looking for advice on recurves

[DoubleA]

Hello all, I am new here but not new to bow hunting.I started archery when I was in grade school. Started with recurves then compounds. Fast forward about 25 years. I have a 5 year old boy who wants to shoot a bow. I wan him to start with a recurve or long bow... I actually got him a martin recurve kit for Christmas...I want him to start like I did...Now,I want to get a recurve so I can teach him and shoot with him. I don't want to spend much over $300 for one... my questions are:
how much does brace height effect shooting a recurve?
DO I want or need a take down type bow?
what factory made out of the box bows ( ie bear, Martin,Hoyt...etc.....) should I look at and stay away from???


Thanks guys
Aaron

[luvnlongbow]

First let me welcome you to the site. Lots of good stuff here. Though I am by no means an expert I will attempt to answer your Questions.

1)Brace height affects arrow tune. Each bowyer will recomend a brace height range. It also affects the sound of the bow on release (higher = quiet, lower = more noise. It also affects the performance (speed) to a degree.

2) This is up to you. Do you plan on traveling a lot? Do you want to change draw weight in the future without having to purchase another bow? Or do you like a one piece? See? Evaluate your needs and what you want. Either way each type has it's benefits.

3) IMHO the manufactures you listed are all good. Everyone has their own preferance. So again this is your choice. Shoot as many as you can before you decide. If you can't shoot very many or none at all the manufactures you listed are fine.

I would also recommend that you check out the classifieds on this site. You can find some great deals and deal with some very honest folks.

I am sure there will be more folks add to this in a while. I hope this helps.

Joe

[tarponnut]

There are a lot of pre-owned recurves for $300 and well under. I personally prefer American made bows like Bear and Martin, and others.
If you aren't going to travel with it, I would get a one-piece bow(less weight and most people that have take-down bows never take them down).

Any time anyone is thinking about giving trad shooting a try, I always recommend a 1970s green wood Bear Grizzly that is 50 pounds or less at full draw, Zwicky broadheads and basic arrows, wood or alluminum.  That draw length will be less than what you draw with your compound most likely.  I have seen many successes with these bows and basic arrows, they get the job done at a great price. You can get fussy and get something fancier when you get more current experience, but it is a good set up to start with.

[DoubleA]

Thanks guys,
My parents still have my 2 first recurves one was a shakespear and one was a larger nicely laminated bow. both were some years old when I received them I wonder if they are any good now???

I was looking at the bear bows, and I like the martins.. I currently shoot a compound (BOWTECH)

I am really excited to teach my boy to shoot... I might even have one of his little friends hooked as well

[Danny Rowan]

If your old bows were properly cared for, they will still be fine to shoot, may need new B50 strings. People are shooting 50+ year old Bears and Shakespears a bunch as well as Ben Pearson and other makes.

[$bowhunter$]

just look over your old bows and they should be ok to shoot like danny rowan said many people still shoot old bows such as myself. i shoot a 1966 pearson my grandpa passed down to me.

[dirtguy]

Double A you might be pleasantly surprised with your old bows.  Post the brand, weight and model of each when you can...you might not need a new bow.

You wouldn't go wrong with a Martin or a Bear. I've gotten used bows her for $125-300 all nice shooters.

[GingivitisKahn]

Nothing in the world wrong with a used Bear bow.  Those babies are made to shoot and shoot and shoot.