Choosing between a compound, recurve or crossbow

[Tibbs735]

I'm currently trying to pick between one of the three, and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. I've been browsing some of the previous posts on the forum, but have not come to any conclusions.

[NorthernRaider]

Would help if it was in the bows section up the page !

[bigpaul]

i have got what i call a traditional bow..dont know if its recurve or what...made by Slazenger!

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just looked on line and they call mine a longbow or flat bow.

[PrepperJohn]

Have you actually shot any of these devices.

What are you going to use it for

[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

[Hrusai]

if i were you i'd try all 3 and see what feels most natural, at the end of the day there are a few major points for each.

a recurve is by far the simplest in my opinion, just flexible material and string, whack an arrow in pull it back and fire, very little to go wrong with it

a compound is better for hunting as its easier to hold back when at full draw than a recurve, but it has more moving parts and more to go wrong with it.

a crossbow is easier to shoot with if your used to shooting a rifle, as its a similar configuration, but the mechanism to hold back the string can go wrong, and they can a bitch to restring xD, it also holds the shot ready without any effort, but the reload takes a while

personally all things considered, i would go for a decent breakdown hunting recurve as it will take up little space in your BOB or GHB and theres not very much chance of it going wrong either ....but as with anything to become proficient enough with the bow you will need to use it extensively and get alot of practise in, but you would with anything else you wish to use as well

anyway thats my opinion, but i would defer to anyone with more experience

[bigpaul]

i prefer longbows because i cant be bothered with all those wheels and pulleys and stuff on compounds..what if something goes wrong? longbows are pure simplicity just pull back the string and fire! plus if i need to i can make arrows for it, i've got the tapering tools and the broadheads and the bodkins....must get in some nocks! i use Armex wooden arrows 30 inches long £16.49 for 10 post free, bow strings i get from Merlin Archery £6-£7 each.

[NorthernRaider]

Cos I include a bow in my GHB / Home sec/ Opsec plans I choose a basic no frills compound because they are so small and easy to hold at full draw, and their arrows fly much faster than recurve arrows. plus I can buy three for the price of one good recurve
According to the famous HUNTERS FRIEND website even a decent basic 25 lb draw compound will be big enough for small and medium sized deer. Many good basic YOUTH bows are adjustable from 10 to 20 lb, or 20 to 30 lb or in some cases 25 lb to 40 lb draw weights.
They are also wondefully compact so I can fire them from inside my vehicles and I can manouvre comfortably around my house with one with an arow in place.

I have a troublesome three piece takedown recurve for hunting if necc but they are to long for any other use, If I wanted a good recurve I would go with the other waise words already written here and get a decent yank flatbow.

The pistol and carbine crossbows we now have are solely for home security / vermin control/ fun anything over about 30ft and they are not suitable.

I concur compounds are fiddlier than recurves but I consider recurves to be the Brown Bess muskets of archery and BASIC compounds to be the 303 enfield.

Proper maintence, care and cleaning and plenty of sensible practice should reduce the techical limitations of compounds.

[Tartar Horde]

(16 October 2012, 13:30)Hrusai Wrote: a compound is better for hunting as its easier to hold back when at full draw than a recurve, but it has more moving parts and more to go wrong with it.
you wish to use as well

anyway thats my opinion, but i would defer to anyone with more experience

I have to disagree with you about the compound bow being better for hunting as it is easier to hold at full draw. Having the correct draw weight bow for your skill level applies to ALL bows compounds included. even with a compound if it too hard to hold at full draw your accuracy WILL suffer even if you have all the sights etc on it. Arrow speed is not all it is cracked up to be for the simple reason that if you are familiar with your bow and arrow set up you will still be able to hit the target. It doesn't matter how fast your arrows are if you can't hit the target. Accuracy rests with the archer not the bow

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regarding draw weights for hunting a 40lbs recurve has enough power to take ANYTHING in the uk including cattle. I would also like to add that there is nothing wrong with shooting the most powerful bow you can handle, not from an arrow speed point of view but from the view that you can use heavier arrows that impart more kinetic energy into the target.

[NorthernRaider]

TH I believe that far more hunters in the US use compounds for hunting than trad bows like the beautiful flat bows mentioned earlier. But being totally magnanimous I'll let you treat me to either ?