"Simple" question

[swampthing]

Is there a R/D longbow out there that is as stable as a straight limb or stringfollow longbow?
Would a halfway decent shot realize the difference?
  Not talking trajectory here, yes faster bows take more of that "arcing unforgingness" out of the equasion, talking bent over, kneeling down, leaning around a tree, quick, instinctive shooting.
 My little brother is very interested in going out there with me.

[Jesse Peltan]

A d/r is actually more stable.  Howard Hill was experimenting with them before he died and came up with the Howard Hill Badger.  It's a deflex reflex design with narrow deep cored limbs.

[swampthing]

ttt

[ishoot4thrills]

I had a Beeler hybrid LB that was very pleasant to shoot and also I had a Bear Montana that was very pleasant to shoot. The list could go on and on as others chime in.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Mohawk!!        

Tracy

[cbCrow]

I recently got a Fedora Xcellerator and find that it is even more stable than my other LB's and is a joy to shoot! The grip is what I feel makes it stable.  

[swampthing]

Talking light mass one pieces here... I see that the Deflex'd risers with the foward handle design is proving to be very stable. Is so?
Moving on to string angle at full draw, and also, limb tip angle. I see that a D-bow's tips "come around and over" with the string kind of underneath them at full draw, as apposed to a recurve's more "upright" limb tips at full draw. With tip's coming around like that the string tracks straighter and is less effected by string torque, at what point of Reflex do you start to give up stability, if this is even the case with well designed modern bows. String angle example, I've seen that 62" BW PL's are 125deg or so at 28", not much pinch in there, the limbs are highly reflexed but string angle is wide, can something like that be as stable as a D-bow, comparing both with consistant "gripping"??

[Jeremy]

You're assuming string angle at the tips is an indication of stability - that's not necessarily the case.  Where the tips rest in the unbraced bow is a better indicator of how touchy it will be to torque.  The farther forward your hand is in relation to the the unbraced tips, the more stable and forgiving the bow will be.
String angle at the tips will give you an idea of where the bow starts to stack though.

A few cases:

My 64" '54 Bear Polar is a simple reflexed longbow, with the tips resting somewhere north of 3" infront of the handle.  At full draw the string angle at the tips approaches 90* like any other longbow and stacks like any other longbow at my 30" inch draw.  Not quite a D profile due to the reflex beginning at the handle.  A touchy bow to shoot that requires you to be mindful of string and handle torque.

A buddy's 64" "Hill" style longbow.  Reflexed more than many Hills, the tips rest about 2.5" forward of the riser when unbraced.  It retains the D profile by increasing the taper in the limbs (and as such stacks very early in the draw - ~26" or so)  It's no less sensitive to string torque than my r/d bows with the same amount of net reflex.

The last static tip recurve I made ended up following the string by about an inch.  It was just as forgiving a bow as any other that followed the string, but didn't start to stack until later in the draw due to it's profile keeping the string angle at the tips low.
The last few r/d longbows I've made that followed the string were also just as stable as my straight end bows.

[swampthing]

Hmmm.

[buckeye_hunter]

You could go with a forward handle like a Blackcreek Banshee, Lost Creek Longbow, JK Traditions Kanati, Black Swan, Shrew, Big Jim Thunder Child or Hoots. All are light weight and stable good shooters. Some I have shot and others I have just heard very positive reports on for stability and forgiveness. Also, the forward handle gives a better string angle in regards to finger pinch.

   

[Shaun]

The answer to your original question is - NO.

Straight limbs and "D" shape at brace will always be more stable (forgiving). They will also almost always be slower.

String follow will also add stability but this is a separate factor. An R/D bow may have string follow like the Bear Montana.

There are several other factors that help with stability like forward handle, limb design, etc.

In general, any increase in speed will make a bow less forgiving.