Venoy

If you are used to shooting a compound, you will probably find a recurve bow more comfortable to shoot because of the grip. Longbows have a straight grip and string slap becomes more of a problem. The long bows biggest advantage is length and no-limb twist. The recurve bows biggest advantage is a little more speed and shorter. Being shorter can be an advantage in a tree stand. There are some hybred long bows on the market that are bridging the gap. Some of the hybreds have a semi-pistol grip, reflex-deflex limbs that add more speed and are 62 to 64 inches in length. The hybreds usually cost more. My advice is to look around for a good used 40 to 45 pound bow, go to traditional archery tournaments (traditional archery tournaments are a lot different than compound archery tournaments), join an archer club that has traditional shooters. They will give you good advice and you can shoot their bows. Have fun this summer. About a month before deer season, purchase a 50 pound bow for hunting. 50 pounds is all you need. As your game weight increases, increase arrow weight and use traditional hunting heads (cut on impact heads, not expanding heads).

A traditional bow usually weights from 1 1/4 to 2 3/4 pounds (I use a hip quiver). A compound bow weights about 4 1/2 pounds, plus stablizer 12 oz (3/4 pound), plus sight 6 oz (3/8 lb.), plus bow quiver and 6 arrows 1 1/4 pound for a total of 6.875 lbs. Went you are hog hunting in brush in rolling hills, a compound will wear you out.

You will also find that you can get on game a lot quicker with traditional bows. I was hog hunting in east Texas. Another man was with me. He was shooting a compound. We were working our way across a 120 acre clear cut. The clear cut was grown up with brush and 8 to 10 foot tall trees. We saw a bush move in front of us. I pulled an arrow from my hip quiver and put it on the string. A 200 lb hog came out of the brush at about 15 yards. I drew and put an arrow through both lungs. I put my hand on another arrow. The hog stopped and looked around for us. We stood very still. The hog then started walking away. As he walked, I put another arrow behind the shoulder. It came out in front of the off shoulder and it went down. I asked the other man why he did not shoot at the hog. He said, "I could not find it in the peep sight". Close and fast, traditional archery is the best.

Venoy

I almost forgot to mention, try to match your draw length to your bow length. The shorter the bow, the more string pinch which causes bad releases and blood blisters If your draw length is 28 inches, a 58 or 60 inch recurve bow is about right, 29 inch draw length - 60 or 62 inch bow, 30 inch draw length - 62 or 64 inch, 31 or over - 64 or more. You will find that if you draw 30 inches with a compound, you will draw about 29 with traditional bows. With a compound at 75% let off, you are holding 15 pounds on a 60 pound bow. With a 60 pound traditional bow, you are holding 62 1/2 pounds at 29 inches. Also, the shorter the bow, the more they stack as draw length increases past 28 inches. Stack is caused by the angle of the string to the limb. This is how a recurve or short reflex-deflex long bow gets around stack compared to a short straight limbed long bow.