OK everyone, im in need of some help if you dont mind throwing some this direction. Im new to the site and figured i would ask to see what kind of feed back i got. Im a bowhunter and absolutely love the sport and everything it embodies. I have toyed with the idea of getting rid of my compound bow and switching to a recurve for a few years and I think im about to go through with it. I have been fortunate enough to travel all over north america and chase animals with my Matthews but my curiosity has always pulled me towards a recurve. The problem im having is that I know ZERO about recurves and dont know where to start. Im 6'2" and was curious as to what kind of sizes i would need and maybe some brands. Ive been reading a lot about RER Bows out of Montana but was curious to hear some of your input. If there is another post about this im sorry for asking but i tried searching keywords and it keeps saying "error" when i search stuff. It could be that im just computer dumb though. Thanks again for your help and any input would be awesome. Thanks

Welcome in! There's no bad place to start, but if you have the means, I'd recommend going to one of the traditional rendezvous, shows, shoots and shoot as many bows as you can get your hands on in all different weight ranges. Ask as many questions as you can and keep it simple. Pm or email anytime. Glad to answer what I can. Nate

If I were 6' 2"....

Honestly, I would find 62" recurve or longbow - makes no real difference. Longer if you'd like; the serious target bows are WAY longer still, and not for no good reason. And I'd go with probably an ILF or at least a 3-piece TD, and set it up with limbs at the state minimum draw weight, sight pin(s) and a peep.

Blasphemous, I know, but hear me out.

If you develop consistent form with sights, you're more than half-way to becoming a very good shot without them. So once you're deadly with a peep and a front pin, then you can take off the front sight and you can learn to gap-shoot off of the front of your arrow. Then you can take off the peep when you feel like it, and just keep gapping off of that arrow.

If you don't like having to look through the string, then you can cant the bow a little and just make sure that you have that same, full-length view of your arrow pointed straight at the target. Might have to adjust your .anchor slightly

And then you'll be where you want to be, most likely.

As far as bows go.... Samick makes some really good ones for about what a Martin/Howatt would have cost you (not adjusted for inflation) 25 years ago. If you want, you can find EXTREMELY inexpensive risers that you'll never feel bad about drilling into for sights, and frankly, they'll probably be all set up for that anyway.

OR, you can find an old target/hunting bow with sights on it and save some $$$ because so many people seem to think that putting sights on a "trad" bow is some kind of a desecration.

As to other brands... NO EFFIN' WAY would I start out with any kind of a "Custom" bow. I have a third-or-fourth (or more) hand RER longbow and it's a great shooter, but with just about any kind of "custom", you pay a real premium for cosmetics and for the ability to get "exactly what you want"... and you don't even know what you want yet. I shot exactly one bow for the first 10 years I was at this and have never had any trouble adjusting to any other, but I see a lot of guys start into this and spend their first few years looking for The Bow Of Bows without ever finding one they can really SHOOT, because they just never learned to work with one set-up. And that crap gets EXPENSIVE.

Besides - if you go with a custom, you'll probably choose not to go "too light", given the investment, which will likely set you up to be overbowed, which will just set you back. So unless you have a wife of a kid who can grow into it, it's a very expensive proposition.

And speaking of draw weight...

I mentioned up above that I would start with the state legal minimum, and that's just assuming that you're planning on hunting with it at some point. At your DL, you'll be getting more out of it than marked, and I don't know what your overall level of Archery Fitness might be, but I used to know a guy who shot #80 Compounds and he found that a #35 recurve was kicking his butt after 2 dozen shots. So net #35-#40 is NOT going to be too low to get you started...

JMO...

Agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the site Bret. There are a lot of guys and gals who post here that can be a wealth of information. There are so many bows around, it is very difficult to give advice here as it is like Ford VS Chevy VS Dodge. Everyone has their favorites. My favorite is Bob Lee out of Jacksonville Tx. There are many, many other fine bows though and you will have to make the ultimate decision. Nate makes an excellent point. Shoot as many different bows and weights as you can. Never be afraid to ask. Most all trad folks will help you in any way they can. Please do not overbow yourself right off the bat. If your Mathews pulls 70lbs, don't think you can pull a 70lb recurve or longbow immediately. Start at a lower poundage bow. Develop good form from the outset. You can work up from there. I suggest an inexpensive take down bow to begin with. You can later buy stronger limbs as you progess and get more comfortable with the added weight. Rome was not built in a day. Trad will require more practice in my opinion. There actually have been a lot of threads on this subject but I can relate to being computer dumb myself. If there are trad 3 D shoots in your area, contact the organizer and tell him or her your situation. I feel sure they can get some folks to let you shoot their bows and get you off to a good start. You may make some good friends along the way. You may also find some folks here on this site who are near you. Perhaps you can get with some of them if not too far from you and pick their brains and shoot with them as well. Good luck on your trad journey.

I agree with the previous responses. Do read all you can, and if possible find a good coach that shoots traditional archery. I also would add, don't start out with to much poundage. Maybe a three piece recurve with two sets of limbs. Remember, at 6'2" you will draw more then 28", so bows rated @28" of draw weight will pull an additional 2-3 pounds per inch of draw. I would say your light set of limbs should be 40# at your draw and maybe 50# for your heavy limbs. Of course this can be adjusted upward if that weight is effortless for you. My point is you need to establish good form first and foremost, and to much weight tends to introduce bad habits early.

Bret Take a peak at the PBS site, I know there are a bunch of PBS guys in NC. Getting involved with folks that have walked the same path, some 30-40 years ago is very helpful. Many/most of these guys already own a varied selection of high quality bows you can try out to find what fits YOU. A good start is a used custum takedown recurve, probably 10-15 lbs less that you are shooting in a compound. Then bare shaft tune and go stump shooting, one arrow at a time at unknown distances. You will be surprised how fast you can become proficient for hunting shots that way. DO NOT go to a range and try to stack arrows in the same spot. Long explanation, but you will just become discouraged. Trad bows are far superior for hunting, but FAR more difficult (and different form required) for olympic style recurve targets (although some use static target form for hunting, not me) to get the same arrow upon arrow groups as a compound. IMHO the "one" arrow group is all that matters.

Yep. What he said. Everybody has to start somewhere. You'll get it all figured out along the way. It's a lot of fun riding the learning curve. I bet anything that you will enjoy your time with a traditional bow much more.

Yep. What he said. Everybody has to start somewhere. You'll get it all figured out along the way. It's a lot of fun riding the learning curve. I bet anything that you will enjoy your time with a traditional bow much more.

Yep exactly, too much fun. And you will be amazed how accurate you can become. VERY effective way to take game.

And in case you're wondering.... Kodiak TD posted before he saw what I wrote, so he's not agreeing with me, but Nate.

I disagree with Michael about "trad" bows being far more difficult to learn to shoot than modern; the PROBLEM is that most people go about learning to shoot them in the most difficult and ineffective fashion imaginable, and frankly, an awful lot of people end up telling themselves that they're content with some pretty incredibly poor accuracy.

JMO, archery is archery; if you build off of the base that you already have and make it a more gradual transition, rather than an overnight switch, you'll get where you want to go much faster and your results will far exceed those of the guys who tell you to just grip&rip....

Get a copy of "Viper's" book. "Shooting the Stickbow" by Anthony Camera (Viper). It might still be available from Amazon.

Start out with a low draw weight. 45 is a good weight for a lot of people. You can adjust up or down based on if you're stronger or weaker than average. Once you have good form you can move up in weight. Understand that recurve draw weights are typically marked at 28" draw. If you're a true 6'2" you will draw way past 28". I'm 6'1" in my socks with long arms. If I anchor in the corner of my mouth, as so many do, I will draw almost 32". A recurve will gain 2.5 to 3 pounds for every inch past 28". So add 10lbs to whatever is marked at 28" and you'll be close to what it will draw for you.

Impossible to go wrong with a Samick Sage to start with. However it sounds like you're willing to pay for a more expensive bow, so find a place where you can shoot as many different kinds of traditional bows as possible, then make your decision. It's easy to think you know what you want until you shoot it.

I am 73", I have a wingspan of 74". I chose to shoot a 30" Matthews when I was in that game, and had it verified at a shooting school by a top national coach. I prefer to shoot 29 inch draw length in trad bows. I prefer 62 inch recurves, and longbows longer that 66 inches, hybrids about the same length as the recurves.

Given that top of the line compounds are over 2 grand at this point. I would go for a really nice ILF riser, the Hoyt Satori is nice and popular right now but to me has too much deflex for a standard hunting bow. What riser is a whole discussion in itself. I would buy the set of limbs that puts that bow at the low point of the legal limit that exists in the regions you intend to to hunt, probably 40 or 45 pounds. I would also buy a set of limbs 10 pounds lighter, and maybe 5 pounds heavier. The limbs I am thinking of are around 60 bucks, and will perform as well or better than most house bows like Bear, Martin, Hoyt, or Pearson. The idea is to get you shooting a recurve within a realistic weight range that you can easily handle. Once you settle on your realistic weight range, you can upgrade to rocketship limbs and get that extra couple of percent performance, or move to a custom bow that has the look and features you want. My recommendations are based on the idea you can't get to a shop that allows you to shoot everything you will need to try. I've been passionately in this sport for 50 years, and so far never had that experience.

Making the switch to shooting the recurve should be a nothing. One of the great achievements of archery these days has been to make recurve shooting for hunting as easy as compound shooting, but to do that you will suffer a significant reduction in effective range, generally. The only really significant difference you will face will be the fingers release. But you can use your release aid for a while, just to show how easy the rest of it is compared to compound shooting. And many people find shooting off fingers very natural and will not be held back by it.

Given the above, how handicapping the switch will be will depend on the tactics and type of hunting you did with a compound. Getting back to a 40-60 yard effective range (based on almost 2x the velocity and other advantages) is impossible. But if your hunting style produced only 20 yard shots, you will find some advantages to sticks and few disadvantages. So in my mind the bigger adaptation is not the gear, it will be the tactical approach to putting yourself in the way of 15-25 yard shots, and only those distances if you are a fundamentally correct shooter at the moment.

Aiming sticks is basically down to two methods. Point and shoot, or use sights. Leaning either method is probably easier if you start with "sights". But for most people at this point in time those sights are the point of the arrow. A strong case can be made for beginners using actual sights on their stick bows, even just a glass bead pin taped to the riser will get you right on target. If you want to have the option of using sights you need to limit your riser choices to risers with deep sight windows.

If you use the pin to get you on target at 10-20 yards, you can take notice of where the point of your arrow is in relation to your target. Then you can start to use that point of the arrow as your sight pin. It's easy.

If you look into techniques that exist for using the point of the arrow as a sight pin, they generally deal with one of three things:

1) Getting your arrow point closer to, or on the center of the target, so that it functions as a sight pin does;

2) Allowing you to deal with what happens when you use the arrow point as your pin but vary your distance from the target;

3) Allowing you to use only one setting by most effectively managing the consequences of trajectory at the distances you typically shoot. This can get pretty specific to one thing, like IBO shoots.

There are some really great solutions out there where you can make it almost automatic in tuning the bow, but also get one sight picture for everything from 15-25 yards. That is pretty amazing considering it is actually easier than where we were with compounds when they came out in the late 70s to early 80s.

This is why I don't really recommend books, they tend to be out of date, and they tend to be an encyclopedia of every thought or fact the author ever had in his grasp, rather than boring down on a tactical situation, and spitting out the solution. Youtube is actually better right up to the point where the guy has to start generation ideas beyond his core information. But thankfully two of the best sites just stopped talking when they hit that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LthFu6fxjeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DxmRQLaZQY

Nomad -

Couple of thoughts (Sorry John):

"Impossible to go wrong with a Samick Sage to start with."

Sure it is, if your draw length is over 29" that bow will be a disaster. Other wise it's fine. At 6'2", there's no way I'd recommend the Sage or any other 62" entry level bow.

"so find a place where you can shoot as many different kinds of traditional bows as possible, then make your decision"

Maybe not. Right now you have no idea what you want (even if you think you do), except to start shooting. Get a bow that lighter in draw weight than you think you can handle, usually 2x your compound HOLDING weight is a start, a little longer than you'd like, and basically less expensive than you can afford. IOW, something pretty generic. Once you're more into it, then you can move on to better, heavier and more "specific" bows.

"Start out with a low draw weight. 45# is a good weight for a lot of people."

Worst advise ever given to a new "trad" shooter.

Start with this: http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1588147

Now, having a history with a compound may work for you or against you. If you have good form with the compound, most will transfer over nicely. However a lot of compound shooter's form is pretty piss poor, and can get away with it because the shooter is so far removed from the shot. In the former case, you might be good to go, in the latter case, you're not starting from scratch, you're starting below scratch. Sorry, just can't tell from here.

Viper out.

Don't try to start out with your "dream bow" Get an inexpensive good quality used bow like a Bear or Martin Howatt Hunter, there are other good names. Used bows are great, new is fine if you want to spend the $. Remember, with a recurve, you are holding ALL the weight at full draw so you won't be holding at full draw for a long time on an animal. You wont be shooting near as much weight as you did with the wheel bow. At least 15-20 pounds less.

Yeah I'd say a 62" bow would work fine.

Shoot a few and pick one. Remember that you'll probably be drawing 29"+ so take that into account when choosing a draw weight.

I am 6'3" and 60 to 62" is where I prefer to be. Shoot a few to find what you like for me it's black widow. As previously stated start low in the weight. Form is the key. With plenty of power stroke 40lbs is more than enough. Good luck and enjoy the journey and feel free to pm with any questions.

I’d also recommend an inexpensive 62” bow. Samick sage is the first one that comes to mind. Get 25 or 30 pound limbs and arrows to match. Learn proper form and don’t develop bad habits. They are a beast to break later. Learn right from the start. Get comfortable with it and concentrate on every shot. It’s quality. Not quantity. Stay close and I’d recommend shooting one arrow at a time. Learn all about good form and record yourself shooting so you can see the things you need to correct. Shoot a few hundred arrows and you’ll be well on your way. Don’t worry so much about hitting your spot at first. Just learn how to shoot and that will correct itself. Also make sure to get the right spine arrows. Frustrating when they flop like a fish out of water leaving the bow. Enjoy !!

Viper, really, worst advise ever. Ouch, glad I didn't tell him that he had to have at least 60 to shoot a deer. That's what I was told when I started.

Lots of good advise here. Unfortunately some is keyboard experience. Viper is the author of "Shooting the Stickbow" if advice is opposite his,consider the source. I made the switch and his book was a big help. It covers it all. Then after a while you will adapt to your own style. Your experience is a plus in that you have been using the same mussels and know a little about technique. Good luck and enjoy the ride. >>>---> Ken

There are way more knowledgaeble people here than this old hunter, so I'll leave you in their hands and just say hi and welcome to the Wall. You couldn't have picked a better place.

Bob

part of the fun,, is learning what works for you,, then make your own bow and kill something,,

Isn't john huge, and a coach/Olympian, consider the source indeed. I think he knows about draw length. Hill was 74" and he drew 28 inches. I believe that getting shorter than target stance is an advantage for most hunting, given in my hunting clothes I look like the Pillsbury Dough boy. Viper wrote a very good book, given that my spotting scope stand was one inch too short.

If you want to hunt you arguably have no choice but to work around to the legal weight, like the girls do. In Colorado trad ladies are pulling half their body weight. But with ILF you can buy enough limbs to nail down the reality of where you stand, then work at it in some logical format. It is absolutely critical to not be overbowed, and it is absolutely critical to have legal draw weight. The solution is to buy a bowflex, in our case an ILF with limbs in 5 pound increments. With a Mathews sized budge of 1800 dollars you can get a top ILF rig with all the limbs, and your favorite classic or custom once you have worked up to it.

I have helped a number of compound shooters make the change. Some of them ridicule the trad idea. While others, comment how it looks like fun. It seems that once they get a visual on how they want to shoot a trad bow things go fairly quickly. That is where one has to make a choice. What kind of a shot and tempo do you see yourself wanting take when hunting? As a successful compound hunter, more than likely with sights, your tempo would be what I call static. Fred Bear and Howard Hill would be what i call fluid. Both work, they have some similarities and some specific differences. To start I would not try to reinvent either method, neither would i suggest going down a specialist variation to start. I know lots of 6'2" archer that do not have a 30" recurve form, but yet have good form. For most that I have helped they find that being able to take shots from a tree stand at a deer to be a much more natural thing with a recurve being the best part of the change. That would be the canted bow on downward shots. Most recent a tall skinny kid said he wished like he could shoot like Fred Bear. I had just picked up a Ben Pearson for $14 at a garage sale and a York Collegic out of dumpster. We watched a bunch of Fred Bear videos and compared his shooting style with the John Schulz video. They have similarities, but the Schulz video describes those parts that are similar. He came up with a 29" draw after a week of shooting the light bow, he looked in control and good. A week later he was doing really good, so I gave him the 45 pound Pearson with some proper arrows. He shot the first buck that came by his tree stand and declared it was the easiest thing he had ever done. "It was just automatic, the shot just happened." in his words.

The best thing you can do is to find a local mentor who can shoot a stick bow. Check out clubs and find someone who not only shoots a recurve, but whose good at it and see if they'll give you some direction.

I'll bet you'll get some PMs from some local NC guys who would be more than happy to get you started on your quest.

Setting things up to move guys from compound to Stick bows, is now a thing. The Push video was done for that purpose.

Thanks for the help guys (and girls if there are any out there), I really do appreciate all the input from everyone. I was completely unaware of some of these sites, videos, and such that will throw some knowledge my way. I just ordered the book and am now being completely useless at work as im busy you tubing, trying to google archery stuff and take notes of everyone's input... Thank you again everyone!!!

After shooting badly for 30 years Viper helped me considerably, I have a fairly new 60" bow It's alright for a few shots, but I can't shoot a lot out of it, I prefer a bow at least 66 to 68" That is just what I like, by the way I have shrunk down to 6'2" due to my age.

Congratulations on wanting to try the Longbow or recurve, beleive me it's much more rewarding when you get it figured out. Purchase Tony's book and study it. If you are really serious about converting over PM me your address and I will give you my copy....RonG

I didn't read the above comments. All I'll tell you is don't overcomplicate it. If you can shoot a compound, you can shoot a traditional bow. Just get lighter than you think you need to build form....there's no let off on longbows and recurves )). None of use knew much about it when we started either, and in 1960's there wasn't any internet forums to help or otherwise, but we managed very well. If you can, find a traditional shooter near you who shoots well and garner information from them.

I have an Extra Blackbear WARF riser if it's something that interests you. I'd put a set of low end SF limbs on it and it would make you a great bow with a minamal investment. Those limbs may be low end but they are excellent. The riser being an old compound riser will be drilled and tapped for sights and a stabilizer should you want to use them. These risers will stand along side of any ILF out there. I know because I've owned most of them at one time or another!:) I can send it to you to try if you want.

Long limbs will give you about a 64" recurve mediums a 62" on that riser. Most ILF limbs are rated for weight on a 25" riser. The BB is about 21". Probably figure about a 10# gain over rated weight. There is a lot of info here if you search.

George is spot on... do not over think this,,,, shooting a recurve well is not hard to do, you just have to put in the time,,,,, its a lot of fun, and do not get a heavy bow, or one that is too light......

good luck,,,, I shoot everything, but have fallen in love with the long bow,,,, I guess I am just a romantic,,,, ha ha ha

No offense taken Tony. I stand by my recommendations based on my own experience. I've shot Samick Sage bows and at 6'4" I have a 31"+ traditional draw length. Would I recommend one for target shooting? Nope. But that's not what they are designed for anyway.

I firmly believe that going somewhere that you can try as many kinds of trad. bows as possible is the very best way to get started.

"Isn't john huge..."

Ouch! LOL I'm 6'4" (maybe a hair more but that's what I claim) and 200 lbs. Draw length with an Olympic rig is 32.5" and with my traditional bows and target barebow, shooting 3- under, is 31-31.5"

Southwest Archery.com

Spyder XL 3-piece 64" recurve. 30-35 lbs. great for draw lengths to 31".

Replacement limbs are $75 if you want heavier draw weight in a couple of years. Form first, low draw weight for repetition and low injury risk.

Best $140 you'll ever spend. Not just a lot of bow for the money, but simply " a lot of bow."

The bow and arrow part may be best kept as simple as possible. Get acquanted with your traditional archery organization. Then find one true experienced mentor who is willing to spend time with you. There is no end to number of bows to be bent. There is no end to books and videos and magazine articles promising to make you shoot as good as the English Yoemen at Agincourt. Try real hard not to think too much or do what you read or others tell you. K.I.S.S.= Keep It Simple Sir Take your time to allow archery to be your pathway to traditional values and lifestyle choices . I hope you have fun.

Jim at Crowfoot Creek

I have seen compound shooters that wanted to shoot an ASL, but the wiring they had for drawing a longbow way too stiff for it. A recurve was at times the begrudged better option. I have seen compound shooters jump in with both feet and get the Hill thing very quickly. One kid I gave a Slimline Wing too, gave it back and bought a 45 pound Bear, shot that for a while. I shared a a patch of public ground with him earlier this week. He sold that Bear and bought a lightly used 53 pound Robertson longbow. In just these few months he went from stiff and awkward, to looking like he had been shooting that Robertson for years. He said the arrow with the Judo that I added to his set I built was his favorite arrow. We shot about 20 warm shots before we headed out. Funny how so many compound shooters do not learn the fun of stump shooting until they get a trad bow.

Not that long ago, a woman who shot compound came to see me because she was interested in traditional bows. Well meaning folks on another hunting forum talked her into getting a longbow from one of their favorite local bowyers, and she placed her order. In the meantime, she came to pay me a visit and I let her shoot my longbows, recurves, ILF bows and showed her my Olympic bows, etc.

I told her to remain open minded and shoot what she enjoyed shooting the most because that's what she would be the best with.

Her custom longbow arrived and sure enough it was too heavy for her to shoot well. She had gotten some bad advice about draw weight. So she ended up borrowing one of my ILF risers and sets of limbs, and started shooting barebow.

Fast forward to today and she now owns one of the most successful archery shops in the state, with easily the most barebow archers.

Take home here is keep an open mind.

I would go to as mant trad only shoots I could find in my area and ask lots of questions.

Nomad1, I agree that a good starting point is to get yourself a good book dealing with traditional archery. You want a general book on the subject. Check the library first. You have a PM. Jawge

Lot of good advise on here. Don't get rid of the compound just yet. Unless you take to shooting trad like a duck to water and some transition with ease. I know it took me a,good,three,years before I quit picking up my compound. It's OK to to hunt with both for as long as you like. I haven't read all the input on here so it may have been said already. Don't Over Bow Yourself!! A lot of us make that mistake and it actually makes it a struggle and very frustrating experience to the point where some give up. I shot a 60lb compound and my first recurve I got was about 53 lbs at my draw length. I would have been better off with a 45 lbs to until I got proficient. I like wood bows but for a newcomer to trad I would recommend some form of piece recurve start with a light set of limbs until you get proficient and then if you need to or want to go up in weight you can get a heavier set of limbs. Good Luck and Welcome Archery is going to become more fun!

Often young shooters or ladies need to start under hunting weight, a snappy shooting 35 at 26" bow will kill Iowa deer. The problem is the arrow, it takes a bit of work and experimenting to get a carbon arrow that is 400 grains or so to shoot good with the shorter draw. I personally do not like such a long arrow with a short draw. An 1816 is too stiff and too heavy. A 5/16 cedar works, but they must be top quality and that takes a bit of experimenting at times as well. A while back a farmer's young daughter wanted to hunt with a land tag. She had acid compound that she got from someone but she had outgrown it and did not want another. He wanted help finding here a bow. The entire learning and development process had to take place, just to find what bow she should have. His end choice was a used custom that was 38 at 28 or a 40 pound new either a Bear or a Martin. He went with the 38. My arrow stash is not set up for that low in cedars, but I had a bunch of target arrows in aluminum and fiber glass. Hardwood dowels turned into broadhead adopters fit to into Microflites made a good shooting bunch of arrows for her. for the 5/16 zwickys. She got a deer with that rig last year. They let me hunt rabbits in that big grove, but not until after pheasant and deer seasons are done.

Didn't read em all, so this has probably been said...attend a few trad shoots. Chat some guys up, try some bows out. You'll have no trouble...great guys.

there are lots of great bows listed in the classifieds. get a good bow to start, it will help you get thru you're learning curve. is there a club in your town where a trad guy can help you with form?

"Don't get rid of the compound just yet..."

Good advice there too.

Two schools of thought here, and either will work (or not) depending on what kind of person you are...

1) ditch the compound and go full bore trad so you are forced to use it no matter what.

2) keep the compound around to "soften" the transition and give you a backup option.

Neither are right or wrong. Different approaches work for different folks.

I ditched mine completely in '88 and went full bore trad. Took me a while to kill anything with that bow, but once I finally did I was hooked for life.

Trouble is, an injury in 2007 forced me to hunt with a compound and a release, and I was glad I gave myself that option. I still have a compound hanging in the garage, and I'll use it when I feel like it. Oddly enough the last two deer I shot with my compound were within easy trad bow range. LOL I guess that's just how it works.

Agree bwallace

I know it has been said to start with a light bow. It helps if that light weight bow is a good one. I do not think that one should target an exact draw length. Proper draw lengths do not come in even inches and everyone is different. If you get that lighter start up bow, don't sell it when you go a heavier one. Those light bows come in handy.

I would go cold turkey without sights, 3 finger under or gap shoot. Cant your bow a little and shoot with both eyes open and just look at a spot you want to hit. It will feel more natural than you think.There is so many good bows out there. You could start out with an inexpensive one like a Samick Sage. It is a very good bow, just put a good string on it. Do not overweight yourself on poundage even though you may be strong. Good luck and welcome to a whole new world of addiction.

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