I Have this old Recurve

Duckslayer100

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Two years ago, both my grandpas died within a couple months of eachother. I wound up inheriting some of their old hunting and fishing stuff, but the two things I've had the most fun with are their recurve bows.

Unfortunately, Grandpa Ray's bow has a split limb end (looks like it delaminated or something in storage). I shot it a few times, but it honestly shoots so similar to Grandpa Vern's bow I just decided to keep it for show.

Last summer I putzed around with it a bit, but really concentrated on fine tuning my compound accuracy as I knew I'd need it to harvest a deer (which I did).

This spring, during our annual "purge" I stumbled upon two boxes of Ray's old arrows. All feather fletched and perfect for the recurve.

I think I'm addicted. I've been shooting 20-40 arrows a day. Can't say I'm improving much -- and I'm as inconsistent as it comes -- but it's brought an entirely new level of enjoyment to archery.

There's just something so...simple. It's literally a stick (well, two sticks) and a string. I have no sights. No rest. Grip, draw, aim and fire.

Sometimes I can hit three our four arrows inside a dinner plate at 20 yards. The next round, I'll miss the target entirely and send one into my fence.

It's frustrating as heck, but I can't really get enough.

And I really want to improve. I know if a compound is "training wheels," this is finally graduating to a big-boy bike. And I have to relearn everything. But I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Best of all, there's an entire box of brand new arrows with broadheads. If I get good enough, I just may attempt to stick a deer this fall with one of Ray's old arrow's and Vern's old bow.

It's a goal, anyway!
 


1lessdog

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20180830_062841.jpg

I remember my first recurve, bought it at Sioux sporting goods in Bismarck. A few yr later I seen these Broadheads and had to have them. There were made by Browning.20180830_062901.jpg
 

Duckslayer100

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IMG_6508.jpeg

I remember my first recurve, bought it at Sioux sporting goods in Bismarck. A few yr later I seen these Broadheads and had to have them. There were made by Browning.IMG_6507.jpeg

I have some of those exact ones! They were Vern's. But the fletchings on those arrows are toast, so they're just for looks.

The ones I have from Ray are more like standard double-bevel broadheads, but there's a slit midway and you can slide in another little cutting edge so it's like a four blade. Pretty nifty. May need a touch up on the whet stone, but they should make something bleed if put in the right place.
 

Achucker

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Check the spine of the arrows makes sure they are good for the poundage your shooting. Don't get discouraged. I bet when you first three q baseball it wasn't close where you thought it would. Form is key and even more important the release. Good luck and enjoy. Don't over think it
 


muzzyhunter

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I think most learn to gap shoot,looking down the arrow shaft and holding tip below your target,the gap will become smaller as distance increases,eventually becoming a subconsience action.When I would teach kids for a day at "get hooked on the outdoors",I changed it up a bit.I would have them looking down the shaft,but instead use the index finger knuckle ,on your bowhand,as a pointer holding high or low of your target.Didnt take them long to start hitting the target.It worked good for them as most were snap shooting.
Good Luck!!
 

bucksnbears

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I can't put it into words but I don't think "gap shooting" isa common thing with a recurve/longbow.
If arrow spine matches the draw weight and all other aspects match up, in time, you should be able to do WAY better then a pie plate at 20 yards.
Best of luck.
 

Achucker

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I can't put it into words but I don't think "gap shooting" isa common thing with a recurve/longbow.
If arrow spine matches the draw weight and all other aspects match up, in time, you should be able to do WAY better then a pie plate at 20 yards.
Best of luck.

Gap shooting is a thing in traditional archery. Dare I say instinctive shooters are still using a subconscious form of gap shooting. Don't believe me try shooting a 45 lb long bow for a year then shoot a 65 lb recurve and you'll see a difference. I know this from years of shooting a "straight" long bow with a 650 grain wood arrow to a reflex deflex longbow and a carbon arrow that shot 30 to 40 fps faster. Very difficult to overcome the muscle memory engrained in you.

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https://youtu.be/htqdkA9vu6Y

Not saying I shoot this way.
 

Mr. Stevenson

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^^^^I surmise it's the same deal with shooting bats with a Powerline 880 and upgrading to a Crosman 1200. I'm sorry I was ignorant and retarded. Exactly WHEN does a bat transmit rabies?...perhaps when it's flopping on the ground and your dog picks it up?...I thought it was a good thing until Tiffer grabbed one. That was actually a young teen epiphany and stopped a lot of good fun. She had her shots and lived a long life. I miss that girl.

Anyways, I'm a fan/believer in instinct shooting and consistency.

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Another reason I believe peep sights are useless for combat. And mostly useless in general.

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I'll keep going...The M-1 killed as many of our troops as it saved because of the gd peep sight.

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Also, fuck a gd ghost ring. The bear will turn you into a ghost. Retarded.

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The M1 Garand post was complete speculation I believe to be true.
 
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snow

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Fun thread,been instinct shooter my entire life,never took a deer beyond 20 yds with my compound,grew up with semi and full recurve bows,still have 3 squirrieled away,switched to a compound mid 90's mostly for shooting big carp,for practice shooting instinct ,"darts" help me off season,maybe pool as well,for rabbits and pheasants broad heads on flu flu arrows,the spiral flectching type,had to snap shoot moving targets,with flu flu's we didn't lose our arrows.
 

luvcatchingbass

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I was actually thinking the other day about going back and working on shooting no sights after last year, main reason is to better help my daughter a little better to understand sight picture. She is really attentive about form and details so I think with a little fine tuning this spring she will be getting even more kill sots on the deer target.
 

Duckslayer100

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I used to bowfish a TON in high school. That's how I started honing my instinctive shooting. But it's a lot different (to me, anyway) shooting at a fish in the water inside 20 feet from a boat (usually down/away from you, and then having to compensate for refraction), and hitting a target horizontal to you and 20-30 yards away.

I'm sure the practice I got bowfishing has helped speed this process a long, but there's still a steep learning curve.

My next step is to get a quiver of flu-flus and judo points and tromp the woods this fall for squirrels and rabbits. I think if I can sharpen my skills on those teeny things, a deer may seem a lot easier to tackle.

I hear folks talking about spine. To put it plainly, I have no clue what spine or specs these arrows are. Six of them are plain, silver aluminum arrows with fixed field tips. The rest are either carbon or fiberglass. Clearly they're a lot lighter, and shoot different than the aluminum. They also have a different style of knock that tends to fall off the serving easily. I'd like to swap them out, but I'm afraid of wrecking arrows attempting to get better knocks on.

The bow I'm shooting is a 62" Ben Pearson Cougar. It's 45 pounds at 28" draw. When I shoot compound I'm a 28 inch draw length, but I can tell I probably shoot shorter with the recurve as my anchor point feels a bit further ahead. If I try resetting or drawing longer, my arrows go all over the place. So I'm committing myself to the same anchor point and building that sight picture/muscle memory others have talked about.

One thing I'm noticing is I feel very consistent on my draw arm. It's my holding arm that I have to work on. It has a tendency to hold down and left. But if I really focus on it, I can shorten up that sight window (i.e. see less of the arrow shaft) and tend to have a much more consistent and accurate shot.
 

LBrandt

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Have an old Fred Bear 50# take down in the garage somewhere. Was pretty good with it back before compounds came into play. LB
 

Effie

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Ah yes, the Browning Serpentine..cool looking, but a real bitch to sharpen..they even came with a rounded sharpening stone.
 


Achucker

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I used to bowfish a TON in high school. That's how I started honing my instinctive shooting. But it's a lot different (to me, anyway) shooting at a fish in the water inside 20 feet from a boat (usually down/away from you, and then having to compensate for refraction), and hitting a target horizontal to you and 20-30 yards away.

I'm sure the practice I got bowfishing has helped speed this process a long, but there's still a steep learning curve.

My next step is to get a quiver of flu-flus and judo points and tromp the woods this fall for squirrels and rabbits. I think if I can sharpen my skills on those teeny things, a deer may seem a lot easier to tackle.

I hear folks talking about spine. To put it plainly, I have no clue what spine or specs these arrows are. Six of them are plain, silver aluminum arrows with fixed field tips. The rest are either carbon or fiberglass. Clearly they're a lot lighter, and shoot different than the aluminum. They also have a different style of knock that tends to fall off the serving easily. I'd like to swap them out, but I'm afraid of wrecking arrows attempting to get better knocks on.

The bow I'm shooting is a 62" Ben Pearson Cougar. It's 45 pounds at 28" draw. When I shoot compound I'm a 28 inch draw length, but I can tell I probably shoot shorter with the recurve as my anchor point feels a bit further ahead. If I try resetting or drawing longer, my arrows go all over the place. So I'm committing myself to the same anchor point and building that sight picture/muscle memory others have talked about.

One thing I'm noticing is I feel very consistent on my draw arm. It's my holding arm that I have to work on. It has a tendency to hold down and left. But if I really focus on it, I can shorten up that sight window (i.e. see less of the arrow shaft) and tend to have a much more consistent and accurate shot.

Sounds like your on the right track. As far as arrows it's about the same as compound. Mat the arrow to the bow. There are some charts out there that should help you.

As far as shooting techniques. From what you describe try watching the arrow fly through the bow. (Follow through) keep the bow arm in its spot till arrow hits target. If done right should only move a little. Remember it's a push pull using back muscles. Doing that should help keeping arrows a little more consistent.
 

Duckslayer100

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Well, I did something yesterday that I'm kind of proud of. Grandpa Ray's bow, which as you might recall had a split tip, is now fixed. I added some epoxy to the split (which was a delamination between the layers more than anything) and clamed it tight for 24 hours. Strung it up and she shoots like a dream. It's a Bear Tigercat, 62" with 45# at 28" draw. I think I like it more than the Ben Pearson Cougar a bit, simply because it has a smaller grip. Fits my hand really nice.

My first group out of it I put six arrows inside a dinner plate at 20 yards. Granted, the groups was down and left of where I was aiming, but at least they were consistent!

Grandpa Ray had camo'd the bow with some super sticky tape, so I need a little Goo-Gone to get it's finish back to factory. I'm going to keep a close eye no that tip to make sure it's good. If it starts cracking or delaminates again, I'll likely hang it up for good.

I'm using the same string on both bows, which means I should probably invest in another string so I can keep them both strung and both tuned. I think the knocking point for the Pearson is slightly off compared to the Bear, which may be a reason I'm shooting down/left.

After the string, I may be investing in some arrows. Grandpa's aluminum ones are taking a beating, to put it mildly.
 

snow

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Duck,get a stick of "bee's wax" to condition the strings unless they are really fraid,old home remedy that has worked for me for 60 years.
 

Achucker

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It's good to hear your arrows are grouping. Now tweaking can begin.

Here is a drawing that might help tuning.
https://images.app.goo.gl/fnrzRSkXfcHzehqr6

Also brace height can be adjusted also. If your looking at new string get a flemmished string. Brace height can be changed by twisting.
 

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