Need help picking a longbow
 

For starters, I don't know much about archery at all (other than what I did at summer camp as a kid). I'd like a traditional longbow for hunting whitetail deer. To complicate matters, I'm a lefty, so my choices are limited.

I was browsing through the options at Cabelas, and there are really only a couple brands (they carry): Fred Bear and Sequoia.

So here are my questions to you expert archers:

1. What are the pros/cons of longbows vs. recurves?
2. What is the best string?
3. What are the necessary accessories?
4. What are the best arrows/tips for target and hunting?
5. Are there other brands I need to consider?
6. What training resources are available? I want to start with the right technique.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

My 2c is get a compound bow.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

The vintage recurve bows made by Bear (Fred Bear / Bear Archery ) are superb bows. It is important to find a bow with straight limbs, sight down the length of the bow and check to see if the tips look 90 degrees or square from the grip. Because they are wood, some bows have developed a twist over the years and they will not shoot accurately. You also should examine for stress cracks in the fiberglass although most cracks (unless very bad) will not affect the bows shoot-ability. Other quality bow makers to look for are Martin and Browning, both firms made very good bows however I still think the Bear bows are the best. Compound bows are easy to hold when drawn and are shorter in length so many hunters prefer them over recurve bows, but the beautiful traditional wooden recurve bows have a huge following for both the target shooting and hunting. Either type will get the job done if you spend the time learning to shoot accurately so it's a personal choice as to the preference. No matter which type of bow you choose, you should get a variety of arrows, some with target tips to practice with and some broad tips for hunting. Bow Shooting or hunting is very challenging and is also very rewarding, it takes time and lots of practice to shoot good but the silent nature of a bow would make it a great tool in a survival setting.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Plenty of good archery sites out there. Lots of experienced archers are going "back" to the future with longbows. For sport it is great. If I was starving to death I think I would go with my compound! I just came back from deer hunting in northern Wisconsin and the deer are far an few between.When economic conditions get bad or gas prices rise locals start harvesting from "thier" herd. All year long. I was fishing up there this summer and at the time just before dark when deer are most likely to come into bait piles every day I heard lots of shooting. I was on the lake and you would hear one shot here, one shot from there, up to 10 shots each day. Usually when you hear one shot it is a dead deer. If they start shooting them in summer then you have all these fawns running around by themselves. Coyotes are really becoming abundent up there and that is why. Easy pickens. When they are well fed they have more pups. I don't think you could depend on deer for food when the SHTF.Unless you have you freezer full of it ,like they do!! Just my obsevation.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Why a longbow? Compound and even recurve are much better!

s

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Thanks for the tips. I'm primarily interested in taking advantage of the early hunting season. Also the silent nature of a bow could come in handy in an "emergency situation". I like simple tools with few moving parts and prefer focusing on developing skill rather than buying advanced equipment.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Why is a recurve better than a longbow? I would think that a longbow would have a more even pull and smoother release.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Not an expert here. But they are called longbows because they had to be long to get the power needed. A recurve uses the newer technology of laminating the wood making it more springy. That way you get a shorter bow, more lightweight and more powerful.

A compound takes this another step and allows for the most increase in velocity to occur in the last half a travel of the bowstring. A recurve and longbow are just the opposite. On them arrow is accelerated most when the bow is at its maximum flexure. That is also where it takes the most strength

The result is that a compund bow has even higher velocities, or you can use and even smaller bow.

There should be a sight out there that can explain this much better.

s

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

If you are getting this for hunting, go with the recurve or compound. Longbows will be a disadvantage in the woods -- they're long!

Think: would you use a Dragunov rifle for home protection? No, hard to maneuver in the hallway. Same thing with a longbow in the woods...
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Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Prefer a compound myself, but if you are set on a traditional bow, go with the recurve. Martin recurves are hard to beat. Hunter, mamba, saber, x-series...you won't go wrong.

They also make a hybrid bow, the Panther VersaCam. No cables and only one cam, I think about 70% letoff, which is a huge advantage over traditional bows. Never owned one, but a bud swears by his.

Find a real archery shop. Get measured for brace height, draw length, etc. Most of those places will have a least a few "purists" that'll be willing to help you out.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

To start .... www.archerytalk.com. Great site.

If you want a long bow, I highly suggest building your own.
Or hook up with a custom bowyer. Surprisingly that's not as rare a talent as you'd think. Your local archery club can hook you up.

But if that's more work than you're prepared to invest, but you still want a traditional as opposed to a mechanical bow, you'd not go wrong with a Win&Win. All the power you could ever need, and it's component parts will fit under your jacket.

Strings aren't hard to make yourself. That bowyer's bible shows how, and there's string jig plans galore on the web. But you really need to match your string material to the type of bow. A certain amount of stretch is required with wood limbs, but it's unacceptable for compounds.

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Yes, I would just shoot at the bastards thru the wall :yes:

Re: Need help picking a longbow
 

Used to be good with a bow, way back in the early teens... Been wanting to pick one up again... I don't want to go crazy with all the gadgets and crap that can run you hundreds of dollars... I just want a decent Compound a sh!t ton of plain pointy tip arrows to practice with....

My neighbor (longtime best friend, who I often shoot with) and I have decent sized back yards and said I can shoot across from mine to his with a bow if I get one...

I wsa thinking about getting a few of those rectangle box targets and a few of those Deer targets to set up at different distances....