Well fellas, my dad came to me this afternoon telling me his secret...he can never keep one from me. My mom and him are planning on getting me a pretty nice gift for graduation here in a few months, and they were planning on a Foxpro caller....he wanted to run it by me before he bought it...which I am glad he did now. Its not that I wouldnt greatly appreciate it and LOVE the gift, I just hate to see them blow that kind of coin on me for something I wouldnt use all that much. He told me to think about it, and let him know so he can act like it is his idea. LOL Anyway, the thought just came to me. I've been wanting to try out this Trad deal for a long time coming now, just never had the money to do so. He would be all for the idea as well. So without putting the cart before the horse, I MAY be getting me a trad bow here soon. Needing some ideas on what to look for, and where to start. I know ZERO about them, what kind would be good...what kind to stay clear from. I want one somewhat easy to learn on, but I realize it will likely be tough regardless. If I shoot a 29" DL with a Dloop and release on a compound, what DL would my trad bow need to be? What poundage would be a good one? I am wanting to eventually deer/turkey hunt with this, so I don't want to go too low. Recurve? Longbow? Takedown, single piece? Fill me in, relatively quick....what should I look for and what things do I need to get started besides just the bow? Hasn't even really become a valid possibility yet and I am already getting excited.
There really Isn't a best bow out there when talking traditional bows. The best bow Is the one that feels the best In your hand. Start out low In draw weight (45lb range) and get some good consistent form and anchor point. In time you can go up In weight.
Thats the beauty of it, you don't need all that much to hunt! Jeff covered it pretty good! Heck if you went used you could even get it done cheaper! There are so many kick ass bows out there that are spectacular don't plan on just buying one, just a warning! I've bought 4 in the past 13 months! Its addicting! As for the Montana, excellent bow. I love mine its just a great bow! A true workhorse! Longbow, Recurve, its all personal preference! With trad gear you will most likely loose an inch or so in you DL. Once you develop your muscles you gain some of it back. Most bows are measured at 28" and for every inch above or below you loose or gain DW by 3# per inch. ie: 50# @ 28: and your draw 27" your pulling 47#. Biggest thing is not to get overbowed! You will regret it! For a starter, I wouldn't go over 50, heck if I did it over I would go 45# instead of 50# like I did! You really just have to jump in and see what you like in a bow before you go and order something custom! Like Jeff, he switched it up all together, went to a recurve!
What is the difference in longbow vs recurve? I'm thinking recurve right now, but really have no knowledge or justification to back that up, admittedly...I just always figured I would get a recurve. I was looking at the Bear Grizzly Recurve...but am a little overwhelmed right now. I guess I just need to find a shop that carries trad bows locally to get my hands on one before buying. I figured the setup would be much simpler than a compound, which appeals to me...Just want to do it right the first time around. I will stick with 45 or 50 lbs. I am certainly not looking for something to replace my compound, just always been curious to shoot a trad bow, and think it would be a huge accomplishment bagging a deer with one. I realize my post was a little too broad now. I will try to find some more out on my own, and come back with more specific questions. Hopefully it works out!
I bought my son a 69" Grizzly a few weeks ago, for $125 shipped. This bow is in excellent condition and really shoots an arrow for a 35# bow! they say the older, Grayling, Mi Grizzly bows were the working mans bows! There a a lot of them out there and guys still kill a lot of deer with them year in and year out! Pick up a used one cheap and see if you like it. If so, go from there. You can always sell it and get most of your money back easily! I won't even bring up the 65' Kodiak Magnum I picked up over the summer for him! MINT condition and a real shooter! I think you'd be surprised at how mant guys hunt with these old bows! They got some good mojo thats for sure!
Exactly and if you can IMO you will get a lot better instruction from a ma/pa shop versus visiting the local sportsmans warehouse/cabelas type archery shops. The guy that sold me my used Fox Archery "Breed" recurve has been shooting traditoinal gear for 40 years. He had me pick up and hold every bow both longbows and recurves that looked appealing to me. When I found he had a used "breed" I was pretty stoked because I had actually researched the Fox archery bows and had called the owner of Fox Archery and had talked to him for a good hour. I really liked a couple of his bows including the breed...He was going to build me a "breed" but it would have been like 4 months out. then I lucked out finding the used on in mint shape.. when I put that thing in my hand, I knew it was the bow I wanted. I too went with a lighter weight 54 at 28lbs.. great for shooting endlessly without ever getting tired.. Good luck
I was getting ready to advise that you stay away from "pro shops". Very, very few of them know anything about traditional equipment.. Ask around, find a local person that shoots Traditional equipment. If you're interested in hunting, find a hunting archer.. if you're interested in shooting targets, find a target archer.. Finding such a person will benefit you more than anything you can do. This will give you the opportunity to shoot some different bows, to learn what poundage fits you and don't over look the length of the bow because it has an effect on how comfortable the bow is to shoot. If you find someone who's been at it very long you'll also gain the opportunity to shoot some different arrows, perhaps different materials and different spine weights. I wouldn't buy an expensive bow for my first bow.. I've purchased a number of used bows from e-bay and have found most people to be quite honest. Just be sure to READ CAREFULLY before purchasing. Good Luck woodsman
If your going to go the used way, which is a great way to go, I would keep an on the classifieds over at tradgang! This is a great group of folks and you know your going to get a bow that was taken care of by a traditional archer! There are ALWAYS great deals in there on excellent bows. I check it every few hours..... but thats a different thread all together!
