Bow help: especially long bow vs recurve?

[Denara]

After polling my friends, I have found one who has both a longbow and a recurve left over from her SCA days. Any ideas as to which I should take? (I might be able to purchase both from her if there is a need, but not sure).

What should I look for in a bow? (other than 35# at 28")

These have been stored in her garage for years, is that likely to have had a bad effect on them?

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

[Chicken]

I don't actually know much at all about bows, but I did do a bunch of reading before buying mine so... we'll see... .

All other things being equal, I'd take the recurve over the longbow. It's likely to be shorter, it's much more likely to be centershot (meaning the arrow doesn't have to bend around the bow), may very well be easier and smoother to draw, and if nothing else the curvature at the tips is really handy for quickly picking up arrows from the field. Personally, I also think recurves just look cooler, but that's also because the only long bows we tend to see are little fiberglass sticks - I certainly wouldn't turn down an affordable 33# Yumi if they existed.

Pulling =<35# @28" is all that's required, though you also don't want less than maybe 28# on the other side.

Given that it's used, and that it's been sitting in a garage, you'll want to check it for wear, especially cracking and warping, ideally both strung and unstrung (though if the string looks grotty, strining it might not be wise). I wouldn't worry about the string itself - they're not expensive and you'll probably want to replace it anyway if it's used, old, and weathered.

You also might want to check closed eBay auctions to get at least a vague sense of prices.

So... yeah. Hope that helps!

[phoenix]

Wow, Chicken, for someone who doesn't actually know that much, you do seem to have a pluthora off knowledge. Way cool!

I will add that even bows stored in a garage can be in excellent shape. My bow was stored in various garages, basements, storage lockers for who knows how many years. The woman who owns/runs Valkyrie Lanes (an experienced archer) said it's in excellent shape and was stored properly. Um, not at all, but it's still in great shape!

I agree- go with the recurve and check it for wear and tear!

Good luck!

[Sir Beauregaurd]

One big thing to check is to see the straightness of the limbs. Its easy to miss a slightly twisted limb, that is until you shoot it. Ouch!!! Usually the string flys off and hits yoru arm. Another think to think about is whether is is made with a natural senew or sinthetic( fiberglass). Thats the backing that lets the bow store the energy. Originally, animal tendons were dried and smashed, glued and cured to the bow. This allowed a bow to last much longer than before, problem is that the bow should be treated with a fat or oil before storage. If you don't, crack bow is broken. The lady you talked about probibly knows the difference and most likely if your bow is commercially sold, its syntheteic. But if its made by a person in thier garage, better check. I tried to make one and in the finall process of tillering the limbs a flaw on the wood showed its ugly face. That was 6 weeks of work down the drain. Now i buy my bows.

[Sir Peregrine]

bo knows Bow.

[Kyrian]

A couple of weeks ago, I was draw testing a wood long bow. Unfortunately, this was the person's first bow and he didn't know he had to oil and seal it. When I drew back the string, the bow snapped in two at the grip and both pieces thwapped me on the head...When we looked at the cross-section, we noticed that much of the grain had completely dried out.

On that note, I prefer recurves especially take-down recurves:

1) It fits into a car without a lot of maneuvering.
2) I've noticed that the energy transfer to the arrow appears to be better when compared to a long bow. I believe it has to do with the curvature of the limbs.
3) They tend to be more compact than long bows. See #1.

Kyrian

[Sir Beauregaurd]

Yep thats what happens when they aren't oiled or fatted up before storage. 85 years my family hunted with bows, Thats alot of time to learn whats right and whats wrong. What actually happens is the oils in the wood dry out, causing the wood not to flex any more, but break. The fats and oils cuase the wood to act as though it is still "green". If you find an old "stick bow" what to do is get some good bacon fat or deer fat, and gently heat the bow with a hair dryer or heat gun and rub the fat on it until the fat has gotten to the core of the wood. It will act green again and be ok to shoot. This takes a long time, hours and hours, but results in a great bow.

[Denara]

Ok, she couldn't find the recurve. The longbow is gorgeous: she apparently had it made for her when she had more money (and was single). However, it is labelled 37# at 26". Is this gonna work? Can I get a string that changes those numbers?

I will bring it to practice on Tuesday.

[Chicken]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that every 1" of draw was ~2.5#, which would make that 42# @28" (though that 2.5# rule can't be more than a very rough rule of thumb, since presumably it depends on the initial strength of the bow...).
I've seen my bow draw over 40#, and it's also now passed at 2/3 of it's testings (2/4, technically), so... yes? You might even be able to get away without buying a new string if you're lucky (and if the string it has is worth keeping, which is probably not the case).

Of course, every time I'm going to have my bow tested (now), I leave it strung for a long time before hand so the string is well stretch, I leave the string completely untwisted, and I don't get it tested until it's getting warm out, but it squeeks by .

I can't wait to see it!

[Sir Beauregaurd]

Very cool to have a hand made bow. I bought one of the Produced type to save time.