Longbow String
The recurve bow has been around for centuries, and still remains a popular choice for archers even to this day. This is true for both target archery and hunting.
Many archers prefer a more traditional recurve bow over the modern compound bow, and for a number of reasons. A common feeling among archers is that a recurve bow allows you to more easily connect with the essence of archery, rather than getting caught up in the technology. It also gives you more direct control over the shot, and is often more difficult without the guiding hand of hi-tech assistance.
Choose Hand Preference
When selecting your recurve bow, the first thing you will need to do is determine your hand preference.
For most people this should be a fairly obvious and simple step. Right handed archers will often use the traditional right handed shooting method of holding the bow in the left hand, and drawing back the bowstring with the right. Using this hold will also mean that you will be aiming with your right eye.
Naturally, the complete reverse is true for the traditional left handed shooting technique. You would hold the bow in the right hand, while drawing back with the left and aiming with the corresponding eye.
While these two techniques will work fine for most archers, some people are cross-dominant. This means that their dominant eye is opposite their dominant hand.
When faced with the dilemma of how to go about shooting when all of the dominants do not match up, it is common for the archer to hold the bow whichever way feels more comfortable in the hands, and make a slight alteration to their aiming technique.
When aiming you will want to close your dominant eye.
For example, a cross dominant person who holds the bow right handed, yet who's dominant eye is the left will want to learn to close his left eye when he aims, and only use the right. If they were both kept often, he may find his dominant eye will influence the aim, and he will be shooting slightly to the right.
Choose Your Draw Length
Next, you will need to determine a proper and suitable draw length.
Draw Length is simply the distance from where your arrow is knocked on the string at full draw, to the front of the bow. The correct draw length for you can be determined by a simple formula.
Measure (or have a friend measure) your arm span from the fingertips of one hand to the fingertips of the other hand. Just stand naturally with your arms out to your sides. Don't stretch your arms out as far as you can, or you may end up with a incorrect draw length.
If you are unable to perform the measurement, you can simply use your height instead. It won't be as accurate, but most people have an arm span approximately equal to their height.
Once you have this measurement, simply divide it by 2.5 to determine your draw length. The end result will be in the same unit of measurement you used to measure the arm span.
Just to give you some frame of reference, a typical 6' man will have a draw length between 28 and 29 inches.
Choose Your Draw Weight
The final step in choosing your recurve bow is to find a draw weight which suits your body type and shooting style.
The draw weight of a bow is simply how much force it will take to pull the bowstring back to your full draw length.
You will want a weight that you can draw back the full length and hold for at least 10 seconds. If it feels like you could hold the bowstring drawn back for significantly longer than that, you may want to consider moving to a higher weight.
An adult male should have a draw weight between 25 and 50 pounds for recreational or target shooting, and even higher for hunting.
If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more about choosing a recurve bow, then please visit our website for many more recurve archery tips.
How to string a bow
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 35# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $56.00 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 60# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $71.00 |
|
|
BlackTraditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $117.50 |
|
|
BlackTraditional hunting Longbow 40# Finger Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $66.50 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 35# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $51.00 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 25# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $39.99 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 55# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $35.00 |
|
|
BlackTraditional hunting Longbow 30# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $66.00 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 45# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $61.00 |
|
|
BlackTraditional hunting Longbow 60# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 Wood arrows $51.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $26.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 45# Recurve bow+ String And Bowbag $31.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40# Recurve bow+ String And Bowbag $52.50 |
|
|
Ox horn Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 55# Recurve bow+ String $41.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $20.50 |
|
|
Custom Recurve Longbow PRE-STRETCHED bow string ANY LENGTH OR SIZE NEW COLORS @@ $9.25 |
|
|
y+Custom made bow string Recurve Longbow bowstring $6.75 |
|
|
16 STRAND B-50 DACRON 56 AMO Recurve Bow Longbow String $9.99 |
|
|
B50 Flemish 66" 70 AMO Recurve Longbow Traditional Bow String Stone Mountain $10.00 |
|
|
Custom Amo 65 Longbow String Fast Flyte 20 Strand 61.5" $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 65 Longbow String Fast Flyte 18 Strand 61.5 $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 65 Longbow String Fast Flyte 18 Strand 61" $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 65 Longbow String Fast Flyte 20 Strand 61" $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 64 Longbow String Fast Flyte 18 Strand 60.5 $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 64 Longbow String Fast Flyte 20 Strand 60.5 $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 64 Longbow String Fast Flyte 18 Strand 60" $13.25 |
|
|
Custom Amo 64 Longbow String Fast Flyte 20 Strand 60" $13.25 |
|
|
Otter Pastel Mink Badger dyed Muskrat string silencers recurve or longbow $4.95 |
|
|
y+Custom made bow string Recurve Longbow bowstring $6.75 |
|
|
VINTAGE WOOD LONGBOW 70" ~ CHORD & LEATHER HANDLE ~ NEEDS STRING ~ UNIQUE $87.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 35# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String $31.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 45# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $30.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $69.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 35# Recurve bow+ String And Bowbag $32.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 55# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $27.50 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 55# Recurve bow+ String And Bowbag $31.00 |
|
|
Snakeskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 45# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String $10.13 |
|
|
White Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String $41.00 |
|
|
Traditional hunting Longbow 55# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String+6 arrows+quiver $26.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 80# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 60# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $173.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $170.00 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $187.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $187.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $188.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $188.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 60# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $188.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $189.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 80# Nice Black skin Bow Recurve bow+ String $189.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 80# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 60# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20# Nice Red Bow Recurve bow+ String $158.88 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 45# Nice Bow Recurve bow+ String $11.63 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 60IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70IBS Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $145.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 80IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $146.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $146.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 60IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $146.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 50IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $146.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 40IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $141.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 30IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $141.99 |
|
|
Gray Leather Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $141.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 25IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 35IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 45IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 55IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 65IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 70IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 60IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 50IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 40IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 30IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 20IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $138.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 20IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 30IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 40IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 50IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 60IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
Archery Pigskin Hungarian style hunting Longbow 70IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $151.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 70IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $148.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 60IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $144.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 50IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $144.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 40IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $144.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 30IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $144.99 |
|
|
hunting Longbow Archery Pigskin Hungarian style 20IBS Bow Recurve bow+ String $144.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20-65# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $149.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20-60# Nice Pigskin Bow Recurve bow+ String $128.99 |
|
|
Archery Traditional hunting Longbow 20-70# Nice Leather Bow Recurve bow+ String $129.99 |
|
|
The Speed of the Old Long Bow $9.99 ... |
|
|
Foam Strike Compound Bow $24.99 This Surefire Kid Compound Bow X2 make great training tools for future hunters. It's 2 times the power, 2 times the fun! Product Features:Dual power cords for maximum distanceLaunches soft foam arrows over 100 feet Accurate performanceEasy to use right or left handed. Set includes 1 bow , 3 arrows and 1 arrow holder. Ages 8 and up.... |
|
|
Bear Archery Titan Bow $39.97 The Bear Archery Titan Bow is everything young archers need to get started in the sport of archery. Recommended for youth aged twelve years old and up*, The Titan Bow features durable composite limb construction and measures 60 inches long overall. *Please note: ages may vary for this bow in accordance with the child's size and shooting ability. This bow is not a toy. Children under 16 require adu... |
|
|
Bear Bow Youth AYB6601 Firebird Bow $69.99 About Bear Archery Founded over 50 years ago by Fred Bear himself, Bear Bows is dedicated to the hunt. Using Fred's extensive experience as an expert marksman and craftsman, the company continues to produce innovative and celebrated equipment for archers of all types. Whether you're looking for a first bow for practice, honing your skills on targets, or out in the field, it'll go better with a Bea... |
|
|
Spectre Compact Take-down Survival Bow and Arrow Set $79.95 Most regular bows are not compact for survival and are very costly. Trying to make one in the wild takes a great deal of skill and know-how that most don't have. The compact take-down Spectre survival bow and arrow set will be ideal for any survival hunting needs at an affordable price. Its slip in / detachable fiberglass/resin filled limbs and the PVC riser with arrow rest break down to fit co... |
|
|
Cherokee Bows and Arrows: How to Make and Shoot Primitive Bows and Arrows $15.95 Voted one of the best books on making bows and arrows by a true Cherokee artisan, Al Herrin. Easy to understand....lots of pictures to help show how it is done.... |
|
|
The Heritage of the Longbow (A Practical Guide To The Manufacture And Use Of The Longbow, Arrows And Bow Strings As Used In Traditional Archery) ... |
|
|
The Heritage of the Longbow: A Practical Guide to the Manufacture and Use of the Longbow Arrows and Bow Strings As Used in Traditional Archery The Longbow is a classic example of where the knowledge of its properties and the feel for the wood meet the exacting requirements of engineering. Considerations of stress & strain seem hardly relevant to a coffee table, such terms as tolerance and performance rarely apply well, yet all of these are very relevant when looking at Longbow design and manufacture. The following text is laid out such t... |
