Draw weight is rated at 28 inches, so you will be around 6lbs under what is marked on the bow. Start with 30 or 35 lbs at your draw length and build up to hunting weight over a year.

Carbon and aluminum arrows are way easier to get tuned and maintained than woods.

Shooting the Stickbow - Aluminum Arrow Guide

Shooting the Stickbow, 3rd Edition by Anthony (Viper) Camera presents a clear and comprehensive approach to learning and mastering the art of Archery.

www.shootingthestickbow.com

 

You'll probably get a multitude of suggestions so it'll be up to you to choose the one that makes the most sense.

If you shoot compound bow I suggest starting out with no more than half the weight for traditional that you can comfortably handle with a compound bow.

I shot traditional for most of my life but when I started everyone was trying to be macho or something. Per their suggestions I kept trying to increase weight and actually did get to the point I could shoot heavy bows decently.

And there was a time that I "thought" I was pretty good.

However I quit for a few years and in my 60s I decided to start back and began shooting 25-30# and can't believe how much better I can shoot now than when I was a young man.

Naturally, if you plan to hunt you'll eventually need to build up to hunting weight appropriate for the game you'll be after.

But don't be afraid to buy a low poundage inexpensive bow to start out with and build your form and accuracy before moving up.

You can always sell it to someone or better yet give it to someone else to get them started.

 

Check out the pinned thread mentioned above and if you have the time and inclination, pick up a copy of Shooting the Stickbow: A Practical Approach to Classical Archery.

 

definitely will pick up a copy! thank you!

 

Draw weight is rated at 28 inches, so you will be around 6lbs under what is marked on the bow. Start with 30 or 35 lbs at your draw length and build up to hunting weight over a year.

Carbon and aluminum arrows are way easier to get tuned and maintained than woods.

Shooting the Stickbow - Aluminum Arrow Guide

Shooting the Stickbow, 3rd Edition by Anthony (Viper) Camera presents a clear and comprehensive approach to learning and mastering the art of Archery.

www.shootingthestickbow.com

much appreciated!

You'll probably get a multitude of suggestions so it'll be up to you to choose the one that makes the most sense.
...
But don't be afraid to buy a low poundage inexpensive bow to start out with and build your form and accuracy before moving up.
You can always sell it to someone or better yet give it to someone else to get them started.

yessir! I enjoy listening to advice from multiple people and applying what I can from each of them that makes sense for me.
great idea to give my 1st recurve to someone else to get them into traditional archery; I try and do this same thing with my compound bows when I upgrade. unfortunately, I don't have too many friends that shoot archery... I need some new friends lol but the good news is, I have a niece and nephew I hope to get into archery in the next couple years so that would be perfect for them!

 

You will prolly loose 1/2-1 an inch compared to a compound if you anchor correctly as well.

look up the push archery on YouTube, Tom Clum sr, and Joel turner all have fantastic videos for beginners to pros.

try to find someone local who’s been killing deer with a stick for 30-50 years and pick their brain as well, coached always shorten the learning curve imo.

enjoy the ride, give it a solid 5 years till you hit your potential for shooting and tuning. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

 

I actually just listened to a Working Class Bowhunter podcast with The Push Archery (i had never heard of them before) [ep. 679 in case ya wanted to listen] and that's what really got me thinking about picking up a stickbow!

bow hunting in general has been a marathon for me!

 

Hi and welcome! I can’t recommend the 3 rivers Stygian recurve enough. Short at 56” so you can hunt out of a larger ground blind if you wish. But a great target bow as well. I have the 28lb and 45lb.

 

I’d just go grab a recurve that tickles your fancy and shoot it. Lotta price point bows are good little bows. 30-35 pounds is a good starting weight. It won’t be the last one I promise you.

 

Lots of good advice so far.

Tom Clum is an excellent resource. The Bear archery podcast had a series on Trad bows with him, Aron Snyder and others discussing various topics.

If youre looking for a wood recurve bow, you can go Samick Sage or Black hunter. Interchangeable limbs so you can buy pretty cheap limbs as your strength increases and form improves. You can absolutely hunt with them and grow with them, but you're limited to using only their limbs. I have a Black hunter with 30# and 50# limbs and really enjoyed shooting it.

If you are a bit of a tinkerer, ILF (international limb fitting) risers may interest you. You can change out grips, add elevated rests, sights, etc... And you have a world of Limb options with whatever riser brand you pick but any ILF limb from any company will fit. Bamboo core, maple core, fiberglass, carbon, and every combination of those. This is what I shoot now.

For training arrows, just get a set of fletched arrows that are a spine heavier than your initial limb weight purchase cut 1/2-1 inch beyond your riser at full draw and then buy a test kit of point weights to get them flying well. Use those and adjust the point weight with new heavier limb purchases as your form improves. That will save you a bit of money. I bought arrows spined for my 30# limbs and eventually went through 3 sets of arrows before playing with the dynamic spine of the arrows using point weight.

 

Youstated a 25" draw,, compounds measure to the inside of the grip. with a standard recurve measuring to the back of the bow, you will have more than 25". it sounds like you have been into archery for a good while. You may be looking for something completely different than merely shooting a recurve the same way you shoot a compound. You also stated that you plan on starting out thumping targets and pain on hunting when you get better. How do you visualize a hunting shot? Is it like Fred Bear shooting from behind a blow down tree or shooting at a deer steeply down from a tree stand, or kneeling and shooting a hog ducking low behind brushy cover. The possibilities in Missouri are vast. I warn against becoming a target cripple if you have plans and setting your self free to the wild like Fred Bear. also, you are are probably a lot stronger than many here assume. I would start with shooting like Freddy with a minimum legal hunting bow like a 40 pound Bear recurve and some arrows with judo points.

 

Draw lengths are measured exactly the same for both a stick bow and compound. This was just discussed early in the thread. It’s from nocking point to the deepest part of the grip, plus 1.75 inches.

For stick bows it’s 26.25 inches to the deepest part of the grip. Then add 1.75 and magically you get….28 inch amo standard that’s been used forever for stick bows.

 

Go to USA Archery and click on 'coach locator'. Get on in your area and shoot his equipment. That will give you an educated guess on what you'll be comfortable with. AND in the process, you'll learn something about form.

I'll second the 'Shooting the Stickbow' book. It's a bible. But it doesn't say, "put your finger here", as a coach can. Coach Al Henderson's wife was asked, 'what's the most difficult thing in archery'? Her response was, "getting your body to do what your brain thinks it's doing". Oh, so very true. That's why a coach is important.

Keep this in mind. If you have 80% let off on your 70 pound compound, you're holding 14 pounds at full draw/alignment. Reverse that with a stickbow. You won't be able to shoot 70 pounds. Plus if you reach alignment with your compound, you should also reach it with a sticbow, which means you'll be drawing a little further with the stickbow. You grip the string on the bow side of the string and a compound is on the archer's side. The reason most people are shorter with a stickbow is they're overbowed and don't reach alignment.

Good from with a stickbow is basically the same as a compound. BUT I don't think anyone here would say that a coach won't shorten the learning curve (but this is the internet) and one of the partial reasons is Al's wife.

Bowmania

 

You don't. The draw length is yours, not the bows.

With modern ILF bows there are tiller adjustment bolts on the limbs. So, if someone with a 30 inch draw was hitting the stack point of the limbs, he could back them off a bit to get to a comfortable place. Most of those still do not have a lot of weight adjustment, like 10% from max. The stack point is where the increase in weight per inch of draw stops being linear and ramps up faster. You probably will never have to worry about that.

 

It’s a great time to get into Traditional archery with the way the Traditional market it is nowadays. There are so many good quality low priced bows on the market it is easy to pick one up in the 200.00 range.
On top of that there is so much available information for new Traditional archers and instructional videos online. For gear choice head over to TradTalk.com, you can get good information plus gear options that won’t break the bank.

 

I'd go with a Black Hunter or Galaxy Sage, 30-35# since you have a 25" draw you will feel less. Get a plastic stick-on rest and use Gold Tip warriors with bright colored vanes. Easier to find when you miss the target. I started with feathers off the shelf and messed up a lot of arrows. I tried instinctive aiming and a glove but have switched to a standard Youst tab and finger walking. Don't know why I'm posting this as you probably haver 1000s of arrows under your belt by now. I'd like to know how you did?

 

STR -

Most of the time, shops measure and set (compound) draw lengths incorrectly. The ONLY way to do it accurately is with a draw check bow (with no stop) and graduated arrow.

Viper1 out.

 

Draw length should be based on alignment. You don't have a 25 inch draw, because alignment is elbow, nock, arrow tip in line. Don't feel bad most trad guys don't reach alignment.

Bowmania

 

That is exactly what John Schulz taught, from elbow to arrow tip a straight line. However, even with that straight line, arm bow arm bend , head positions and shoulder positions can alter that draw length. The correct shoulder position for someone anchoring under the chin and shooting a target bow is not the same as someone shooting downward with the Hill style. Each method has its own purpose and place. Byron Fergusson told when we at a 3D event, that sometimes that shooting steeply down from a tree stand that his draw length was shorter than when he took a long shot for his TV show. I believe that was also true for Howard Hill. I remember one shot shooting down a cliff in NE Iowa, I am not certain of that i reached 'alignment' in that bow lay over position shooting while sitting on a ledge. I am certain that if you bounce the lower tip of an 80 pound Jerry Hill Bamboo Special off of the rock in front of you, you won't be glueing it back on your bow.