Anyone shoot Recurves?

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Voodoochile

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I started shooting Recurves in 1979 & still have my first store bought Bear Super Grizzly from 1983 but in 87' I was turned to Compounds & stuck with them with the exception of buying a sweet Sky till 2009 when I decided I had enough of gadgets on my bow.

Since then I've started shooting more of my recurves & bought a few new ones.

Right now this is what I have in my collection.
1969 Bear Grizzly 56" 50# @ 28" Grandfathers bow & I shoot Easton 2114's through her.
1973 Bear Grizzly 58" 45# @ 28" Pop Bought it for me in 83' & is with a friend who is learning the ropes.
1991 Sky - Sky Hawk 60" 47# @ 27" & 62" 58# @ 27" A real Earl Hoyt That I shoot GT Trads or 2117's from it depending on the limbs installed.
2009 Zona #24 60" 51# @ 27" My custom hunting & competition bow shooting GT Trads.
2010 Zona #46 60" 36# @ 27" My custom indoor competition shooting GT Entradas.

Any one else shoot Recurves in here?
 
I shot compounds as a kid, then fell out of archery for a long time. Then last May I decided to start shooting traditional archery. I shot my dad's old 50# Bear recurve until it broke. Now I shoot a Kassai horsebow and English longbow. Just target for now, but I'm new. I'll hunt when I feel my accuracy is up to par. As a side note, my ROF is 14 arrows a minute from a belt quiver.
 
I got back into Archery relatively recently, and I have both a compound that I bought myself and a recurve. Honestly, I enjoy shooting both, but I get much more satisfaction out of shooting my recurve. I have a older Grayling-era Bear Grizzly, 45#@28.

I like shooting traditional so much that I am seriously debating selling some stuff so that I can afford a nice longbow...
 
Bows

I have never shot a compound. I have a few recurves that I use, two frequently. Those two are Asian style horse bows. One pulls fifty pounds at 28 inches and is only 48 inches tip to tip. The other is 60 lbs at 28 and just a bit longer.
The other type of bows are longbows - stick bows that I make and an old Bear Montana.
Pete
 
I shot those toy fiberglass bows as a kid, in college in '73 traded a guy 4 eight track tapes for a Colt Plainsman 45 lb recurve. Off and on over the years i played with it. Then, one limb cracked on it. I ebayed a Hoyt compound and got into shooting that about 6 years back, then bought another recurve, a PSE Kingfisher. That one has sights, a cheater recurve. :D I rigged it for bow fishing cause I like to do that. BUT, the limbs have warped. It still shoots straight, though, just looks weird. Can't buy limbs for it as PSE won't sell 'em and I'm NOT going to buy another bow, so I'll just bowfish with it.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine gave me a 70s Bear Stag Hunter, 50-55 lb, not long ago, had bought it at a garage sale and couldn't get a string for it at the local bow shop. It takes a standard 58" string, so I ordered one from Cabelas. I'm getting pretty decent with it from as far as 25 and 30 yards now instinctive shooting. It's a lot of fun. I doubt I'll try hunting with it, but I like shooting it.
 
Recurves and longbows since 79' also. I shot compounds barebow for a little while in the late 80's. Looking forward to elk and mulie's this fall as usual.

Saluki Ibex, 62" 62@28.
Saluki Scythian 54" 60@28.
Centaur longbow 62" 62@28.
Groves Mag 1, 56", 55@28.
Sky Hunter, 64", 60@28.
Kaya Korean 50". 55@32.
Tice & Watts recurve, 60" 50@28.
BBO selfbow, 60" 35@28.
Couple of Samick TD's and Maddog recurve for my kids.
 
Sage Recurve here, ~48 pounds at ~27". It is simple and effective, I haven't been able to hunt with it due to my lack of skill, but I might could this coming season. It is a joy to watch the arrow in it's flight.

Odd though, I can hit at 10-12 yards, and 20-25 yards, but I do not do so well at 13-19ish. Weird grey area in the middle.
 
I started bow hunting in 1974 with a Ben Pearson 45 lb recurve. Georgia was the last state to legalize compound bows and did not do so until about 1980. I bought my 1st compound in 1982 I believe. I hunted with it for about 10 years until I found a used 51# Browning Nomad. I set it up with sights and have been hunting mostly with it since the mid-90's

The trend today is to shoot recurves with no sights, but most hunters back in the 70's who shot recurves used some sort of sight. It is an acceptable compromise for me. If I were to shoot bare bow I'd buy a longbow.
 
Funny you should ask - I just bought a recurve.

I actually got a Hungarian recurve - so its basically a Scythian bow design. It turned out my first problem was learning how to string the bow - you can't do it like a standard recurve (with a special stringing tool). Some people seem to string these Scythian bows by bending them through their legs (behind the body). Others do it while sitting. I'm still experimenting with this stuff, and will get to be shooting the bow this weekend.

nmlongbow ... how do you string your Scythian bow?

CA R
 
CA, Saluki Scythians are quite a bit different than the Hungarian bows. Much smaller siyah's and more deflex. Much quicker with less handshock too. I think this style of bow is the most difficult to become consistent with and is best shot with a thumbring.

I string mine with a stringer or step through. I've also tried the seated method and using 2 chairs to brace but step through works fine once you get used to it especially for the Hungarian bows.
 
CA Raider said:
Funny you should ask - I just bought a recurve.

I actually got a Hungarian recurve - so its basically a Scythian bow design. It turned out my first problem was learning how to string the bow - you can't do it like a standard recurve (with a special stringing tool). Some people seem to string these Scythian bows by bending them through their legs (behind the body). Others do it while sitting. I'm still experimenting with this stuff, and will get to be shooting the bow this weekend.

nmlongbow ... how do you string your Scythian bow?
Click to expand...

Ah cool! I love these bows. There are a few ways you can string the Eastern style bows, though it depends how much deflex when unstrung. The "step-through" method really doesn't work with these because they tend to be too short, and it's not good for the bow besides. With my Kassai, the deflex is not very dramatic so I just use a piece of nylon string with bowlines tied in both ends. You stand on the center of this string and do it like in the attached photo.

A more elaborate (but admitted very secure and safe) is how the Turk flight archers do it, which basically uses a piece of webbing with loops tied in the ends: http://turkishflightarchery.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-string-turkish-bow.html
 
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I have a mid 70s Herters that was my Dads and a late 60s early 70s Bear Alaskan that was given to me by a friend. I love the light weight for roving a joy to shoot, plus the good memories of family and friends that have pasted.

Dan
 
kbbailey said:
Voodoochile,
My story is just like yours, timeline too. I now have a Bear Grizzly 52#. During the winter we have a dozen or so uf us who shoot weekly. It's a bunch of fun.
Click to expand...

Same here in that we have a few of us that get out to the club & have a blast at the range.

I still have a compound but maybe dust it off once a year or so.
 
i will probably get laughed at for this, but...

i am just getting into archery since ammo (even for mosins) is getting expensive/difficult to find. here is the part that will get me flamed/laughed at:
i shoot a homemade recurve made of flattened pvc. no joke. and no offense to people with real bows.
i have a friend who is a big archery buff (thankfully not a bow snob*) who looked it over when i made it and said it would make a great practice/training bow that would also work for small game (squirrel, rabbit, maybe something bigger if i am lucky) provided i dont get caught. we believe it may be illegal to hunt with it here, so it is being used for the archery range only. it is about 33# at 29-30", which is my draw length. i have to strengthen my shoulder up (i have an old injury that left muscles weak, but otherwise no lasting damage) before i can get a higher poundage bow and have to save a bit of money first too :eek:
anywho it is pretty accurate and my archery friend was able to put 5 out of 5 arrows into the bulls-eye of an archery target at 25 yards.

i WILL get a real bow in a few weeks to a month or 2 from now, but until then i am researching what factors i need to consider when buying.
if anyone has info on what i need to consider in the way of variables when bow shopping i am all ears (or in this case all eyes)

*bow snob = someone who hates certain bows for being cheaper/different than theirs.
 
No mockery from me Riven. The PVC bow movement grew out of many archery products being so darn expensive and difficult to construct. The goal was to make it available to everyone even if you don't have a huge budget. Plus PVC bows and the skills to make them are excellent for emergency survival situations. BTW I don't know of any law that would prevent hunting with a PVC bow. It should be fine for any use you could use a normal wood or fiberglass recurve, so long as it meets the minimum draw weight requirements and is shooting the required ammo.
 
hey thanks. it actually isnt hard to make one. take pipe, add heat, have patience, and flatten :D
it is the draw weight that makes it illegal in indiana. sorry should have mentioned that. my friend and me got told that the minimum weight is 35# at 28"
this is about 30# at 28" and ~33# at 30"

plus the game warden/DNR agents around here get cranky if you show up without a professionally made bow according to my archery friend. he likes to bow hunt. one game warden around here that i asked at one point even thought that only compound bows were legal and got quite irritated when i corrected him with a print out of the laws. so when i learn form and build my shooting shoulder up i will buy a real bow. just dont really know what to look for in one. i also cannot go by the standard rule for measuring draw length due to my arm length vs shoulder width.
i have an 80 inch arm span (measured 3 times, and i am also 6' 6" tall) but only a draw length of about ~29-30 inches, and according to the formulas i find it should be 32+. :confused:
oh well, guess it makes finding arrows easier/cheaper
what else should i consider besides the draw weight btw? i know i should look for stacking, just not sure what else
 
Meh, if your bow shoots straight and you like it, who cares what anyone else thinks? I looked at the Colorado game laws, and at least in this state there isn't any regulation that stipulates what the bow has to be constructed of. As long as it meets the other requirements, you are good to go.

What I do make fun of is people that make shoddy PVC bows as "survival tools". It's a fine line with me, but using alternative materials in a different and effective way is much more interesting to me than slapping a bunch of crap together that just happens to work well enough not to immediately deconstruct itself. Add to that the near lunatic ravings of many of those same people about how come the apocalypse PVC (or, really ANY) bows are the best solution and I just shut down. Thats different than what Glistam is saying, by the way. Knowing how to do something in a pinch is good. Doing it and passing it off as the ultimate solution is not.

Archery is fun, but largely because it is hard. Learning to do it on shoddy equipment just makes it harder and a lot less fun. Not saying you need to spend a fortune (good recurves can be found used for very cheap prices and made at home for even less), just saying that buying or building a good product is a much better idea than not doing that.
 
Some of those PVC bows are quite impressive from what I've seen, a lot better than what I made for my daughter as a first bow but just remember the limitations that they offer & you'll go far.

I agree that you can spend less than $150.00 for a really good recurve, even new.
 
yeah, so far the biggest limitation of my pvc bow is range. i made it to learn form so it is not very powerful and since the fps is lower on pvc bows it has about a 30 yd range.
i am currently looking at a samick journey 64" recurve though, since i hear it is good for people with longer than 28 inch draws. should set me back about $141 out the door, not including arrows, if i remember right
 
Riven_Cole said:
yeah, so far the biggest limitation of my pvc bow is range. i made it to learn form so it is not very powerful and since the fps is lower on pvc bows it has about a 30 yd range.
i am currently looking at a samick journey 64" recurve though, since i hear it is good for people with longer than 28 inch draws. should set me back about $141 out the door, not including arrows, if i remember right
Click to expand...

Agreed but it serves the purpose that you intend it for which is good.

Here is a good bow from Lancaster Archery to think about.
http://www.lancasterarchery.com/usa-archery-66-recurve-bow.html
 
Lancaster is a good choice for all things archery. I've had much better luck calling and talking to a person than emailing or ordering online.

Also you can string nearly any real bow with a step through method if you know how. If you don't know how then you can damage the bow but the same can be said when using stringers of any type.

The only bow I wouldn't use step through or a stringer is a true horn bow.
 
My first bow was a fiberglass Browning recurve... I think I was about 7. My step dad left me his recurve; it was a bow he had built from a kit and was around 55lbs. I couldn't bend the bow to string it til I was around 13. Couldn't shoot it accurately until I was about 15. Loved that bow. Lost it during a move when I was 18. Now I am 36 and just bought a Mission by Mathews Riot. Totally different experience. While I enjoy the precision target shooting (and hopefully hunting) of the compound, I really miss that old recurve.
 
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