Recurve and traditional bow.?

Question

Can you have a compound bow and a traditional bow and both use them well or should you stick to one type?

Do you use them both very differently?

Answer 1

I started Bowhunting at a very early age and at that time Compounds didn't exist yet. I grew up with a Traditional Longbow then moved up to a laminated recurve bow. Never needed sights or other "gadgets" as my Dad taught me to shoot "instinctively" (Learning to gauge distance by sight ) I did just fine and never felt compelled to shoot any other way.

With the advent of the Compound bow, I found that they were a lot less "forgiving"...and if you make a mistake like allowing yourself a sloppy release, you are in trouble. Never once did I have issues doing the same thing with a recurve. I learned to use both, but they are truly at opposite ends of the spectrum..If you are just beginning, I would suggest you stay with one or the other and avoid switching back and forth.

I would also suggest you try and learn to shoot without all of the hoopla equipment like sights,mechanical releases etc, etc.
If you watch the Hunting shows on Cable or Satellite, you will see the "Pro's" go out and hunt and if their sights fail them or their mechanical releases don't work, they are literally done for the day...Learn to shoot without all of the extra's and you will still be out hunting while the Pro's are going back to camp washed up...

My point is stick with 1 style of bow and try and learn to shoot "instinctively" as I have described..You will be ahead of the game by quite a margin....

Answer 2

JD's story sounds remarkably like my experience growing up. The only main difference was that being of a very poor background at the time with 7 brothers to feed we had to "make do" with what we could rig ourselves. We had an Indian kid for a neighbor and he taught us to carve out our own bows. I freely admit that the first attempts were pretty laughable, but eventually we all ended up with some pretty useable bows and used the to take rabbits and squirrels for the table, as well as using them to protect the chicken coop from invading critters bent on killing the chickens. I never took anything larger than a big ol rabbit with those home made bows, but being hooked on archery, I saved up to buy my first recurve. Once compound bows came into being, it was a few years before I could save up enough to afford one. ( at the time, I worked summers picking black berries for .50 a filled flat) and school clothes had to be bought first. It took me 4 summers to be able to buy my first bow, with help from Santa and some very understanding parents. I no longer shoot recurve, haven't for many years. And, As of last year due to a shoulder injury, I have stopped archery hunting all together. But I spent many many years enjoying the sport. I never made it to Africa with my bow, but I still hold hope for a rifle safari there for plains game one day.
The 60% let off on the compound bow makes it possible to draw and hold for much longer before tireing out and having to let it down if the animal just doesn't present the right shot. With a recurve, you had to be either very strong to hold it at full draw, or you waited till the last second to draw, and many times the animal spooked at it. The biggest difference to me was changing from the old english form of holding the bow string, to using a mechanical release. It was much more accurate, and easier to release in a consistant accurate manor.
Shoot safe

Answer 3

Yes, you can do both. I have an old recurve that helps my karma. Shooting both will help your overall skills for sure.

Widely different techiques; Compound offers higher draw weight, and you need a mechanical release. Recurve is lower draw weight and a finger tab or glove is best.

Answer 4

You can have both but i would advise it. any one is capable to shoot accurately with a compound. with all the technology like whisker bis cuts, releases, scopes, sights, balancers, peep holes I feal it takes away from shooting. I call a compound bow a bow with "training wheels" because their is so much technology in them the only thing they have in common with a "true" bow is that they have a string and shoot arrows. i see to many people with compounds that start shooting a couple inches from were they should be and the people say its the bows fault and go out and buy another $500 worth of new stuff for their bow just to make up for THEIR problem.

a traditional bow like a long bow or a re curve on the other hand takes a combination of skill, patience and instinct. it is the opitamy of shooting. after a while u feal as if your bow is a part of you and that makes shooting more fun. however a traditional bow takes much more practice to get and stay accurate. you are the bows sights and u must stay in tune. the one thing i love most about traditional bows is were ever you may live their is always a traditional bow club that are more than happy to help you how ever they can. I have made lasting friendships with people in the traditional archery world that I couldnt have any other way.

Answer 5

both of them require a different skill. compound bows have sight pins. and recurves don't. traditional archery such as recurve bows require more skill to accurately shoot and bring more of a challenge than compound bows.