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Let's see those traditional set ups

IkemanTX said:
Hate to dig this far back, but have you remained happy with your RK1, and do you think it is worth paying as much as a compound? One of the main attractions to a recurve or longbow is hopefully finding something cheaper than the current compound prices. (Which I think are kind of ridiculously high)


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It's a sweet shooting bow. The price scale of things in traditional archery sort of mirrors compounds. I can go out and buy a compound fully capable of shooting deer for a couple hundred bucks. Or a flagship bow will run near $1k. In trad, prices range from Samick Sage level to Blacktail several thousand dollar bows. With the RK1, it has striker limbs, which run $550 all by themselves. The Striker takedowns (wood) are like $850 new. The RK1 can sort of be thought of as a Stiker takedown with a machined aluminum riser (designed by New Breed) in that regard. I'll put it this way, I haven't been disappointed in the way it feels and shoots.

The other thing with a compound is that you still need to get a rest, sight, quiver, release, stabilizer, etc. With trad, you're pretty much ready to shoot as soon as you get arrows.

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If you are just getting started get a bow that is 40-45 pounds max. Get your form down and learn your limitations and stay within your limitations when you hunt. Also shoot the same set up for 3D that you plan to hunt with. If you shoot a heavy arrow for hunting shoot the same for 3D and practice. I hunt with a 250 grain broadhead so all my practice arrows have 250 grain tips.

A good bow to get is a used Bear Grizzly. A good all around bow for anything: They can be had on eBay for under $200 and shoot as good or better than a lot of custom bows.
 
I started with a Kodiak Special back in the mid 1970s...killed some rabbits with it. I shot a running rabbit at 40 yards during the earliest days. My buddies thought I was Fred Bear.
Switched to compounds for about 10 years and then started getting sick of all the tech, so I bought a Brackenbury Drifter in 1992. I ordered it in 62#...big mistake. Way too heavy for a "starter" trad bow. Bought 51# limbs for it but I'd already developed some bad habits from shooting the heavy Brackenbury limbs.
Then Jim Brackenbury died tragically and I decided to put his bow on the wall.
I then bought a bow around 1998 from a local guy...Bill Kerner. An Allegheny Mountain Recurve...60", 55#@28" but I draw about 27". It's not as fancy as some high end bows, but I love it. The handle is perfect for me and it's a sweet shooter. I actually helped Bill build the bow so it's a little more special.
I've shot pretty much every type of arrow but I've settled on Alaska Bowhunter Grizzly Sticks. As far as I know, they are the only tapered carbon shafts on the market. They shoot great!
I like a single bevel head. I shot Eclipse single bevs for a while and they worked fine, but I swicthed this year to 150 grain single bevel Samarai. Killed one doe and I'm very impressed.
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Beautiful bow and great man cave, Tom!! Jim Brackenbury was certainly one of the premier bowyers before his passing. I can't identify what quiver you've got on your take down. I'm looking for a strap on bow quiver but don't recall seeing a quiver like that anywhere.
 
ricky racer said:
Beautiful bow and great man cave, Tom!! Jim Brackenbury was certainly one of the premier bowyers before his passing. I can't identify what quiver you've got on your take down. I'm looking for a strap on bow quiver but don't recall seeing a quiver like that anywhere.
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Thanks. I get a lot of compliments on that room.
The quiver was sold by Screaming Eagle. I believe it was manufactured exclusively for SE.. There is no name on it and I got it from the SE catalog. Man, I miss that store. SE was the coolest. I wish I would have saved one of their catalogs...very unique and classy compared to the current day bowhunting catalogs.
This quiver attaches with nylon webbing and velcro. It's very secure and quiet. I've considered getting a Great Northern or Selway quiver but this old one is still going strong so why change it if it ain't broke.

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I did a recent restore on a Centaur longbow. I have currently 2 Centaur Chimera's and have had two more that I sold. They are top line bows!

The Chimera's have a carbon back with wood veneers on the belly side of the bow. All of my Chimera were ordered with Snakeskins over the carbon weave. I don't care for the carbon look but do appreciate the added performance boost.

This one had Copperhead skins over the carbon back and without the normal paint tint to bring out the "copper" color so it had a really unique gray color pattern.

The skins began lifting on the edges and I finally decided to remove them. So the first refinish was just the carbon showing, didn't like it so decided to try a camo patterned I dreamed up.

The color schemes is to represent our fall colors with tans, greens, yellow, and splashes of orange to capture fall foliage and even late season here.

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Allegheny Tom said:
I started with a Kodiak Special back in the mid 1970s...killed some rabbits with it. I shot a running rabbit at 40 yards during the earliest days. My buddies thought I was Fred Bear.
Switched to compounds for about 10 years and then started getting sick of all the tech, so I bought a Brackenbury Drifter in 1992. I ordered it in 62#...big mistake. Way too heavy for a "starter" trad bow. Bought 51# limbs for it but I'd already developed some bad habits from shooting the heavy Brackenbury limbs.
Then Jim Brackenbury died tragically and I decided to put his bow on the wall.
I then bought a bow around 1998 from a local guy...Bill Kerner. An Allegheny Mountain Recurve...60", 55#@28" but I draw about 27". It's not as fancy as some high end bows, but I love it. The handle is perfect for me and it's a sweet shooter. I actually helped Bill build the bow so it's a little more special.
I've shot pretty much every type of arrow but I've settled on Alaska Bowhunter Grizzly Sticks. As far as I know, they are the only tapered carbon shafts on the market. They shoot great!
I like a single bevel head. I shot Eclipse single bevs for a while and they worked fine, but I swicthed this year to 150 grain single bevel Samarai. Killed one doe and I'm very impressed.
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I still have my Brackenbury Old Timer longbow - killed my first bear with that thing stalked him and shot him at 7 yards. I will never sell that bow - Jim just put some good karma in his bows. I remember the day he died - sad day for trad bowhunting. He taught many of the NW bowyers like Wallace, N. Johnson, etc...
 
Ok fellas, I am on the fence of whether to venture into the trad world or not..... what initial set up would you suggest I get. 6'1" if that matters. Set being, bow, string, and arrows and what ever else I would need. Thanks
 
Jeff,

There’s a great forum called “TradGang” and they have a good overall guide for newbies in their “PowWow” section. It will be a sticky near the top of that page.

The main thing and I can’t stress this enough is don’t overbow yourself starting out! I did as many others before me and since, it will retard progress.

A great start would be a low cost TD with lighter limbs and work into it.

There are a ton of good options available today. One bow in particular I’ve seen is the “Black Hunter” a great looking bow with great reviews!
 
Once you ease into it and decide to continue much like SH you will want to experiment and change and upgrade and mod etc.....lol!
 
Do check out that “Black Hunter” bow it goes by different names but their an unreal torture test video circulating that’s worth viewing.
 
Jefferson10940 said:
Ok fellas, I am on the fence of whether to venture into the trad world or not..... what initial set up would you suggest I get. 6'1" if that matters. Set being, bow, string, and arrows and what ever else I would need. Thanks
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I agree 110% with the idea of going light poundage...that cannot be overstated. The fact that you are 6'1" probably means you will have a longer draw. Longer draw shoots a faster arrow (at equal draw poundage) so you, drawing 45 pounds at 29"will have better energy than me drawing 45# @27". The point is that you could easily kill deer with 45# @ a longer draw length. Hey, 45# is decent at 27" for deer but it's better at 29".
And you definitely want a flemish twist string which allows you to twist or untwist the string to fine tune brace height.
A longer bow is more forgiving than a short bow. I'd start out with 61-64 inch limbs. You can always go shorter and/or heavier later if you go with a takedown.
And there are some good deals on Ebay. My buddy got a beautiful Black Widow with case and other goodies for a great deal on Ebay.
Trad archery...GO FOR IT! And you'll never go back.



If you go with a takedown, then you can buy heavier limbs later.
I would try different handles...high. medium or low grip. You may want to choose something that closely matches the feel of your compound's grip.
Also, decide if you want to shoot off the shelf or a rest. I think shooting off the shelf is easier for instinctive shooting but you'll have to shoot feathers. If you choose sights then you can shoot any type of fletch.

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Jefferson10940 said:
Ok fellas, I am on the fence of whether to venture into the trad world or not..... what initial set up would you suggest I get. 6'1" if that matters. Set being, bow, string, and arrows and what ever else I would need. Thanks
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Where are you located? There are traditional shoots all around the country. I suggest you attend one near you and try out numerous bows of various styles, lengths and weights. There will be vendors selling new bows and vendors selling used bows and they are all more than willing to let you shoot their bows. You can always pick up a cheaper lower poundage bow to start with and then trade up to a better or nicer bow to hunt with at a later date.
 
And hopefully, you are not cross dominant (master eye, not the same as your right hand /left hand shooting.
It not easy to shoot instinctive if you are cross dominant. I do it, but it took me several years to compensate for it.
There are cross dominant shooters that struggled until they finally switch from one hand to the other. If you find you need to do that, then you'll need an even lighter starter bow.


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