Originally posted by AdamH:
Just get yourself a HH or NM Shelton or somethin straight or string follow, that's "True "D" anything else is Mild R/D or Hybrid, it's that simple, but hey, they're ALL good ....
heheheheh.
mild r/d longbow or aggressive r/d longbow - BOTH are "hybrids".
a hybrid is the result of grafting two entirely diff'rent things to create a kinda similar but lots diff'rent new thing.
hybrid longbows are the result of melding an afl (american flat longbow, i.e., "howard hill") with, well, a recurve. the recurve part of a hybrid is the deflexed riser (you don't find that on an afl), and the snakey reflexed limbs. the afl part of the hybrid is the bowstring only touching the limb nocks and not the limbs themselves.
MILD R/D LONGBOWS, for the most part, have less snake in the limbs than aggressive r/d longbows, and the result is the mild r/d's braced "D" limb shape. NO, it's NOT a "D" LONGBOW. it's a hybrid. you know, that kinda longbow that some folks refuse to call a longbow. :D