Went to cabelas yesterday and bought my first recurve. The salesperson that helped me is a traditional shooter as well and his first recommendation I was far from being able to draw back to full draw. I bought a 45# bow that is 60" long. My ability to draw it stops about 3" short of full draw. To say the least I was very inconsistent at their range. He had me try both the split finger and 3 below grip on the string. Any help on getting started would be appreciated. How should I work the muscles to get to full draw? Do I simply keep shooting until I can attain full draw or will that instill poor shooting habits? Are there books on getting started with traditional shooting?

Hmmmmmmm

Can you handle the 45# pound draw ? Maybe you only have a 25" draw ? If so, don't worry about it. You'll be shooting 3# less per inch, so your 45# bow becomes 36# or so. If you're struggling with the weight, take it back and get something more comfortable. Be true on this, and overweighted bow will KILL you. I had a bow and I tried to master it for months and I couldn't because the weight was too much for me to handle properly.

I have a different view than most, but here it goes. To do anything that requires cooridnation between the hand and eye, there must be consistancy. That is, when you draw, you do it the same every time, and when you anchor, the same place everytime, and when you release, the same release. Every time. Focus is also very important. But starting out consistancy is HUGE. You don't have to shoot like Byron Ferguson or Fred Asbell, I don't believe there one set "way" to shoot - you'll find your own.

But I PROMISE that if you draw, anchor, release and have the same focus on 3 consecutive shot, you'll shoot 3 arrows into the same place at 20 yards. Easier said than done



I shoot split finger. I also shoot cross dominant on my hand/eye. I'm a fair shot, but I've had to shoot thousands of arrows to get any consistancy.

I don't anchor to ammount to anything - I focus, I draw, I touch my anchor and most often I release right then. Smooth, fluent - no anchor to ammount to anything. Some guys draw, anchor and hold, then release. I find it messes up my rhythym

Do you play basketball ? Its an analogy I like to use a lot. Form is everything, and then once you got that down, it becomes a mental game. Also, once all that falls into place, you'll be able to go outside your form and still make shots, much like an off balance jump shot.

Become the arrow from brian Ferguson and Instinctive shooting from G. Fred Asbell will get you started. others from here will tell you more then I can. I been shooting and gained 1/2 inch in my draw.

datamax-I am trying to follow your first comments-are you saying that shooting a 65# compound equates to shooting a 35-40# recurve? I am shooting a 65# compound with no problem and as I understand it, you must pull 65# to break over that bow, so why shouldn't I be able to pull 48-50# to get to my 31" draw length?

kansas, most over the counter traditional bows are measured at 28". The bow may be stacking at your long draw.

I have an old bear recurve that was my Dad's that is 45# at 28". I also have a long draw and the bow stacks terrible to the point that I can not really shoot it well.

I agree that you may be experiencing enough stack that you're actually drawing a lot more than 45 pounds. But you can work around it.

Exercise those muscles with the bow. Hold the bow up at a 45 degree angle and keep it there. Pull it 1/4 back and hold for 5 seconds, back to half and hold for 5 seconds, 3/4 back and hold for 5 seconds, full draw (or as close as you can get right now) and hold for 5 seconds. Then let down the same way. Try to do 10 of those at first. If you can't, just keep going until you can. It won't be long until you can hit full draw with 10 reps. Then up it to 15, then 20. It'll flat wear you out, so be sure to give yourself a day of rest between each workout. If you go shooting one day, skip the workout. When you can't shoot, do the exercise to keep the muscles strong.

I like to keep a heavier bow than I actually shoot so that I can do that exercise.

The first time you draw a bow that doesn't stack at your draw, you'll freak. It'll come back so easy you'll think it's broken and it will shoot a significantly faster arrow. Long draw guys like us are much better off going the custom route.

Thanks arthur. At least that gives me a method of building the muscles without instilling bad shooting habits. I will start tonight.

Remember that when the bow stacks, it is not usually at the normal 3 pounds per inch rule. It could be quite a bit more. Stacking is basically the point where the limbs are beyond their normal flex. Just be careful and check the bow often.

Bobco-It was my understanding that a bow that is 60" long should not stack at a 30" to 31" draw length. Is this bad information?

Kansas, it is very difficult for me to determine without actually measuring or seeing the draw force curve of your particular bow. Here is a draw force curve of a particular bow (I don't know what bow it is).



You can see that this bow starts stacking just over 28". It looks like this bow is set at 58# at 28". But when it gets back to 31" draw, the bow is drawing I'm guessing around 75 pounds. On some bows like the one I mentioned earlier, it feels as if you hit a wall where the limbs are stacking.

I'm actually a little surprized that the fellow let you leave the store with a bow that could not be pulled back at least close to your anchor. It is correct that a beginner to traditionals usually starts with about 15-20 pounds lighter then what they would shoot with a compound. But your added draw needs to be taken into consideration.

Like Art said, when you pull back a bow that does not stack, it is like night and day. I can easily handle my 56 pound longbow at 31" draw, but when I shoot the 58" 45# recurve, forget it.