[English Longbow] New-ish recurve archer looking to move to English longbow

steven.langdale

New member
Hello all, a bit of advice needed....

I've been shooting recurve since I started archery last summer and have been progressing pretty well. However I really want to move over to a longbow :) It's bonus day on Thursday (no I'm not a banker :) ) and If I dont spend it the wife will!

As a bit of background I comfortably shoot my 34lb recurve and have had a go with a 50lb ELB which whilst quite different wasn't massively difficult to draw.

Now for the questions:

1. I'd like to be able to carry on with my recurve, how easy is it to shoot with both? Should I go one or the other as they are so different?

2. As I have cash burining a hole on my pocket, is there any mileage in going a bit more high end for my 1st bow? I'm thinking 350 ish for a nice Adie Hays I've seen. Or would cheaper be a better start?

3. Weight, i'm kinda thinking about 50lb, but then again if I do go for the more expensive bow, would 60 be better (and last me longer)

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

Steven
 

English Bowman

Well-known member
You can shoot both, the question is how well do you want to shoot? That's not as stupid a question as it sounds. I feel that you can be a jack of all trades, or you can be a master of one. If you want to have fun and don't expect to win too many trophies then you can shoot both. If you want to take it seriously then it's best to shoot one or the other. I shoot mainly longbow, and only compete with that style. I only pick up the recurve or compound every now and then as a bit of fun.
As for the price, or draw wieght, that's your decision, but the most important part of a longbow archer's kit is the arrows. Unless you are making your own, which I recommend, then don't buy cheap arrows, buy the best set you can afford from a good arrowsmith. A set of cheap "starter" or "practice" wooden arrows will do you no favours and are, in my opinion, a waste of money.
Finally when buying a bow, I'd buy direct from the bowyer, and don't buy from a bowyer unless you've spoken to him first, I'd never buy a bow from a retail shop, as I'd want a bow made for me, and only for me.
 

Nic Rhodes

New member
Mr Hayes is a good place to start but also speak to one or two others as well like Keith Rayner at Yew Tree Archery in this price bracket. Also at 350 look at the Simon Chapman and even Steve Strattons at 350. 450 will give you more options if you want to 'creep' :)
 

tinkerer

New member
I'd be very cautious about jumping to 60lb. Have you tried shooting a 50lb bow all day? The worst thing would be to get the more powerful bow and find you didn't enjoy shooting it.

Quite a few bowyers these days are making fast bows. An archer told me his 42lb bow was point on at 70metres, so 50lb should be plenty for nearly everything. A 50lb bow from Chris Boyton for ?450.00(I think) will be as good as they get.

If you found that you'd like a bit more than the 50lber, and later bought one of 60lb, you'd still appreciate the lighter bow for indoors and the shorter outdoor rounds.

A 60lb bow wouldn't last any longer.

David
 

steven.langdale

New member
Thanks guys for the replies.

After reading alot of the posts on here i'd already come to the conclusion I should mak my own arrows, Though i did intend to get 6 cheap-ish ones initially, just so I could get going - bad idea??

I'm sure I can realtively quickly get used to the 50lb so prob on balance I am better going for that.

Nic, I've no creep left I'm afraid - I've already crept upto 350! :)

Thanks

Steven
 

bobbowyer

New member
Hey Steven

Its like I'm looking in a mirror.

I too got my first recurve last year and loved it. I too had the yen to try the traditional instead.

We differ in so far as I didn't have ?350 kicking around. What I did have was a timber merchant a garage, and an angle grinder (which I know is cheating but it speeds things up!)

I don't get to shoot in winter so I spent the winter time teaching myself to make longbows. I've made 8 or 9, given a few away and enjoyed making them as much as shooting them. If you are at all practical I can heartily recommend trying a bit of DIY. My bows are not bickerstaffes but the satisfaction of shooting a bow you spent 6 - 9 hours building is immense, and perhaps compensates for the fact that some of them have more "personnality" than perhaps they should. I know every inch of every one of them.

Anyway, the point of this ramble.

Firstly, I'd be wary about "overbowing". I spent about an hour shooting my 45lb bow after being used to about 30 and impressively screwed up my bow hand. Don't buy a bow which is too light for you but do be aware that it may feel fine when you're doing it, then you wake up next morning without the use of your left pinkie.

Secondly, You can shoot a longbow a number of ways. At the lower poundages I shot mine pretty much the same way I shot my recurve. However when I went up to a 70lb longbow (65 inches long and it was a rubbish stave, that one should NEVER have made it to 30 inches) I had to radically change my technique. If you watch the really heavyweight archers they do a variety of bizarre looking techniques all of which involve throwing their whole body into the bow. Its a much more fluid, mobile dynamic technique. I've enjoyed my archery a whole lot more since I started moving with the bow. But it is very different to recurve technique.

Thirdly, when I knackered my hand I tried going back to my recurve while I was recovering. It felt horrible. The fun was gone. It felt mechanical and dead. The longbow ruined me for the recurve. To me, traditional archery is about much more than just a different technique or equipment. Its about being instinctive, intuitive, and fluid. It might just be me but I planned to do both, but havn't wanted to. My recurve now rarely gets an outing.

Good luck with whatever you do!
 

Dewclaw34

New member
Hi Steve
I would be interested in an update on your experience of recurve - longbow defection. I too have been shooting recurve for a few months only after completing my beginners course in October. I always hankered after a Longbow after having the opportunity to shoot one on the course. I have just bitten the bullet (thanks to my grandma RIP) and ordered an Aidy Hayes LB and Little John Arrows! The LB lads (and lasses) at my club somehow seem to have more fun than the serious RC people! i will revisit this thread with an update on my experiences.

Regards

Dewclaw
 

FlightyRachel

New member
Fonz Awardee
Hi Steve, of course you can shoot both! :) It's probably true that you'd be a better archer if you stuck to one, but variety is the spice of life after all! I shoot recurve and longbow and sometimes my hun bow.. not getting out much at the moment but I'll shoot anything really. One idea for you, I got my latest longbow via the NFAS small ads on their website. I think with your budget you won't struggle to get what you want custom made, but it might be worth a look? O h, and making arrows is hideous, but much cheaper than buying them ready made.. I get my fella to do mine! :)
 

blakey

Active member
Hello all, a bit of advice needed....

I've been shooting recurve since I started archery last summer and have been progressing pretty well. However I really want to move over to a longbow :) It's bonus day on Thursday (no I'm not a banker :) ) and If I dont spend it the wife will!

1. I'd like to be able to carry on with my recurve, how easy is it to shoot with both? Should I go one or the other as they are so different?

Thanks

Steven
I see absolutely no problem in shooting both. A bow is a bow. I have about a dozen different bows that I rotate through (4 different divisions). I find I have to keep a notebook re sight marks, etc. I actually find it really useful to shoot ELB. Whenever my form is off in the other disciplines I always pick up a longbow. It soon sorts out any probs (or at least magnifies them). The ELB is by far the hardest bow type to master. It's always worth playing with. That's just my opinion anyway. Cheers
 

sunmouse

New member
Nice to see you're considering the old weapon. I've shot longbow for a bit myself, having tried recurve and recently compound. There's more satisfaction in the old longbow and when you make that good shot, you get a lot of satisfaction. You can shoot both recurve and longbow quite easily, it depends on how much time you have to shoot in your life. Re bows - I wouldn't shoot too high a poundage as its not like shooting a recurve. You don't hold a longbow at full draw for any time really, just enough to get the shot alright. I shoot a 38lb longbow and a 35 lb one. One is a faster weapon, the other is different wood and slower. I wouldn't buy off the peg either but find a good bowyer and spend some time figuring out what you want and how much. If you're serious about longbow archery, a custom bow is the best route.
 

steve58

New member
I wasted an entire outdoor season trying to jump from a 34# recurve to a 54# longbow. Not fun. My advice to anyone moving to longbow would be start at your recurve draw weight plus 10#.

I then shot a 45# longbow for a couple of years and that and a bit of coach input sorted me out. I now shoot 55# on my fingers.

45# should be more than enough to shoot and enjoy Westerns and you should be able to get a reference on the boss at 80 yards with the right arrows.

I shoot Mr Bickerstaffe's bows and am very happy with them, but I'll also put in a good word for Lee Ankers at Heritage Longbows; he makes a very fast bow for the draw weight and budget and he'll take time to talk to you and find out what you want.

Good luck!
 
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