1st trad shots ""EVER""

[toot]

Well, I'm having a recurve made.. Never shot one before. Always compounds.
  I told the fella, I thought 65 - 70 pound draw would be good. He told me for my first recurve that was pretty stout, and to to try and find a couple to draw back.. Just to be sure..
  Well, I found a guy with the recurve that hits 60 at my draw length.

  HOLLY SMOKES.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Those last 2 inches are tough..

The fella that owns that bow thinks I'll probably adapt to that draw weight pretty easily..  :confused:  

  He said it takes him a half dozen shots to get his muscles warmed up, and be able to pull it back. He said he was kind of surprised I could draw it back and anchor on the first try..

  I shot only 3 arrows from about 10 feet.

  I do KNOW this though.. Until that would become comfortable drawing. I would not be able to concentrate/focus on anything else, except pulling..

  I'm thinking now that 50# would be nice..  I talked to the builder yesterday and said, "how about 55#?"  Now I'm kind of thinking 50# to shoot for 5 months or so. Maybe forever.. Anyhow, He said I could always by the heavier limbs later if I really felt the need to..

  He (the owner of the bow I shot) said that different bows stack up differently also.. Well CRAP !!!  Gonna play it safe and go with 50's I think.. I've got to be able to draw it back, and still be able to think.... I'm a big guy. 6' 6", 240#, but my purpose of going traditional is NOT to have it be a drag..

 OH well. I started this thread with the intention of asking "what you people think."

 I just thought I would write, and tell you that I was surprised how stout 60# felt. Ya really gotta pull on those last two inches..    

 Take Care,   Toot

[MikeW]

Better too light than too heavy. 50# is more than enough for any thing in North America. It's very hard to acquire good form if you are over bowed.

Lighter bows are more fun to shoot to if you ask me. I shoot 53# and I'm 6' and 230lbs. I have no problems pulling and holding mine but find I do get fatigued when shooting say 30+ shots in a short period of time like at a 3D course. I start out great but then my shooting suffers towards the end. For this reason I'd like to have an extra set of limbs in the 40#-45# range for 3D, stumping,small game and working on my form.

So what kind of bow are you having made?
We will expect pics of course.
   

[mscampbell75]

I'm fairly new myself to trad gear.  I have a practice bow 45# for form and one I hunt with 53#. I can do a practice session w/ the 53#er and after bout 30-40 shots I can tell by my groups that I'm getting tired.   I would feel comfy hunting with the 45# just as quick as the 53#(and eventually will, I really like my LB). Many guys hunt with 45#(even lighter) and have pass thru shots on deer.  

My opinion, one new quy to the next, would be to start light and go up if needed to.  Form is a MAJOR part of archery.  Being consistant!!  Having to pull back a bow and having a eyeball pop out would probalby hinder seeing the target    I would try to get my hands on some lighter wieght bows to play with before purchase if possible.  Especialy having one made. Being comfortable with a bow will make it more fun, esp. in the begining.

 Also, the classifieds on here have bows that are fairly inexpensive, that maybe another direction you might want to consider. Buy it, Try it, Like it, Keep it, if not sell it. Nothing loss.  To me(my opinion only), haveing one made, I would not want to get rid of it,  sentimenatal value, (That bow was made for me kinda thing)

Good luck with what you decide.  Hopefully their will be more expeirenced advice coming along.  The quys on here have helped me alot already.

[Terry Green]

Yeah....start with 50....you can alsways build up to heavier if you want.

[LATradHunter]

i shoot 50# and thats comfortable for me.  When i first got into traditional archery a had a 60# bear grizzly, it was too hard to shoot comfortably for me, so i returned it and got a 55# martin longbow. Lo and behold 55# was still a tad heavy. I couldnt be more satisfied with the 50# grizzly I have now.  Whatever you decide to go with just make  sure to excersize good form and find an anchor point thats right for you... Everybody shoots differently and its all about what fits you.  Good luck!... like somebody said already, 50# is plenty.

[Tom A]

Well normally I would say 50# is still too much to start on but with a fellow your size it may be ok...

[MI_Bowhunter]

I started out in trad with a 62# bow.  I figured no problem after shooting 60#+ compounds.   It really screwed me up and destroyed any chance I had at good form.    After developing elbow/shoulder pain I realized that I needed to back down.

I picked up a cheap 45# bow and worked on my form, which by the way, is much harder to do after learning some bad habits from being over bowed.  

I've since worked up to 50-55# bows and feel very comfortable using them.  Honestly If I didn't hunt some places that required 48#+ I'd still be shooting a 45# bow.

The best advice I can give is to start low and work your way up.  Learning good form early on will make you a better shot.

[smokin joe]

Go with 50# -- You will be much happier. You are a pretty decent sized guy and 50# should be just about right. I am 5'-11" and 195 pounds and I have put the 60# limbs for my bear takedowns away permanently (actually I will probably sell the 60# limbs). Age and arthritis have taken their toll. My shoulder joints started getting very sore from anything heavier than 50#. I am now shooting recurves from 43# to 50# and I know they will kill anything I will hunt if I use sharp broadheads. And I can concentrate on the shot, a necessary part of accuracy.
You are going about this in the right way by asking questions.