Are long bows really more forgiving and quieter if there really is such a thing as forgiving bows Verses recurves

What is your experience? That's all that really matters.

No doubt in my mind a longbow is inherently quieter.

Forgiveness I would imagine depends on the form (flaws) of the individual archer.

Gots to shoot each to decide for yourself...

I agree with Snow Crow. I have gotten my recurve just about as quiet as a longbow, but the truth is that some guys put in the time and their release/form can contribute TREMENDOUSLY to that quiet. And if they are following the dictum that "perfect practice makes perfect, then both quiet and accuracy are greatly enhanced.

Yes they are. The tips tend to be thicker so more forgiving. Another plus as mentioned, is how whisper quiet they are.

They’re quieter and imo point easier and faster.

Depends on the type longbow and the person. Hill style longbows are quieter because the string doesn't hit anything, plus they need all their energy to push the arrow. The faster the bow the noisier ,thus the need for silencers.. As for forgiving they are for some for those same reasons but not forgiving at all for guys who need the mass weight of a recurve to be accurate. People repeat things Hill said 70 years ago n try to make it fact today. Think about this. Any stickbow is legal for olympics but when's the last time anyone used a longbow.

My Montana is very quiet. But I shoot my recurve better. Especially at over 20 yds

Has to do with length. Short recurve vs long longbow.

I’m manly a longbow guy, but I have a recurve Eagle Wing Tallon 11 made by Steve Tallent ( Sixby) that is just amazingly forgiving and quiet! It just fits me right. If I had to get rid of every every bow I own but one,this is my keeper.

Most longbows are somewhat quieter with hills be quietest. But I also see some very noisy rd's at times. A persons release means more than the type bow most times.

My Hill Cheetah is the most unforgiving bow I have ever owned (to me) but both of my Yellowstone Hunters seem to almost shoot themselves and are very quiet. The two most forgiving bows I own are a Bruin Hunmaster recurve and a Yellowstone Halfbreed with express limbs. With just a set of cat whiskers the Bruin recurve is just as quiet as any of my longbows, except maybe the Cheetah.

It is totally a personal preference. I have not found any bow style to be more or less forgiving. As for sound level, again it is up to you. being different they have to be tuned different.

LB quieter yes as for more forgiving that's 100% you not the type of bow.

LB quieter yes as for more forgiving that's 100% you not the type of bow.

LB quieter yes as for more forgiving that's 100% you not the type of bow.

A longbow is like shaking hands with, and going fishing with your old grandpa. He's slow, but he still gets around, and catches fish.

A recurve is like consorting with a beautiful, wild, young woman. She's fast, and can be hard to handle, but once you figure her out, she'll be easy to please, happy to please you, and be yours forever. She can catch fish too. :)

Rick

My longbows are easily quieter than any of my recurves. The limb weight seems to be the difference in my stable. My quietest recurve and an R/D Savannah longbow have a heavy, fluffy thumb on the shot. Conversely, my string-follow NM Shelton really only has the string noise as it whips through the air. And it's quick.

Forgiveness-wise, I think LB's are more forgiving of release faults but more demanding on the bow hand for stability since they don't weigh anything. For me, if I keep my bow hand on target through the shot with good heel pressure, it's going to be a good result.

Sean

Great analogy Rick!

Longbows are harder to shoot accurate at longer distances if your shot sequence is sloppy due to their lighter mass. If you want to fix your sequence, get a longbow. Quieter to some degree but not essential.

Well Rick, some of the recurves I have known were fickle and stubborn as hell. Oh wait, I see where you're going with the woman analogy there. :)

Yes, they are. A longbow covers your mistakes, a recurve amplifies them. As for quiet, there is no contest.

Explain how a longbow covers your mistakes.

And if a longbow does cover your mistakes why would a target archer not want to take advantage of that fact? Whether those archers are shooting indoor 300 rounds or competing in FITA or other types of field events?

Lol, what if a guy wanted to swing draw, snap shoot his recurve? Would that be considered “target panic” by LW logic?

"Would that be considered “target panic” by LW logic?"

Probably......:)

Biggest difference I’ve found is with a longbow you can push a snake out of your path, but with a recurve you can pick the snake up.

I agree FDP. If a longbow shot better the Olympians would be shooting them. I like the challenge. And Felipe. Don't need a bow for that snake. Snake loads will take care of him so he does't bite your dog or a kid.

fdp/babysaph, Y'all are looking at this wrong IMO. Both mentioned Olympics/indoor 300 shooting. Does a deer give you 60 shots to get an arrow in his chest? If so, would it take a score of 300 to cause his death? Do you stand flat footed on a manicured lawn shooting at that buck at 70 meters? Would you use a 12 lb bolt action rifle with a fixed 12 power scope to hunt with on a dog deer drive or would you use a full choke shotgun with #0 or 00 buckshot?

When was the last time in either target sport did you see the participants kneel down or bend at the waist to shoot under limbs etc. at the target? Also, do those targets remain perfectly still or do they chase does around the shooting venue, possible jumping the string from loud target bows? Do the targets have eyes that can detect the slightest movement, forcing the shooter to make quick shots at just the right time? Do the target shooters compete from real hunting treestands(not 3d shoot raised platforms)? Are they forced by circumstances at times to cant their bows at different degrees to pull off the shots necessary to win gold? Would that not negate their bowsights to a great degree?

fdp, you asked me to explain how a longbow covers your mistakes, here's an analogy. Have you ever backed a trailer? One would think a short trailer would be easier because it's smaller, but not so. A long trailer doesn't move as much with each steering maneuver of the truck doing the backing, thus covering any overcorrection or wrong turn of the steering wheel. A short trailer does the opposite,it reacts instantly to any movement of the backing vehicle no matter how slight. It's the same with the longbow, it's length, narrowness of limbs and less movement of the limbs as compared to a recurve helps to cover whatever mistakes you might make with the release or bow hand etc. Think about it, a longbow's limbs,because they are thick,stiff,narrow and straight can really only move in one direction from full draw and that is straight forward. A recurve, with it's shorter, wider, thinner and double curved limbs can move laterally in addition to forward. In fact a recurve limb can be moved(twisted) by hand to the point that the string can come off ,probably ruining the bow in the process. That is just about impossible to do with a longbow unless you used visegrips to do it.

I do think longbows are not as accurate as recurves in target games because they are lighter and harder to hold on target for pinpoint accuracy, a target recurve riser alone probably weights 2-3 times as much as a complete longbow but that type of accuracy isn't needed 90% of the time in hunting. Well, why not use straight limbs on the heavy target riser? Because long , heavy recurves, especially with light target arrows,are faster and flatter shooting,(covering for the shooters aiming errors)that few extra FPS in competition at that level can and does make the difference between winning and losing. "But what about the forgiving nature of a straight limbed bow? Would that not provided an edge?" I think no, if you're at that level in competition, you've got your form and release perfected,you are in a set situation time after time and the shots do not vary except for distance,wind and competition pressure, if not you're finishing last all the time, so the recurved limbs are not a negative then.

I don't mean to come off as a rambling asshole about this, but the longbows strong points can't be explained on a bumper sticker.

You will end up using what you want any way, so the pros, and cons of both are a waste of breath.

Tembo....a bow that is more forgiving as you have espoused on numerous many threads that the longbow is cannot at the same time be more difficult to master, thereby requiring more dedication to shoot well as you have also stated numerous times.

Any bow that is more accurate in a "target game" is more accurate in any game. The bow has no earthly clue what you are shooting at and could care less.

It's clear that you have found something that you like and are enjoying it and that truly is great. But get over the need to try and convince everyone else how you right you are. You are right FOR YOU at this point in time. And that may completely change for you next week. I've seen that dozens of times on here. Recurves to longbows, longbows to recurves and back again.

I've been around this stuff for 50'ish years. I've seen all this before and heard all these same qualities espoused. And for a whole bunch of that time shooting longbows of various types and styles from lots of different manufacturers both factory and custom.

At the end of the day it's just a bow and it shoots no better or no worse than the person shooting it and the quality of the arrows they are shooting with the environment it is being shot in being a non-issue.

But as I have said before, whatever you think is true is tru to you and that's all that matters.

So the worst bow for moving fast shots would be the compound? Theres a guy on google who shoots a modern compound to shoot doves flying over, and seldom misses. A recurve can do anything a longbow can but the reverse is not true. Oh, and 5 seconds to shoot an accurate recurve shot but only 3 for longbow? Have you ever shot either? Both get a shot off at exactly the same speed if using the same method. Nice try on the bait btw.

Again, we have egos yapping about what they think and also driving down what someone else likes. If ya'll would just shoot your bows and quit being the south side of a north bound horse, you would likely shoot better with whatever weapon you used. I haven't found a bow yet that I can't effectively hunt with or compete with. If you can't, that's not the bows fault.

Frank the other day my wife asked that I do a few chores for her around the house. I went grouse hunting with an ASL and forgot. My wife was not pleased with me. My longbow, being an understanding soul, immediately forgave me. Several of my recurves sided with my wife. So, clearly longbows are more forgiving....

Yooper-traveler...that is PRICELESS !!!!!!

"but for myself, it is easier with a longbow and I can shoot ACCURATELY ENOUGH at a tempo higher with a longbow."

^^^^^And THERE is the kicker^^^^^

People bring up target scores all the time because people bring up things like a particular design being more "forgiving" which as generally accepted in the world of archery means that the bow is less affected by the imperfect influences imparted by the archer. If a bow is more forgiving, then it naturally lends itself to more accurate shooting easier. Which would lead to higher target scores, or fewer shots being 2" off.

And yes...there are those that can/do understand that and those that never will.

THIS IS HOW I DESCRIBE IT: On a strung-up recurve bow, the nock-ends can be described as levers (by grabbing the nock-ends you can twist the limb left or right.) On a strung-up straight-end bow, it is almost impossible to twist the nock-ends with your hands. So, with a recurve, the shooter has to be very concerned with a torquing handle grip.

Because on its limb geometry, the longbow shooter has less problems with bow-torque (twist); and that is why the longbow is often described as "more forgiving"!

I wish someone would chime in that has a bow that has longbow limbs and recurve limbs of the same weight and length that fit the same riser. That might answer a few questions about accuracy between the two limb designs? Just a thought.

'Forgiving' is in the mind of the shooter. Some shooters will forgive their own crappy shots more easily than others. What's in their hands?

Sounds logical to me Fred. I've been shooting for 45 years both recuves and longbows. One 10 year stretch It was longbows exclusively. I still am more accurate with a recurve. At 15 yards there is not much difference. The further away the better I am with the recurve. I'm guessing its the added physical weight. Everyone is different. Fact is I love them both. I would hate to have to choose just one.

Ha-ha. Well said

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