Most forgiving bow style for hunting?

If you try to shoot a Hill style bow like a recurve, it will fight with you. If you shoot properly, it will reward you, and there will be no going back.

[TGbow]

You will get a lot of opinions, and that's what they are, opinions... including mine.
Whichever works best for YOU will be the answer. Howard Hill killed a lot of game with the longbow, and Fred Bear killed a lot of game with the recurve, just depends on what you prefer.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

If you like the Hill style look and want a very good shooting long bow.... Keep your eye out for the new Big Foot "Stealth" coming out this Spring.

Kirk

I prefer a Sasquatch 60" hybrid long bow with a custom grip for hunting on the ground,in a stand, or out of a ground blind.

[alex321]

Kirkll,

Will this bow be take down?  I need a takedown for ease of transport, but I want the old American flatbow style.

Thanks
Alex

[sloaf]

Most forgiving bow in the trad world is an ILF rig with a plunger with long limbs.

[Kris]

Forgiving - you'll want a bow you shoot well (accurately) under a variety of conditions.  It should draw easily when you are cold and shoot an arrow with excellent arrow flight even when you fail to do things properly.  You DO NOT want a finicky bow.  

I will NOT elude to whether this is a recurve, longbow, flatbow, selfbow or other, as many are doing, you'll have to find that out for yourself.

The process is lifelong.  That's the fun of it!

Kris

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by alex321:
Kirkll,

Will this bow be take down?  I need a takedown for ease of transport, but I want the old American flatbow style.

Thanks
Alex

Yes....This new design will have a 2 piece option.

Kirk

[alex321]

Originally posted by Kirkll:
 

Originally posted by alex321:
Kirkll,

Will this bow be take down?  I need a takedown for ease of transport, but I want the old American flatbow style.

Thanks
Alex

Yes....This new design will have a 2 piece option.

Kirk [/b]

I looked at your sight and I see you are a real craftsman.  I shall have to be patient and see what you bring out.  I am very interested.  Thank you for your information.
Alex

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I'm working on a new two piece connection right now. I'm not real fond of most of the two piece connections except for the one Jim Neeves at Centaur does..... but i don't like the bolts on that one either. So i'm coming up with something different.

Sorry about getting side tracked on this thread guys...

 I think my choice for the most practical forgiving hunting bow is a 60" hybrid long bow. They are small enough to easily shoot from a ground blind.... Nice tree stand size too... But the way they slide through the brush so easily while ground hunting is the best part. I also like a bow i can push/pull to string in the feild. So if i want to pack in somewhere i could take the bow down and stuff it in my pack easily.

The ones i build will accommodate shorter draw length guys and still get great performance, but also I can build the the same 60" length to draw to 32" plus with no finger pinch what so ever....
The Sasquatch TD long bow is my go-to hunting bow.

[NBK]

It's the Indian, not the bow.
Simple but true.
Look at some of the really prolific hunters on here; Terry, Guru, Shedrock, RC, Pat in Texas, Stickflinger, widowdoublelung, etc. and then look at all the game they've harvested with an ARRAY of different bows.  Many times switching up bows themselves year to year if not week to week.
Give those guys a PVC bow and I'd bet money they'd still kill things.
Point being the type of bow is so far down the list of attributes to hunt successfully that its essentially a non factor, albeit a fun wintertime discussion.

[LongStick64]

Mike has it right, you'll just be chasing your tail to get the right answer on this one. My preference is to work on my shooting form and stop worrying about the bow. Do your end right and the bow will follow. The most forgiving bow in the world won't be worth a dime if you are not forgiving in your shot performance.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The guy asked for opinions on the "most forgiving bow style" for hunting. Nothing about shooting form, or how to be a successful hunter... You guys are getting off track here. Learning to shoot and hunt effectively is a whole different topic.

Kirk

[Caughtandhobble]

Originally posted by Kirkll:
The guy asked for opinions on the "most forgiving bow style" for hunting. Nothing about shooting form, or how to be a successful hunter... You guys are getting off track here. Learning to shoot and hunt effectively is a whole different topic.

Kirk

And you're selling bows  

The best style of hunting bow is one that is well tuned, and that one is intimately familiar with  

[mooshkat]

ILF

[30coupe]

Okay, since this seems to be an opinion thread, I'll add mine. I've had and shot more bows than I can even keep track of anymore of pretty much every style available, except the kind with wheels on the ends   . Therefore, I feel qualified to offer some advice.

For me, the limb design or even that of the riser, make very little difference in terms of forgiveness. What matters for me is how the grip fits my hand. I can shoot almost any bow well...sometimes. The ones that fit my hand correctly, I shoot well every time! The two bows I find most forgiving are of quite different designs, but the grip of each fits my hand perfectly. I can pick up either my Kanati, which is a one piece R/D longbow, or my Orion, which is a three piece static limb recurve, and shoot equally well with either. In fact, I alternated weekends with those two this deer season. It so happened that a doe stopped in front of my when I had the Orion in hand, so I'm making some jerky out of her today. Had I had the Kanati, the outcome would undoubtedly have been the same.

I had a Northern Mist Shelton, which is a fine Hill style bow, but the grip was too small for me...an odd thing since I have short fingers. I could shoot it well at times, but not consistently. A Hill style bow requires a different grip than either of my other bows. Howard Hill described it as like picking up a suitcase. The depth of the grip from belly to back needs to be big enough to force you to grip it the same way each time. My Shelton was too shallow in that area to do so. I really liked the bow as it was smooth and quiet and accurate when I did my part. For hunting, though, I want a bow that I can simply pick up and shoot well without having to consider how I'm holding onto it. I couldn't do that with the Shelton, so I traded it.

I've finally come to the conclusion that the two bows I have listed will do everything I want to do in terms of bow hunting, so I'm done trading...I hope.    

Not trying to sell anything here, but how one shoots any particular bow has much to do with that bow's forgiveness.  When someone shares their opinion and includes the reasons for that opinion, those that do not have years of trial and error experience can benefit.  It is worth learning from the experts, one never knows what can apply to them.  Even if someone tries to emulate Hill and covers all of the Hill fundamentals, there will still be specific variations and not be violating any of the Hill fundamentals or principles.  For one person a pistol grip is the way to get a forgiving shot, for another a straight grip is the only way to go.  Without knowing the form of the thread starter, the best anyone can do is to share their experiences.

[30coupe]

Originally posted by pavan:
Not trying to sell anything here, but how one shoots any particular bow has much to do with that bow's forgiveness.  When someone shares their opinion and includes the reasons for that opinion, those that do not have years of trial and error experience can benefit.  It is worth learning from the experts, one never knows what can apply to them.  Even if someone tries to emulate Hill and covers all of the Hill fundamentals, there will still be specific variations and not be violating any of the Hill fundamentals or principles.  For one person a pistol grip is the way to get a forgiving shot, for another a straight grip is the only way to go.  Without knowing the form of the thread starter, the best anyone can do is to share their experiences.

Amen!    

[Gdpolk]

Not to be a smart aleck, but a compound or crossbow is the most forgiving.

In the traditional world, the one that fits you and your style will be the most consistent.  That changes from person to person.  For me, I find a R/D longbow to generally be the easiest to shoot.  With that said, some recurves are better than some RD longbows and some Hill Style bows are better than some RD bows.  There are just too many variables to narrow down what will always be the most forgiving even for just one shooter, more less all shooters.

[lbshooter]

While I shoot both recurves and longbows, my primary hunting bow has been a Hill style longbow for about 30 years, I started with a recurve about 15 years earlier.  Shooting slowly and deliberately I can shoot both well, with the advantage in target accuracy over long shooting sessions going to the recurve.  For quick, and moving shots at game I I have had much greater success with my longbow. At least for my  particular shooting style, the longbow  does seem to be more forgiving than the recurve under less than optimum shooting conditions.

[beendare]

If you have perfect teeth.....then a Hill style longbow is fine. Personally, I can't shoot them because I have fillings I want to keep- grin.

So I say recurve.....