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About a trad bow...

A

Arkhunter18

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
460
Looking at getting one, but curious how many saddle hunters use traditional equipment and also what is a good, fairly short bow that is 45#@28.
 
Get you something low poundage to make sure your form is right. Ton of good budget bows out right now.
 
62” stalker coyote, have shot, my 64” longbow out of it 2.

Sage is a really good 1st bow
 
All have given good advice....I really like the ILF options out there today...Allows you to buy really good limbs fairly cheap so you can alter bow lengths and poundage by buying different limbs...I shoot a VPA riser currently - it is a 13" riser which is short for an ILF riser and I shoot Trad Tech 2.0 long ILF recurve limbs which makes for a 58" bow...I've owned a lot of the top bows over the years such as Black Widow, Border, Bob Lee and a bunch of others and the VPA shoots right with the best of them and a short riser with long limbs is really smooth. You can get cheaper ILF risers that are fine...Lancaster Archery - they are online at lancasterarchery.com - has a good selection of ILF and non-ILF bows...

You are wise to start off with no more than 45 lbs, In my opinion, so you can master shooting the bow and control the weight easily. 45 lbs is plenty for deer sized game...

There seems to be a good number of knowledgeable trad hunters here on the saddle forum so you have come to a good place for advice...
 
I am only one step ahead of you, having my bow a couple weeks, but +2 on the Sage. I bought it with 55# limbs, bought used, and picked up some 40# limbs for around $65. Had a fella on here make me a new string and am loving this thing. Crazy but shoot at least once a day sometimes several. Still have a lot to learn but there is something about it just makes me want to shoot.


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if you want a short bow, get a Kodiak magnum. they shoot great for a short bow. very accurate. but a short bow is not nessesary.
 
OH yea--my bow is a Hatfield take down by Martin 62". I loved Bears until I had a Super Kodiak break at the grip section of the riser (Gainesville model).
 
I was just thinking, the shorter the bow the less I'd had have to worry about limb contact with the tree taking the weak side shot from about the 1- 3 o'clock position
 
I shoot my Martin recurve at 50# 28". Love the old school stuff
 
I think the Martin's look sweet. I'm probably going to start shooting a trad bow sometime after Christmas. How do you like the Martin's? Are they a good one for a newbie and are they affordable? @Mr Price
 
Are you certain that your draw length on a trad bow will be 28"? Draw length definitely effects bow performance. Generally, a shorter draw length should shoot shorter limb lengths. Check out the Black Widow catalog to see what bow lengths the recommend for various draw lengths. Short drawing long limbs does not work the limbs to maximum efficiency. Make sure you know your trad draw length before you decide bow length.
I shoot a 60" Allegheny Mountain recurve, 53# at my 27" draw. It throws a 560 grain arrow (2 blade broadhead) nicely at deer hunting distances.

As far as limb clearance on trees, etc. IMO shooting style has a lot to do with issues of limb tips hitting the tree. Lots of guys shoot a canted bow. I don't think canted shooting style is the best choice for limb clearance. For the most part, we are hunting out of a vertical tree trunk so I prefer my bow to parallel the tree trunk. A tilted bow has more chance of one of the limb tips contacting the tree, depending on which side of the tree you are shooting, and if you are right or left handed, it could be the top limb or bottom limb.

And that leads to another point about how shooting style effects clearance.
Swing draw or fixed draw? There are some great shooters that advocate the swing draw. I highly disagree with the swing draw for hunting deer and hunting from trees. The swing requires too much movement in the presence of game, but the main reason I don't like it is because I want my bow pointed at the target before I start my draw. That allows me to feel if my bow makes any contact with anything thru the entire draw cycle. When the swing draw is used , the limb tips are curved back toward the archer before the draw sequence is completed. If, at full draw, the limb tips are even 1/4" from making contact with an object, you won't realize it until after release. That exact scenario happened to me many years ago. I drew as I raised the bow and before my bow was pointed at the target, and after I released, my top limb tip hit a branch, just barely, but enough to cause a bad loin hit. Luckily the buck stopped 40 yards away giving me the chance for a Hail Mary follow-up shot. I center punched his heart. The red gods were guiding that arrow!
 
I'll be honest. The first one I got, the limbs cracked after 2 weeks of shooting. Called Martin, they sent me a complete new bow. 4 weeks later it did it again. This time, they sent me replacement limbs. And only 1 week, it did it again. By this time, I was irate. They said that the limb department had a bad run of epoxy and they will ensure that I get a new set and not older stock. 4 days later, I went to get the mail. I had a complete new bow and a replacement set of limbs. So now I got 2. I've had no issues after this. Yes it was irritating but the problem got solved and not once did I have a issue with the service department. There is a learning curve with the Martin take downs. They come with a negative tiller. I shoot 3 under so I prefer a even tiller. But they have limb bolts that you can adjust for that. Over all, im happy
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Are you certain that your draw length on a trad bow will be 28"? Draw length definitely effects bow performance. Generally, a shorter draw length should shoot shorter limb lengths. Check out the Black Widow catalog to see what bow lengths the recommend for various draw lengths. Short drawing long limbs does not work the limbs to maximum efficiency. Make sure you know your trad draw length before you decide bow length.
I shoot a 60" Allegheny Mountain recurve, 53# at my 27" draw. It throws a 560 grain arrow (2 blade broadhead) nicely at deer hunting distances.

As far as limb clearance on trees, etc. IMO shooting style has a lot to do with issues of limb tips hitting the tree. Lots of guys shoot a canted bow. I don't think canted shooting style is the best choice for limb clearance. For the most part, we are hunting out of a vertical tree trunk so I prefer my bow to parallel the tree trunk. A tilted bow has more chance of one of the limb tips contacting the tree, depending on which side of the tree you are shooting, and if you are right or left handed, it could be the top limb or bottom limb.

And that leads to another point about how shooting style effects clearance.
Swing draw or fixed draw? There are some great shooters that advocate the swing draw. I highly disagree with the swing draw for hunting deer and hunting from trees. The swing requires too much movement in the presence of game, but the main reason I don't like it is because I want my bow pointed at the target before I start my draw. That allows me to feel if my bow makes any contact with anything thru the entire draw cycle. When the swing draw is used , the limb tips are curved back toward the archer before the draw sequence is completed. If, at full draw, the limb tips are even 1/4" from making contact with an object, you won't realize it until after release. That exact scenario happened to me many years ago. I drew as I raised the bow and before my bow was pointed at the target, and after I released, my top limb tip hit a branch, just barely, but enough to cause a bad loin hit. Luckily the buck stopped 40 yards away giving me the chance for a Hail Mary follow-up shot. I center punched his heart. The red gods were guiding that arrow!
Click to expand...
Most recurves are measured at 28". The poundage is determined at that draw length since it's standard. If your actually 29" you can expect another 3-5 lbs added to the weight. And if shorter you will deduct. This don't necessarily mean he wants a 28" draw. But he may. Just clarifying that for anyone that doesn't know
 
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