# recurve shooters?



## dogdigger

i am going to take a few deer with a recurve this year, i dont have much experience with them, any of you guys shoot traditional that have some tips?

mark


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## Bobm

Its all I hunt with, recurves and last 10 years or so with my longbow. The best book on it I've read is a small paperback called "Instinctive shooting" by G.Fred Asbell.

I've killed well over 100 deer with a recurve, they are very effective. And more importantly very satisfiying to shoot, give it a try. If you've been shooting a compound don't overbow yourself, a 45-55 lb recurve will shoot right thru a deer and cleanly kill an elk and they are easier to learn correct shooting form with.

Read the book I learned a lot from it and I had been shooting a recurve for thirty years when I read it.


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## dogdigger

i have been shooting for a while now, i have become pretty good out to 20 yards and have no doubt about taking a deer at that distance. i was surprised how quick i picked it up. i cant wait to take my first deer this year.

mark


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## Bobm

Its like riding a bike once you get good at it you will always be good at it. Its not the best for hitting a small spot on a target for more than about 10 shots but its the most effective for hunting. I hope you get a shot at a big one good luck. Remember to look at a small spot on the deer you want to hit, the arrow will go where you are looking.

I shot trophy buck in the antlers a few years ago, guess what I was looking at :lol:


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## Aythya

I shoot a longbow and the key to stickbows is lots of practice. Also, bows are short range weapons so forget about shots at 30 or more yards with your bow. Every deer I have ever taken with a bow has been under 20 yards and most under 15. At least half the fun is getting as close as possible without being detected and making a clean shot.


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## dogdigger

it is a blast. i hope to take some geese with it next week.

mark


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## Bobm

The funny thing is that the archery business has convinced so many people to go to compounds with all the sights release aids and other gadjets and undermined the confidence that they would have in trying instinctive shooting with asimple recurve or longbow. All so they could sell them something they never really needed, people have been sucessfully hunting with instinctive method for millions of years and now all the sudden we need bows that weigh 3 times as much and have all kinds of stuff that can fail.

After you get really good at it which only takes a few months (at most) you really don't have to practice alot, just enough to keep the muscles strong. I can lay off for weeks ( sometimes months) at a time and it doesn't affect my shooting one bit. I think the idea it takes constant practice to be a good instinctive shooter scares some away from trying it. I have introduced many folks to this style of shooting and the only time it takes a lot of shooting is the first few months. Once the technique is ingrained in your mind you just know how to do it. When I say a lot of shooting I don't mean a lot of arrows daily. I just mean shooting a few arrows daily with good concentration and form for a couple months. I rarely shoot more that 25-30 arrows in a practice session. There is nothing wrong with compound bows but I think many using them would prefer instinctive shooting with a recurve if they had the confidence to try it.


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## dogdigger

dont get me wrong i love to shoot compounds, i shoot them for hunting and competively but man shooting recurves is fun and a great challenge. i never tried shooting a recurve much because i thought it would take years to get good. to be a great shooter i am sure it does but just to be good it doesnt take to long. i think i am going to work on it and maybe think about shooting competively with it in the spring. it hasnt seemed to have a negitive effect on my compound shooting either which is nice. i cant wait to take my first deer with it. for me a hard core bowhunter, who has never even taken a deer with a gun, a recurve kill will be the pennicle. o and the geese will be fun too 

mark


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## dogdigger

hey bob what arrows do you shoot? also when you put the nock on do you set it level or a little nock high?

mark


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## howlplay

I have used recurves when I was a little kid...you know, finding a nice stick that could take alot of pressure, and shoot arrows made of branches from the backyard..Hey good practice, but no I havent shot a real recurve. I would like to.

How many deer tags can you buy in a season??? I thought only one for bow!


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## dogdigger

you can use rifle doe tags for archery also.  hopefully they have left overs.

mark


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## Burly1

I believe that Bobm's advice is spot on. You must practice enough, initially to get your muscles in shape, and develop a technique, which will allow you to make consistant and reliable hits within an effective range. After that, practice enough to keep that "muscle memory" sharp. Even though injuries prevent me from practicing much, after so many years of shooting, I can still take out the bow and arrows, after long lay-offs and make consistant hits out to 20 yards with no problem. Now, finding the time to get out to scout and hunt, that's the biggest challenge these days! Still trying to shoot like G. Fred, Burl


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## Bobm

Easton aluminum arrows four fletched with Rh Helical feathers not vanes, I set my nocking point about 1/2 to 5/8 inch high, it will vary depneding on the bow and your release style, I use a cowhide finger tab. My bows are all in the high 60's pound range and complete pass thrus are the norm. Most (99.5%) of my kills are under 20 yards really under 15. I shot a buck in Wisconsin at about 45 yards a few years ago even with a very fast bow it managed to turn completely around before the arrow got to it. I was lucky not to of made a bad hit. The deer was all keyed up and looking right at me when I shot, I wouldn't take that shot again. Down here you can shoot about 20 plus deer a year if you go to all the extra hunts the state offers the standard license is good for 12 (I think I haven't even checked lately) because I never shoot more than three or four any more.

We have deer like you have pheasants :lol: all over the place.


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