Hello, I need help..

[VA Elite]

Hey guys. New here. I have a longing for something different. Here is a little background on me. I have been bowhunting for 25 yrs. I started with an old bear recurve for a few years, never killed anything with it and moved on to a compound. I have some great succes with a compound over the years. I have a new Elite Energy 32 this year and have already killed 3 does. I have been thinking about traditional gear for about 3 years now and just have not had the guts to go for it. But as I approach 40, I want to change the way I hunt. The way i shoot, and how I can have a deeper connection to the woods and animals. So for right now I have limited funds. Im looking at a Samick Sage recurve. Because of money, I need something that I can shoot comfortably and learn good form, yet be powerful enough to kill deer. Im not in position to buy a really low poundage bow and then have to buy another one for hunting. I talked to the guys at 3 rivers. They told me since my draw length was 27" for a compound, that I would likely be 26" with a recurve. With that he said I should buy a 50# bow and actually be pulling about 46#. He said this was based on the fact that I pull 74# on my Elite. So I need help understanding if this weight is good. What spine arrows will i need? What is a good weight arrow? What habits do I NOT need to get into? Thanks for any advice.

[Kopper1013]

Consistency it the most important habit to get into in my opinion. Weight wise you can easily kill a deer with a 46# bow don't get hung up on weight. Lots of people kill with less weight on this form. Bow form is really important and being over bowed you could struggle but if you're pulling 74# I would think you'd be safe at 50-55#s. Just one guys opinion though.

[njloco]

You might as well wait for the big shoots coming up in a few months, there you could shoot different bows and maybe find a good used one that would fit you. Your form is going to be very similar to pulling back your wheelie bow. What's going to be different is your release as obviously there is no aid. Do a lot of blind bale shooting to cement down or ingrain the muscle memory especially for the release.

Good luck

[Fastltz]

I would look at bigjims for the same bow as well...I say yhis because if you tell him your numbers he can get you some gt blem arrows and have you sjooting straight fast. You'll get a ton of arrow advice on here, and most is right, but some can be off and get confusing. Good luck and welcome back.

[Krex1010]

As a fellow newbie coming from compounds and shooting similar weights as you, the one thing I feel comfortable in saying is don't overbow yourself. My draw is 28" and I'm shooting a 45# bow, I'm really glad I didn't go heavier. I'm 36, in reasonably good shape and 45 took a little getting used to. But now it's comfortable, a blast to shoot and well into the accepted weights for most big game. Happy shooting! You won't regret it, traditional bows are much more fun to shoot, I guarantee you'll be shooting more than you ever have!

[Stump73]

Welcome!  I second on getting with Bigjim. He can get you setup.

[LBR]

Nice thing about the Sage is (extra) limbs are cheap.  I'd start out light.

Doesn't take a lot to kill deer, if you put the arrow in the right spot.  Accuracy is more important than poundage.  Check to be sure you don't have a state draw weight minimum.  If you don't, 30# at your draw will do the job just fine.

The Sage is a surprisingly good bow.  The string that comes with it is lousy, but that's an easy fix.

[VA Elite]

Thanks guys! I will look into BigJims

[Dave Worden]

Think about waiting till the Kalamazoo show in late January.  It's a bit of a hike from Va. but you could try out a myriad of bows and get a lot of "sage" advice.  It's a great show and especially so for a newbie!

[paradocs]

Where in VA are you?  Plenty of trad folks here; could probably hook up and shoot a few bows to get an idea of what weight you can handle.  Our local 3D shoot starts up in January; about 40 minutes southeast of Richmond.

[threeunder]

Virginia guy here too.

Several trad guys around.  I'm sure someone will be close to you.

[drewsbow]

well since you really don't know what your draw will be you should get that verified first. I shot 27" on a c-bow but am 31" on a longbow or recurve there is no simple answer to draw length as everyone is built different and your form as well as shooting style plays part. Call BigJim and talk to him , he will help you through everything and is a great guy to talk to. Drew

[dbd870]

A little more than a year ago I too transitioned back to a recurve after many years with a wheel bow. I was pulling 59# on the compound with a 29" draw. I started with a 45# Grizzly and had no problems with the draw weight. I have settled in to a form that gives me a 28.5" draw so I didn't change that much -like drewsbow said there is no pat answer. One thing I found was you can go too low in draw weight as well. I didn't shoot my daughter's 35# 62" recurve well at all. I really need to bit more weight. Perhaps I concentrate better or the string is pulled off my fingers faster for a cleaner release. In any case it makes a big difference for me. 6mo into it tried a friends 50#Black Widow and really took to it immediately so with you drawing that much on your wheel bow I have to think 50# would not be too much for you. As for arrow spine we are going to need to know what length you are looking to use and what tip weight. I'm running 1" over my draw length on my arrows and I don't recommend going very much less than that.

[Tom]

Where in Va. are you? If near the Valley let me know and you can shoot any of my bows-have bows from 25-50#. A young buck like you should do well with 45# but riser shape is important for consistency IMHO. Let me know if I can help. Have bows-will travel.

[KentuckyTJ]

Welcome from Kentucky!

[Bud B.]

What city in Va? You'd be surprised how many members may be near you. Several shoots are regular events in Va and one in Wilkesboro, NC.

If you're near Martinsville I might be able to help you with trying a few bows.

[Roughrider]

Like mentioned, you'd be best off if you could go somewhere and shoot a variety of traditional bows with instructions from an experienced traditional archer.  
Your draw and form with a traditional bow may be quite different from a compound.  Many compound shooters draw "low" with their draw hand coming back towards their chest, then at full draw they raise their draw hand to their anchor - this is a good way to ruin your shoulder, especially with a traditional bow - draw straight back to your anchor.  
Some trad shooters cant their bows, some sort of "hunch up" leaning into the bow - to start with, you're probably best off just standing up straight and holding your bow vertical.
The biggest adjustment will probably be in learning to shoot instinctive, if that's the route you plan on taking.  Since you're used to looking for a sight pin, your first instinct will be to try and "aim" with the arrow tip or something. While I think most instinctive shooters are, at least subconsciously, aware of the arrow tip, instinctive shooting is more like throwing a ball - concentrate on where you want it to go.  With practice, starting at large, very close targets, you'll progress quickly.  

Enjoy the process, it's an entirely different sport than shooting a compound with sights and release.

[mangonboat]

Welcome and congrats for asking questions. There is a Shooters FORM Forum here that has lots of examples, issues that are common or rare and links to really good videos demonstrating a wide variety of techniques. you can even videotape your own draw and release and post a link to it and true experts will give very reliable  observations and suggestions. One thing you'll hear and see repeated over and over is using your back muscles to make a "rotational" draw and lock in your posture before release, and that is important no matter what trad bow you're shooting or what technique you settle into...with modern compound bows and 80% let-off, you can get away with arm-pulling and not realize it.
About bows, a lot of modern custom bowyers concentrate on the 50-60# draw range because that's where the current demand from experienced bowhunters is and that's going to produce a fast-shooting bow ,especially with modern materials. But if you go on the big auction site or read the Trad Collecting forum, you'll see that most folks shot between 40 and 50# in the 50's 60's and 70's and the most common draw weight was 45# . A healthy guy can shoot 45# with good form and consistency all year long with a bit of practice and those 45# bows killed plenty of deer and other game. Have fun!

[ChuckC]

VA  I suggest that you go slow and ask questions.  There are plenty of folks here that can help guide you. Take them up on their offers.

There are some things that you need to do, maybe in order, before you go buying things.  Hands on with some equipment will help guide you thru that first phase.

Go to some traditional shoots.  They are advertised. There is very often a different mindset among trad archers as you might see.  

There you can handle different styles and makes of bows and maybe get an idea what you are looking for (long bow / recurve, then hone in).  You can also determine a good staring weight, based upon reality and not guess, as well as your actual draw length (at this point. .  it may change as you do).

AFTER that point, you should start looking for equipment.  First the bow, then the requisite arrows, points etc.  And then you should shoot as often as you can.

ChuckC

[CedarAddict]

I have an Elite Answer that is 74# and has 29in mods on it.  My longbow is 54lbs@28 and it feels perfect for me.  I would say the numbers you were quoted sound about right as far a draw and poundage but I would also agree with others on here that accuracy trumps poundage. If your just starting out maybe get a lower poundage bow to just practice with then once you're hooked look for a hunting weight bow.