Longbows vs recurves for hunting

[RBO21]

I have always shot a longbow because I prefer the slimmer grip of most longbows. I have smaller hands, so they just fit me better.

I did want to try something shorter for turkeys this year, so a call to Mike at Wild Horse Creek bows and there will be one of his Mariah Recurves headed my way early next week. It maintains the slim grip very similar to his Kestrel longbow I have. I am super excited to hunt with it and will let you know if I can tell any major differences between my longbow and recurve.

I really think its whatever you get used to and enjoy shooting.

[mgf]

I  shoot and hunt with both. In fact I just ordered another longbow because my other one piece longbows are a bit heavy for me these days.   I think my longbows are nicer to carry, especially, in thick thorny cover. For some reason I never tried brush buttons but I probably should.

As far as shooting I can go back and forth without any problems. 

[TSP]

Unfortunately, today's differences between modern trad bows and especially re 'What's a longbow?' (which is a necessary place to start if trying to answer the OP's question sensibly) have been lost in technical and ideologic design/re-designs over the decades.  What once was a recurve is now a hybrid or a longbow/recurve combo or even a compound dressed up to look like one of the others by borrowing parts/shapes/materials.  In the practical sense, tradbows have become kind of an omnipotent generality...limbs, strings, and fill in the blank with what you want other than cams.  In a nutshell there are so many differences between 'longbow' and 'recurve' designs now, that picking between them is like trying to decide what your favorite color is on Tuesday compared to Thursday.  You might come up with some answers but all of them will have mitigating circumstances as to their fit or sensibility. 

In the end it's mostly about fit, feel, and use conditions.  Pretty much a personal choice thing.   

[Wilderlife]

I love them both. My main recurve is much heavier than my longbow so I feel like I hold it steady fairly well. I've made some good shots on game and it's been great fun. it's a beautiful work of art. I've also had some limited success with ASL's and I actually prefer them for ease of carrying around and looking cool, but I need to work on shooting them more as I'm nowhere near as confident. I've got a new one on the way soon and it may be here in time for the fallow deer rut so we will see what happens.

At the end of the day I go between lots of bows because they are all fun but I would definitely benefit from focusing on just one for a while. That'll likely be the case with the new longbow on the way as it'll be in a draw weight I can handle a little easier.

[Old3Toe]

The first 25 years of my archery and bowhunting journey were spent with a recurve in hand— But the last 15 have all been with an ASL longbow. AND they have been by far the most successful and satisfying. One of my favorite attributes (beyond overall shootability) is durability over all other bow designs for those moments when Uncle Murphy shows up.

[MikeNova]

I hunt with both! No paticular favorite.