Recurve Bow Hunting

[Magoo]

So this is a thing I've been putting some thought into for a while now, but I'm still unsure which direction I want to go.

I want to get into bow hunting, for many reasons. Naturally, compound would be the practical way to go. More effective range, velocity, consistency, accuracy, etc. For the most humane harvest with a bow (and yes, I understand what THAT entails), you'd want all the benefits a tuned and set up compound has to offer.

But compounds just don't seem to interest me.

I've been shooting traditional recurve now for a while. I can tune one and shoot one fairly well. I know my way around them, and I'm fully aware of their... quirks. That's all just to say that I'm familiar with and enjoy stick bows, and not just dabbling to be different.

So my question is this: Any of you bow hunt? Anyone prefer sticks and strings over wheels? Are y'all shooting trad or with sights/rests? I'm torn between developing my trad skills and building up an ILF rig with sights and rests and stabilizers and etc... What are y'all's thoughts on the trade-off of a practical tool vs an anachronism?

Just thinking.

Thanks all.

[THE SHOOTIST]

Been a recurve hunter since the early 70's. Tried compounds and cam bows, they wreaked havoc on my accuracy. I bagged my limit every year since until AS made bowhunting impossible. The only real "pros" to compounds are the ability to draw and hold a bow that outclasses your physical strength. I like the "stack" of a recurve, the quietness and the snap-shooting skills I have. It puts meat on the table.

[Spider!]

I've been looking into a starter recurve.

[punkncat]

I have (had) been a long time archery enthusiast. I prefer shooting with a recurve, however the drop off rate for the compound attracted my attention later on. I am not actually sure how my elbow would react to pulling and holding full draw weight any more. I also appreciate long bow, but they are only really useful in the field/range. Bushes make even standard length recurve and compound a PITA to use.

I would check closely what the regs are in your locale for minimum draw weight. I recall it being 65# here, but could well be wrong. Higher is obviously going to be better, to a point. I come to find that the closer you approach to 100 the more likely your arrow is to continue on through. I tend to use very bright fletching so that I can locate the arrow afterwards (sometimes) cause the damned things are getting expensive.

A friend of mine just pulled a 100+# doe out of my back yard last week with a 95# compound setup.

[Magoo]

Well I'm kinda torn. I've got an Omega longbow that I enjoy shooting, so longbows tend to speak to me. It's only #35 (it's what I learned on), so I can't use it in the field. I'm also a competent instinct shooter, so I'm tempted to invest in a good longbow. On top of that, the long AMO is usually better for my gratuitously long draw.

The downside is that trying to maneuver 68" of bow in a blind, stand, or bush is... a challenge.

I'm still heavily considering a fancy ILF takedown, and I think I'd like to shoot vained arrows, so a nice rest and possibly sight...

But at that point maybe I'd just get a compound.....

Man, I don't know. Both of my desires are opposite ends of the spectrum.

[Tarsun2]

growing up my father took me hunting. when i was old enough, i went bow hunting with him. My uncle was a "purest". He made his own long bows and built his own arrows... Sights on a bow were a big no-no; and shooting a compound with illuminated sight and a dropout plate was equal to denouncing my christian faith lol

so i wound up with a recurve and 2 peg sights (and yes, i cought flack for the pegs)

hunting was a sport i just never got into.

To me, its like an automatic car vs a manual car. Automatics do allot of things better but, there are still the purests that prefer a good ol' manual... Shot what you want to shoot and whatever setup gets you out in the woods is the right setup for you.

[flyweightnate]

What about a composite bow, to split the difference?
I've always preferred recurve but I've never hunted with a bow, and haven't shot in years. I was always curious about a Hungarian composite bow, though - compact, but a nice long draw and tons of power.

[Magoo]

Man, I really like the Hoyt Satori... An employee of the local archery store let me give his a go. And... Oof.

[Magoo]

Okay, well, let's just complete the circle. Kegan McCabe of Omega Longbows is still in business, so I just bought one of his high end hunting bows. It's a prototype Royal Huntsman at 70". It'll be a trick to carry a 6" stick around in the woods, but it should shoot like a dream for me.

[flyweightnate]

Sounds like a fun purchase!
Have you seen any of Byron Ferguson's videos? I stumbled across one recently with "Smarter Every Day" where they get in to arrow spine and the harmonics of shooting around a riser - the slow motion video was awesome, took the voodoo out of the number. Nobody had ever explained to me why spine was important, previously; they just gave me a number to look for and made vague allusions to paper shots.

[Magoo]

Yeah, it's super interesting. If your setup is properly tuned, you should in theory be able to shoot plastic vanes off the shelf and not have to worry about feathers because the arrow is supposed to paradox around the riser and never actually touch. But truth be told, most people don't tune that accurately, and just use feathers to compensate...