wider range of arrows. Longbows aren't always cut to center, which requires proper spine so the arrow shaft will flex around the riser. 53# could be a lot to handle for starting, but that will also depend on how much you're shooting on your compound, and how burly you are. Also as Bodkin said, shoot both a see which you like more. However he was wrong about one thing, he was a help. The most important thing is that the bow is comfortable for you. You may like them both, and find yourself in a dilema of choosing betwixt, or you may not like either of them and opt for a third bow. Just go with the one you like best, and then we can talk arrows <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> Have fun.

God bless,
Brandan

ask if you can shootem both! Buy the one that feels the nicest to you! Its like buying a car, if you aint happy with how it drives, you'll be grumpy about it till the day you sell the bugger!

I cant say just why I love my crusaders so much, but dang I love them so!

I've owned both the bows you are talking about and I am strickley a longbow shooter. The Hunter Recurve I owned was a good shooting bow but I prefer the narrow flat handle and small arrow rest of a longbow. The longbow at 60&quot; is to short as far as I am concerned. I shoot several Howard Hill Longbows 68&quot; and 70&quot; and I like the length for several reasons. There is no finger pinch as you know it and since you will be shooting gloves or tab this is something to consider. A longer bow usually shoots smoother and a shorter bow harder but faster. I think the recurve you are talking about will work well but I would recomend that wait until you can get to a show like one of the Expos where you can try out alot of custom made bows and get a better idea of what you really want. Personally I think you could do better for the money than what he is asking for those bows.

I'm new here but I do have some experience. So here's my opinions for whatever they are worth to you.

I favor recurves simply because they're usually shorter and faster. I like the simple ones, one piece, flat, relatively wide limbs, make S curves above and below the riser, short riser, doesn't have to be finished like your cherrywood office furniture if you know what I mean?

I think the recurve you mention would be as fast as the longbow but I think I would like that the longbow is a little shorter. Actually, they're both kind of long but I suppose if you like long, that's okay. I don't think there's that much difference in the performance between these two bows. They will probably feel a little different but I can't see that the difference would be that significant.

I think the prices are a little steep though, especially for used bows. Maybe you can bargain a little better price if you choose one or the other or maybe you can find another one some place. If you're a lefthander, I think you should actually be able to find a used bow for less because there isn't that big a market for lefthand bows.

I agree that the prices are a little steep for used bows. There are some awesome new one piece recurves and longbows that'll shoot circles around that Martin for a much better price. Ahh, I believe that Chek-Mate makes one or two that'll do for you very well.

Myself, I started with a recurve, but when I shot my first R/D style longbow, I fell in love. True, the bow is long for somes taste, but it's very forgiving and stable, which I like. The length doesn't offer me any problems either and I shoot in some real thick stuff sometimes. The longbow seems to point better than the curve too, but that could just be me. I'm a confirmed longbow dude. No doubt about it.

Under some circumstances the recurve would be faster than a longbow, but with the widespread availability of the r/d longbow, which was actually introduced by Tim Meigs in the 50's, speed difference has shrunk to almost no difference. It's kind of like the best of both worlds.

My suggestion is to shoot as many as you can to get a good idea of what you feel most comfortable with and then buy cheap and low in weight (45-50# at your draw). That will let you work on form without having to grunt a higher weight bow.



Make em sharp and shoot em straight, or leave em home.

pyral - I prefer longbows, hybrid longbows. Why ? They just &quot;fit&quot; better. With a recurve (my experience) they are heavier mass weight, louder, a little faster and shorter, comfortable grips. Traditional longbows (D style) are shocky, slower and longer and striaght gripped.

Enter Adcock longbow. Faster than most longbows, not quite as fast as a recurve (the new ACS is an excpetion from what I have heard). Its VERY quiet, more so than a recurve. Its lighter than a recurve, bit heavier than a longbow. 62&quot;-66&quot; doesn't make them overly long either. Simply put, hybrid longbows are built for hunting IMO.

Adcock, Horne and Sley makes FINE hybrid bows that I have shot. Chek-Mate, Hummingbird, Acadian Woods and a bunch of other known bowyers make fine ones too that I have heard. Shoot a few if you can, and when you decide a good way to go is used bows through www.women-outdoors.com or www.archery.net/classpro/, EBAY or the Classifieds here. If you like the bow you get, you get a good deal. If you don't, you can resell it and not lose a whole lot.

JMHO
Stealthycat's Photo's

I didn't know about Mr. Meigs, Wahya. Looks like he's got an ad in Traditional Bownhunter online. The 1950s, eh? Well, he might have introduced the design to somebody but he didn't invent it, just so everybody knows, that is if you're talking about reflex/deflex or duoflex like some people call it.

I've got one that my Apache friend made last year while he was sober. It's made out of ash and includes the arrows, quiver and bowcase. A very pretty little bow too, about three and a half feet long.

One time I took it to a range and some lovable big burly white boy with a beard decided to give a few pointers to the little squaw about her little &quot;toy&quot; bow. He started to pull it back to his eye tooth and discovered what true stack is, apparently for the first time in his life. So I started gesturing rather emphatically that he needed to let down before he got a hernia or broke my bow and he got the message. Then I showed him how to shoot it by pulling a little past his elbow.

He was shaking his head and smiling sheepishly and talking to his buddies about it. I couldn't figure out what they were saying but nobody else wanted to try it so I guess it must have been a mystery to them, especially when I put three of my arrows into a styrofoam coffee cup at 20 yards or so in about the time one of them took to put a single arrow into a pie plate .

This shows, I think, that sometimes guys get a little set in their ways despite what they say about everybody needing to use whatever they're comfortable with. Of course I'm no expert and don't write magazine articles but I've got quite a bit of experience shooting game and stuff strange as that might seem. When I was little, the little boys were more interested in .22s and bigger so I got the benefit of learning about bows and arrows which my Uncle John learned from his grandpa and taught to me because the boys didn't want to learn. Who could blame them. Guns definitely work better over longer ranges.

Anyway, traditionally, these indian bows were bent over a couple logs with the feet after being heated here and there and that's how my Apache friend does it too. The design was kind of confusing for museum curators evidently because they usually strung the bows backwards, probably because of a misinterpretation of paintings by people like Catlin. It's too bad because then people apparently got the idea that nothing important that is in use today was invented prior to 1950 or Fred Bear, whichever comes first.

Here's a link to an article on Will Compton you might like to review.

http://www.stickbow.com/FEATURES/HIS...illCompton.CFM

Compton learned archery from the Lakota and, after learning how to carve longbows from a guy in Oregon and collecting a lifetime supply of yew staves, he taught Pope and Young how to do stuff. He's but one example of how American archery is a little more derivative of American indian archery than most people might like to admit.

Practically every distinction between the English longbow and the American flatbow derives from American indigenous designs and that would also apply to recurves which are just duoflexes with working recurved limb tips usually.

I hope you don't mind the digression, but I thought it might be educational for somebody, especially when most of the advice around here seems to involve telling people to buy somebody's book or somebody else's bow.

I sort of wonder what your wives think about you buying high dollar bows, 400 dollars or more. No wonder you wax eloquent about them. If she knew the truth she'd probably whack you with a wooden spoon and I wouldn't blame her. Just kidding of course so don't get all ballistic on me okay? But do think about it a little bit.

I'm sure there's probably something to be said for somebody's more or less brand new traditional design but it's probably not as critical as you think. I bet you can make the bow work better than the bowyer can just by how you shoot it. What do you think?

Anyway I've probably wrote too much already and thoroughly bored everybody so I better wrap this and my blanket up and go sit in the corner and shutup. &;D

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Well, he might have introduced the design to somebody but he didn't invent it, just so everybody knows, that is if you're talking about reflex/deflex or duoflex like some people call it. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

You're right, he didn't invent the bow. To find out who actually invented the bow would be impossible, but I'd think that we'd have to look at the Paleo era or even further back to find out for sure. My peoples stories say that the bow is a gift from the Grandfather Spirit or CREATOR of all that is. Given to our ancestors so that they could survive the changing times. Or, if you're given to the idea that a man invented it, then I'd have to say it was probably a hunter that wanted to replace his aging atlatl with something that required less body movement to use and would allow him to get close in on game and make his hunting easier. Either way, when the first bow hit mans hand, there could only be generic copies from then on. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

Make em sharp and shoot em straight, or leave em home.