Recurve for a newish guy

[SlickStickSlinger]

I began shooting archery last year and would like to get into recurves. I currently shoot a compound bow. As I look into the recurve spectrum i am seeing 'top recurve bows for 2020' and the list does not contain any of the 'higher end' bow manufacturers and are much cheaper than any of the high end manufacturers bows.
Why is that?
A high end riser cost double of some of the suggested listed complete setup bows.
What should I be looking for in a recurve to make my time and money more efficient?
Any suggestions would be greatful

 

[2blade]

you must be looking at all the review websites that link to amazon. these websites are simply built to make money. If you click over to amazon and make a purchase of any kind, bow or otherwise, the person who built the website earns a commission. High end bow companies don't sell their bows on amazon and thats why you don't see any of these so-called reviews, there is no money to be made.

as far as picking out a bow, whats your budget?

 

[SlickStickSlinger]

Under a thousand.
I'm trying to dig deeper research away from any companies selling points as to what is important regarding recurves.

 

[MichaelO]

I bought an edge from 3 river archery just last month for my first recurve. Now this is my first recurve coming from a compound bow but I will say that it seems to shoot very well and is a beautiful bow for the low price. Would highly recommend one. One month into it and I’m already hitting fairly consistent at 20 yards. I will tell you that despite the fact that I lift and work as a scaffold carpenter 45 lbs is a lot to pull with a recurve, I shoot a 70lb compound with no issues. I would suggest getting lower poundage limbs to start with ( I have a set of 25lb limbs now) and buying a second set to hunt with once you learn. I wish I would have because I can only shoot about 20 arrows with the 45lb’ers before my form starts to suffer.

I saw blacktail bows at a show I just went to and they are beautiful. However they start at 1300. Don’t quote me on that. Might get one after a year or so.

watching the push on YouTube and a bunch of other content really helped me get off to the right start.

tdlr: 1.get a cheap bow, don’t forget to get a bow stringer
2.get some form of instruction
3. Get low poundage limbs to start
4. 3 rivers archery has great products and was very happy with them.
5. Handmade bows are great but expensive.

 

[Beendare]

Two solid strategies but first; Realize that a stick bow is a much higher degree of difficulty to shoot well/consistently. Many guys think they will roll into a 50# recurve since they shoot a 70# compound...nope. You are holding +/- 14# with your compound....and not on your fingers. Its not that you can't pull a 50# stick bow...but it take time to develop the fine motor control at the heavier weight.

So you want to start with a 30# bow to develop good form. Anyone telling you different ask to see their 30 yd groups- grin

So to the strategy;
1) you can buy a cheap starter bow and while developing form you will get a chance to try many other bows at th range, shops, and tourneys...guys are good about that. Its hard to know what you will migrate to; a ILF recurve, a short recurve like a Shrew or Bear....or one of the many variations of longbow; D shaped, R&D, etc. Typically you can off one of these Sammick Sage type bows on the classifieds for 80% of what you paid...or even find one there.

2) you can go the ILF route which is short for Intl limb fitting. There are thousands of ILF limbs in weight increments from 20# to 70# in short, med long and extra long from $60 to $1000. A guy can get a pretty darn good limb for $175 something like THIS [WNS carbon wood limbs $131 plus shipping at Alt services]

So you can start with some light cheap limbs on a cheap riser or a really nice riser like the Morrison, Stalker Stickbows, Dryad or many others...or even an Aluminum riser like the Tradtech from Lancaster, Dryad or Morrison....Those Aluminum risers are right around $450, the fancier wood risers are $500-$800 or so.

Anything ILF you can mix and match. My DL is 30 1/4" and I like a 64" recurve or 66" Longbow. I can shoot a 62 recurve well but the 64 is a little more forgiving. Many opinions of bow length for your draw...the outfit where you buy the riser will help with that. Longer is almost always more forgiving. A 17" riser and long ILF limbs makes a 62" bow 17/med=60", 17/short=58". I shoot a 19" riser with longs to get 64".

You can also get longer risers like the Olympic style shooters use; 21", 25" and even longer.

Now of course there are other strategies and guys that have started heavier.....most good shooters will agree this is the easiest route for most guys.


If you need help, feel free to PM me.


________

 

[Beendare]

Heres a couple ILF setups

 

[Beendare]

As you can see I’m having all kinds of problems posting pictures from my phone here.
Point is, ILF doesnt have to be ugly

 

[Felix40]

Almost any custom bow is going to be better than a large scale manufactured bow. Honestly If I were starting over right now I would just read reviews from upper end bowyers then pick one that I think looks good and order it or find one used. I live in the middle of nowhere so it would be impossible to try any out, which is really the best way to find what you like. I would be looking at something in the 45-50 pound range. This is different from what a lot of guys will say but its what I would do. As long as you are in shape and shooting 70 pounds now it shouldnt be a problem. Then find some arrows and get them bare shaft tuned as close as you can and start shooting. Take it easy at first and dont shoot more than a few arrows at a time. This way when you finally start shooting good and feel like the bow is a part of you, you wont have to go find another bow and set up more arrows and learn it all over again just to go hunting. It will save time and money in the long run.

Thats just my opinion. Its pretty much how I started and it worked out pretty good for me.

 

[2blade]

I have shot a ton of stickbows over the years but really like ilf bows. Find a riser you like and as was suggested above, buy a cheap lower weight set of limbs and learn how to tune and shoot it. If you get hooked and decide you want to go all in, then you can upgrade limbs. If you decide its not for you, nice ilf setups sell pretty quick and you won't lose to much money.

Have fun!

 

[SlickStickSlinger]

O hell yes!

Kay so I'm going to look for a good ILF riser and pick up 30# lower end but not lowest end limbs to get moving. I have been working all weekend and havent looked at strings or anything but I assume that should be pretty straight forward.
I am a pretty tall fella with a pretty long draw so I will most likely go a bit longer limb wise.
I noticed in the photos the arrows appeared to be wood with actual feathers? Do I get to fletch actual feathers now?!?! My bitzenburg will do just fine right? Am I going to need a straight clamp or my right clamp is just fine?

Toting a recurve or the like around in the mountains will be easier than a compound it seems?

I'm almost certain I'm going to be liking this a lot. As I said I just started in the archery world last year and am absolutely love doing it. It's a very personal sport to be a part of. I get out what I put in.

 

[Kentucky]

3River archery.. pick up a 17” or 21” das Dalaa riser, glove/tab ( I prefer American leather glove) stringer and a 35# set of black max 2.0 limbs and shoot for a year.. figure out your form, figure out how to tune, figure out your release, shoot for a year. If your good enough then graduate to a hunting weight bow, shoot it everyday. You might be a natural and be able to hunt this year.. otherwise you just get frustrated by missing or worse wounding animals.

I’ve bee shooting ilf recurve 4 years, hunted with a one piece omega longbow last year.. I love both.. youdon’t have to spend a shit ton of money to get awesome gear.. do t get caught up in the high end custom thing.. my opinion.

 

[SlickStickSlinger]

I've been learning really quick that there is a ton of good marketing within this industry.
Thanks for the reminder and advice Kentucky

 

[Beendare]

O hell yes!

Kay so I'm going to look for a good ILF riser and pick up 30# lower end but not lowest end limbs to get moving. I have been working all weekend and havent looked at strings or anything but I assume that should be pretty straight forward.
I am a pretty tall fella with a pretty long draw so I will most likely go a bit longer limb wise.
I noticed in the photos the arrows appeared to be wood with actual feathers? Do I get to fletch actual feathers now?!?! My bitzenburg will do just fine right? Am I going to need a straight clamp or my right clamp is just fine?

Toting a recurve or the like around in the mountains will be easier than a compound it seems?

I'm almost certain I'm going to be liking this a lot. As I said I just started in the archery world last year and am absolutely love doing it. It's a very personal sport to be a part of. I get out what I put in.

Do you know your DL with a compound?

My arrows are Carbon with a wood grain finish....its kind of cheating- grin. Wood arrows are a whole learning curve and I decided not to go down that rabbit hole. Woodies are required for some Tournament shooting classes to be legal. I fletch my Carbons with a Bitz style clamp- easy.

Carrying a Stickbow in the woods is pure pleasure....until you see a huge bull at 45 yds that would have been a done deal with your compound.....and you never even get a shot with your stickbow. It can be frustrating. You have to plan for shorter shots.

So many good options if you go ILF....and I can tell you, I've shot a bunch of 'custom' bows that don 't even come close to the nice feel and performance of low end ILF limbs.

Now I'm looking more at function and performance than the look....so factor that into your decision process. A custom might be exactly what you want...and some are a beauty to behold.


>>>>>>>

 

[Beendare]

Heres a tip if you go to the ILF riser route. This is my 19” trad tech aluminum riser from Lancaster.


This is about the easiest way to set up a shelf ......it’s almost comical how easy it is. I got some of that thick furniture pad material and cut my shelf and shaved and beveled the bottom piece. It works fantastic.

note the yellow outline. You don’t want to cover the whole shelf. You want to create just a little hump right over your hand this makes for better aero flight.

If you really want good arrow flight and easier adjustment easily you can get a little springy rest for these and use the berger hole instead.

 

[Beendare]

Worth noting; So many ways to enjoy Stickbow shooting.

A guy can go the Clay Hanes route carving his own stick and wood arrows....or go the more modern ILF route.........and anywhere in between. No right or wrong answer and it might be worth exploring all of the options first.

I come from the camp that I want to be consistent and accurate and am less concerned with how 'Modern' my gear is. I want anything within 30 yds to be a dead animal.

The one thing you will see is there are a lot of guys that just plain can't shoot these bows well....very inconsistent. Which is just fine...they are having a blast! I have one longbow buddy that won't shoot more than a 10 yd shot..[ he was kicked out of a couple African camps for wounding stuff with his stickbow]
He rattles those wood arrows through the woods at 3D trad shoots...a truly horrible shot but man does he have a great time! Its infectious. He knows his limits now....

That inconsistency drove me nuts in the beginning. It took me having a mentor that was a Field Champ helping me dial in my form. Learning proper shooting form is the whole battle with these stickbows- no matter the type.

______

 

[SlickStickSlinger]

The form would be consistent with shooting a compound other than the release I would imagine?

Mmmk. From the bit I've looked into it sounds like a 19" riser is a decent place to start. Today is my friday so when I get off I'll dig deeper into this and throw out a bunch of riser/limb combos I'm looking at getting just to get a bit of feedback so I know I'm not for certain just wasting my my money on a first. I understand I might be buying more than one (a few maybe) to get where I feel good but I definitely don't want to start out with my head in the sand.
I cant tell you how excited i am. My son wants a boe but thinks he needs a compound like daddy. If i get a trade or recurve he will certainly be okay shooting the same with me. So excited

 

[William Sublette]

The one thing you will see is there are a lot of guys that just plain can't shoot these bows well....very inconsistent. Which is just fine...they are having a blast! I have one longbow buddy that won't shoot more than a 10 yd shot..[ he was kicked out of a couple African camps for wounding stuff with his stickbow]
He rattles those wood arrows through the woods at 3D trad shoots...a truly horrible shot but man does he have a great time! Its infectious. He knows his limits now....



______

That comes from buying into the instinctive shooting world.

So called trad archery is no more difficult than any other archery. ( if you start a low draw weight with properly tuned arrows). Its actually fun shooting, adjusting, and grooving your eye.

you have to develop a simple repeatable form. And spend some time calibrating your brain/eye/muscles.


3 under is your friend.

That inconsistency drove me nuts in the beginning. It took me having a mentor that was a Field Champ helping me dial in my form. Learning proper shooting form is the whole battle with these stickbows- no matter the type.

Simple repeatable form.

 

[2blade]

if you are not opposed to aluminum risers, take a look at the Morrison Phoenix.

 

[SlickStickSlinger]

3River archery.. pick up a 17” or 21” das Dalaa riser, glove/tab ( I prefer American leather glove) stringer and a 35# set of black max 2.0 limbs and shoot for a year.. figure out your form, figure out how to tune, figure out your release, shoot for a year. If your good enough then graduate to a hunting weight bow, shoot it everyday. You might be a natural and be able to hunt this year.. otherwise you just get frustrated by missing or worse wounding animals.

I’ve bee shooting ilf recurve 4 years, hunted with a one piece omega longbow last year.. I love both.. youdon’t have to spend a shit ton of money to get awesome gear.. do t get caught up in the high end custom thing.. my opinion.

I am only seeing DAS Dalaa accessories and parts? No risers?

I am entirely open but just thinking about it wood sounds like a nice change from the aluminum compound I have.
There are quite a few different names to choose from compared to the generic 8 or so compounds. Even the 8 can be broken down pretty easily.

But this....o boy. This could get deep. My personality is going to drive this pretty far. I can feel it already.

Lancaster Archery Supply tradtech trident catches my eye but I have no idea why.

It would be nice to steer this ship to eastern countries over going into the Asian west. No win&win. But then again what do I know?


BEENDARE, my draw length is 30" from what I understand. I went to a local shop and they put me on their measuring wall. To be honest I didnt even look where my fingers landed they just said "o you're at 30" Part of me thinks they didnt have anything over a 30" draw and wanted to sell me a bow because my bow is 30"

From my measurements I should be a 31" draw. When I release it almost feels like I push a little...

Would the tradtech be considered a lower end riser?
What is a higher end riser? The Satori? Or..?
*will report back soon

Why do you say "so called trad"?

 

[William Sublette]

Because people always say "Traditional" is hard and takes years and years of devoted practice to get good at.


And its not. Its just archery. If you start at a draw weight you can easily manage, and stand up and shoot it with a simple repeatable form, you'd be impressed how fast you learn.



Traditional gives it a good label though, so that's handy for conversation.



But, If people started with the same draw weight recurve, or longbow, that they held at full draw with their compound, and shot with the same form they use with their compound, we would loose this story that it takes years to get good with "traditional" gear.