Why did you switch to compound???????

malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I think the KG1 was based on a wooden three piece.... "Portland". KG sounds like Keith Gascoigne had a hand in it.
I travelled up to Walesby to pick up my new Minerva, met Keith Gascoigne and had a tour of the workshops, Keith has a lifetimes worth of anecdotes but amongst many pearls I saw the Marksman Gallery with the original KG1 prototype as well as Keiths personal KG1.
Shooting the Minerva was amazing, using their range I shot a set of my own carbon arrows and had five in the gold including the first shot ever with the bow.
Keith is indeed a Grand Master Bowyer.
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot
I have a life-long problem with arthritis, and it simply became too bad in my left shoulder to sustain a recurve under full draw. The compound's let-off allowed me to continue with archery.
 

imelrose

New member
In a word injury. Shooting too heavy a bow too young did damage to the elbow on my bow arm. As a result when I draw a recurve bow of a reasonable draw weight my elbow collapses. A compound with decent let-off allows me to carry on shooting, simple as that.
 

Michael Burrows

Member
AIUK Saviour
Del has asked the question in a reply on another thread I can only speak for my self. So spill the beans why did you switch to compounds???
I switched from compound to to barebow. Very difficult to explain but somehow BB is just more satisfying. Perhaps it's the technical with the visceral old world archery aspect of shooting a bow. Now I just need someone to buy Mt compound!!!
 

Thorvald

Active member
I started back in appr. 1986. At that time compound bows was not very "visible" in the archery landscape - at least not in the club back then. So I got a recurve bow in my hands. I had some "natural talent" and shot quite well beck then. In 1992 I actually bought my first compound bow - because I was taking up hunting license for bowhunting. Got the hunting license both the normal one as well as for bow hunting. Never hunted much, but kept the compound bow for some time. Still shot recurve, but for a short period tried to shoot the compound (much in the same way as I shot recurve) - but found the bow too heavy for me and results was not that good, so went back to recurve and sold the compound. As for recurve I back in appr. 2003-2004 was interested in the very nice Green Horn Sirius riser and their very interesting double curved ceram carbon ellipse limbs. But didn't get to buy one. In I think 2007-2008, I started to get target panic (have allways shot recurve with sight). From 2008-2010 appr., I shot recurve barebow - with a beautiful custom build wooden recurve from USA. At some time, I also started to get target panic with barebow. Then in 2010, I got my first - or actually my 2nd compound bow - a leverbow - or recurve-compound. In the very first beginning I shot it off fingers, but eventuelly changed to back tension release. Since then I have shot compound and have had a few different ones. I like it because of the better accuracy - but the accuracy does not come by it self - you still have to do things correct. I also like it because of the more modern / technical bow. I still like leverbows very much, it's a very nice kind of bow.
 

hooktonboy

The American
Ironman
American Shoot
Makes me smile this. I have switched from recurve to compound maybe six times (bow shoulder injury) - and have never ever "got on" with it at all. Others have benefited every time I bought a bow etc, then sold at a loss every time... now a standing joke. Interested if anyone else has found this to be their experience. I settle for low poundage recurve and shooting short distance (mostly) - and settle for goodish scores on a goodish day.. Sad but true.
 

leg_iron

Member
Del has asked the question in a reply on another thread I can only speak for my self. So spill the beans why did you switch to compounds???
I have cerebral palsy & was struggling to hold a decent draw weight recurve at full draw. So I spoke with a couple of the experienced archers in my club & they suggested moving over to compound. I wish I’d changed over sooner. I shoot a 30-40# Hoyt Podium x elite.
 

Eugen

Member
I love recurve. why? - simple! With recurve you can explore different shooting techniques, experiment .... recurve is very good to train yourself to feel own body and all tiny aspects involved in biomechanics of own body...
with compound this is different. I decided to shoot compound primary because of curiosity, then just wanted to have a great score...
grading scores, recurve for me is more interesting as well as recurve is very ‘sensitive’ to technique i think ... regarding my curiosity - compound/composite is interesting...
sometimes, within one week, I shoot one day with recurve and other day with compound. Depends on my mood. Really works for me well and therapeutically positive )))
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I took up compound because my debilitating condition has caused me to lose a lot of muscle mass and so I struggle to actually draw and hold a bow so the reduced draw weight and release aid as well as having 2 sights helps me get the arrows on the target.
i recently shot a clouy compound and got a score that is similar to my better scores with barebow or longbow so I know I have reached my limitations as far as wobble in the aiming area goes and cant improve by more than a few points and that will be down to standard deviation and luck, not improvements in skills.
However, the precision aspect of the bowstyle allows me to twang in the garden without worrying about missing the boss as well as shoot at longer distances at my club without spending for ever looking for arrows.
Is it my preference? No. maybe if I had taken it up 40 years ago I might have got some decent scores but that is true of the other bowstyles as well
 

brianmac

New member
The secret to archery is being able to hold it still, and more so with compound. I shoot mostly compound now, but also shoot longbow and american flat bow for field shooting, I was shooting recurve, but got fed up of it, because of inability to get a decent release. then I went to longbow because i only shoot for fun, not obsessed on scores. I have lots of fun with longbow, and still do, making my own arrows as well.
However after getting a 50yd badge with longbow, I got fed up of hitting grass and wanted to shoot 60yd plus I tried compound. I still can't hold the thing still, but can get 250 plus at 60ysd (3 dozen arrows) and all of them on the boss. I trapped it in my cycle repair rack to hold it steady and hit the spider 5 out of 6 arrows, so I know the bow is set up correct. just to prove it's me not the bow. it is only a cheap bow(Kinetic mirarge £280)
but I would not change it for anything else.....ps I spent money trying to buy better scores, and it don't work. I forgot to mention i an 75 years old.
 

tabashir

Supporter
Supporter
..... compound was (is) inherently more accurate, which I think is a better definition than saying it is easier to shoot.
That, sir, is the best description of compound I've seen.

I'm still loving my recurve and enjoy barebow from time to time. Never done compound but that's down to time (and not owning one yet) rather than prejudice. We all enjoy some light hearted banter - recurves picking up BBC1, longbows shooting greens, compounds holding for a week at full draw etc, but all have their quirks and I'd argue that they are all equally hard to shoot *well*, because the expectations of what 'well' means varies between them. Reframing it around accuracy is much better.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
As you go from longbow to recurve to compound, the shot process gets more elements to sort out. Mostly to do with aiming.
 

TJ Mason

Soaring
Supporter
Fonz Awardee
American Shoot
As you go from longbow to recurve to compound, the shot process gets more elements to sort out. Mostly to do with aiming.
That's actually the other way round to my experience. I haven't done much with longbow, but I've certainly noticed the need to know each arrow's characteristics and make all sorts of adjustments for conditions. With recurve, I had a huge number of form and equipment aspects to coordinate. I find compound to be a more pure form of shooting - once the equipment's set up right, I just need to execute the shot.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Yes, I can see how that would be the case. I was really thinking that all forms of aiming require the bow arm to get "something" positioned in relation to the target being shot at. But compound has that, plus a peep sight to get lined up with the scope and a spirit level to have the bubble central. Recurve is somewhere between the two with the clicker distracting from the aim( or complicating it)
 

Eugen

Member
The secret to archery is being able to hold it still, and more so with compound. I shoot mostly compound now, but also shoot longbow and american flat bow for field shooting, I was shooting recurve, but got fed up of it, because of inability to get a decent release. then I went to longbow because i only shoot for fun, not obsessed on scores. I have lots of fun with longbow, and still do, making my own arrows as well.
However after getting a 50yd badge with longbow, I got fed up of hitting grass and wanted to shoot 60yd plus I tried compound. I still can't hold the thing still, but can get 250 plus at 60ysd (3 dozen arrows) and all of them on the boss. I trapped it in my cycle repair rack to hold it steady and hit the spider 5 out of 6 arrows, so I know the bow is set up correct. just to prove it's me not the bow. it is only a cheap bow(Kinetic mirarge £280)
but I would not change it for anything else.....ps I spent money trying to buy better scores, and it don't work. I forgot to mention i an 75 years old.
Agree.. , a very significant majority of people begin to shot compound only ‘coz of score’. This is normal to see a nice score. Recurve becoming boring only because it requires more technique, more precision in elements etc.
 
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