The begining of the multitude of questions is about to commence!

What makes a recurves draw weight? Is it the thickness of the limbs? The width? The geometry of the riser? What makes a 60# bow 60#? I plan on picking up "Become the Arrow" very soon...will it answer these types of questions?

Thanks guys!

Oh, I've been thinking about just buying a new bow(recurve) instead of trying to find a decent bow at garage sale or in the classifieds. If anyone has any advice on where to find a good used bow I'm all ears, but it seems easier to me to just buy something that I know the history of.

Yes. [&:] I'm not bowyer, but I understand this just a little from talking with them. The thickness of the glass, the thickness of the laminations, the number of laminations, the woods used, the width of the limbs, the limb angle, and probably several other things I can't think of right now all play a part is a bow's draw weight.

Become The Arrow does touch on bow building, and should at least give you a good idea on the subject.

Most of the used bows I get are from friends--I can (usually) trust them. If you buy from e-bay, check out the seller's history and ask lots of questions. If you buy from an individual ask lots of questions, ask for referances, and visually inspect the bow if possible.

Chad

Thanks Chad. I didn't know if that was general knowledge type question or more for bowyers, but figured I'd ask!

This book deals more with shooting and some with hunting. It is an excellent read though, and I'm sure that you will enjoy it.

I agree with LBR, though about talking with bowers on the other part of your question. There are a few here that I'm sure can help out.

-Thinking of going traditional Jason??? Once you start, you can't stop - be warned.

I'm putting a lot of thought into it! It's something that I've always wanted to do and just haven't. I'm scared to death to give up my training wheels though! It just seems so much more enjoyable than micro-adjusting this and that and searching for that perfect tune. Traditional seems so much more laid back and more human. I sometimes feel like a robot when I shoot compound because it's a machine and full of advantages. All that said, I'll still be up in an all welded aluminum treestand wearing, waterproof Scent-Lok made out of the most advanced materials....so I'm not necessarily going all out trad, but I will likely be shooting woodies out of that recurve. I've been taking a serious look at the Chek Mate Falcon....seems a great deal for a starter and I've read a few posts here that seem to suggest it's worth more than $200. I tried the yard sale thing and well, that's just hit or miss....I'd rather something new that I can vouch for the history of. I'll be picking the book up this weekend....hopefully I get to read it soon!

As far as the initial question, I was just curious. I'm an engineer by trade and it's just second nature to figure out how things work....and it really bothers me not knowing!

Thanks.