Beginner traditional recommendations needed

[triseven]

I am a habitual browser and seldom do I post, but this sub-forum gets me pumped. I've modern bow hunted for years and want to explore the possibility of getting into traditional shooting and maybe one day hunt with a stick. I had this impulse years ago and bought a Dan Quillian Kinkoho Longbow on here. It 52#s at 27", but that seems a bit heavy to learn on. I'm 6' 205#s and pull a 70 compound with no problem, but I've read everywhere that learning on too heavy a bow can cause bad form, poor releases, miserable accuracy and subsequent frustration.

Plus, my girlfriend who never has gotten into anything really outdoorsy (as in she likes to drink wine on a patio outdoorsy) has gotten really excited to learn to shoot a longbow as well. I bought her a very cheap Barnett Sportflight on the web for like $25 for Christmas after she said in passing that she used to shoot with her dad as a kid and would love to do it again. It's 25#s. It came with some cheap arrows with plastic vanes. She's loving shooting it, but I think we may need to upgrade the arrows from what she has.

So, I have read alot on this forum and just have a couple of quick specific questions that I can't find answers for already:

1) Suggestions on some upgraded arrows for my girlfriend's bow? She's 5'7" and the bow is 25#s

2) Suggestions on a very inexpensive bow for me to learn good form on before moving to the Quillian that I already have?

3) Or should I just shoot the Quillian I have?

4) If yes to #3 above, recommendations on some arrows to shoot? I'm 6' and have a 29" draw on a compound.

Again, I've tried researching this, and would love to meet up with some of you kind folks at one of the shoots, but in the meantime, I'd like to get started shooting in the backyard before the GF loses interest from lack of company.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[bradyxps]

As far as a bow for you, I would look at the Samick Sage. Lots of options and last I checked retailed for $199 brand new. With the arrows I would probably look at 3rivers website. Theyve got a decent arrow selector that can put you pretty close to where you need to be. If thats not an option I have a lot of arrows I dont shoot anymore. If you come to the NGT shoot we could see if some of them might work.

 

[triseven]

Thanks for the reply, BradyXPS. I'd love to come to the next NGT shoot. Do you have any info on date and place?

As far as the Samick Sage, I'm not sure I'm ready to drop that $$$ into this at this time. Perhaps someone out there has a bow they'd like to trade me (I know this isn't the Swap & Sell, so if that statement isn't allowed, Admin, please remove)?

 

[bradyxps]

I think Jake Allen just put a post up of the dates. The address for NGT is 2295 Lee Land Rd Gainesville Georgia. Plenty of people to meet and shoot with.

 

[jerry russell]

The NGT shoot is always the first Sunday of the month.

As far as a starting point in your journey...

Before spending money on a lower poundage bow, come to the NGT shoot or meet with someone that can watch you shoot the bow and see if what you have can get you started. 52 pounds is not an overly heavy bow but it just depends on the individual.

In many cases you can practice perfect form but limit training sessions to shorter periods. In short order, most anyone can build to that weight. A good way to look at it is this- perfect practice form creates imprinting in the brain. The moment fatigue starts to negatively impact accuracy- stop shooting. In the very beginning this might be 3-5 arrows every couple of hours.

Now having said this, if you cannot achieve perfect form from the very beginning due to the current bow weight, you will need to drop down in weight to establish form.

Come to NGT and someone can help you for sure.

 

[triseven]

Jerry Russell, thanks for the advice. I'll hold off and hopefully attend the upcoming event.

Right now I don't have any arrows to shoot until I can get to the shoot to figure out what I need. Does anyone have any suggestions on some arrows that might work for my setup? Obviously I don't want to spend a ton on the wrong arrows, but I wouldn't mind having a few to mess around with in the back yard.

 

[Todd Cook]

A 500 spine(35-55) carbon would probably be a good arrow to start with.

 

[Dennis]

Bring you Quillian bow to the shoot and we will have all kind of arrows for you to try. You will be able to figure out what you will need

 

[EthanJ]

Check out a Samick Polaris in 62" plus should be good. With your height and DL you need a fairly long bow. I would say based on an average of being able to handle 40% of your peak compound weight, you could get a 30-35lb draw. Preferably 30 or under. Lighter is better. Listen to the other guys on here about arrows.

 

[bronco611]

I would look up Big Jim and give him a call. over the phone he can answer most questions you may have and also sells blemished arrows at a very good price. If Jim cannot help you , you need to stick with your compound as he is one of the premier traditional custom bow builders in America and ships all over the globe. He is very customer oriented and a great guy to deal with, you will not regret the time you spend talking to him nor could you get so much info at a single source for free. You can contact him by looking up Big Jim bow company on the web.

 

[Todd Cook]

Im going to go against conventional thinking here, in that I would learn on the quillian if you can. Those are really good bows. Unless you have some physical troubles you shouldn't have much trouble building up to 52 pounds. I agree that too much weight is a bad thing ( and too much is different for everyone) but I also believe in shooting as much as you can with good form. Most any weight will feel heavy at first, until you get the feel of it. But you'll build up quick.

 

[Al33]

You are welcome to come by with your bows and shoot a variety of different arrows I have on hand. I'm not far from you so if this interest you just PM me.

 

[pine nut]

Go to Al's! He has helped countless individuals to get settled in this addiction! He's not only willing , he's good at it!

For your wife's bow I would suggest buying from Big Jim's bow company, a half dozen gold tip carbon arrows and try them full length with standard inserts and 125 to 145 gr points. I had a bit of a struggle finding arrows for my wife to shoot with a bow of the same poundage as you wife's. Arrows that would shoot well for her were almost not available at all or were hugely expensive! The above arrows were not yet available at that time. After GoldTip came out with them I bought her a Big Jim's bow 34#@ 27" and with the 125 gr points they shot very well for her. I think your wife's lower poundage might therefore need a bit more point weight to get good flight. You could get (initially anyway) less expensive arrows in wood or aluminum, but breakage will soon make up the difference... I'd use pink fletching and possibly a white or pink wrap on them in order to be able to find them easier. Get Big Jim to fletch them. There's nothing much in the woods that is pink, so it will stand out! Those 15-35's would also accomodate a bit higher power bow just fine when she wants to step up.

My wife has a 27" draw and is 5' 8" tall. Get a wood dowel file a knock in one end and use a ruler to lay off inch marks starting at the bottom of the knock notch and continue to about 36". You can use her bow to check both of your draw lengths by clipping a clothes pin on the dowel to slide up the shaft as you draw, or just have some one else make the arrow where it passes the back of the bow. That will be your draw length. If you drew 29 on a compound you will likely be 2-3 inches less on a longbow or recurve.

BiG JIm not only makes beautiful, very high quality bows but he has a bunch of trade in bows as well. Might be well worth a trip down to Albany for you to have a look see. Advise taking money too Ha ha. He is a no pressure guy and a real stand-up guy. He won't steer you wrong for any amount of money, period. Oh , I was going to say that aluminum arrows bend, wood ies break, and though you can break carbons, they are much harder to break. These won't be cheap but they will last, and that helps to justify their cost.

Hope this helps some. Do come to the NGT shoot in Feb and you can get to shoot a lots of good equipment and meet friends for life!
Bill

 

[bownutz]

I was going to say .600 or higher with a heavy point for her and .500 for you. Dan has some awesome bows out there. 52-53# is the perfect weight.