chadinMI

Been shooting compounds for awhile now but lately have gotten the itch to try my hand at the traditional side. Been looking between Bear and Martin brands, both longbows and recurves. Longbows: Bear Montana and Martin Mountaineer or Stick. Recurves: Bear Grizzly or a Martin Hunter. I' m trying to stay at or below the $330 range. I' m 5' 7" tall and have a 27" drawlength with a realease and shoot 60lbs comfortably in the compound world. I guess my first question should be: why does one choose a recurve over a longbow or vise versa? is one design easier to shoot than the other? What draw weight should I be able to draw/shoot comfortably? I' m thinking somewhere around 40-45lbs? Though I don' t know the answers to these questions, I am leaning towards a longbow at this point (probably from watching Byron Ferguson on T.V.). I don' t have much of an oppurtunity to test either styles/brands/models since I don' t know of any dealers in my area that stock any kind of traditional equipment. Does anyone know of a dealer here in southeastern Michigan that caters to the traditional crowd? or any kind of archery shows in the area? Any input, info or recommendations would be gladly accepted. Thanks guys, chadinMI.

Arthur P

First, congratulations on your interest in shooting plain ol' sticks.

Most people are more comfortable starting off with a stick that draws 15-20 pounds less than their compounds, so your target of 40-45 should be right on. However, you will likely draw an inch or so shorter with a stick, so you might want to look at getting a 50 pounds @ 28" bow. At 26" draw, that would put you around 45 pounds.

At your draw length, I would pass on the longbows. They are really too long for your draw length. You won' t be putting enough bend in the limbs to really get the performance out of them. Not quite so bad but pretty much the same story on the 62" Martin Hunter. Of the bows you listed, I would recommend the Grizzly as the best match for your draw length. Another Bear I would check out if I were in your shoes is the Kodiak Magnum.

Shorter longbows are available on the custom side of the business. Before you go too wild, check the used bow market for Shrews and other longbows that are 62" and shorter.

Matching bow length to draw length is important across the entire span of archery, but it' s much more critical in traditional bows, IMO. I' m on the other end of the table from you. I' ve got a very long draw length and need a pretty long bow.

When it comes down to either recurve or longbow being easier than the other to shoot, that is very much an individual thing. Some guys take to longbows like ducks to water. Used to be that grip styles were very similar between compounds and recurves. That was something that made the switch from wheels to recurves easier.

However, many compounds today have grips that are much more similar to the locator grip on reflex/deflex longbows than the pistol grip on recurves, and they are shot in the same low wrist style. So, going by the handle style, the switch from compound to longbow would be easier nowadays.

But, the extra mass in recurve risers make them more stable and, I think, more consistently accurate than longbows. At least that' s the way they are in MY hands.

Good luck with the new journey. Enjoy!!

IrishLad32

Hey, Chad. I' m assuming " waterord" is supposed to be Waterford. I' d suggest driving to Cabelas in Dundee and shooting the trad bows they have there. I' ve shot the Montana and for the price I think you can do better. They have some Martins, some bear recurves, and I think a couple Saxons. Aside from that, I' d suggest checking out ebay for an older recurve if you choose to go that way. You can easily get one for under $150. Also, you might look at www.womens-outdoors.com/traditional and click the classifieds link at the bottom of the page. They have a lot of longbows and recurves there you might find at a cheaper price than buying new. You' re right about the 45lb deal, but don' t go over 50lb. If you get a chance to shoot bows before you buy then you can try a 50lb versus a 45lb and see which is more comfortable. There are a couple clubs in the area-River Raisin comes to mind-you might be able to contact someone there for some help depending on how they' re structured. Have fun though. Traditional archery is loads of fun.

Brandan

LBR

Yeah--what they said! I might add that it' s generally easier to get a good recurve cheap than a good longbow. In my experience, the cheap longbows just ain' t where it' s at (some of the expensive ones too). The old Bear, Pearson, Martin, Shakespeare, Root, etc. recurves are still great shooters. Personally, I don' t care for the Bear Montana, or Martin' s Stick or Twig longbows. Check out pawn shops, garage sales, etc.--there' s quite a few trad shooters in MI, and some big shoots held there. If at all possible, try a few out and see what suits you.

Good luck!

Chad

chadinMI

Thanks guys,
Arthur P, I' m not sure if you' re aware of this but up here in the Detroit area there is a famous radio DJ by the name of Arthur P from WRIF radio, he' s quite the character, been at the same small station for over 30 years. You can do a search for WRIF and check out his bio on the their site. Anyways, thank you for the information. I am now leaning towards a shorter recurve per your suggestion.
IrishLad32, yep supposed to be waterford but for some reason everytime I try to update my profile it doesn' t stick ???? So you' re telling me I need a girly bow huh? I' m hoping traditional will be less stressing (tuning) than the compound world, though I' m not complaining. I might try to make the trip to Cabelas this weekend. Thanks for the info.
LBR, do you know of any info/calendars on traditional shoots here in MI?
Thanks,
chadinMI

LBR

Sorry--I don' t have a schedule for MI (I am in MS), but the Three Rivers catalog will usually have the larger ones listed, Traditional Bowhunter Magazine has ads for them, and you might get some information from the Regional Forum here at huntingnet that covers MI. I am pretty sure there is a MI Bowhunters Orginazation that might come up on a search engine. I think the shoots are pretty much over for the year though, due to hunting season being open.

Sorry I' m not more help.

Chad

Arthur P

Oh Lordy! Some Yankee DJ is using MY handle?? Maybe I need to ask the moderators to let me change to something else. Way things are going, I don' t want the guy suing me for copyright infringement! [X(]

Maybe you should take that up with the legal department, Chad.

IrishLad32

ChadinMi, www.stickbow.com has a 3D schedule. You can search by state and month and it' ll pull up all the clubs that have listed their shoots. It usually has a pretty good listing.

Brandan