Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Need help with a recurve

I shoot Widows mostly.
Lots of people hate em............for whatever reasons.

One guy on a tradtard forum said that he shot one, once, and it was loud and had shock and shot like crap.

I asked him if he ever shot one that was tuned correctly?

Bowyer local, and his buds, were shooting indoors. I showed up at the range and started shooting.
His posse just stood there jaws open.

My bow was faster and quiet.

One came over and asked arrow/weight and poundage.
Then exclaimed that what I told him could NOT be true.

Just smiled, and said " wanna shoot it?"

He did and was all smiles.

My SA2 was perfect and the guy was my sized so everything transferred over well.
Kinda POd his bowyer buddy and pals.

LOL

I let quite a few people shoot my SA2 bows, and a few ended up ordering their own.

Nothing wrong with Black Widow bows. They aren't the smoothest I have shot and by far not the roughest I have shot. Limb core has more to do with stack than anything. But heavier draw bows are going to stack it's just the nature of the beast. For hunting North America I don't see any need to pull more than 55 to 60 pounds tops. 55 is my sweet spot of performance and practice (endurance) shooting. I have a set of 65 limbs that at my draw are just shy of 70, I can hunt with that bow fine but not going to put in the ends I would with my 55 or 45 limbs. Somehow ones manly hood became how heavy a bow he can shoot instead of how accurate and how many ends he can shoot accurately. A bow you can shoot good with and a lot with is a hell of a lot more fun than a bow that is too heavy to shoot accurately and a lot. I see it everyday and not just with traditional bows.

I shot my 55# SA2 in 3D and won local and semi local shoots...........and not everybody that shot sucked LOL
Shot it indoors too, but considered that hunting practice.
Did OK, just too much # to play that game.
Still scored higher than most running lesser poundage.

But injuries took me out of that game.
Took me almost out of bowhunting.

Am back, but don't shoot as much. Used to shoot all the time, hours on end.
Not anymore.

IMHO 55# is where one has to put more work into staying sharp.
50# is a nice compromise.
45# would be for me, my target bow that I take hunting..........and it better be zippy.

Personally I think Widows draw a little heavier at the start, but don't stack (like near the end).
I'd like to try some Uuhka on an ILF, guess w the "curve" they actually feel lighter the last couple inches.

Bud says the bamboo core on his PCH makes it faster/smoother.
His is 42# and I think I can p*ss harder than it shoots.

Too light for me.

My old B50 HF1225 at 48# was a decent rig for 3D and hunting, but I like the grip of the HS way better.

Do like a heavier mass weight recurve, why I run a bow quiver too.

BW did change their limb forms when they went CNC, so have more preload in them.

The ones I had built:

MA2 was '87 and not FF rated.
First SA2 was '01 and pre CNC.
Next was '04 and CNC but I didn't go phenolic wedge.

My HF1225's were '72 and '73 models and my first two HS were '80 and '75......B50 stuff.
Current HS is '91 and FF rated.

Met Ken Beck at recurve nationals in '88.
Super nice guy.
Rest of the gang at BW nice too, great customer service.

And that is why if I have another recurve built, it will be by them.
May not be the best, but they are certainly good enough for me

Black Widows are really nice, and most I’ve seen can be tuned so noise isn’t as bad as some claim.

If one is looking for a nice bow, Robertson Stykbow is hard to beat. I’ve had three of his longbows over the years, and bought one of his Fatal Styk takedown recurves last year. Gonna try to give it a workout this season. Without a doubt the smoothest recurve I’ve ever shot, and performance is second to none. Writing the check hurts though.

Long Bows I am very partial to Toelke's. No I haven't shot everything out there but a good majority I have and nothing I have found compares to his Whip.

I dont do longbows.
Have shot some buds have owned.
Think one was a 44# tomahawk.


It was nicer than the others Ive shot.

Another bud has a Chastain recurve I shoot well. Think is 60" and 51#

My Hoyt Dorado w Tradtech limbs was a good buy.

Have not tried any of the big hook/ supercurve stuff.

I have three vintage recurves I would sell.

Two are bears
One is a Ben PEARSON.

THE BEARS ARE A GRIZZLY 28 45 pound 58 inch amo and a Kodak hunter 50 pound 60 inch Amo. The Grizzly is a Michigan bow, the Kodak hunter has been painted so I dunno. But I can read the serial number.

The Ben Pearson is 50 pound. 58 inch amo model 7058.

Right hand bows. Pm me for pics and prices.

These are using bows, priced to shoot, not covet.

Bear grizzly is a very good bow, especially for the price. Super Kodiak is my favorite bear bow. I love the Kodiak magnum for hunting but its not really a good first recurve for most people. But once you can shoot one accurately its a gem in a treestand or blind. Any Martin is also a solid choice. If you can find a browning explorer II, they are a great first recurve--a hunting bow with classic target bow features.

I liked my Ben Pearson Hunter 2 and Wing Redwing Hunters.
They were not expensive back when I got em used.
Have gone up more than they should IMHO.

They weren't speedy, weren't noisy either.

Had a Groves Spitfire Magnum 47# and it was nice, but the grip was huge and it was too collectible to grind on.

ILF riser with ~30# limbs to start with. (Learn to shoot with a .22 not a 300 Mag.) Spend $20 on a book called 'Shooting the Stickbow' before you buy anything else. Take your time, learn to shoot properly, work up in weight slowly and enjoy the journey.

the thread is a few months old, though so much has happened in the last 9 months that it seems like forever...

but since it is top five and about recurves, i thought I would ask here....

what info opinions are out there about Bear Alaskan Recurves?

this suggests a late sixties craft date.

http://www.vintagearchery.org

flush silverish or silvery-brass coin
coin and screen logo are of the standing bear.
62" AMU
50#
s/n starts with "9" so '69 per the above reference.

thanks

Fine bow. As with any old one check for cracks and delamination.

A bow exploding in your hands can spoil you whole day. As with guns, always wear safety glasses.

thanks OTB.
the limbs "ring" true to a light tap.
no obvious glaring flaws.
some light scratches near the tips, a bir more pronounced at the lower tip where it was probably set on a shoe to string it..

Ive had a few 60s era Bears.
No structural issues.
Couple had twisted limbs that I had to straighten.
No big deal.
One little 45# Grizzly was a fun bow.
Think it was a 56", had a 50# that was 58"

I like border recurves, Have a few Martin recurves, Hoyt, Schafer silver tip, and a few old bear kodiaks and a ben pearson

If I was starting again I would get a used Hoyt takedown and start with 30 to 40 lb limbs to get down my shooting technique and upgrade limbs for hunting

https://www.ebay.com/b/Hoyt-Recurve-Bows/20839/bn_7332728

Had a Dorado, used Tradtech ILF limbs w bushing swap.
Nice bow.
Too bad it was a 19" riser and not 17"

58" string or AMO?
[spoiler][/spoiler]
how far should the string be from the riser/grip when properly set up?

The Bear Grizzly had at least two different AMO lengths.
Ive had both 58 and 56" models.

In general, you want a string for a recurve to be 4" less than your AMO.

A 58" AMO bow would get a 54" string.

Some places make you give the AMO only when ordering a string.

You want some twist on the string and to be able to add twists to take up stretch/ adjust brace height.

Brace is somewhat subjective.
There may be a zone of usable brace.
Typically i have to run my recurves at the higher end.
Sometimes just over the " recommended" brace height.

Mentioned that on a couple forums and all hell broke loose. LOL

I shoot medium weight arrows and have a decent release ( tab ). Get great paper tune without much effort ( only one bow gave me a bit of headache ).

Over 30 recurves, right or wrong my system/ style works for me. Since I hunt, i try to get my bows on the quiet side, so a higher brace works.

If I was shooting lighter poundage and doing 3d, then I might try to brace low for some zip.

Im not tolerant of shock or noise so am content to stay in the more comfy region.