What makes more sense for me?

[D.Rose]

I picked up a recurve about 3 months ago and really got the fire to change over and start deer hunting with one. Right now I have a Samick Sage just to tinker and learn with and I’m wanting to upgrade and buy a new recurve of some sort.

My issue is I have no idea what I want or even need. I really want to simplify it down and just enjoy shooting and hunt with the recurve. Im a long time tournament compound shooter so I want something just to have fun with.

I know my Sage would do me just fine but the bougie side of me really wants something nice lol. I’ve been researching ILF risers and limbs but also really have an eye on getting a Toelke of some sort.

My question is what advantage would an ILF set up give me over a one piece wood bow like the Toelke Chinook or SS when it comes to overall forgiveness? How much easier is an ILF bow to shoot than a one piece wood bow? The only thing is id really like to just shoot off the riser. Now what makes sense for me to get?

 

[D.Rose]

Also my draw length is right at 30 inches if that makes a difference in performance between the two.

 

[William Sublette]

Google up some traditional shoots in your area, and go look at/ try some.

You'll get some ideas right away about you like.


I've never met a guy at a shoot that wouldn't let you try his bow.

 

[oldgoat]

For what you described, the added mass in the risers of the ilf would certainly help forgiveness, Toelke has a couple bows now with added mass, but what you really should look for is a used Toelke Lynx recurve, 3 piece, he usually built them with micarta in the riser which added a ton of mass. If you can get some form coaching and really improve your form,v the one piece Toelke can be shot plenty accurately.

 

[D.Rose]

So basically the weight in the riser is what makes a recurve forgiving and easier shot? And does the flex in the riser have the same effect on accuracy as it does in a compound?

 

[SwampGhost]

I find a longer bow with a little mass weight is more forgiving. Toelke makes a great bow and they are very quiet. I prefer 3 piece bows because of the added mass weight and I shoot 62” longbows with a 26” draw length.
There’s a big 3D shoot next weekend in Dickson Tennessee. There will be plenty vendors that will let you shoot their bows and like Mr William said anyone you ask will let you shoot there bow.
I plan to make the 10 hour drive. The Buck Hollow Club puts on an awesome shoot.

 

[Deerscat]

Toelke makes really nice bows. Craftsmanship is top notch. I went down the rabbit hole of trying to find a bow that fits me. As you know most shops don’t have a huge variety of bows to try.

From a guy that has bought multiple wood bows, my opinion is to find a ilf with 17” to 19” riser and use that. That way u can change out grips to find what u like and adjust center shot and so forth. And along your way you will meet people and can try out their wood bows or even demo some bows from different manufacturers.

 

[Wrench]

Try to get your hands on a two piece toelke Whistler 60" and a two piece 64+" whip.

You will crap your pants with how forgiving, smooth and dead in the hand they are.

I draw 29+ with a 58" Whistler and have not touched any of my other (lots) custom bows.

The two pieces are micarta and have stainless in them. ....adds mass and the design is nectar.

 

[Beendare]

Google up some traditional shoots in your area, and go look at/ try some.

You'll get some ideas right away about you like.


I've never met a guy at a shoot that wouldn't let you try his bow.

Great advice^


You know how shooting different compounds is crucial to selecting your bow. Well it’s 10 times more important with traditional equipment.

The difference between compounds is slight compared to the difference in traditional gear.

30” DL ILF shooter here And I also come from a competitive shooter background.... so factor in that I am partial to them due to the wide variety of ultra high-quality limbs and the adjustability of the system itself.

Just like with a compound you want a very strong riser with almost no flex.

There is a huge difference in shoot ability and repeatable accuracy within the Tradd categories of: D longbow, longbow, Hybrid long bow, one piece recurve and 3 piece recurve.

The categories above go from higher degree of difficulty to lower degree of difficulty. there is a caveat to that of course. The long bows and one piece bows will sometimes Be the perfect fit and point really good for a guy that is shooting close hunting shots.


So even though I am an ILF guy fixated more on performance, I will say that some of the wood bows were extremely simple and have pointed really good for me.... even some with a low mass riser.

One big advantage to beginners with ILF is the easily interchangeable limbs of different weight.... and the big used market for these.


Can a guy win a 3D tournament with a black widow, yes.... it is the Indian after all.

That same Indian with a good ILF set up will usually be more consistently accurate AND shoot better at longer ranges.

My 50 pound ILF is approximately 20 ft./s faster than the same weight widow... maybe more.

you have to shoot a few of these bows before the lightbulb goes off.
Since these threads are always better with photos


here tuning my target bow.
——

 

[Beendare]

I should add, I probably would still be shooting a one piece wood bow if they didn’t bother my elbow.

it doesn’t seem to bother many, you really have to shoot them to see.

—-

 

[oldgoat]

So basically the weight in the riser is what makes a recurve forgiving and easier shot? And does the flex in the riser have the same effect on accuracy as it does in a compound?

Not much if any flex in a trad riser,(talking wood here) of hunting length anyways, longer ones maybe, like greater than 19", the compound risers are significantly longer and just like in arrows, the longer they are, the more flex they will have.

 

[Kentucky]

I find a longer bow with a little mass weight is more forgiving. Toelke makes a great bow and they are very quiet. I prefer 3 piece bows because of the added mass weight and I shoot 62” longbows with a 26” draw length.
There’s a big 3D shoot next weekend in Dickson Tennessee. There will be plenty vendors that will let you shoot their bows and like Mr William said anyone you ask will let you shoot there bow.
I plan to make the 10 hour drive. The Buck Hollow Club puts on an awesome shoot.

My son and I will be there as well... 3.5 hours drive for us..can’t wait

 

[slvrslngr]

I'm firmly in the Toelke camp. If I were you, I'd give them a call and discuss your needs, then order a great bow.

 

[D.Rose]

I'll be going to Foley Alabama this weekend for the ASA tournament so there's usually a decent number of recurve guys around. If I see one on the practice range or if I get the chance I'll for sure try to check some out. I'm really favoring the Toelke or something similar just based on simplicity. I spend a great deal of time tuning and working on my tournament bows so I really want the recurve to be a fun get away from that. I just want to make sure i'm getting a soft, quite shooting bow with adequate performance. Does the extra weight in the riser just make the bow aim better for you or does it improve the feel after the shot? Also at what level would you have to be to notice the performance gap in one piece wood and ILF bows? As somebody new to recurves would I be able to notice it right away or would I be mostly looking for a good pointing bow that feels good to me at this point?

 

[Dwight2180]

An ILF setup will be easier to tune, tweak and tinker. I find higher mass weight bows (3 pc) to shoot & feel better..

 

[Beendare]

Does the extra weight in the riser just make the bow aim better for you or does it improve the feel after the shot?

my take: The mass in the riser doesn’t necessarily make the bow point any better but it does Make the bow more stable and reduce vibration.

As I said earlier I am more performance oriented But I think it’s important to realize that you have to adjust your expectations with all of these traditional bows

Its hard to quantify but The difference between say 150 ft./s and 190 ft./s only seriously affects you on shots over about 25 yards.

The other thing about shooting them, is it’s not like shooting a couple arrows out of the different compounds.

You really want to spend a little bit of time with each bow As the beauty of say a one piece wood bow might not be a love at first shot type thing.....but when shooting it some .....it might really shine.

—-

 

[D.Rose]

Does the feel of the shot have more to do with the riser or limbs? If you bought an ILF bow which would you spend more on?

 

[Beendare]

Does the feel of the shot have more to do with the riser or limbs? If you bought an ILF bow which would you spend more on?

I would say limbs. With you being the same 30” draw as myself I can tell you that the longer bows and longer I LF limbs will feel a lot better to you.

I get that you are trying to quantify the different categories of tread bows for an easier decision.

It’s hard to explain but I just don’t know that anyone can do that for you. For example, my perspective is much different than somebody like a guy that shoots primitive equipment. My buddy here Mountain Oak LOVES his BW after shooting multiple bows, it just points and shoots really good for him.

If you choose the I LF route, you can inch up in weight of the whims without much of a $$ penalty as you can trade these off very easily. And example would be to pick up a $150 WNS or Tradd tech Limb that scales 40-5# at your draw, shoot that for a few months until you decide whether you want to bump up in weight .

There are a bunch of high-quality limbs you can buy relatively cheap used.
I have a set of SF limbs, now (WNS C5 limbs) that are fantastic for $200 New (Alt Services) but there are many other good limbs same that same price range.

so many interchangeable options with ILF.

In ILF limbs anything over $200-300, you pay a lot for a relatively small incremental improvement. ( That said, i love my Uukha VXs)

Risers: you can start with a cheap ILF riser or and easily sell it Without taking a huge hit, or you could get a nice riser then just mix-and-match limbs.

An easy intro to I LF would be to buy a used Tradd tech riser 19”, 17” works) on AT for about $300. you can try something like that for a while and turn around and sell it for what you paid for it.... my bet is you would never sell it.

...

 

[oldgoat]

Just remember it's still a bow, just like your compound is, majority of the rules still apply but some of them are extremely exaggerated. Just like compounds, the longer the bow the more forgiving it is, the more mass the more forgiving it is (not exactly the same but same principle is why you see all the long stabilizers on compounds). I think we have 7 total Toelkes in our house, two of them have two sets of limbs so I'm totally down with you getting one of them and I would suggest the Chinook in 2 piece, I owned one and it was one of the best performing bows I've ever shot but it was just a little short for my 31" draw, but it was also pretty heavy draw so hopefully I can get a chance to shoot a lighter one, anyways the point of this long drawn out sentence is I can't recommend a Toelke enough to you! But starting out I think you would be way more comfortable with a 17" ilf riser and a set of Long low weight limbs to play with and hone your skills. I highly recommend shooting 3 under also since you're starting new, I wish I had but just doesn't seem right now when I try it after all these years. Use a Bateman Cordovan tab, you'll lose it before you wear it out! Virtually nobody ever making this journey ends up with same thing they started with, so buy used till you know where you're going and what you want to get there with! Never pay more than 60% of the price of a new model for a used bow of the same model, unless it's it exactly what you want and has pretty wood to boot, then you can edge up a little, learned that one from Tommy Clum at rmsgear. Another thing that I think is a super good idea is spend the money on Tom Clum's online training course, think it's called Solid Archery Mechanics, I haven't bought it yet, but Tom is local friend for me and I just ask for help when I need it. You can have a lot of fun doing this, but sure fire way to ruin the fun is to start out with too heavy of bow and develop a lot of really bad habits and then have to go on all those goose chases to iron them out! Think the online course is $150 and will save you money in the long run I bet!

 

[Beendare]

Yeah ^ I was hoping more of the custom guys would chime in to balance the discussion.

There really is no perfect bow.....thats probably why many of us have traded and tinkered with so many....they are like the Lays potato chip line, "You can't shoot just one" Grin

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