I've been shooting traditional gear since I was a kid and back then it wasn't as intimidating getting started because that's all that existed. Now with compound bows being so much more common than traditional bows, finding a good archery shop close to home is nearly impossible which can make getting started overwhelming. Montana Marine on this site went down this road a couple of years ago and has posted his progress learning to shoot and some of the bows he's purchased. In addition to some of the books referenced above, searching out some of his posts on this sub-forum may be useful in giving some insight.
Generally, I think most agree that a recurve is easier to learn to shoot than a longbow and is probably the style of bow most would recommend. I'd keep things simple to start - if you go recurve, one-piece vs takedown is a choice you'll have to make. Takedowns seem to be more popular though I prefer the cleaner lines of a one-piece. A takedown has more physical weight and some prefer them for that reason alone whether they have a need or not to break them down. I have one-piece, takedown and ILF recurves and would probably stay away from ILF for now. The adjustability/tuneability of ILF limbs will just add more variables for you when you're trying to learn the basics. I shoot both recurves and longbows and do shoot a recurve more consistently, but actually prefer/enjoy shooting longbows more. Utahunter above mentioned he has experience building longbows - I do as well. I started building my own bows over 30 years ago and for me, a large part of the enjoyment is shooting/hunting with gear I make myself.
As mentioned above, there are traditional archery forums that are good resources - Tradgang.com and Stickbow.com's Leatherwall are two that I frequent. I'd check them out and feel free to ask any specific questions you have.
Edit to add: the single biggest mistake you can make is buying a bow that is too heavy in draw weight. Depending on your physical abilities and wanting to hunt with a bow, probably 40-45 lbs at your draw length would be a good maximum to get started.
Last edited by JGray; 12/08/20.
