Traditional Archery

[raydaughety]

As you all know, I went on a hunt last week and met some wonderful new friends. Well, one of those folk was my roommate at the hotel so we talked quite a bit after the evening hunts and even though he is a high quad, I was told that he is an accomplished boyer. He makes custom longbows and recurves to supplement his disability income and by looking at some pictures of his work, he does some beautiful work. I told him that I was in the market for a light weight compound that i could use to piddle around in the back yard while Tyler is practicing with his vert compound. Well, he called me last night and told me that he wanted to give back to the association by donating a custom bow to a member and He had chosen me!!! Now, I have never shot a recurve but he has asked me to go to my local archery shop and see how much weight that I can draw back which seems to be around 35-45 pounds. I will need all of the accessories that go with this bow so if anyone has any supplies for sale or just want to give me some tips on shooting instinctively, please let me know. Being a lefty, it will take him a little longer to build than the standard bow but it should be ready in a couple of months. There's still some good folks out there. Ill post a picture of the bow that he's going to make with my wood choice of wood which is a grey and green laminate. Thanks in advance!

[saxman]

Congrats Ray
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
I have always been interested in Trad Archery but couldnt pull back the bows.
Let me know how it works out for you.

Does he have a web site or some pictures of his work?

[raydaughety]

He doesn't have a website but I saw the pictures on the hunt and he is supposed to send me some pictures that I will happily pass on.

[bob1961]

i used to shoot an old fiberglass kids bow when i was a spam then bought a compound when i turned 18....i used to shoot that with out sights till i got into hunting....just pick it up and shoot it....you'll know after a few shots what you will need to do to aim it............bob

....

[Grizzly Adam]

I'm a longtime trad shooter, Ray. Started when I was 11, shooting a handmade hickory self-bow. Have shot a variety of longbows and recurves. Still have five or so around here.

For a beginner, I have one most important piece of advice:

DO NOT OVERBOW YOURSELF!

It doesn't matter how much you can draw back in the shop test. I never advise that any man start out with a bow heavier than 45 lbs. ... and I only allow 45 because I know budgets are limited and they may want to use it for hunting.

FUN IS THE NAME OF THE GAME in trad shooting. Get a bow you can shoot comfortably, and you'll have a fun new hobby. Get one too heavy, and you'll have a frustrating chore.

It takes LOTS AND LOTS OF PRACTICE to master a trad bow, and you never really "master" it. To be any good at all, you've got to SHOOT A LOT!

If you don't intend to hunt with it, I'd suggest a 40 lb. recurve to start with.

Up to you, of course.

Have fun!

[raydaughety]

Grizz, he said that because of my disability he would like to make the bow with a 40lb draw. How about arrows, wood, aluminum, carbon. The price of my equipment is extremely important to me. (insulin first, all else is second). Any tips would be greatly appreciated. My first bow was a bear whitetail II that I shot with fingers and a single pin just as a reference. I shot real good up to 25 yards, after that you'd better duck . I'm real appreciative of the honor of owning a handmade custom bow but don't intend to hunt with it. Just some backyard fun and stump shooting. Can you tell me what all I might need? Thanks

[pokynojoe]

Congratulations Ray,
I'm a long time recurver myself. FITA Field, NFAA. and I hunt with them. For arrows you'll need to know your draw length, and the weight of the bow. For a 40# at 28" I would say 1816's to start. Maybe 1916's if your draw lenth is longer. That's in aluminum. You'll need a tab or glove(I prefer tabs). An armguard and a quiver. Quivers and arm guards you can make out of some scrap leather. Wood arrows just get them spined around 40 to 50 although I don't recommend them for a beginner. Carbons, I don't recommed them for beginnier's cause they can be hard to tune with a recurve, but for example, on my oly rig I shoot Easton ACC's 3-18's with 100gr. point cut 30", just enough to pull through the clicker. This bow pulls around 40# with my draw length. I don't shoot carbons with my hunting rig, so can't help there. that should get you started. Oh, I would highly recommend a bow stringer, especially for that custom bow, it would be a shame if you twisted the limbs!

After you're shooting for awhile, you'll need to tune, either bare-shaft or paper-tune, I like to do both. For your stated purposed, bare-shafting from about 15 or 20 yards should be fine. Of course, you can only tune as well as you can shoot. I would also recommend sticking a toothpick on the back of the riser for a homemade sight or something similar as you begin to shoot, as this will tell you where your form needs work. Form is everything when it comes to recurves. I shoot lefty too! We have one member of our club here who is shooting in Bejing at the paraolympics for USA ARchery. He won a bronze in AThens in '04, but I don't think he made it out of the prelims in Bejing. Once you know what your getting, perhaps I can be of more help.

Good luck
Joe

[Grizzly Adam]

I'd suggest Easton aluminums, properly spined ... 5 inch feathers in a strong helical fletch ... doesn't matter right or left. Screw-in field points. 125 gr. should do.

You need a glove or a tab. Tabs have real advantages, if you're not hunting.

Armguard ... simple is fine.

Quiver ... hip quivers are good for backyard shooting. Easy to make on a sewing machine.

Other than that, all you really need to set up a trad bow is a nock point, nock point pliers, and a bow square to establish a starting point for nocking.

My favorite trad vendor:

http://www.3riversarchery.com

Gotta run.

Questions welcome.

Wabi shoots trad too.

[Grizzly Adam]

Just saw Pokynojoe's advice ... he slipped in ahead of me!

Good wisdom there, too.

All my experience is with hunting type setups, I'm a "gap" quasi-instinctive shooter, and I use a rather fluid draw in an aggressive "balls of the feet" (Fred Asbell style) semi-crouched stance ... shooting field points in practice.

The target game is a whole different style and discipline.

Sounds like Poky knows his stuff.

He's right about the stringer, if it's a recurve!

[MADMAX2]

Hey Ray all great advice I have been shooting traditional since nee high and all I can say is PRACTICE,PRACTICE also to paper tune your arrows and hey Ray also have Fun

[raydaughety]

Thanks guys, the only thing that I'm sure of is that my draw length is 27.5" and the bow will be approximately a 35 lb pull. I used to shoot a 70lb vert compound but found that there is a huge difference in the two bows so I'm opting for the lower poundage. I have a fairly new black leather hip quiver that is made for 3-D shooting but will be looking an over the shoulder sling. I used to shoot with a glove and they are relatively inexpensive as well as the arm guard. Seems like the arrows will be the most costly thing and they aren't that bad. Maybe I'll be down on the insulin by the time it arrives. Again, thanks for everything.

[Brainiac]

Cold you make a trad crossbow....

[Grizzly Adam]

Cold you make a trad crossbow....

Sure you can, and lots of folks do.

Just google "medieval crossbow" or something like that.

[taureau noir]

Ray check for the minimum draw to hunt.Most of the place are 40# at 28" so if you want to try hunting you should have a 42# at 27.5 " to be safe.
That is a new game but you will love it.
Taureau noir

[Brainiac]

So, someone could make wooden/fiber glass lambs for an Excalibur stock ?