Recurve Hunting

[MercMike]

Hi all, my name is mike and for years I have been a devoted hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman, most of my hunting has been done with rifles and shotguns. but have always had a compound bow witch I have harvested lots of small game with and shot countless arrows into targets and done some 3-d shoots . up until last year I had never harvested a big game animal with my bow. but... I finally did connect last year on a small mule buck and the experience has me hooked and I forever will be a bow hunter!!!! now here is the question or shall I say questions I would love to look at getting into a recurve bow suitable for big game but don't know where to start ? my last bow I bought was a package hoyt from Sherwood park archery and it has served me well! but I know next to nothing when it comes to recurves. what is a good entry level bow ? for less then 1000 bucks. im 6"2" and have a 30" draw length I hope that helps. also I noticed on another thread guys that make their own broad heads from stone "napping" I believe its called? does anyone on here hunt with them still ? I just think its cool!! and thanks so much in advance !!

[jlgsgw]

Depends how traditional you want to go. If you want a recurve that you can still attach modern sights ,rests and quiver to then your best bet is hoyt dorado or game master, martin jaguar or panther, and I see elite has a new recurve out as well, the origin I believe it's called. I believe they will all be in your price range. If you want to go straight traditional there's tonnes of companies that make these in one piece and takedown form. And you can call a lot of these companies and get exactly what you want built, from types of wood to inlays to engraving. Personally for hunting I wouldn't go less than 60 lb draw that way your covered for larger animals, and a nice heavy arrow is going to be your friend as it will help with penetration to compensate the speed that your losing. Places like 3 rivers archery and Bingham archery are also a great place to get supplies, you'll notice the traditional archery section in most shops these days are lacking. Hope this helps some, Josh

[brendan's dad]

contact "petew" and all your questions will be answered

[calgarychef]

Very first question is do you want sights or not. If you want to shoot instinctively then you need a bow with the shelf shaped properly to do so. I bought bpmy first recurve for 159 bucks and killed 5 deer with it. My current longbow has killed a lot more animals than that. Places to look for info... tradgang, the Alberta traditional bowhunters association, or go to a range and watch folks shooting ...then pick a likely looking dude and ask him some questions.

[MercMike]

Thank you for all the great info, after reading your responses it is the traditional style I'm looking for something with no sights instinct shooting as mentioned . So 60 pound would be a good starting point for big game ? I would use it mostly for moose, black bear and deer . I'm in Edmonton what would be your opinion on shops to visit where I might find the best selection/ knowledgeable staff on the subject ?

[sureshot]

Originally Posted by MercMike

Thank you for all the great info, after reading your responses it is the traditional style I'm looking for something with no sights instinct shooting as mentioned . So 60 pound would be a good starting point for big game ? I would use it mostly for moose, black bear and deer . I'm in Edmonton what would be your opinion on shops to visit where I might find the best selection/ knowledgeable staff on the subject ?

Get a hold of Dennis at http://git-r-done-archery-ltd.myshopify.com/

[MercMike]

Just checked out get-er-done archery's site and they have some beautiful bows I will contact them for sure ! So do some guys that want the true "nostalgic feel" still use wooden shaft arrows and and stone broadheads they affix themselves ? I guess in the end I would love to kill an animal with a hand made arrow with a stone broadhead , I understand the advantages of carbon arrows and razor sharp steel broadheads but what I'm looking for is just to go back to basics, get up close and personal, and get it done as it's been done for thousands of years, call me crazy but I'm up for the task!

[catnthehat]

I have synthetic shafts as well as wood arrows but my ,Hack Kempf flat bow gets shot with wood only.
I have a a very nice recurve I would sell , it is a very light how with fixed tips .
Speak to Petew about it, I got it from him.
Pete has a fantastic website BTW.
Cat

[petew]

Cat , Is that the little Blackfoot RC I sold you? sweet bow.
Mercmike... PM me your phone# and I will help you. And you don't want or need a 60# bow . That is bad advice.
Pete

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by petew

Cat , Is that the little Blackfoot RC I sold you? sweet bow.
Mercmike... PM me your phone# and I will help you. And you don't want or need a 60# bow . That is bad advice.
Pete

Yeah it is , really nice bow but I don't use it!
Cat

[jlgsgw]

Originally Posted by petew

Cat , Is that the little Blackfoot RC I sold you? sweet bow.
Mercmike... PM me your phone# and I will help you. And you don't want or need a 60# bow . That is bad advice.
Pete

A 6'2" man doesn't want at least 60 lb for big game? 60 lb is not a lot of weight, but if you say so....

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by jlgsgw

A 6'2" man doesn't want at least 60 lb for big game? 60 lb is not a lot of weight, but if you say so....

I've made more than a few very four kills with a 50 pound bow .
A person's height really has nothing to do with how much they should be pulling
Cat

[jlgsgw]

I'm saying he's a good size man so he's probably fairly capable.... of course you can kill with 50lb but if your strong enough to pull 60 comfortably then you should.

[petew]

Learning traditional with a 60# bow drawing 30" will be over 65# at his draw. Not the way to learn, and certainly not needed.
Jlgsqw What weight trad bow are you shooting ? and draw length?

[jlgsgw]

Originally Posted by petew

Learning traditional with a 60# bow drawing 30" will be over 65# at his draw. Not the way to learn, and certainly not needed.
Jlgsqw What weight trad bow are you shooting ? and draw length?

Sold my recurve last summer, black widow one piece 66lbs at 27.5 "

[sureshot]

So should I not hunt with my 40 pound bow?

[brendan's dad]

I shoot a 45 lbs long bow and with 650 grain arrows, inside of 25 yards my penetration on my bock target is almost as good as my 70 lbs Alloy with 430 grain arrows at 29" draw.

I haven't hunted with the trad bow yet because my abilities are not what I would consider ethical for hunting. But once I get there, I will be very confident in my setup inside of 25 yards.

[calgarychef]

40 lbs, 50 lbs, .....60lbs? 50 lbs will kill anything we encounter in Alberta, so will 40 for that matter. If you're truly strong shoot the 60 but sometimes we need to hold at full draw while hunting and any extra weight obviously makes it more difficult. I'm definately more accurate with lower poundage and accuracy trumps all else. I wish I was strong enough to consistently shoot a heavier bow because if you can do it there are some advantages, heavier arrow, longer cast, Flatter trajectory (maybe but not always). Also switching from compound to traditional you'll notice right away how easy it "was" to hold at full draw.

[Lefty-Canuck]

60 is overkill no matter how big and tough you are.

LC

[jlgsgw]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

60 is overkill no matter how big and tough you are.

LC

Lol

[MercMike]

Thank you for all the helpful advice, as of now my compound is set at about 65 pounds and I have absolutely no problems pulling that draw weight all day, Petew I will send you a pm and we can chat

[MercMike]

Originally Posted by petew

Learning traditional with a 60# bow drawing 30" will be over 65# at his draw. Not the way to learn, and certainly not needed.
Jlgsqw What weight trad bow are you shooting ? and draw length?

Sorry overlooked this, I'm shooting a Hoyt avenger I believe my draw lenth is 30" and it's set at around the 65# mark

[calgarychef]

Sure you can pull it all day because you've got that little thing called let off . Also your draw length will probably shorten a bit with a recurve. Keep us posted though, it's great to see someone picking up a tradbow.

[petew]

65# and wheels is nothing like 65# traditional . Take a trip to a shop and test draw some trad bows. Trophy Book has a pretty good stock , and also has the Bearpaw bows from Germany with the 30 year warranty.
Shoot me your number and a time to call.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by MercMike

Thank you for all the helpful advice, as of now my compound is set at about 65 pounds and I have absolutely no problems pulling that draw weight all day, Petew I will send you a pm and we can chat

I pull 72 on my hunting bow...but I don't pull and hold 72 lbs for over a minute. Let off is key factor that's being overlooked.

LC

[MercMike]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I pull 72 on my hunting bow...but I don't pull and hold 72 lbs for over a minute. Let off is key factor that's being overlooked.

LC

Yes you are 100% correct I doubt high poundage would do me any good in a trad set up, I would rather get the basics down get comfortable shooting at that then if I decide more is required later I could make the change

[RoscoeP]

PM sent

[albertabighorn]

Is there an average draw length lost when going from compound vs trad?

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by albertabighorn

Is there an average draw length lost when going from compound vs trad?

Most archers' draw length is decreased by at least 2" when going from wheels to stick .
Cat

[albertabighorn]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Most archers' draw length is decreased by at least 2" when going from wheels to stick .
Cat

Thx cat. Im guessing even more when using a modern release to fingers.