Short recurves......

[SaMbO2]

What is your thought on them? Ive heard good things about the 44'' little suckling recurves and i believe 46'' herters bow, those are just a few but what do u think of REALLY short recurve bows?

Have you ever seen one be shorter then 44''

I just would like to know a little bit about them      

Thanks for your time.

God Bless.

[BillW]

I have no experience with that particular bow BUT I have tried the short bow deal. Kinda "Been there done that" for me.

I have a 28" draw length and although I think a lot of bowyers can build a short bow that won't stack. I think the issue is being a consistant shot with the short bow. With my shooting style I much prefer a 60" bow. When I shoot perfect I can shoot a short bow. When I get sloppy the short bow is more torque'y and less forgiving.... Anyhow, I went thru that phase and now don't own a bow less than 58".

Bill

[Stumpkiller]

You can set back the limbs at an exaggerated angle and get draw length from a short bow.  My shortest recurve is 58" and at my 30" draw it's still smooth and pleasant to shoot.  Finger pinch can be a real problem with the little bows.

[landman]

What BillW said.

I have a 52 inch Pearson that i have a tough time with.  It shoots great. I shoot longbows mostly.  5 out of six arrows out twenty yards are tight, but the one or three that goes off, is way off.  This never happens with my Hill style bows.  If I don't have it worked out by turkey season, I am going to find someone that can shoot that bow and give it to him.

[Blackhawk]

What is short? Most folks probably think recurves of 52" or less are short...and I do too.  They have their applications, most notably for use in enclosed areas such as restricted blinds, tree stands, shooting from your butt, etc.  

However, they are short range bows where shots are 20 yards or less.  Yes, some folks can do well at farther targets, but there are more than one reason your competitive distance archers pick a 70" bow instead of a 48" one.

BTW, I believe Chris Hill takes a look at the advantages of short bows in the next issue of TradArchers World magazine.  He is one of the finest shots with a bow here in my area, so I'm looking forward to his comments on short bows.

[BillW]

pavan, that was my issue as well. I figured I wanted to be way more accurate than that if I was to hunt with a short bow.............. Now I hunt and shoot 3d's with my 60" bows.

I want to add that I think one of the prettiest short bows are those that Steve Gorr makes (Cascade). I have not shot one but they are real eye catchers. I would probably still have issues with flinging the odd arrow so I won't be trying one, BUT I like them.

[JimB]

I don't have any experience with the little sucklings.I did own a 46" Herters and it was cool looking but extremely hard to shoot well.It was stacking before 27" for sure and plenty of finger pinch.

I owned a 48" Bear Super Mag and it was difficult to shoot but slightly better than the Herters.I have owned quite a few 52" Bear Kodiak Mags and they are a bit better than the other two mentioned but I never shot them well enough to use as a serious hunting bow.I have a 54" Bighorn that can shoot really well if I do my part but make a mistake and it will let you know.

I have a 29" draw and 56" bows and up work best for me.

Short bows can be made to draw smoothly and some designs improve string angle some but in general,they magnify form errors.I know there are people that shoot 52" bows better than me but if you can shoot a 52" bow well,you can shoot a longer bow better.

When I shot field archery in the '60's,mens target bows ranged from 66" to 72" and were heavy in mass.Like Blackhawk said,there is a reason.

[SaMbO2]

Ok i mean no disrespect when saying this. I want to learn about archery ok, and when i say i want to learn about short recurves or really longbows so on and so on, then i want to learn about them and not just how bad they work for people ya no so many times youll see guys saying this is the best bow or this one is and then you get ahold of one and they are no better then the bow you already own, now when i see a bow i look at it i see how it was made what style it is how it performs and look at why it performs that way and in order to truly under stand something you need to under stand them all right? why try to under stand one bow when you can truly understand on many? and when you under stand bows then you might be able to come up with a better design for archery.

I hope your getting the point im trying to make thanks for your posts.

God Bless.

[joekeith]

Well I don't know if I really understand your point or not.....but you asked about short recurves.  I've gotta 46" Stalker by Rodney Wright.  He's a sponsor here and you can check out his website.

I always hear all the bad things about short bows.  I don't get it.  The worst thing about my Stalker is that it is only good to a 28" draw.  No problem for me, I've gotta 28" draw.  Finger pinch, I shoot 3 under and don't notice it.  I find it to be a fun bow to shoot.  It may not be good out past 20 yards, I can't honestly say 'cause I don't shoot much past 20 yards.  I'm not good at long distance no matter what I shoot.

People say they shoot ok as long as you do your part.....What more can you ask for.  If you don't make a good shot I don't know how you can expect a good hit.  I don't know, check them out if ya get a chance.  Nowadays there's a few 48" or less bows out there.  The Bear SuperMag @ 48" I think is about the worst one out there.  They're OK, but that's about it.  My son has one and I just don't think it compares to my Stalker.  Each to his own.  Find one and shoot it.  Then you can decide for yourself.  Good luck.

[joe skipp]

I have a 50" Browning I use for spring turkey and I shoot it well but I wouldn't go any shorter even though I draw 27". I prefer 56-58" bows with 60" being my max.

[bowmac]

Well I guess I am one of the exceptions instead of the norm. I much prefer shorter bows, definetly for hunting but I also use them for 3D. I shoot a 54" N.A.T. longbow by Chad Francis and my recurve is a 52" Cascade TD. I shoot split finger, 3 under and even sometimes string walk and seem to have no problems with any but my draw length is 28".

[Blackhawk]

I believe most of the comments here are personal observations, and the recommendations for or against a particular type of bow is just a personal opinion.  

With that said, choosing a short bow has to be decided upon by the buyer.  Shoot all these bows and decide what suits YOU.  If you fall in love with the 48" Bear, then my criticisms should mean nothing.

Yes, I have some short bows...and like a few others here, I've found Steve Gorr's Cascade 52" TD the best.

[YORNOC]

"Short" for me is a 62" recurve!!!!!

[sam barrett]

I have a 52" Fedora stalker recurve and seriously it draws as smooth as my 64" longbows.  I shoot it just as good (which may not be saying much :-)).  Check them out, they're awesome little bows.

I shot my 52 incher today, I did not do as bad as I thought I would.  But then my wife just made her special Dutch Lettuce made with arugula that we grew in the basement and organic bacon, potatoes, eggs, and peppers, topped with Balsamic vinegar dressing, (no Dutchman ever made it like this); so I am feeling good about things for the moment and my opinion of short bows may be influenced.

[Fischman]

My 52" GoldenHawk, 56" NightHawk and WhitetailHawk Cascades are all super smooth drawing and shooting shorties that I would recommend !!! Jerry

[Jmatt1957]

The short bows I have shot 48-52" i found that to shoot them well I needed to really follow thru on each shot. I think the short bow weighs less and tend to kick (?) more then my longer 62" bows.

[Kapellmeister]

Originally posted by sam barrett:
I have a 52" Fedora stalker recurve and seriously it draws as smooth as my 64" longbows.  I shoot it just as good (which may not be saying much :-)).  Check them out, they're awesome little bows.

I have one of Mike's (Fedora) 52" Stalkers (bamboo core limbs) and I'll agree that at my 28" draw it's super smooth!  The grip is very comfortable but it is a "higher wrist" grip than my longbows and I do find it a little "touchier" when it comes to my accuracy.  I think the shorter bows tend to exaggerate every aspect of your shot.  Just my 2 pence.

[Arwin]

I've been shooting this 54 inch St. Joe recurve and am really liking it!! I've been a strictly longbow guy for a few years but this little bow shoots too smooth to ignore. Fun in tight places or thick brush. :cool: