Recurves that perform "better than average"?

[Plumber]

I second that dan adair

[ishoot4thrills]

Pittsley's Predator has the whole "package" you are looking for.

Also, don't underestimate the extreme R/D longbows out there. I hear the Toelke Whip is among the fastest. Jason's Kanati is none too shabby either.

Dan Adair, I have a chronograph(Pro Chrono) and a scale(reloading powder scale). And, it's been my experience that the "Shooting Chrony" brand of chronograph gives erratic results that are often at higher speeds than actuality. Not to say that yours is that way but the ones I have seen are inaccurate.

I'm just sayin', not attackin'.    

[vtmtnman]

Not sure what BW they were shooting but everyone I've ever shot was superb.

[vtmtnman]

Dan,that's because chronos aren't trad for some reason.I have one and love to use it.I enjoy seeing differences in things.Some are fine in the dark and that's ok by me.I like to play.

[Sean B]

I have a KBX and a  PCH II and they are both smooth as silk and whip an arrow as hard and as fast as any I've had.  I also have a Toelke Chinook and a Morrison Cheyenne and they are as smooth in the draw and also whip an arrow.  I'm just partial to BW.  

I believe that it's all in the individual.  That's what makes this sport/hobby great.  There's something for everyone.

[bentpole]

I think the best recurve I owned was my Kohannah.       Two others worth mentioning are my Check-Mate Falcon and my Mahaska wasn't too shabby either.  

Add the Morrison carbon/foam ILF to the list of great performers, but I wouldn't count Black Widows out--there are so many people who shoot and love their BW recurves for all kinds of reasons...and the same could be said of Bob Lee bows and a few others. Year after year, they "bring home the bacon" (and the venison)! That's the true measure of performance, IMHO.

[Yellow Dog]

I've owned and shot alot of different bows and the one that surprised me the most was a McCullough Fiftyniner. I've had several of them in different wood combinations but this one was special. Black Glass limbs and 46@28. I could tell it was faster than average so one day out of curiosity it shot it through a cronograph. With an arrow 9 grains per pound at my 30" draw it would consistently hit 200fps. Smooth, well mannered and speed all in one package.

[Marc B.]

Originally posted by Jerry Bellmyer:
Marc  would that be a modern bear TD or an older one?

New Red Stripe, very smooth and has great a "Feel" for me.

[1screagle]

I have owned many bows in my search for the Holy Grail of bows. I have sold every bow from other bowyers to concentrate on one bowyer. I wanted to have a familiar feel everytime I picked up a bow. Wes Wallace builds an awesome performing bow weighed by anyone's measure, and at a working man's price. I see beautiful bows everywhere by many. I hear about speed and it usually has some carbon in it. Wes does not use carbon and I believe my B-Model 56" 61#@28" will shoot with the best of them given same specs. Very stable but explosive off the string. Perceptibily more than anything I've shot to date, all with a draw that is very smooth. I have to get my chrono out to see the numbers. No amount of speed can ever replace the confidence stored inside the archer with an awesome shooting/feeling bow and that will always be speculative. My Dwyer is a great Performer, not the fastest but oh so sweet to shoot, light in hand and very deadly weapon. Enjoy the journey, I have. I have only a desire to try a string follow longbow and to build my own bow. I'm learning that it's like chasing after the wind trying to find the "Holy Grail of Bows" so I've learned to be content in my choices and learn to shoot those to the best of my ability. I love the recurve and longbow equally, couldn't choose between the 2 if my life depended on it. As far as recurves go, I'll never part with my Wallace's.

[Bowwild]

I put all my bows through a chronograph with same weight arrows.  Of course I'm missing experience with many (most) and all longbows.

My top 3 to date are:

-Sasquatch
-Silvertip
-New Bear Grayling Green Super K (big surprise to me)

Most of my bows are VERY close though. At the same draw weight I've found only one that is so much less than the others than it would make a difference and I don't name it because maybe I had a rare dud with that one and some folks love them.

My widows are keeper too.

[bowtough]

I just purchased a new to me Silvertip and am shooting 600gr.arrows with authority at around 52#. But I have 20yr. old fedora takedown rc that blows it out of the water at similar specs. The Silvertip is much quieter and comes back smoother than wipped cream though and is much more forgiving!  

[YORNOC]

As you can see, not only is "beauty in the eye of the beholder" , but performance also.
Lots of bows mentioned here. Which is a good thing.

[FerretWYO]

My Pronghorn Ferret performs very well.

It really depends on many factors such as tuning and arrow matching.

[Margly]

I have tested several thru chrono and my demands for the bow is as follows:
No handshock
smooth draw
stability
and fast performance.

I have owned several bows and tested them thru Chronos.
My preferences in recurve naming a few:
Black Widow, Silvertip, Hummingbird, Habu bow, Palmer tradslam, Black Douglas Borderbow:

The one coming up as my #1 when all above demands are considered is definitely the Border Black Douglas!
It outperforms the other bows. I got the same speed out of a 42# Border against a 50# Black Widow PMA(same AMO)

But I still love shooting the BW, Hummingbird etc, but today my definitely goto bow is a Border BD or DAS with Border limbs.

In Longbow:
That's easy: Firefly longbows from Jim Jones
They got all above in my demands and are some heavy hitters:)

[Alexander Traditional]

I have a take down and a one piece from Lewis Hollow and they are both fast. I don't have a chrono,but the one piece seems to be noticeably faster.

[manitou1]

As you can see from the above posts... there are many, many really good bows out there.  Smooth, good cast, etc. is subjective and all of us have our little quirks and preferences.  The top ten bowyers probably all put out bows that will shoot within a few feet per second of each other, a negligible amount when shooting.  The key is to get a bow you are confident in, feels good to shoot, and one you will be content in shooting. Enjoy the trip as there are some fine bows out there. There really is no "perfect" bow or "holy grail" of bows for everybody.  You will find one you prefer and it will be YOUR bow... the one you write about on future posts as being superb!

[Gator1]

Rer XR static tip

Fast smooth and longbow quiet

[reddogge]

I don't own one but I've shot a few Wes Wallace bows and every one is fast smooth and stable. Same goes for Borders. Never shot a bad one.

In my own bows I like Titan III and Morrison ILF risers with Samick BF Extreme limbs. I also like to shoot the old Tice and Watts Spartan Hunters.

[Easykeeper]

Like others have said, I think "performance" is partly about measurable data like chronograph results and partly about less easily measured characteristics like noise and vibration.

I have recurves from Dale Dye, Schafer, Wes Wallace, Blacktail, Robertson, and John McCullough (59'er).  All of them are in the same league for overall performance but I definitely like a couple better than others.  

I would love to have a chronograph someday, more for reloading but it would be fun with the recurves too.  I doubt it would change my mind as far as favorites though.

I have to say that overall my Blacktails are my favorite.  I don't know if a chronograph would show them as my fastest bows, but they   seem a little faster than my other bows with similar arrows, not that it really matters.  They might just seem faster because they have less vibration after the shot.  How each bow ranks in speed is less important to me than the overall shooting experience.  

In other words   all of my bows are fast enough...