Picked up a recurve!

[Tenderfoot]

Hi all, its been a while since I posted on the forum...dang work and life are getting in the way of my hobbies! I guess you gotta to pay to play :crazy:

I picked up a #50 recurve last week and a half dozen arrows. I am planning on hunting elk with this setup next year and am already pondering arrow selection for the 2015 season.I know I want carbon and I know I want to go real heavy but I am not sure how heavy I need to go... I was thinking 520-580 gr. range.

I also can\'t seem to get a straight answer on which spine I need for this rig. I have a 30in. draw length BTW...

So, let\'s hear it recurve hunters! What\'s working for you all?

Thanks, James

 

[elky McElkerson]

awesome!!

i want to try it as well. at this Texas deer camp, the owner had a nice recurve. he let me shoot it, and he said i was a natural. i could shoot instincts pretty well..out to 20 yards. growing up with a slingshot in my pocket seemed to help. with practice i bet i could get really good. i didnt think it was impossible.

here is the rub: i\'m not the best hunter. getting next to a deer with my compound bow has been a challenge. i need to take a lot more animals with my modern bow (the latest count is maybe 5, ) before i even consider it. i would want a elk with my bow for sure!!

good luck!!

 

[cnelk]

James
Congrats on your new toy!

Here is my take.
I have puttered with recurves for years. Not a bad thing, but you should know right up front that your hunting style as you know it is GONE.
Recurves are their own animal. There is no comparison to them and a compound.
It takes MUCH more time and effort to dedicate to become proficient.
If you got the time, it is a lot of fun and frustrating - like golf

I accomplished a goal this fall, and that was to use my recurve from a treestand for elk.
I even got a shot. I missed.
I failed to listen to my buddies telling me to not go \'under-bowed\' to my tree stand.
If I had my compound, a really nice 5x5 would be dead.

I do not regret the experience, but I dont know if I will use it again for elk.
The biggest reason the varying distances of shots.
With a recurve a 30yd shot is pretty long IMO.
I would love to use for WT in a tree stand when the deer come in on a trail very close.

Now about your arrows.
I use Gold Tip Traditional shafts with a 50gr brass insert up front and a 140 gr head.
Im right at 500gr

The IBO for your recurve is 50lb at 28in draw. If you pull further, the poundage goes up.
Pull less than 28in - it is less.

I would start with full length shafts. They are a bit easier to instinctive shoot than an arrow just a couple inches shorter.
I would fletch with 5 inch feathers with a helical. 3 or 4 feathers is up to you.

A good resource is 3Rivers Archery for supplies and questions - they are very helpful

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[Tenderfoot]

Thanks Brad! I was eyeing the GT\'s already. I shooter Hunter XT\'s out of my compound and love those arrows.

I have locked away my compound and refuse to unlock it until after next season. After a few trips to the range I am very excited about the next 11 months and what kind of progress I can make in that time.

I know cnelk is not the only recurve shooter on here so...lets hear some more setups

 

[timberland]

I shoot easton axis classic 400\'s out of both a 50 and a 60 lb\'r and they fly great. full length with the full brass insert and the same 100 gr montecs I shoot out of my compound. total weight about 550 gr

 

[Tenderfoot]

I was also wondering about spine and forgot to add it to my post... it seems like full length 400\'s are the ticket with my setup. There is definitely a lot more gray area, I am finding, with spine for recurve arrows.

 

[cnelk]

You will find there is much more gray area in all aspects of a recurve.

The first thing you will notice how bad your form is compared to shooting a forgiving compound!

 

[Tenderfoot]

Ha! no kidding. My first trip out with it I was getting slapped in the wrist so hard it brought tears to my eyes. I was convinced it was poor form...I couldnt figure out how in hades I was supposed to hold this bow and get my wrist out of the way.

I then found out the difference between ARM slap and WRIST slap... your wrist gets slapped when the brace height is set way to low. Arms get it when your form is no good. I added some twists to my string and voila! No more cursing.

thanks for all of the replies so far... I am realizing I just barley got through the threshold of the \'Rabbit Hole\" that is traditional archery but I am pumped and determined to fill some tags.