I JUST WON' T SOMETHING TO SHOOT AT LIKE RABBITS AND TARGETS STUFF LIKE THAT.BUT THEN I MIGHT START PRATICING SHOOTING DEER. I SHOOT A COMPOUND NOW. WHERE CAN I GET A TRADITIONAL BOW AT.HOW MUCH .I NEED A BOW THAT I CAN PULL BACK 55 POUND.


GO DEEP HUNT HARD.

Something you MUST know about shooting traditional. A lot of potential newcomers to traditional have wasted their time and money by buying more bow than they could comfortably shoot. Then they' ve gotten frustrated and given up.

They assume because they shoot XX pounds on their compound that they can also shoot XX pounds on a stickbow. Then they learn one crushing lesson. Shooting muscles develop strength in direct proportion to the bow' s draw cycle.

A trad' s muscles are strongest at the end of the draw, because that' s where peak draw weight is. A compounder' s muscles have adapted to being strongest at the middle of the draw cycle because peak weight is in the middle of the draw. Where a trad needs the most strength a compounder has the least. It takes time and training for the muscles to adapt to the new demands that the traditional bow will put on them. It' d take too much writing to give you a treatise on muscle physiology, so I must ask you to trust me on this one.

As to whether a recurve or longbow.... my longbow side is about to rebel but, I' d suggest a recurve. Most recurves are generally more centershot than most longbows and will shoot a somewhat wider range of arrow spines well. MOST people generally shoot a recurve better than they can a longbow. Besides that, you can usually find used recurves priced much more reasonably than used longbows.

Notice that I' m very careful to use words like ' most' , ' usually' and ' generally' when talking about this. That' s because there are exceptions to every rule.

As for where to find them... That' s a good question. Very few archery shops keep stickbows on hand any more. You can find all you want on the internet, but that' s no help to a new guy that really hasn' t figured out what he wants yet. You can' t draw an internet bow to see how you like it until money has already changed hands. One of the best places to look at lots of bows and get a chance to shoot several different types, side by side, is at an all-trad 3D shoot. Keep an eye open for one of those shoots in your area and go to it. Even if you have to drive a hundred miles, shelling out for a tank of gas is cheaper than shelling out several hundred bucks on a bow you can' t draw.

If you simply cannot find any trad bows in a shop or can' t find a trad shoot, and you' re left with no options then all I can do is recommend ordering a 45 pound recurve. It' s plenty of bow for small game, target and close range deer hunting and, hopefully, still a draw weight you can comfortably shoot and learn with.

I couldn' t agree with Arthur more! When I first wanted my trad bow, he and a few others were the ones that suggested a lighter poundage bow as a beginner' s platform.

And on that note, I have always shot a 70 pound compound and when I swapped to trad, I went with a 47#@28" Martin Hatfield Takedown Recurve. For the first month I couldn' t shoot more than a couple of dozen shots before I was too sore to productively practice.

So, being a relatively recent (last year) convert myself, I can heartily agree when they recommend a 40-45# bow for you.

Josh

I would agree with the others. I also started recently (2 years) and started out with an old 44# recurve. Initially I too couldn' t shoot more than a few dozen shots and couldn' t hold my draw for more than a few seconds without really tiring out.

The other thing about trad shooting is that it can become very frustrating. Minor changes in your form can really play havoc on your accuracy. It will become very tempting at times to hang it up and go back to your compound as I have almost done many times. It' s all about patience, practice, perseverence and asking for advice (lots of advice) all the great people on this board.