There ain't no magic bow. Some are a little faster, some are a little smoother, some look a little better, but at the end of the day it's the monkey holding it that makes the difference. Ben Pearson, Howard Hill, etc. consistently made amazingly accurate shots with bows that we would consider almost primitive. If the bow is properly built and tuned, a good archer can shoot it.

Not to say I don't have my favorite--of course I do. However, I know my favorite won't be everyone's favorite, regardless of how much I like it. Lots of bows have been sold (and re-sold) because so many people are looking for a bow that will make them Robin Hood over-night. It ain't gonna' happen.

There's some pretty rough bows out there, and obviously a well made bow is going to be easier to shoot--for instance, a bow that's out of tiller, has an uncomfortable grip, and a load of handshock won't be as easy or as much fun to shoot as one that doesn't. That just means you have to do a little research--it doesn't mean you have to spend a whole lot of money. Some of the worst (to me) bows I've shot were also some of the most expensive I've shot--and some were among the best. Same goes for the less expensive bows--good and bad comes in all price ranges, and personal preferance plays a big role.

With all that being said, there's some bows that have a slight advantage here or there, just like some materials do. My bet is at least 95% or moreof us will never be able to tell the difference because it's going to take a super sensitive archer to pick up on it.

GA has a lot of trad archers--get out, find some shoots, and have fun with it. If you can, travel a little--go to FL, AL, MS, etc. to some of the big shoots, talk to folks, try out bows. Listen to opinions, but keep in mind they are just that--opinions. Just because I love or hate a bow doesn't mean you will feel the same way--shoot as many as you can and develop your own opinion.

Obviously this will take time. Find a reasonably priced bow to start with, figure out what you like and don't like about it, and build on that information. You'll figure it out, and have a great time doing it!

Chad

I could not agree moe strongly with Bob's statement. I think it's a very unmentioned criteria for a bow. The length of the traditional bow is unbelievably critical for comfort and skill. Especially important for compound users going to traditional as the compound trend seems to be going for the short and shorter bow. This is the exact opposite direction for a traditional archer. The longer working limb is your friend. My buddy (he builds killer bows)and I have come to the conclusion that the longer working limb is far more deadly and even way more accurate. I think that maybe the accuracy is actually due to the natural posture and comfort. In actuallity the longer bow allows your body to "fall" into gracefulness. If that makes sense to anyone.
Damn. Now I have to go shoot my bow.

Things to look for in a new bow: proper tiller; straight, clean glue lines between laminations, with no gaps; smooth rounded string nocks; straight limbs with no twist; comfortable grip sized to your hand; lack of hand shock; quality of finish coat with no runs or drips; degree of centershot; lack of stacking at your draw length; measured weight matches marked weight.

Things to look for in a used bow: all of the above plus, no separation in laminations; cracks in finish; checkering in finish; bowyer still in business.

I have a martin recurve 49#I just sold a long bow that a new bower made it did not work for me I just could not get use to it. but I just found out about this other bower in can. he makes long bows Im buying one to try it out to see if it was just the one bow im not promoting them nothing to gain but the bows are cheap and new check it out it wont hert I know nothing about them other then what I read on web site. Let me know and when I get mine I will let you all know. Hope I helped www.wolf-archery.com