For a newbie in the trad ranks, should I get a long bow or recurve?? I keep going back and forth over it..

Now, that's a loaded question. Neither one is really "better" than the other. It's mostly a matter of personal preference. I like a good takedown recurve due to the mass weight the riser gives. Others like the longbow because of it's light weight. Speed wise, you're not going to see a whole lot of difference between todays recurves and R/D longbows. If you're coming from shooting a compound, you might find the contoured pistol grip and the mass weightofa takedownrecurve tofeel more familiar.

Right on!

hybrid longbow would be my suggestion, 3 piece TD

I really don't know or won't know til I shoot both i guess..I don't want something bulky in my hands...

Va, I agree with Chris AND your last statement. My first custom bow was a 3-piece "hybrid" (radical deflex/reflex) longbow. Great shooter, great bowyer (he still is), but it just wasn't the bow for me. Felt/shot like a recurve.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I don't like 3-piece longbows, especially the really radical ones. I don't see the point--might as well just shoot a recurve. I prefer a mild to moderate deflex/reflex design in a one piece or two piece longbow. I like the lighter mass weight, they still maintain the feel of a longbow, but with better performance and without the hand shock of a Hill style.

I also prefer a grip that fits my hand, not a grip I have to make my hand fit.

Finally, if youthink you will ever shoot in a tournament, 3-piece longbows aren't legal for the longbow class in most--you'll be put in either the recurve class, or some have a "modern longbow" class.

The Hill style longbow (straight or mildly reflexed limbs, straight grip) would probably be my last suggestion for someone swapping over, because they feel different in every way. You might like it though--I wouldn't take them off the list until you try one.

Good luck!

Chad

Getting your hands on several different bows before buying would be theoptimal thing todo.Though sometimes, it's not an easy thing to do.Once folks start shooting traditional, most gravitate to one particular style of bow more than others. If you don't want a lot of mass weight in a bow,most of the one piece R/D longbows fit that bill. There are alsosome good one piece recurves thatalso don't have a bulky riser. Shop around until something catches your eye. Then ask around and do some research on it.Good luck

This Is a very good piece of advice. In saying that though when I bought my recurve (the one I'm shooting now) It was a custom made take down recurve. The limbs and riser were all made. All I had to do was trim the limbs down to the draw weight I wanted and also finish the handle to the style of grip that I wanted and also do some minor sanding on the shelf and riser. I got sick of sanding the handle and said to myself It's going to have to be good enough. I've never shot a high wrist handle before. The recurve I shoot now has a very high wrist and I love It but i didn't care for It at first. Anything's possible, you just never know what your going to like until you shoot some different style handle's and bows.

Good luck Landon!!

I agree that you won't really know what you like until you try different grip styles.

To clarify, I have shot a lot of different ones, and have pretty well decided what works for me/what I like. Some grips, to me, are completely uncomfortable and require me to fiddle with hand placement to get it "right". You'll see on some message board where folks will tell you that you have to do this or that to shoot a certain style grip--that's not for me. I want my grip to fit when I pick it up. A little large or a little small isn't a big deal--uncomfortable (or in some cases a bit painful) is something I just don't care to shoot.

Chad

Personally, I don't care for many hybrids. I don't think you could go wrong though with any style though for your first bow. You will notreally know what you like until you get into it a little bit. I'd suggest going with a used bow for your first.