Choosing between a compound, recurve or crossbow

[Tartar Horde]

I've been shooting bows for decades, both competition and hunting and have used every type of bow out there.

Compounds- these work on the principle of leverage, the cams (wheels) at the end of the limbs effectively lengthen the drawlength making the last part of the draw lighter. The downside is the complicated cable and pulley system they use. This is to be quite honest a pain in the arse if you need to change strings etc as you need a bowpress to accomplish this. From a self sufficient weapon system point of view there is too much to go wrong. The only plus point they have IMO is that they can be very small, and this is a bonus when used in brush etc.

Longbows/American flatbows- English longbows have the bonus that you can make all the parts needed to shoot yourself, the downside is that one day your English longbow WILL fail, due to degradation of the wood. american type flatbows are better because they tend to have a laminated covering over the wood of the limbs, thus making it safer, less chance of the limbs blowing.

Hunting type recurves-this is the type of bow you need for your SHTF episode. They come in a range of limb profiles and a range of lengths, 58 inches is the best overall length to go for. As with English lonbows and American flatbows you can make all the parts you need to be self sufficient. I would suggest to learn shooting without sights as if they go SNAFU you will have to learn to shoot all over again, this could be a very steep learning curve if you are in a survival situation.
hope this helps