Is it harder to shoot a long bow?

[Stone Knife]

Is it harder to master a long bow than it is a recurve. It's kind of to late to ask this seeing that I'm hooked on Hill's, I just want to know.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Depends on the Bow... I would say.

[kawika b]

i'd say yes but i don't have much yrs in with a longbow to be of much credit. in my opinion the longbow was just harder to tune arrow wise,,,,,for me. good luck in your shooting!

[madness522]

It might not be harder. I can shoot my long bows as well as my recurves except for one which I shoot better.  That makes it real easy to pick an opening day bow from the rack.

[vermonster13]

What Ron said.

[Dave2old]

Yes and no. I shot recurves for decades, then bought my first longbow, a straight stick from a very famous maker. I couldn't hit poop with it (even elephant poop)and blamed it on being "a longbow" but didn't have a clue what the difference was. In the several years since, I've moved through a complete transition so that now I shoot by far better with longbows, esp. the reflex-deflex hybrids that are currently, and correctly, very popular. What I've determined for myself is the difference between the deep handgrip of the recurve, so that the pressure and balance are between index finger and thumb, and the flat or semi-flat grip of the longbow and most hybrids, where the focus is on the heel of the hand. So today, even wonderful hybrid longbows like the Black Widow, with deeper semi-recurve grips, I can't shoot well. My selfbows and more traditional straight-handled longbows, like the Lightning, and certainly the Hills, come naturally. So, bottom line, I'd say either can be well mastered, but switching takes some practice. It's all fun. dave

[Shawn Leonard]

It depends on the individual. I have a hard time with a bow that has a straight or a low wrist grip. I can shoot an LB as well as a curve if it has a medium or high wrist grip. Shawn

[Orion]

I've been shooting both for more than 40 years, though I've been shooting longbows almost exclusively for the past 15 years or so.  Recurves do have some inherent advantages.  All other things being equal, they generally draw a little smoother than longbows, they're generally faster for the same weight, which generally aids in hitting what you're shooting at, the usually larger and thus heavier riser mass adds more stability and reduces felt hand shock, and the fact that most are centershot makes them able to accept a wider range of arrow spines.  Of course, the hybrids meld most of these features with more of a longbow limb design, and they perform pretty close to most recurves, some better.

In my opinion, a Hill style bow and self-bows are among the more challenging longbows to master.

[Matty]

What ORION says seems to be what I find as well....I shoot both, Prefer the Long bow for some reason, But I find the ability to shoot a RC is increased.

[Blackhawk]

I am sure many of you remember a quote from Howard Hill that he "was not good enough to shoot a recurve."  
   
I always found that interesting.   :confused:

[Pete W]

They are all easy to shoot well if the bow is tillered properly and you take the time to tune it and the arrows it needs.

[Curveman]

Byron Ferguson states in a recent TB that the reason he does his trick shooting with a longbow is it is much more forgiving than a recurve. I shot a longbow better when I started but switched to a recurve because I liked the looks and genius of design about it. Now I shoot both.

[buckeyebowhunter]

I shoot better with my friends recurve. But I admire and respect the longbow more, so I hunt with my longbow. I'm not saying I shoot bad with my longbow, just sayin I shoot a little better with recurves.

[Roger Norris]

I thought so, but then listened to Fred Asbell's advice...he says in one of his books that to learn a longbow, shoot nothing else for a year. I did that, and it worked. It's common sense if you think about it...dedicate some time to the bow, and you will figure it out. DON'T QUIT during the slumps!

[Roger Norris]

p.s....for my money, a good locator grip is a trillion times easier to learn on than a HH style.

[Stick'n'String]

I switched to a lonbow last year and prefer it, I think because of the light weight.

[30coupe]

It is harder to torque the limbs of a longbow, which tends to make them more forgiving of poor releases...I need lots of forgiveness, so I shoot better with a longbow. My 50's style recurve is close, but still not as easy to shoot well as a longbow.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

You tell me bro....   I built this long bow in February, and the arrows in the photo were shot at 25 yards, and were built from 2 x 6's. These were out of the same batch I turned for you....

You think I'm ready to hunt with this bow yet? I'm no master, but I'm sure liking this long bow a lot....

PS: Have you got your woodies flying yet?
 

[Danny Rowan]

I shot longbows exclusively for many years, heavy weights,72-80#. Then oneday could not control my shot anymore.Could still pull the weight and hold at anchor but could not control the shot. Went down in weight and still could not control it. Switched to a curve and was right back in the game. I think it is the physical weight of the td curves I shoot making my bow arm steadier. For me, now the curves are definately easier to shoot but the hybrid td longbows are up there as well.

Danny

[BamBooBender]

To answer your question, no they're not harder to master imho. They're a little harder to tune at first, finding the right arrow spine and all, but once that's done it's just a matter of practice. I'm kinda opposite of a lot of folks because I find the recurve harder to master,not that I've mastered either one, but recurves to me are kinda finicky about release and grip.

Anyway, you mentioned that you're already hooked on Hill bows, so that should work out in your favor if you like em you'll keep shootin em and you're bound to improve if you stick to one bow.jmho