Time for a New Recurve Bow?

An inexpensive recurve might be your path to the challenges of traditional archery!

Recurve: Stick and String?

Something funny happened to me this winter. As my wife and I were exploring a new compound bow for her, I stumbled upon a latent desire of my own. One thing that I’ve found out about myself over the years, I seem to have a lot of undiscovered desires. I digress…somewhere along the line, I just couldn’t resist fondling and drawing an el-cheapo beginner’s recurve. I hadn’t touched a recurve in maybe 30 years or more. Although the cheap bow felt dead in my hands, now I was curious.

A few weeks later, I found a few recurves sitting in an Idaho Sportsman’s Warehouse. I focused on the Bear Grizzly. After getting some thoughts from the archery salesman, he and I decided that a few shots were in order. Although I was a bit apprehensive at the first shot, it was like butter! Three shots later, you couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I was convinced I had to have that 50-pound recurve.

Now, I’ve bought more than my share of toys and although a $400 bow hardly qualifies as a big spend, I am trying to abstain from impulse buys. We walked out of that store empty-handed but I committed to researching stickbows. Then I would hatch a proper plan for bow acquisition.

The Pleasure of a Traditional Bow

There is something special about a single piece of wood and fiberglass, bent by a dacron string, that evokes some of the deepest dreams of my childhood. My first bow was the most important gift of my young life. I would shoot that little 15-pound bow for hours. I dreamt of shooting squirrels and rabbits and living off the land ala “My Side of the Mountain”. Daydreams about that bow and its future replacement were nearly limitless. I ogled custom cedar shafts, as all I could get at the local dime-store were cheap plinking arrows.

Each spring my buddies and I headed to the sagebrush on the outskirts of town to try to thin the squirrel population by arrow. I don’t believe we ever struck or killed a single squirrel. This never stopped our trying or dampened our enthusiasm for “ground-squirrel season”. At some point, friends of my Dad’s gave me a used wood/fiberglass recurve with some oomph. I think it pulled thirty-five pounds. As I recall, although my accuracy and range improved with this new bow, the only thing I ever stuck an arrow in was the neighbor’s RV. That didn’t stop me from shooting it…a lot.

Compounded Distraction

As I grew older, I pined for compound bows. After my first loaner, I was hooked and it was only a matter of time before I owned my first compound. The bow was accurate beyond my belief and I eventually harvested my first archery mule deer with it. That bow still hangs in my garage, recently restrung and ready to go.

I recently picked up a beautiful Hoyt Spyder compound bow. It is, to my intermediate-level satisfaction, a tack-driver. With my wife similarly equipped with a Bowtech Carbon Icon that she is already mastering, we are nearly set for the hunt. This year we intend to supplement our Nevada limited draw tags with some Idaho archery tags, just to be sure. In short, we are keen to hunt with the compound bows again this year.

Turn of Events

In Idaho at the Backcountry Anglers and Hunters 2018 Rendezvous, I was able to meet Trent Wengerd, the custom bowyer from Montana. Trent so graciously walked me through all things traditional. He discussed finger positions, draw weights, limbs, risers, hunting with recurves and longbows, and gave me some exceptional advice for dipping my toes back into the recurve waters. I now have on my bucket list a custom bow from Wengerd, but he advised I start cheap and prove to myself whether a custom bow is needed.

I then picked up a nice little October Mountain Products Smokey Mountain Hunter from Andy Ponce at Addicted Archery from Gervais Oregon. This $100 bow is the same as a Samick Sage, and is also branded by other companies. This nice gentleman quizzed me extensively and sold me a bow and properly spined arrows, ready to shoot. The whole outfit, including bow, stringer, glove, and six arrows set me back about $230, ready to roll.

My First Tries

Both Trent and Andy seemed to advise that I shoot three fingers under the arrow. Since both are experts and I’m a recurve newbie, I assented. I’ve never tried three under before, so it was with some trepidation that I nocked an arrow and drew back, ten yards from my target. Woosh, thwap! The arrow neatly tucked into the 5-inch bullseye of my target. Two more arrows followed alongside the first. My first group at ten yards was just about the size of a large grapefruit or softball. The whole three-finger thing didn’t seem to be causing me any problems.

I repeated this drill a number of times at 10, 15, and finally 20 yards. All arrows found my target, although not all groups would have resulted in a deer kill at 15 and 20 yards. It was encouraging that some of my 15 yard groups were orange-sized and that I did manage one three-shot group at 20 yards that all found the bullseye.

My Point?

Why am I sharing this story about an obviously non-expert recurve archer? I hope to help you to see that this is a very affordable and accessible hobby. I can see the potential to gain killing groups to 20 yards with reachable practice. Most of all, instinctive shooting is really fun. There is incredible satisfaction in finding a 3-inch bull with three consecutive arrows at 40 yards from my modern compound; however, gaining a similar group at 15 yards instinctively is something else. Deeply exciting.

Since my shoulder surgery, I keep my compound at 58 pounds, where I once maintained it at 70. Interestingly, I pull about 30 inches of draw and the little 40 pound recurve is a test for me. Andy said I would be pulling close to 47 pounds at 30 inches, but that is nowhere near 70! This is another reason to start with a cheap bow at a low draw weight. Only time and practice will tell which bow weight is right for you, so start with something light. I chose 40 pounds because it is a legal hunting weight, I knew I’d be pulling over 45 pounds, and I figured someone else in my family could use it if I ever found it too wimpy for me.

What Now?

I’m going to practice with this bow. If I keep my range to 20 yards, or perhaps extend it to 25 or even 30, I should be able to take deer and pronghorn with it. The key will be to practice and to learn my slam-dunk range. Another key is to understand that a 45 pound draw weight in recurve is probably on par with a 35 pound compound bow. Simply, it doesn’t have the lethal range anywhere near my 58 pound Hoyt Spyder, whatever the accuracy. I will need to run my arrow through a chronograph to calculate momentum and energy to guide that side of my decision.

I may look to get a Bear Grizzly or New Kodiak in a 45 pound draw at some point later this year. Then I believe the final goal will be a custom Wengerd bow at 50 pounds. This will give me a number of options, I figure. I hope to get the 40-pound bow out deer or pronghorn hunting this year, and you can bet I will update this page when I do!

For You?

This is sort of a bland simple story about my recent return to traditional archery. There are gazillions of folks out there farther down this path. I don’t pretend to be an expert. I’m hoping that my reawakening to this sport might either inspire (optimally) you or (at least) cause you to reconsider whether traditional archery has something for you. I’m hoping that you see I leaned on a number of folks more knowledgeable.

My own opinion is that a compound bow is in many ways a safer introduction to archery hunting for beginners. More power and accuracy comes with the compound bow. Please, consider starting there as a hunter; however, the recurve bow or longbow offers a more primitive opportunity to legally harvest game. For those who want the challenge and can put in the needed practice, it provides an option. It is certainly a blast at the range and a great inexpensive way to enter archery sports. I’m excited to test myself in the field in a more challenging way. Until then, practice at the range will continue to fuel my inner child.