recurve vs longbow

[David Coulter]

#6966

Sometimes I see reference that shooting a recurve is easier than shooting a longbow. For me, the longbow has been easier.
I was shooting a pretty old factory recurve, a Browning Wasp circa 1973 45#, and made the switch to a new custom made R/D Stewart Slammer Special 46#.
Perhaps it’s the old medium grade factory bow vs the latest R/D custom that answers the question, but shooting the longbow really seems easy.
I guess I’m comparing apples to oranges, but can someone tell me why the recurve is supposed to be easier than the longbow? Thanks! Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

[Jess]

#57245

It seems like I’ve read that Howard Hill preferred the longbow because it was more “forgiving” of the archers mistakes. IMHO, I think the longer limbed bows (longbow or recurve)are easier to shoot. Hopefully someone more knowledgable will weigh in.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#57265

The thicker riser and more weight/mass of a recurve tends to make for a more stable, less ‘shocky’ bow as well, or so the conventional wisdom goes. Recurves also tend to have a deeper shelf cut, therefor are more accommodating of a wider variety of arrow spine, etc. So yeah, in some ways, a recurve can be more “forgiving” but as with all of this, I think it really comes down to individual bow design and the shooter’s technique more than anything. Some hyrid longbows integrate the best of both.

But I’m with you – though I own a couple recurves, I really like shooting my hybrid r/ds more and more.

[David Petersen]

#57401

David — I think you nailed it with the distinction between factory bows and custom bows … that, quality of materials and manufacture, can make a lot more difference than whether it’s a recurve or longbow. Until recently a primary advantage to recurves for hunters was that they could be quite short and still not stack, shock, or shoot erratically, as will a short Hill style longbow. But as Bruce (Smithhammer) points out, the newer hybrid deflex-reflex longbows have changed everything, with Shrew leading the way in a growing field of excellent short hybrid longbows with grips that compromise between the narrow flat handle of a Hill style and the deep formed grips of recurves. In my mind today, given equal quality of manufacture, I believe aesthetics — what feels best in your hand and most pleases your eye and artistic sensibilities — is the greatest if not only distinction between the two stickbow designs. I’m primarily a Shrew longbow shooter myself, but also love my 1968 Bear K-Mag recurve and my Osage selfbow. It’s all fun.

[Stephen Graf]

#58217

I have casually watched the scores from 3-D shoots for a while now. I have noticed that:
– The highest recurve score is always higher than the highest longbow score.
– The average recurve score is almost always higher than the average longbow score.
– The median longbow score is usually higher than the median recurve score.

Combining these observations with my own experience, I have come to the conclusion that a person shooting a recurve is capable of achieving greater accuracy than with a longbow. But this has to be tempered with the fact that longbows tend to be more forgiving. Which means that your worst recurve shot will be worse than your worse longbow shot.

Now to the heart of the matter : In hunting – It doesn’t matter how good your best shot is. Dead is dead. What matters is how good your worst shot is. So for those of us who aren’t all that good, a longbow makes more sense. It will help us make our worst shot a little better.

And as Dave P. observed, the reflex/deflex longbows (hybrid) are a good compromise that seem to promise the best of both worlds.

I can attest to this myself. I spent the summer getting good with a hill style longbow. I did get good with it, but now my bow arm elbow has tendonitis from all the shock. And still, on average my shooting with a hybrid longbow is better. I also spent some time with my fancy bear takedown bow (even after it split my head open) and wow can I beat the bull’s eye out! But when I throw an arrow, it goes more astray than when I shoot my hybrid.

So for me the answer is a hybrid bow. But then that just opens up more questions:
-Narrow stiff limbs?
-wide whippy limbs?
-locator grip?
-length?

Here are my answers this week:
1. Get a hybrid long bow
2. Get as long a bow as you can stand (no offense to the short shrew folks – but finger pinch is finger pinch)
3. Get narrow limbs so the bow is not whippy
4. Get as shallow a grip as you can stand
5. Shoot as much FOC as you can, but don’t go over 12 grns/lb. Speed loss is too much for practical hunting.

I believe this is my longest post!

[David Coulter]

#58294

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all of your answers. It all makes sense. When I was shooting my Wasp and having a good day, I was nailing it. When I felt off, so went the arrows. With my Stewart Slammer, when I’m on I’m nailing em’ and when I felt out of sorts, I’m almost always well within the “minute of deer” circle.
thanks, dwc

[Ripforce]

#58333

I started with recurves, switched to D-Style longbows 2 years ago, in fact in my Trad group of guys there is one other fellow that shoots longbows the rest are recurve shooters and they all shoot 3 piece takedowns (Widows & Predators) we shoot a lot of 3d shoots in our area and here is what I have found! I can shoot their recurves and hit the targets real well, but they cannot hit anything with my longbows, in fact they usually say “how the hell can you hit anything with these damn long bows” I now am shooting a Bama 62in R/D longbow which I absolutly love, very lite in the hand, but shoots a lot like a one piece recurve, best of both worlds I think! Still love my 66in D styles though!

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