Are longbows more tolerant of release issues?

[ChuckC]

Its discussion time !   yippee !

So, my question of the moment. . . Why would a bowyer, a maker of bows, be any more qualified to tell ME about the shooting quality that I experience while shooting a bow, than I am ?

Its like Kinzie  (Kinzie reports ? if I recall)telling me what I experience during sex, or one of the (childless) doctors telling me what I should be doing raising my children, or some Woman's magazine telling my wife why she should be pissed (about something different every issue).

Why would anybody, not just bowyers, be more informed about MY experiences than me myself ?

Nearly all of the responses here are based upon personal experiences.

ChuckC

[reddogge]

If I could find a bow, longbow or recurve that was as easy to shoot, dead in the hands, as consistent and forgiving of errors as my Titan III riser with BF Extreme limbs I'd be shooting it.

I ask everyone I shoot with if I could shoot their bows and haven't found it yet in either a recurve or longbow.

[damascusdave]

My initial reaction was the correct one...this whole thing is giving me a headache and I never get headaches...I am just going to go down in the basement and alternate shooting longbows and recurves until the headache goes away

DDave

[Kamm1004]

Best advice I ever got on the subject because I too once worried over these types of pointless things:
"Stop trying to find a bow that will compensate for your errors. Instead, pick a bow you like and and shoot it perfectly"

Basically saying, the error is with you, not the bow. If you perfect your skills you will be able to shoot any bow well. My shooting has improved immensely since I started fixing my flaws instead of finding a bow or set up that would allow for such imperfections.

If I could perfect every aspect of my form, every shot, that would be something alright.  Being human and getting myself into some serious bunny jumping fun and trying to still hunt deer in thick stuff will always throw things at me that will a snag into any perfect form that I can muster.  It was much easier to make a nearly perfectly formed shot when I shot my target bows at nice big well behaved targets, but those pheasants and bunnies are not so considerate.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

"Are longbows more tolerent of release issues?"

I believe this is the original topic... in my opinion the answer is No...

Lets talk about release issues and what causes them instead of speculation on limb design.

I think Pavan nailed it dead on with the string angle at full draw having the biggest effect on release issues.  


My opinion of how a bow shoots isn't any better than anyone else's just because i build these things...... But when guys start making bogus statements about limb designs and generalizing "Recurves vs Longbows" its very misleading....

There are some amazing different limb designs out there that have completely revolutionized the over all performance level, string angles, and energy storage capability. These innovations make  it possible to make a relatively short bow,  such as 60" length or even shorter, with string angles at full draw flatter and easier to get off the string than a 68-70". I'm not talking about just recurve bows either... There are some amazing Hybrid longbows, and even D-shaped long bows being built today that render a lot of the old school ideas on bow design impotent.....


I sincerely apologize if I've offended anyone. I post on this forum to share my experience with others. if i disagree with an opinion, i say so.
if i see bogus info being passed off as fact i'll call horse feathers........  Nothing personal...

[Scott Barr]

Kirk, Pavev and 9,  

I do more reading and learning from Pow Wow than posting.  So I just want to say thanks.  I know there are many Tradgangers like me that appreciate your posting information even if perspectives vary.  Here again I learn from some of the best.

I have been ocd about making arrows fly for 60 years.  I am not an expert at anything, but curious about everything.  My other passions like astronomy and classical music, I am even worse off, ocd wise. If you think the discussions about bows get complicated, get in a room with a bunch of classical guitarists and guitar builders once. As far as bows go, everyone has a way of shooting that fits them best for whatever reasons. I have two ways, one is totally target and the other is totally hunting.  I find with certain bows it is necessary to blend them and that would be fine if I could do that under pressure.  Any Hill style bow is not a good bow for me when I use that target form, but that Hill style of shooting is what I can most naturally do in fast hunting situations.  Trick shots, in my opinion are easier to pull off than most rabbit and pheasant hunting shots because everything is controlled.  Our bodies can comply to a certain degree to make a bow suit us ergonomically.  I have taught people Hill style shooting that have caught on very quickly and they would say a Hill is stable and forgiving, some for various reasons like reaction times, arm strength and hand eye timing found them to be a struggle, for them I always recommend bows that would fit more naturally to their own tendencies. It is never one size fits all.

[Cootling]

Just as McDave said.  When all is perfect, I am a better shot with my present recurve than with my present longbow... but I don't throw flyers with my longbow.

When things go wrong with my recurve, they can go really wrong... and they tend to go wrong at the worst times (like when I'm really excited about a big buck).

I'm not sure I'd attribute the difference to limb stability.  For me, I think the draw curve and grip are more significant factors in shooting "pretty good" under adverse conditions.

[Paul_R]

I can't see how release issues would have anything to do with what kind of bow a person is shooting other than something purely psycological.

I would have to disagree.  I did a test with a short recurve versus my favorite right hand longbow.  I intentionally released only with my ring finger. I have a problem with going heavy on the ring finger when I have to rush a shot. It made some difference with my longbow at 18 yards and the arrow flew okay and I was accurate enough.  With the short recurve the arrows flew awful and I hit my garage twice in a row.  I also did a test for draw length variance comparisons with my wife's shorter hybrid and compared it to a heavier Hill that shot the same arrows about the same speed. My wife at times draws longer than normal and her bow shoots noticeably quicker when she does, but she has difficulties maintaining that stretched draw.  When my wife's bow was drawn to a half inch more than her normal draw the distance it picked up allowed it to shoot further than the longbow drawn to the same draw. When her bow was drawn a half inch under her normal draw, the longbow shot further at that same draw. While this was only a distance test, if I was even sort of accurate, the differing distance comparisons were enough to show that the Hill style longbow varied less with draw length variations.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

That is interesting stuff you are talking about Paven. I don't think i ever really gave much thought to comparing different shooting styles with different limb designs until you mentioned aerial shooting or snap shooting......Hmmmm...  I can see the physics behind your testing making a lot of sense....

If we compared a working recurve bow shooting against a straight D long bow of the same weight while trick shooting at lower daw lengths, or more importantly, varied anchor points and draw lengths. the long bow is going to be a LOT more consistent.

Also the long bow is going to be more forgiving to canting the bow at any angle vs a recurve with a cut past center shelf that requires vertical alignment..... I'm not certain that plucking the string on either bow is going to make one more forgiving than the other...

The hill style bow showing less variation in cast with different draw lengths makes sense too.... because it's stored energy per inch of draw length isn't transferred as efficiently with lower preload than a hybrid or recurve design with higher preloads.  So in essence you could take much heavier arrows at shorter draw lengths or even varied draw lengths and shoot more consistently at short ranges....... Actually if we forget about trajectory completely. It would even be more consistent at longer ranges too......

Interesting..... I don't think i ever looked at it from this perspective.... Makes me want to go play with some moving targets and different style bows now....