New to traditional

[JakeM]

Im looking a trad bow, most likely a recurve (unless advised a longbow is better). Ive been looking at bob lee's and most likely will go that route. My questions are what i should be looking at. Lower draw weight (42-48?) i assume would be ideal to not develop bad form? Does the overall length of the bow make a difference other than in weight? Arrows selection and tuning still isn't super clear to me.

Who is the go to person/shop in Houston for traditional help as far as arrows and maybe form. Or does anyone live in Houston that i could link up with after my Shutdown at work and dive deeper into this?

Also if someone has one for sale that fits the bill let me know i might be interested in buying it.

-Jake

[SJP51]

I have 3 Bob Lee's. Would not steer you away from them. But they are not for everybody.

I prefer a "flat" grip. The BL off the rack bows will not have a flat grip, you have to special order it. I've had to modify my BL's to work best for me. What's your fav grip?
So many different style grips, etc. that you need to find what works best for you. Maybe get to a trad shoot and fondle 20 or 30 bows.

Trad is totally different from compounds. You hold all the weight all the time. To begin working on form, I suggest a lighter weight bow that you can draw, anchor, and hold for 15 seconds or so with no wobble. That weight will allow you to work on form.

Lots of guys start with a Samick Sage or Black Hunter. Cheap and limbs can be traded off and replaced easily at low cost. Bob Lee limbs are $650 minimum and even used are $450.

[JayBay3405]

Jake I sent you a PM if you want someone to shoot with.

[JakeM]

I have 3 Bob Lee's. Would not steer you away from them. But they are not for everybody.

I prefer a "flat" grip. The BL off the rack bows will not have a flat grip, you have to special order it. I've had to modify my BL's to work best for me. What's your fav grip?
So many different style grips, etc. that you need to find what works best for you. Maybe get to a trad shoot and fondle 20 or 30 bows.

Trad is totally different from compounds. You hold all the weight all the time. To begin working on form, I suggest a lighter weight bow that you can draw, anchor, and hold for 15 seconds or so with no wobble. That weight will allow you to work on form.

Lots of guys start with a Samick Sage or Black Hunter. Cheap and limbs can be traded off and replaced easily at low cost. Bob Lee limbs are $650 minimum and even used are $450.

That all makes sense. My favorite grip was probably my Mathews Creed XS wood grip with the palm swell before they went to the torque less grips. My idea with the bob lee was to buy a quality bow and become extremely familiar with the rise and upgrade limbs later on, while always have the lighter set to throw on and jump back to the fundamentals if I find myself struggling with something. I felt it might be hard to jump from bow to bow but like I said I’ve never shot read before.

Is there a benefit over recite to longbow other than the length.

[JakeM]

Jake I sent you a PM if you want someone to shoot with.

Replied!

[chuckc.]

Contact Rob for advice or better yet go to the shop. You will find that most traditional bow builders are very accommodating. Join TBOT and you’ll have lots of friends to shoot with who will help you any way they can.

[Trumpkin]

I honestly would suggest starting with an ILF riser and cheap recurve limbs from a place like Lancaster Archery. You don't need the fancy tiller options, but it will let you get a dang good bow for a third of the price of a new Bob Lee, and you can step your way up in weight from 35lb limbs to hunting weight as you get comfortable. You can also try different grips on the riser to figure out what you like.

Get a long riser, at least a 19" or 21", and long limbs. You can shoot shorter bows once you're proficient.

[Trumpkin]

Note, that what I just suggested is the exact opposite of what I did starting out, and while I have enjoyed my whole journey into trad proficiency, I would have gained ground a lot faster if I'd done two things:
1. started with a lighter draw weight recurve
2. started by shelling out for Tom Clum's Solid Archery Mechanics (it didn't exist at the time)

[DRT]

I'd get an inexpensive bow with replacement limbs to start. You wanna spend that kind of dough up front and you really don't know if it will even stick.
Get a Sage, 35, 40 and 45lb limb sets for less money than a used Bob lee. Then start off with those 35lb limbs. Learn good form and train those muscles properly.
A lot of difference holding the 15lbs of a compound at full draw and 35 of a traditional bow.
Honestly the light weight will almost seem silly. But will allow you to be in complete control of your shot cycle and make adjustments easier.
Then you'll know better what you need. By then you'll have either taken a shine to it or quit like many do. And the time and commitment it takes to be good at this for most of us can wear down many shooters and they just fade back to compound shooting. If that happens you can easilvsell that set up and get close to if not all of your money out of it.
I got a big name bow early. I found out it wasn't for me. I shoot a bow by a local bowyer now but I went through about 8 different custom brands before I found one of his and shot it.
That's a lot of horse trading.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[JakeM]

Thanks guys! all great and helpful info, ive found a used sage locally im buying and will go that route. Its going to be a process but im looking forward to it!

[DRT]

Don't be s stranger. Some good guys here that can help.

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[3ChordTruth]

Don't be s stranger. Some good guys here that can help.

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X2, agree with this. Plus on TBH you will learn of bow shoots near you to attend. Take your bow and go check them out.

[Onski316]

I was exactly where you were at a year ago. Got bit by the bug hard and fell in love with collecting vintage bows. Now I've got 14 and barely shoot my 2 compounds. I started with a Sage but the Black Hunters are very nice too. HIGHLY recommend primarily shooting with a lower weight limb until you get 'your shot form' set. I screwed up my shoulder early on by trying to shoot a 50# Grizzly among others. And 'no pain, no gain' does NOT apply to archery either. I thought I was strengthening muscles so I'd shoot through it if something started aching. Big mistake. I just last month 'found' my shot. You'll know when you do, it just feels right. Struggled with anchor points, raising my bow shoulder (that's what killed it), hook positioning, follow through. Now I shoot a 40# for practice and hunt with 45-50# though I have a 70# Martin recurve I break out every once in a while just to work on strength. Slow pulls, focus on form. Not worried about accuracy. lol. Get a 30-35# set of limbs and a 45# or so. Practice with the lowers and slow pull the uppers while focusing on good form. Don't worry too much about accuracy with the higher weight limbs. Accuracy and aiming will come with the lower limbs. The 2nd best piece of advice is find a good coach. They're hard to find but are out there. Or join a shoot and ask others to critique your shot. Good way to get feedback. You can video yourself and post to one of the FB groups but there's a ton of armchair coaches out there so take that advice with a grain of salt. Length does matter. I'm a 30.5" on compound, 29.25" on single strings. I'm 6' and the 62"-64" feel the best to me. I have some all the way down to 52" and up to 70". Lower lengths can stack with longer draws, same goes for cheaper limbs, they can stack too. ILF would be a good route to look at as well. And oh yeah, Bob Lee's are fantastic. I don't own one...yet. Shot one and loved it, but I do own 4 of his older Wing models. Good luck.

[JakeM]

I was exactly where you were at a year ago. Got bit by the bug hard and fell in love with collecting vintage bows. Now I've got 14 and barely shoot my 2 compounds. I started with a Sage but the Black Hunters are very nice too. HIGHLY recommend primarily shooting with a lower weight limb until you get 'your shot form' set. I screwed up my shoulder early on by trying to shoot a 50# Grizzly among others. And 'no pain, no gain' does NOT apply to archery either. I thought I was strengthening muscles so I'd shoot through it if something started aching. Big mistake. I just last month 'found' my shot. You'll know when you do, it just feels right. Struggled with anchor points, raising my bow shoulder (that's what killed it), hook positioning, follow through. Now I shoot a 40# for practice and hunt with 45-50# though I have a 70# Martin recurve I break out every once in a while just to work on strength. Slow pulls, focus on form. Not worried about accuracy. lol. Get a 30-35# set of limbs and a 45# or so. Practice with the lowers and slow pull the uppers while focusing on good form. Don't worry too much about accuracy with the higher weight limbs. Accuracy and aiming will come with the lower limbs. The 2nd best piece of advice is find a good coach. They're hard to find but are out there. Or join a shoot and ask others to critique your shot. Good way to get feedback. You can video yourself and post to one of the FB groups but there's a ton of armchair coaches out there so take that advice with a grain of salt. Length does matter. I'm a 30.5" on compound, 29.25" on single strings. I'm 6' and the 62"-64" feel the best to me. I have some all the way down to 52" and up to 70". Lower lengths can stack with longer draws, same goes for cheaper limbs, they can stack too. ILF would be a good route to look at as well. And oh yeah, Bob Lee's are fantastic. I don't own one...yet. Shot one and loved it, but I do own 4 of his older Wing models. Good luck.

Thanks for the info! and yeah after two shoulder surgeries already I'm definitely not trying to be anyone's hero! Ill definitely be much more involved on this side of the forum as questions arise and such. I have found a local TBH member whos given me lots of great info and ill be shooting with him for sure. I plan on purchasing Tom Clum Shoot solid mechanics also for something to be watching while i have downtime at work.

[JayBay3405]

Well I had Jake over the house and had full intentions of selling him the Sage I started with, two sets of limbs one 50lb and one 25, I have not shot this bow in probably the Vanderpool shoot last year and discovered a small fray in the limb tip that was catching the string. That being said Jake left the house without the Sage, he dont need to start with a damage limb. That being said he fired a few shots with my Bob Lee Hardcore, and with my Sarrels Sawtooth. Jake was grouping his arrows with both at 7 or 8 yards after only a few shots, he is going to be a fine shooter. Know we just need to get him a bow. I enjoyed your visit Jake.