Recurves that perform "better than average"?

[Dan Adair]

Originally posted by Otto:
I'd be willing to wager that if you put every recurve made by all the top bowyers and conducted a controlled test that there ain't 10 fps difference between the lot of em.

It means squat.

I'll take that bet...  Because I already know the answer.

From what I've shot, with more arrow weight spread than what AMO would dictate, and at my 27" draw (mostly with a Damascas glove) it's not uncommon to see 20-30 FPS between makers.

The only recurve I've seen shoot as fast as a Schafer is a Black Widow.  I've spent time with Toelke's, Dale Dyes, all the production makers including Hoyt, Bears Paw, Yellowstone, Robertson Stykbow, and I shot the hybrid Zipstick one piece LB.

I found the three BW takedown recurves I tested to all be noisier and generally more rude than Schafer recurves.  I've chronographed 6 different 60# Schafers, with pretty much everything you could imagine for strings (of modern material) and they were all within a few FPS of eachother.  They all had clear glass over veneers too, and I'd LOVE to shoot one with black Super E glass just to see what it'd do.  Robertsons get my attention too.  The 61# one I played with was in the high 180's

Anybody wants to send me a bow to chronograph, I'll do it for the fun of it.  If I ever find a faster, more stable, more forgiving, and quieter bow than a 'Tip, I'll be writing a check the next week  

Another poster said something about Shooting Chrony brand chronographs.  I used to have an Oehler 35P until I shot it with and AR15.  My hunting buddy has the same chrono as mine, and early on chronographing bows and rifles we used to run the two of them in tandem.  Neither chronograph ever varied 2 FPS from the other when testing a bow indoors under artificial lighting.  I've long gave up that practice.

Chronographs tell no lies...  It's a very real measure of "horsepower" for bows.  They can hurt a lot of guys egos.

[Dan Adair]

Oh, one last thing....

Fred Bear was right.  In all the years I've been playing with bows, and chronographing.

60 Lbs is definitely where the returns begin to diminish.  Up to 60# the gains are pretty linear, beyond that, you're pretty much just beating yourself up to be cool.

My old 77# limbs on my 'Tip shot 580 grain arrows 201 FPS at my draw...  Tell me WHY I'd still use those over my 60#ers???   :D

[L. E. Carroll]

During the decades I have collected and shot with Traditional gear, I have enjoyed owning and shooting bows made by most of the great names in Custom Built bows..

I love my Kwky Styks, TT's and Schafers..

However, I have never been overly impressed with the 7 or so Widows I have owned over the years when talking performance...

That being said... Bob Morrison has consistently built the "Highest Performance  Bows" I have, and have had in my collection.    

Gene

[1screagle]

Oh, one last thing....

Fred Bear was right. In all the years I've been playing with bows, and chronographing.

60 Lbs is definitely where the returns begin to diminish. Up to 60# the gains are pretty linear, beyond that, you're pretty much just beating yourself up to be cool.

I knew it!!!! I have always believed in a point where the poundage would reach a point of deminished return. Thank you Papa Bear! You finally settled this in my mind.

[Bowwild]

My top performer is a Sasquatch built for me by Kirk this past summer.

I've hunted with a different bow each of the past three years:

-2010-The Stick by Strickland
-2011-Habu
-2012-Sasquatch

Who knows what 2013 will be? I did start shooting my Tip the past few days but I fear it is about 3-4 pounds light for what I have in mind this year.

[overbo]

Dan I recently chronoed my 62lbs Tip against a 60lbs Habu and the Habu shot the same arro 3-5 fps quicker.The Habu is more behaived in the hand and every bit if not more quiet.
My Tip(wich I love)isn't FF like the Bu.

[Sixby]

Overbo: then if the Tip were fastflight and 60 lbs instead of 62 the two bows would pretty much be equal shooters speed wise. Is that how you see it?

Bowild: There are certain bows you must leave out of this conversation. Not fair to interject Sasquatchs

God bless you all, Steve. Oh and happy New Year.

[Friend]

Most all are values reported by Blacky and using a 5 fps reduction to account for finger release average.

Note: there are possibly a couple that were obtained from Pete’s World.


Recurve Bows………………………………………………………Length…Drw Wt…….FPS….Arrow Wt…..GPP
               
Hummingbird Bamboo Kingfisher T/D Recurve………..60……….47.5……….180……….426……….8.97
Fox High Sierra T/D Recurve……………………………………..60……….53.0……….185……….477……….9.00
Bob Lee Thunderbolt Recurvebow………….…………………60……….52.0……….186……….468……….9.00
Black Widow SA V Ironwood T/D Recurve……………….60……….52.0……….187……….468……….9.00
Black Widow SA III T/D Recurve……………………………..60……….52.0……….182……….468……….9.00
Morrison Take-Down Recurve…………………………………..58……….52.5……….187……….473……….9.00
Dalaa T/D Recurve…………………………………………………….64……….53.0……….189……….476……….8.98
Predator 'Classic'…………………………………………………………60………50.5……….193……….454……….8.99
Bob Lee  'Hunter Bicentennial Elite'……………………………60……….50.5……….188……….453……….8.97
Great Plains Swift 'SR Swift Black Hawk'…..…………..58……….50.0……….188……….447……….8.94
Black Widow 'PAX' (tulip wood)…………………………………60……….50.0……….189……….452……….9.04
Black Widow 'PCH' (Braz Rosewood/Tiger Mrytle)...58……….50.0………189……….450..........9.0
Dryad ILF 15" riser Xtra long ACS RC Static………...62……….42.6……….193.........384……….9.0
BW KBX……………………………………………………………………….58……….50.2……….187……….452……….9.0


Longbows and Hybrids…………………………………………….Length…Drw Wt…….FPS….Arrow Wt…..GPP   
La Clair Super Shrew Limited Longbow #25………………58……….53.0……….181……….477……….9.00
Acadian Woods Treestick T/D Longbow………………………62……….54.0……….181……….486……….9.00
Fox Reverse Handle Fennic Fox Longbow……………………60……….52.0……….176……….468……….9.00
Hornes Brush Bow T/D………………………………………………...60……….45.5……….182……….408……….8.97
BW PL X Birdseye Maple………………………………………………62………50.5……….185……….457……….9.05
ACS All Carbon Extreme……………….…………………………….64……….47.0……….195……….420……….8.94
Centaur Carbon Elite Longbow…………………………………….60……….51.0……….190……….457……….8.96               
Tomahawk Diamond Series T/D Thunderstorm………..62……….53.0……….181……….477……….9.00

[overbo]

Exactly Sixby

[Safari Scott]

The statics seem to be great performers, Stalkers, Dyrads and RER bows all use that style as an option and you'll never hear a bad thing about them.
Also if you don't mind an ILF style I hear good reports on the DAS bows that 3rivers do.

[manitou1]

Even the above info that Friend posted has variances in GPP and draw weight, so we aren't comparing apples to apples.  It does show, however, how close in performance a lot of bows are.
My Predator is slightly faster than my Black Widows, but I will always shoot my Widows when hunting, just because they shoot better for ME.  The next guy may shoot something else better.  I would pick a few and shoot them, then consider durability, warranty, aesthetics (you gotta LIKE the bow), and grip.  Regardless, you should try and shoot several to avoid wasting time and money buying/selling bows you discover aren't "the one" for you later on.
My newest Widow is the quietest recurve I have shot... why? I dunno. Same veneers, same lams, same weight as my other, same string,except for length of the bow. You could shoot five Remington 700's in the same caliber and they will all shoot a little different and prefer different loads (like the above poster stated). I suppose bows are the same way.

[Lynch Mob]

There is alot of great bows out there and i believe alot of it comes down to personal preference.
 Worrying about the speed of a recurve is like what Larry the Cable Guy says "wiping before you poop, it doesn't make sense. If i was worried about speed i'd still be shooting my compound, hell your talking 100 ft per second over recurves.
 To me i love traditional for the simplicity of it...focus, pull back,and follow through, how simple is that?
 I have probably 10 top name custom bows and like them all for some reason or another and if i had to stay with one well lets say the freezer would still get venison every fall. To me with recurves to gain one thing is usually a trade off for something else, by this i mean some of my bows that are faster are also a little tougher to pull. Also grip and asthetic are more important than speed, how can you not be taken by some of the beautiful wood grains from some of these bowyers, they are truley works of art.
 To me, i look for the bow that has a balance of it all, looks, smooth, pointability, and quietness. And for me my Tall Tines does that right now, it has the looks feel and smoothness along with great traditional speed.
 Roger Rothhaar is the man who got me into traditional and really was my teacher and mentor (still), had a quote that went sometghing like this "When I grab my bow, it's like shaking hands with an old friend".
 Thanks my Friend

George

[Real Buckmaster]

I think it is the best bow that fits. I have a short draw length and don't mind my bows being pretty quick. Thanks Dan Tolke I have three of his 52" kestrals. They seem to have it all stable,quiet, feel good in the hand, craftsmanship and speed. Often we get caught up in it thinking there is a better bow out there, maybe its right in our hands!!

[refugerambler]

Black creeks, of course!    

[JJB2]

Zipper!  On top of being a great performing bow, Bill's customer service is second to none.  Great guy to buy a bow from.  I've shot em all between owning them and shooting them at shows.  My SXT, 64" carbon foam limbs, 57# at my draw length, 550 gr arrow, 203 fps. My 60" SXT limbs scale out right at 60# at my draw and they shot the same arrow at about the same exact speed +/- a few fps depending on my release.  I think my release is just smoother on the LB limbs.  The curve limbs shoot a 635 grn arrow at 178 fps, haven't shot a heavier arrow through a chrono with the LB limbs.

[Moots]

I have a Wes Wallace Mentor that has impressed me.

[stagetek]

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, I think a Pittsley Predator is the best value out there. About half the price of a Widow, and just as fast, maybe faster. Shoot one. Your question may be answered.

[babs]

I like to shoot alot of different bows but some bows dont appeal to me or the grip isnt right or the length is either to short or long. Thats why I go to ETAR you can shoot alot of different bows on the market and see which bow fits me. Thats where I found the bow for me and thats my Bob lee. Thats why I have three of them, the grip just melts in my hands and there smooth and plenty fast for me to shoot whitetails 25 yards and under. Thats just my opinion, you can go nuts trying all these awesome bows on the market, we have the best bowyers on this site and everybody can find a bow that suits his style. God bless

[Frisky]

The best all-around performer I've found is my old Deathmaster, but I've only pitted it against my 95' Howatt Hunter and a 76er. The poor 76er didn't stand a chance, but it is a great performer in its own right. A real shooter! It's just no speed demon. When I get the Hunter set up better, it should be closer to the Deathmaster.

Joe

[Nativestranger]

Originally posted by stagetek:
Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, I think a Pittsley Predator is the best value out there. About half the price of a Widow, and just as fast, maybe faster. Shoot one. Your question may be answered.

How was the Predator in terms of hand shock and shot stability?  A common compliant is the grip. Do you find the grip uncomfortable or too thick?