Recurve Bows

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I don't know what it is but shooting a traditional bow is just a blast.

I would say it is because it is fun, simple, effective and age old to boot. Mike
 
Yes they are a thing of beauty. I will try to take some decent pics of some bows I have finished and some in progress as well. I was only going to build one but...... I have given away 11 if my memory is right and only sold a few. I get attached to them and don't want to get rid of them when finished. Same thing with my flint knapping some of them just have something that makes you have to keep it. Mike
 
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Here is an eight point shot with sinew back osage bow I built. Used a home made arrow with a kay county flint tip.
 
I've been on eBay and traditional archery buy and sell sites for a week hoping to find a non TD. After talking myself into a TD because it makes the most sense, I went to Bass Pro and Cabelas and molested some non TDs. Falling for the romanticism of those.

I see people buying and shooting bows from as far back as the 60s and even some from the 50s. Given a bow is in good shape, how much does flat out age effect it?
 
I would expect a good osage bow to last a couple of lifetimes if taken care of. Which by the way don't take much. Don't keep it strung up all the time, only when shooting or hunting. Other than stringing backwards or dry fire or torquing a limb while stringing or maybe breaking a string there just is not that much to go wrong. One more thing is letting someone else shoot your bow. Be sure they do not over draw it or that can spell splinters or loud snaps. Both of which do not sound good<gg>. Mike
 
Please point me to a reputable online version of the DIY osage bow process. I've already googled too many bows made from coat hangers by kids on youtube.... I'm curious to see the process if not try it myself. N_G
 
That depends. A selfwood bow, meaning one that is made from a single piece of wood is vulnerable to all kinds of mistreatment. Some woods will take bending and releasing more times than others.

Most bows you buy today have a wooden core and are structurally covered in something called bowtough which is a material similar to fiberglass. If those are treated properly they should last for a very very long time.

When you see a bow from the sixties or seventies, there were selfwood bows, fiberglass bows, and some made like today's bows except they had fiberglass over the wood core. Fiberglass does not take repeated shock as well as modern materials. I would look at any old bow with fiberglass carefully and check for cracking. I would also stick to 50 pounds or less on an old bow just for safety.

Another thing to remember is that an older bow or a newer selfwood bow needs to have one of the older materials for its string.
The newer stuff, someone else will help me out on what it's called, will put too much energy into the limbs and that can result in catastrophic failure.
 
Osage will take about anything you throw at it. It is also one of the springiest woods there is. I just made a little bush bow that pulls 55 at twenty inchs. The bow is very short just over 40 inchs long. It rode in the back of my pickup for ten years roughed out just needing tillered and nocks cut. I don't think I will ever ever think about a finish. It don't need it. It is a cool little spitter for shooting out of small portable blinds. If you look up OJAM there are several small pieces of footage showing the different steps. I would go to the library and get the Jim Hamm book called Bows and Arrows Of Native Americans. An excellent site to look into would be Paleo Planet. They have several bow tutorials there. Mike
 
That depends. A selfwood bow, meaning one that is made from a single piece of wood is vulnerable to all kinds of mistreatment. Some woods will take bending and releasing more times than others.

Most bows you buy today have a wooden core and are structurally covered in something called bowtough which is a material similar to fiberglass. If those are treated properly they should last for a very very long time.

When you see a bow from the sixties or seventies, there were selfwood bows, fiberglass bows, and some made like today's bows except they had fiberglass over the wood core. Fiberglass does not take repeated shock as well as modern materials. I would look at any old bow with fiberglass carefully and check for cracking. I would also stick to 50 pounds or less on an old bow just for safety.

Another thing to remember is that an older bow or a newer selfwood bow needs to have one of the older materials for its string.
The newer stuff, someone else will help me out on what it's called, will put too much energy into the limbs and that can result in catastrophic failure.

That's fast flight string, if I've read right. The older bows take new strings made of dacron.

I've also read about using phenolic on the tips to make old bows fast flight compatible. Not sure if that's correct info though.
 
Bear Glass Powered Bearcat, #45. Either early 60 or early 70s. Coin is silver in color and recessed. Can't tell if tips are overlayed.

Damon Howatt (now pat of Martin) Cavalier, #45. Maybe 1958 to 197?. Tips not overlayed but they do have that string grove just below them.

Both look mighty fine and priced right. Tempted to buy now.

I feel way to excited about this. :cross:
 
Those both sound like bows that I would love to add to my collection.
45# Is enough for deer hunting And depending on your length of pull it may be a little heavier than that.

A 45 pound bow is a great bow to start with.
It is heavy enough to shoot well and light enough to let you concentrate on your form.
 
I've read 30-45 pounds for getting into recurve. I'm looking at 45-50, mainly 40-45. Mainly, mainly, 45.

Texas used to require 40 for hunting, but recently did away with any weight requirement. From my understanding, 40 was not at all unreasonable. Sure, there are a great many more variables to a good kill shot than draw weight, but flicking toothpicks at American large game aint gonna work.
 
Many deer are dead because of a 40lb bow. Use the heaviest arrow you can spine for the bow and shoot two blade SHARP broad heads and you can get pass thru shoots regularly if you choose wise shot angles. Mike
 
Oh, y'all are in for a lot of stray cat feeding once I start into arrows. :p

Fishing arrows were easy. Fiberglass rod, knock, barbed tip. Bam. Fletching and spining? Nope. The hard part was rigging them up to stay on the line.

I was digging through my junk and found some old broad heads I had picked up years ago. I don't think any of these are suitable. 3 and 4 "blade". "Blade" because they aint sharp enough to cut butter. I'm not sure they'd even cut the air between me and a target.

Do I get to use real feathers? Will Grackle feathers work? I can get those all day. :p
 
Many deer are dead because of a 40lb bow. Use the heaviest arrow you can spine for the bow and shoot two blade SHARP broad heads and you can get pass thru shoots regularly if you choose wise shot angles. Mike

Very true. I've always liked ash arrows. Heavy and strong. Put a good two bladed head on it and it does wonders.
Cedar arrows came into being mostly because they are light and a bit faster so they were good for target shooting. Heavy will pass through better and don't break as easy.

I was digging through my junk and found some old broad heads I had picked up years ago. I don't think any of these are suitable. 3 and 4 "blade". "Blade" because they aint sharp enough to cut butter. I'm not sure they'd even cut the air between me and a target.

Do I get to use real feathers? Will Grackle feathers work? I can get those all day. :p

You can sharpen a broadhead up pretty well. I keep a small clean file and a small diamond stone with me. I like two blade, but a two blade broadhead with the two little bleeder blades on the sides works well. They are inserts. Bear and zwicky are good.

You want feathers for sure if you are shooting off the shelf or using your finger as a rest for the arrow. You wont get good flight with vanes.

I don't know about Grackle feathers. Turkey are the right size and there are right and left feathers. That is important. Your fletching jig will determine left or right feathers.
 
Awwwwww yeah! :ban:

Just bought a BEAR ARCHERY BLACK PANTHER HUNTER RECURVE BOW RH / 40# / 52".

The bow is marked 40/45#. I forget what my draw is since it didn't matter before, but I'm not monkey arms, so I expect I'll get ~40 out of it. Dude on eBay said it scaled 40# @ 28" on his digital scale. His eBay business seems to be selling archery gear, so...

Best I can figure, with the serial # starting with a K and the bear coin being silver in color and raised, this is a 1972 or after model. Possibly sold at Montgomery Wards. Some say Sears, but I've seen Sears branded bows marked with the Sears name.

It's a shoot off the shelf type, too. I was hoping for that. A solid 45# would have been 10/10 on druthers, but hey, I've let several bows slip by already.

Paid $160, shipped. Have seen them go for more.

Whatcha think?

bear black panther.jpg
 
That is going to be a fine bow for you.
I think there is a good chance that you will find your length of pull to bring that near the 45 pound mark, but don't worry about that.
You are about to fall in love. Shooting that thing will become an obsession!
 
That's a good deal for a bow like that. Like others have said 40lbs is plenty. It'd make a good bow for Turkey hunting too.

5lbs isn't gonna make much difference in speed.
 
Great score!!!! I have watched the older Bear bows off an on for awhile. I would like to get a smaller bow for blind hunting. That thing is going to be a blast. Congratulations.
 
It came today :ban: Let it not be said I can't hit the broad side of a barn. Hell, I can hit the front side of a shed just fine. Next I'll try hitting the target. :eek:
 
Yeah. Strung it up with the push/pull method since I couldn't find a stringer near by this evening.

It's harder to pull back with bare finger tips than I thought, so I used my old assist. I'll learn finger though. Maybe with a glove.
 
I probably wouldn't use a release on it.
First, I'm not sure how good it is on the string.
Second, the action of the string, and therefore the arrow is a lot different with fingers so you will be learning wrong.

I've always had a glove, but I've shot bare fingers mostly. Your fingers will get used to it.
You do want an arm guard though!
 
This thread made me pull out my bow. I'm thinking it has to be about 45yrs old. It's a colt gamemaster 43# @28" . Man that was a great bow. I should get it strung but not sure I could still pull it back.
 
Try a glove or a tab. I've shot with both but find the glove easier. The tab gives a smoother release but takes some getting used to.
 
When I shot I preferred a cowhide tab. I thought it equalized the finger pressure more evenly on the string. With a glove I would sometimes pull harder with my ring finger, sometimes with the index finger. For target shooting it could make a difference.
 
Arm guards. Is it more likely to hit my arm with a recurve? Never had that happen with a compound. I'll probably make a guard anyway, just to be cool looking.

And I must say, this recurve is so light. Especially compared to my compound. Granted, my compound is old and not made of the lightest compound bow materials, but still. This recurve is light.
 
I don't think there is any reason it would be more likely to hit your arm with the string using a recurve. I never shot without one but never noticed any real wear on the guard. It's not like you would hit your arm every time. That said I've managed a few shots where the string went between the guard and my arm. The more your elbow points down at full draw the more you need one. If your elbow at draw is pointed towards the ground you are more likely to hit your arm than if it points horizontal to the ground.
 
Arm guards are nice for hunting with a coat because they'll will hold your sleeve out of the way.
 
As far as hitting your arm more with a recurve, I think you would. If you are using good form your body is going to be in a straight line with your forward shoulder facing the target, your arm extended and the elbow of your rear arm pointed behind you. Further, if you are shooting instinctive (focus on target, draw, anchor point, release), you are not pulling back the bow and resting, then likely bowing out your lead forearm a bit like on a compound.

Get yourself a glove and shoot fingers (put release in case with compound). I use split fingers (two below, one above). Some folks recommend three below for accuracy (which allows you to look right down the arrow but in doing so you really aren't shooting instinctive).

Next, pick up "The Beginner's Guide to Traditional Archery". In it you will be given some good guidance form and drills for accuracy. Until you get the book, I will throw you the first shooting practice. Shoot from the five yard mark at a 2" (I think that&#8217;s the size) bullseye at eye level. Then put a dot in the middle of the bullseye. Shoot only 1 or 2 arrows at a time so you won't be as likely to just throw a dozen arrows down range. Focus on the dot in the center of the bullseye (burn a hole through it with your eyes prior to drawing) then while still focusing on the center of the bullseye bring the bow up and shoot. Once you have hit the bullseye 500 consecutive times without missing move back to ten yards. Wash and repeat.

Focusing on a single, tiny spot on the target is key. Here is a fun little experiment to prove my point. Go and shoot at a blank 3' x 3' target just trying to hit the center of the target. Now shoot from the same distance focusing on a 6" bullseye. Now focus on a 1" bullseye. While you would think your groups should have been just as tight, assuming you were focusing and you remembered the face of your father, the tightest group will when shooting at the smallest bullseye. I guess our minds are subconsciously lazy and will only expend the minimal amount of effort and concentration required. Ask any traditional archer who hunts and he will likely tell you that he is not aiming at the animal or the vitals or behind the shoulder. He is aiming at a hair that is over the vitals behind the shoulder.

For some cheap targets I use grain bags from my LHBS filled with old plastic bags from the grocery store. Stuff them as tight as possible. They work GREAT!!!!

Good luck and practice, practice, practice

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15 yards. Shooting off the shelf. No sights. Gloved fingers, one over/two under. Aiming for the black dot in the very center.

I'll set up something better (J8D style) later. I was excited to shoot today, and wanted to be sure the bow was really holding together, had the right arrows and arrow stop would really work. All good there.

I didn't count how many I shot, but when I took my glove off, my finger tips were white. Me likey this. :D

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