i want to get into traditional archery, but have some problems.
1. i have NO money, but christmas IS coming, i found having a car is expensive
2. i am afraid to buy an older bow because i am afraid of having it explode
3. did i mention i have no money??
4. i just dropped a bunch of money on a new mathews LX

i want a recurve, either take down or a one-piece. atleast 50-55 pounds, preferably 65#' s. could you guys gimme a few suggestions on a good starter bow that isnt terribly expensive??? this webpage has helped in the past and i am sure that you guys will help me out as much as those in other forums. thanx for your time.

Chekmates are the best bang for the buck out there! Check ' em out!

http://www.recurves.com/

Unless you are young and as big and as strong as an ox, you DON' T want a 65# bow no matter what bow you buy. Actually, you will be better served to stay in the 45-50# range just starting out. Whatever peak weight is on your Mathews, whazzat(?) lol, subtract 20# and you' ll have the starting weight you should be looking for.

Vic, is right, for the $ the Chek-Mate is hard to beat. Hunter II T/D for $365. Go to www.recurves.com and look around. Alternatively, you could start out with the Falcon one piece for around $200. You would still have a nice shooting bow. Drop Chad an e-mail.

Bill

I agree with both Vic and Bill. Best bang for the buck is Chek-Mate hunter II. I recommend it in case you want to up the weight later on. I also agree that you should start low in weight, 45-50# and learn to shoot. Then if you want to up the weight and are able to comfortably pull the extra #age, order another set of limbs for your TD recurve. The 45-50# at your draw length will kill anything you' ll be wanting to hunt in the deer/hog size of game animal. Get yourself a couple of dozen arrows that are properly spined for the bow and have fun.

I gotta say Checkmate too. I' ve got a couple of Checkmates that are going to be on my short list for inclusion on the Santa list.

Don' t be too afraid of the old recurves. Yep, they can break but heck, even your new Mathews can break. Even a warranty won' t keep a bow from breaking. Find an old Pearson or Shakespeare. Most are not collectable and they' re quite reasonably priced. As long as they' re in decent condition, they' ll shoot.

Or... When I get the hankering for a new bow and don' t have even two pennies to rub against each other, I make a selfbow. Lots of instructional websites on the ' net!

That' s the neat thing about trad. You can spend a boatload of money if you want to, but you can also go all-out primitive, make all your stuff from things you pick up in the woods, and shoot arrows without spending a nickle.

Have you looked at the PSE Coyote. It is a metal riser takedown recurve and reasonable priced. I think the highest drawweight available is #55. I have a PSE Stalker, which is almost identical, and find it to be a very nice bow. You can probably pick a Coyote up in the $200.00-$250.00 range.

Sell that compound and talk to Chad. I sold all my compound stuff about a year ago and have never looked back. That darn Chad sold me my first real longbow and man the virus has taking over since then. But be very careful the Trad bug is highly contagious. You just might sell that car to get your fix for a new bow[>:]

And by the way what the other guys said.

I shoot a PSE Coyote at 55 # and like it. Shot a 9 pointer at 28 yds. last week with a pass through the lungs. I' d suggest a takedown and start at lower weights as everyone else suggests. You can always get higher weight limbs for a takedown as you progress. Martin is another good name in recurve bows at reasonable prices. I agree that a recurve is a better choice than a long bow also.