Hi guys (and gals),
Great forum you have! Tons of posting activity which makes for (seemingly) endless reading.
A brief introduction and some clarification on the subject line, which I'm sure you've seen a thousand times.
Long story short; I got into traditional archery about a month ago after stumbling upon my grandfather's 90+ year-old bow, in a corner of my parent's basement, during a visit to their home.
Took the bow home and cleaned it up; some mineral spirits for the gunk, lite sanding to smooth it out and some oil and waxing. Came out beautifully.
There are no markings on the bow - I can't even identify the woods used (two laminated together) - but my best guess is that it is a youth longbow with a weight somewhere between 25-30lbs at roughly 24-26 inches.
Unstrung, it is 54 inches tip to tip. I fashioned a bowstring for it (braided nylon cord; don't laugh - it actually worked surprisingly well) at a length of about 50 inches, which seemed to give the most "natural" feeling brace length and took it for a spin after ordering a half-dozen arrows of appropriate spine/length/etc. As you may have guessed, there was an awful lot of reading/learning involved...
Having not even held a bow in 20+ years, I had a blast just screwing around with it. Given the limitations in draw length, etc, etc, I found myself to be far more accurate shooting "instinctively" than by any of the methods I've read about, here (Gap, etc). This is only at about 15 yards, though.
Having enjoyed it so much; I ordered three "cheap" bows to see what would suit best since a youth bow probably would not last all that long if overdrawn; not to mention it being almost a century old and having something of a sentimental value attached to it.
Two of the bows have been getting workouts and one has not yet arrived.
They are:
-Hickory, English-style 68" longbow, 60# @ 28".
-Hickory/linen-backed, "Flat"-style 72" longbow, 47lbs @ 29".
-Hickory, 72" recurve, 55# @ 29".
The longbow and the flat bow are both made by amateur bowyers of little reputation and were both well under $100.
The recurve is being fashioned by a "mid-level" company you would know and I think I got a pretty good deal on it after shopping around a bit.
What I have learned, shooting the longbow and the flat bow is this... and please excuse me if I don't speak in proper terms when describing certain things... still have a lot to learn.
-My ideal draw length seems to be between about 29-30".
-My ideal draw weight (at this stage) is between 45-50#.
-While I love the look of the longbow (more on that later), I shoot the flatbow (off the knuckle, no arrow rest/shelf) much better.
-My bracer is *not* of sufficient size to protect the inside of my forearm from becoming a bruised, half-bloody mess... which means my form needs work.
I think that the third observation is due to a combination of the longbow being more weight than I can handle ("don't over-bow when starting out" I believe I read in another thread) and what I think is referred to as "stacking." The flat is very, very smooth whereas the longbow has very noticeable "steps" where weight suddenly increases as draw increases.
Referring back to my preference for the "look" of the old, English longbow, I have no intention of hunting with these bows - my interest stems primarily from a love of military history and, while anything short of a 120# Italian Yew bow is not considered "historically accurate," I do enjoy the concept, all the same.
I also will not be competing in any tournaments - this is for my enjoyment, only. Basic target shooting.
As such, now that I have purchased, and put through their paces; a few "cheap" bows; I am anxious for recommendations from those more educated than me (which would be all of you) on the subject of identifying the right "keeper" longbow of traditional, English style.
Research has shown me a couple great options but, instead of listing them here and asking if you agree, I think a clean-slate approach to recommendations would be more beneficial from a learning perspective.
Ideally; I would be seeking a bow of quality wood (cannot afford Yew but, reading this forum; I understand bamboo and osage are good choices?), with a draw length of between 29-30", a draw weight of between 45-50# and the styling of an English warbow circa 13th/14th Century.
Now; the wrench in the gears... I'd like to keep the price reasonable for the first "good" longbow... say, under $300. Anything more expensive than that would probably be wasted on someone with as little experience as I have.
Any go-to sources for such a product stick out in your collective mind?
Thanks for reading.
Topic: New Member - Advice on first "good" longbow? (Educated questions, I promise) (Read 516 times)
