Choosing the Right Stickbow

By Brian Sorrells

            Welcome to the first in a series on getting into traditional archery.  Like many bowhunters, I bought into the compound craze back in the eighties and killed several deer with them.  Eventually, even flinging arrows in the back yard became monotonous because the challenge was gone.  But the love of archery was not, and I found myself going backwards in technology and picking up my recurve again.  Ah, the simple joy of watching my arrow in flight, something I’d missed while shooting a compound.

            I decided to sell all my compounds and associated gear and dove headlong into the world of traditional archery.  I decided I was going to do it, and do it right, but there was very little in the form of guidance for traditional archers back then.  Everything had to be learned by trial and error, and I eventually got the hang of it.

            As my experience grew, I developed an interest in shooting the long bow, and now shoot it exclusively.  Not that I don’t drool over a beautiful recurve bow, but like Howard Hill said, I’m not a good enough archer to shoot one.

            So, once you’ve decided to take the plunge, where do you start?  With a traditional bow, my friend.  There are literally hundreds of traditional bowyers out there who all make quality bows.  Most compound manufacturers have seen the resurgence in traditional archery and now offer several traditional models, also.  The question you need to ask yourself is “How serious am I?”  Regardless of your intention, I would advise against starting out with an expensive custom made bow.  Also, do you want to shoot a longbow or recurve?

            We’ll begin by looking at differences between the two bow styles and a few pro’s and con’s offered by each style.  Longbows are the oldest style and are often associated with Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men.  Longbows of old ranged in length between six and seven feet and can still be had made the “old-fashioned” way.  Modern materials and design have brought the longbow to a peak in both dependability and efficiency and modern longbows can be had in lengths as short as fifty-eight inches.  I prefer the longbow because of its durability, as I’m very hard on bows and my Fox Archery longbows are as tough as anvils.

            Recurve bows were made famous by the legendary Fred Bear, and the Bear line is still in production today.  Recurves in many cases cast a faster arrow than a longbow and for some people are easier to shoot.  One of the drawbacks to recurve bows is that the limbs have to be treated with more care as they can twist if the bow is not strung properly of if left in the sun in the back of a hot vehicle.

            Recurves are also available in varying lengths, from a short little fifty-two inch powerhouse to a longer and more stable sixty-eight inches.  Longer recurves are generally chosen for field and target archery as they provide more stability than shorter models.

            Once you’ve chosen a bow style, the next step is to decide what your bow length should be.  This depends on what the intended use of the bow is (target or 3D archer vs. hunting, or a combination of both) and what your actual draw length is.  Your draw length with a stickbow will likely be a couple of inches shorter than your compound bow draw length as there is no let-off with a traditional bow.  The best method for determining your draw length is to use a draw check bow at a local bow shop.  A draw check bow is a light fiberglass bow with a permanently attached arrow that is marked in inches.  Simply come to full draw, anchor at the corner of your mouth, and have someone read the length on the arrow where it crosses the far side of the bow shelf.  Remember this number as it will have great importance later on.

            The next step is to determine what draw weight you wish to shoot.  The most important advice I can give is this; don’t start out with a traditional bow that is too heavy for you!!!  As I stated earlier, traditional bows have no let-off.  Most traditional bows are marked with the draw weight on the lower limb, and the weight is measure at a twenty-eight inch draw.  If the bow is marked 55#@28”, then the draw weight of the bow is fifty-five pound when the bow is drawn to twenty-eight inches.  Most quality stickbows will either add or lose about two pounds if the bow is drawn above or below twenty-eight inches.  In other words, if your draw length is twenty-seven inches, then you would only be drawing about fifty-three pounds with the bow described above.  Conversely, if your draw length is twenty-eight inches, then your draw weight would be about fifty-seven pounds with that same bow.

            If you’re converting from a compound, I would suggest dropping at least fifteen pounds in draw weight for your traditional bow because a whole new set of muscles come in to play.  Shooting a stickbowaccurately requires the archer to have control of the bow, not vice-versa.

            As far as recommending bows, I would suggest looking at and drawing as many as you can before ultimately choosing one.  If you know any traditional archers, ask them to show you their bows.  Most stickbow shooters are more than happy to help out someone looking to get into traditional archery.

            In the next installment we’ll talk about choosing arrows and setting up your bow to shoot the way it was designed to.  If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at:

bjarcher159@comcast.net

Until next time – good shooting!