Recurve bow question

[Trunks]

I'm fancying after a recurve bow, I don't really know what to get as a starter, ant suggestions?

Also, when it comes to left or right hand, which do I go for?

I'm right handed, so does that mean I hold the bow in the right & draw with the left, or the other way round?

Cheers

 

[mace242]

The important issue isnt actually handednes but rather eye dominance. You need to know this first. Do you have any archery clubs near you where you can get help, or any archery shops? I have a little book on the basics of archery that may be worth a read before you start. If you want to borrow it drop me a pm.

 

[Xunil]

Don't buy the bow until you learn to shoot - use your local club to learn the basics on a beginner's course which will answer all of your questions and put you in a position where you can make an informed decision.

Most folks overbow themselves badly when they buy a bow before learning to shoot, which encourages bad habits that are hard to break and ruins any early chance of success you might have.

By the time you complete a beginner's course (normally run over 6 - 8 weeks) you might find your tastes change and a longbow, flatbow or compound may hold more appeal.

Find your feet first and buy the kit once you know where you are heading with it.

 

[wattsy]

top advice from xunil there learn to walk before you run

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Depending n how/why you want to shoot will depend on the type of bow you get......

 

[marcelxl]

I could only echo what has been said, dominant eye is very important. We have a guy at our club who insists on shooting R/H (bow held in the left, drawn with the right) but is left eye dominant and to be honest he's making a right horses handbrake out of it and getting nowhere fast!

You will not be allowed to shoot at a club without completing a beginners course anyway, certainly GNAS clubs (the one a few miles from where you are is where I am a member is a GNAS club and this coming years courses are booked up too) and I believe that NFAS clubs are the same but having only joined a field club & NFAS yesterday I am not certain.

PM me if need to know anymore about local opportunities or have a look around St Ives

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I am pretty sure NFAS is the same. I shoot R/H but am left eye dominant but I keep both eyes open when shooting!

 

[Kerne]

I joined my local archery club and bought a recurve after about 4 months. Then someone loaned me a longbow and I now have a redundant recurve as I'm hooked and unlikely to go back to the dark side. My advice is to try lotsof bow types first and lots of types of archery. I am sold on field archery with a traditional bow but it took about a year or so for me to discover this.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Hi Kerne

What longbow do yoou have and where do you shoot? Gloustershire isn't far from Swindon!

 

[Trunks]

I could only echo what has been said, dominant eye is very important. We have a guy at our club who insists on shooting R/H (bow held in the left, drawn with the right) but is left eye dominant and to be honest he's making a right horses handbrake out of it and getting nowhere fast!

You will not be allowed to shoot at a club without completing a beginners course anyway, certainly GNAS clubs (the one a few miles from where you are is where I am a member is a GNAS club and this coming years courses are booked up too) and I believe that NFAS clubs are the same but having only joined a field club & NFAS yesterday I am not certain.

PM me if need to know anymore about local opportunities or have a look around St Ives

PM sent

 

[Cromm]

Hi,
Make a two guns with left and right hands, now touch the index finger tips together and over lay the thumbs to make a little window with your hands. Look at something a little way away, then bring your hands up so you can see the thing in the hand window, when you have done that close your left eye then your right eye. The item should be more in the middle to your dom eye.
If it works out that your right eye is your dom eye, you would hold the bow in your left hand and pull the string back with the right.

 

[Trunks]

Hi,
Make a two guns with left and right hands, now touch the index finger tips together and over lay the thumbs to make a little window with your hands. Look at something a little way away, then bring your hands up so you can see the thing in the hand window, when you have done that close your left eye then your right eye. The item should be more in the middle to your dom eye.
If it works out that your right eye is your dom eye, you would hold the bow in your left hand and pull the string back with the right.

Haha, that's amazing I knew i was right eye dominant anyway, but didn't truly appreciate by how much until i just tried that.

Thanks Cromm

 

[crwydryny]

like others here I would suggest joining a club and learning to shoot before buying a bow, but due to financial reasons (and the fact that my local club was only open when I had other things I had to do) I taught myself how to shoot a bow. I started off with a 25lb compound bow then later moved up to a lamanated wood recurve of 60+ lb (can't remember the exsact strength) but due to the fact it was an old 2nd hand bow that hadn't been cared for in years it ended up breaking rather quickly. a couple of years ago however I was walking through my local market and stumbled on a stall that sells air rifles, paint ball stuff and telescopes and noticed they had a few nice recurves and ended up buying a nice fiberglass takedown recurve which is great as it is now easier for me to take it to the fields just outside of my village for some field archery as well as to the dojo where I train (which doubles as a scout's hall) which has some target butts that I can use for practice.

despite not having any formal instruction in the use of the bow I can fire consistantly enough to put around 16 out of 20 arrows into a target the size of a coke can at 25-30 yards, at least on a good day.

eye dominance is very important when useing a bow, which is one place I'm lucky/unlucky. even though I find it more comfortable to shoot holding the bow in my left hand, I'm ambidextrous and both eyes are equely dominant, which makes aiming a bit tricky as both eyes try to focus on the target unless I close one eye (which brings problems in itself such as judging distance)

 

[mrcharly]

Hi,
Make a two guns with left and right hands, now touch the index finger tips together and over lay the thumbs to make a little window with your hands. Look at something a little way away, then bring your hands up so you can see the thing in the hand window, when you have done that close your left eye then your right eye. The item should be more in the middle to your dom eye.
If it works out that your right eye is your dom eye, you would hold the bow in your left hand and pull the string back with the right.

Gosh, that's a complicated method. I was taught to check this way:

Both eyes open, point at an object. Keep pointing and close left eye. Is finger still on the object, or is it off to the side? Open left eye and close right. Where is the finger now?

If your finger is still pointing straight at the object when right eye is open, you are right-eye dominant and visa versa.

 

[PeterH]

..... I started off with a 25lb compound bow then later moved up to a lamanated wood recurve of 60+ lb (can't remember the exsact strength) but due to the fact it was an old 2nd hand bow that hadn't been cared for in years it ended up breaking rather quickly.....

Sorry don't want to sound off but this is exactly why you would be better off finding a proper beginners course, I can't imagine anyone starting out on a 60lb recurve, it would be next to impossible, a 60lb longbow would be heavy for a beginner. I start people on really light bows as a muscular injury guarantees a failure (and is negligent) whereas "we can go a bit heavier next week" has never lost me a pupil.

There are many ways to estimate eye dominance and a good coach will not only help you do that but be able to help if it does not provide the "right" answer, some people will be cross dominant and their brain will fight between hand and eye.

A beginner course should offer the chance to try varied styles depending on the club such as recurve, compound, traditional, longbow and in one of my clubs Mongolian and trad crossbow. Different thing suit diff people and finding out can be expensive if you buy your own!