short recurves?

[Idaho Bowhunter]

I'm looking to buy a new bow. Just wondering if anyone has shot the blackwidow short recurve or another brand and how you like it

 

[RockChucker30]

Are you treestand hunting or blind hunting? Those situations lend themselves to a short bow. I have a longer PSA V and love it.

 

[SHTF]

Also depends on your draw length. Short recurves wont work if your past 28 inch draw. To much build up on the limbs will make the bow snap on you. So just be aware of this if your looking at a shorter recurve. Im a 31 inch draw and have to have a minimum of 64 inch bow in order to not suffer from the gain the limbs do after pulling back a certain length.

 

[slvrslngr]

Stack and finger pinch are your biggest issues with short bows. Stack is something that can be dealt with through good bow design. As for finger pinch, some guys can deal with it, some can't. You might call BW and talk to them about "try before you buy".

 

[jpratt]

One factor to consider is the length of the working limb. Bows of a given length may differ in design by the combination of the handle length and limb length. A bow such as the black widow PCH take down recurve has a short riser with a longer working limb to reduce finger pinch and create a smoother draw than comparable length bows with longer risers.

 

[Idaho Bowhunter]

Thanks guys I never thought about finger pinch and draw length being a issue should or done a lil more thinking my draw is 30 or so think I will go with my first couse which was a blackwidow PSA sounds like that will fit me better

 

[LostArra]

there are plenty of short recurves and even short longbows (Shrew for example) that will handle a long draw
a call to BW (outstanding customer service) would answer your question regarding models and their test drive program would eliminate the guesswork

"short longbow" sounds like jumbo shrimp

 

[larryschwartz]

You really need to try it yourself. You may not have any problem with the sharper string angle/finger pinch at all. Also, as noted a shorter riser will give you relatively longer limbs for the same AMO length which will give you a smoother draw. I shoot a Fred Bear takedown (mag handle) with an A riser (shortest riser) and #1 limbs (shortest limbs) to get a 56" AMO length. It shoots fine and I don't have any noticable finger pinch at my 30" draw length.

So, before you order a bow, especially a custom bow that you can't return, try out some in the configuration you want.
~ You can get a Fred Bear take down from Bear Archery in a shorter configuration because they have different riser lengths.
~ Black Widow does the same with their different riser lengths (they just call it something different with the S for short or M for medium in the model code). I would definitely give serious thought to using their try before you buy program; you won't be able to buy the bow you try out but they will make one for you the way you want it.
~ Bob Morrison also can give you different length risers and limbs (http://www.morrisonarchery.com/Riser_charts/riser_charts.html) to allow you to "custom" design a bow the way you want it.
~ Mike Fedora also makes a very nice short one-piece and takedown recurves that you might want to check out.

 

[G Posik]

I shoot a Sarrels Wildcat recurve, 70@ 29 1/4", 56". I get not finger pinch and shoot 3 under with a tab. There is no stacking on this bow. I actually have two of them and they both shoot the same. When I looked at the first one I was worried about finger pinch, did not happen, so I ordered a second one as a back up bow. I have shot other bows that are a little longer with getting finger pinch.

Glenn

 

[Jesse Minish]

There are bows that are made to be short and bows that are not. I have almost a 30" draw and love my Cascades! I have a 52" Night Hawk recurve and a 56" Brush Hawk longbow. Both handle my draw perfect and shoot through elk with no problem.

 

[SHTF]

But how much is everyone who has LD and short bows stacking on the back end of the bow? From my experience and everything Ive been taught if you have to much stack as you approach your draw stop its going to add a lot of weight your pulling affect your form and cause a lot of stress on the bow. I suppose if its a short bow and its built for people with longer draw it would work. But if you pick up a standard recurve that is 56 inches long and try to draw to 31 inches the stacking becomes to much. Yeah it may work for a while but over time its going to fail on you.

 

[Tenderfoot]

As I'm reaching anchor, I like a bow that feels like it could keep right on going. As a famous bowyer once told me, "If your bow is telling you to stop pulling, you probably oughta listen!"

I have a really nice old Browning Cobra 50" that I can shoot good, until I take it up in a treestand. I like longer bows. A couple extra inches at the ends of your bow are lot less noticeable than 1" of stack at the end of your draw.

I never have hunted out of a blind.

 

[Mckinnon]

This is probably ignorant of me, but what is stacking? I don't have a trad bow but will be getting one in the next year so am trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks. Also if the OP wants me to move this thread just let me know, not trying to jack!

 

[Tenderfoot]

To simplify, let's say a bow gains 2 pounds for every inch it's drawn. At 28 inches it's 50#. At 27" it would be 48#, 26"-46#,...29"-52#. Then from 29 to 30 inches it jumps 4#. That's stack. There are a lot of genius/physicists that can explain it better. There's a guy, Blackie ?, that tests bows and graphs em with draw-force curves, etc., interesting stuff, but as you can tell I haven't retained much of it! ha

 

[jsparky93]

I shoot a BW KBX 56" 54# @28. There isnt even a hint of stack or finger pinch at my 27" draw.I know of people who draw the 54" KB past 28" with no problems. You can also do a test drive from BW.

 

[C.K]

I shoot a BW short recurve, it doesn't stack at my 29" draw.

 

[Flatbow]

I've had a Fox Breed (2 piece) since '10. After 15 years with a long bow I made the switch to a recurve again and the short (mine is 54") 50's style recurve with a traditional grip allows me to go back and forth between long bow and recurve with no adjustment. The Breed is a beautiful little bow, light and easy to pack for fly outs or in a backpack and is the Quietest recurve I have shot. Fast too! Don't overlook it. Ron makes a great bow at a reasonable price...

 

[ChadH]

There are bows that are made to be short and bows that are not. I have almost a 30" draw and love my Cascades! I have a 52" Night Hawk recurve and a 56" Brush Hawk longbow. Both handle my draw perfect and shoot through elk with no problem.

These are great choices in a "semi custom" bow. I love both of them and Steve is a great guy. Reasonably priced as well. I don't think your draw length will be an issue with even the 52" Night Hawk. It shoots long in my opinion (I think the solid phenolic riser helps with mass weight and hold, and the limbs aren't overly "stacky"), if you can't get used to finger pinch might be the only problem. Your draw length will be shorter with trad gear anyway.

You could also check into Bob Lee bows. Another "old school" bow with a lot of tradition (wing archery). They are still made under Bob's name.

Another cool option, and great shooting bows, is to check out the vintage "factory recurves" of the '50's, 60's 70's. There was WAY more out there than the Bear Kodiaks that cost so much now. Someone above mentioned a Browning Cobra. I've got 2 I think. They shoot nice, but were the lower price point of the Borwning factory bows of the era. Browning made some AWESOME recurves back in the day, when Harry Drake was the bow designer and was winning flight bow contests regularly. An old Browning Explorer won't brake the bank and shoots as good as any fully custom bow I've ever shot (I have three Explorers... they made quite a few variations, several different lengths). Same with a Howatt Hi-Speed... Just food for thought... lots of great options out there.

Chad

 

[alukban]

There're also the Bear Super Magnum at 48" and the Bear Kodiak Magnum at 52".

I shot a 50# Kodiak Magnum at a store last weekend and it was a sweet shooter. It was also ridiculously light and handy.

I ended up buying one a few days later - still waiting for shipment

 

[Coyote Commander]

Im a 30" draw and I cant shoot a bow less than 58" without some degree of finger pinch.

One thing that is absolutely true about finger pinch (whether youre capable of dealing with it or not) is that finger pinch DOES make it harder to achieve a clean and consistent release. Something to think about for someone just getting into stickbow shooting.

60-62" is a real nice sweet spot for me. Long enough to be easy shooting, and short enough to not be entirely cumbersome.

Stack is totally different and can be just from the inherent nature of the wood (not all wood is the same) or the general design of the bow (nothing to do with AMO length). Ive shot 64-66" long bows that stacked horribly in the last inch or two of my draw length. Probably gained 5-6lbs of draw in that last inch, maybe more.