Longbow, Recurve:Which is more forgiving?

[TXbowman]

I only have a recurve and I don't have experience with a longbow. Been thinking about investing in one but I'm not sure what to expect. Some people talk about a recurve having more hand shock and some say they're harder to shoot well. However, I've also heard about the different way you have to grip a longbow. How it's not cut to center so the arrow points to the left off the shelf and how they are less forgiving of poor form. I've also heard H. Hill said he was never good enough to shoot a recurve. It makes it sound like two completely different animals. What's the deal?

[Deb]

This is something you have to decide for yourself. Get with a group of trad guys and shoot all of their bows. Or go to Bob's (Sarrels) and shoot all of his. You'll answer your own question. I find my recurve much easier to shoot than my longbow. My husband can't hit with a recurve at all and sticks with his longbow or selfbow.

[Evolver]

That's an age old debate. As for me, I can honestly say that I am equally bad with both of them. But I sure have a lot of fun trying.

I think a lot of the bad rap assigned to longbows has to do more with the fact that they can be harder to tune due to not being cut to center. Many people don't ever get past the chore of trying to get the magical combination of spine, BH, point weight, etc, before they give up on the longbow.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

I can shoot either about the same… I prefer the longbow because in most cases it is a smoother bow to shoot. Almost every recurve shooter that tries one of my Sarrels longbows end up buying one..

[Ron]

I too have both and shoot both fairly well. I think that I prefer the longbow. It's draws smooth, less hand shock and is quieter to me.

I think your in for a lot of opinions and you need to just shoot a lot of bows, then decide what you like.

[Night Wing]

I've owned one longbow, a Belcher "Longhorn" hyrid. I never could shoot it well enough to have confidence to take it bowhunting. I just don't like the grips of longbows. On the other hand, I shoot a recurve very accurately and this is why I bowhunt with recurves. I love the pistol style grip of a recurve.

[muzzlebrake]

Same same except my recurves shoot faster which means I can miss faster.

[brent.westbrook]

Now you can can get a longbow with a recurve riser and a recurve with a longbow riser not too mention 1, 2, 0r 3 piece bows that all make an impact on how the bow shoots and feels. I personally prefer 3 piece bows, to me, they have much less handshock. The least favorite of mine, is a 1 0r 2 piece longbow. However I like 3 piece longbows. Just going to have to shoot them all and see for yourself. Being as you are in San Antonio there should be a couple of different bowyers not too far from you. I know there is Sarrels in the the Austin area, but my advice is go to as many different brand of bows as you can, even the cheap ones(that makes you appreciate the quality one that much more) That being said, some cheap bows perform pretty well also.

ENDSTATE: Everything in archery, especially traditional archery is personal preferance

[equin]

You need both! Actually, you need more than just that - take-down recurve and longbow, one-piece recurve and longbow, pistol-grip recurve and longbow, non-pistol grip recurve and longbow, selfbow (including flatbow, pyramid, English, Penobscot and cheapo ) - and that's just those of the same draw weight. And I haven't even touched on hybrid bows, custom bows and mass-produced bows. Then you need all of the same but at different weights!

[Txnrog]

With today's hybrid designs, they are on pretty equal footing. I shoot both equally well, but shoot straight-gripped bows the best (traditionally a longbow handle, but most of bob's bows have the same grip). There are some differences. For me personally, I can shoot a longbow the most accurately under 20yrds, I shoot a recurve less pinpoint accurate, but more consistantly at longer ranges. Hence, I like a LB for stand hunting, and a recurve for spot & stalk.

[equin]

Seriously though, I've heard (or read) that longer bows (not to be confused with "longbows") are more forgiving. Supposedly, the longer the bow is, the more forgiving it is supposed to be. So if that's true, then theoretically, a 66" recurve would supposedly be more forgiving than a 58" longbow, and a 66" longbow would theoretically be more forgiving than a 56" recurve. But being a relative newbie at this, I don't know how true that is. Also, there are the Scythian, Mongolian, Turkish horsebows that are relatively short, but because of their unique design, supposedly shoot well despite their short length. I've been dying to try one of those, but I don't know how forgiving those bows are, either.

I think all in all, what may be more forgiving to one archer may be the opposite and more difficult to shoot for another given the different physical characteristics and variables each archer has. So it may be hard to answer without adding subjective opinion on the matter, and your best bet would probably be to try out as many different kinds of bows of different lengths, grips and draw weights to see which one suits you best.

[froghunter]

i shoot a long bow, its harder to hunt with though...

[Txnrog]

Seriously though, I've heard (or read) that longer bows (not to be confused with "longbows") are more forgiving. Supposedly, the longer the bow is, the more forgiving it is supposed to be. So if that's true, then theoretically, a 66" recurve would supposedly be more forgiving than a 58" longbow, and a 66" longbow would theoretically be more forgiving than a 56" recurve. But being a relative newbie at this, I don't know how true that is.

This is generally correct, and "D" shaped longbows are generally the highest hand-shock (Ask Bob, I 'shot' one of his hill-style yukons about 5 yards down range the first time I tried it)

[bob sarrels]

Yeah Rog, you did do that didn't you. Ha ha. Fortunatley we were standing on a carpeted floor when it happened. You should of seen his face guys. Priceless.

I am a longbow guy all the way around. I build recurves some cause alot of folks like them but my go to bow will always be a longbow, whether it is my old #100 Sierra, my Blueridge SR or the new Blackhills II (#1000 by the way) that I just finished. I personally find they are easier to point, faster to aquire the target and smoother pulling. My Blueridge is probably the fastest bow I have designed, including my recurves) and being a takedown has that little bit more mass and heft to it.

You just need to shoot a bunch of bows. Come by if you are ever in the area and you can shoot a whole pile of different bows.

[beads]

I too am think