So I am gonna buy a bow and take up archery. Any suggestions for a good bow for an adult beginner?

I am leaning towards a right handed recurve with the notch (whatever that is called) for the arrow.

I won't hunt with it and don't want a compound. I wish to learn a more traditional way.

There are some beautiful laminated take down bows I found online. Any disadvantage to a takedown?

yeah, you do want a compound bow

For just 'plinking? Any particular reason?

I started w/ a Samick takedown. Quickly grew out of it. Also, the wood riser was functionally very nice but I was having issues with 2 risers starting to delaminate so I moved away from wood. I suspect that this is very rare but didn't want to deal with it anymore.

I'd recommend a riser with ILF limbs. You'll still need to figure out draw weight but also riser height and limb length. But it's worth it I think - if you think you'll stick with it.

Get a decent riser to grow into; you can start w/ cheaper limbs to learn basics and then buy better ones after a few months (you'll have improved and you'll be moving up to a stronger draw weight likely).

There are many, many choices. I've settled on risers from TradTech (Lancaster) and Win&Win.

The riser I use most is the TradTech: https://lancasterarchery.com/p...7-ilf-takedown-riser

For me, it's been a good balance of function and price.

Actually a takedown bow offers a lot of advantages. Get one with ILF limbs. The ILF system is interchangeable between risers and limbs of different manufacturers. Start with a lightweight set of wood core limbs and move up to a heavier set of bamboo or carbon as you get better and more used to it. Actually the whole system; start off with basic stuff and upgrade risers, limbs and components as your skills and strengths improve.

Win & Win, WiaWis and WNS are all sub brands of the same Korean company they offer everything from beginner youth bows to world class Olympic competition bows. They and Hoyt tend to be the two most popular manufacturers that you'll see in Olympic recurves. The there's Spigarelli, which is just plain Italian sexy.

Find a local archery shop in your area that has someone familiar with traditional and Olympic recurve. I'd suggest going in with the mindset of getting a beginner bow that's going to let you grow and expand. Just starting out you won't notice the difference between an entry level and a competition level bow.

You're also going to be using muscles in ways that you aren't used to using them in when you first start out. If you're feeling it in your back, you're doing it right. With an ILF bow you can start off with a relatively cheap set of 25lb. limbs and move up to heavier better quality limbs. Typical competition shooters are using 50-55lb. limbs. With a recurve there is no setoff like there is with a compound, the farther you pull back, the heavier the draw weight. So with a recurve with 55lb limbs, you're holding 55lbs. every single time you come to full draw.

Like I said, find a local shop that is familiar with recurve bows, see what they stock and have access to. I'd recommend Hoyt or something from the Win & Win line. Hoyt is American made, but my experience is that their bows require quite a bit more tuning than the Win & Win.

I shoot compound and the majority of my experience is there. I do have a WNS Olympic recurve setup that I haven't done much with. I got it to better understand recurve shooting and quickly became frustrated with the learning curve. Decided that I liked shooting X's with my compound better. Someday I'll take to heart what I keep coaching about getting out of one's comfort zone and try Olympic recurve again.

I went English long bow when I started. A Gravyn one. I wanted using it to become intuitive for me. Then I was gifted a compound with a sight. Much more power, but the longbow has me hooked. I just like the simplicity of it.

I would second the Hoyt recommendation. May I add another as well Bear Archery. For the price of a used pistol you can get into a nice bow.

Thanks for all the advice, everybody. I haven't shot/loosed/whatever an arrow since 1986. I love the simplicity of the recurves. I like the concept of multiple limb options with the takedowns.

I will check out Win & Win and Hoyt. Sound like good solid products. . .

Compound bows are a lot of fun to shoot. You can dial them back if need be.
I get simple and tradition. Which are great. Shooting my hoyt compound always puts a smile on my face though. I do hunt with it as well.

Stay away from the Big Box store archery depts and try to find a local pro shop, for guideance then go forth and release the arrows. .... I both hunted and shot competion (indoor / outdoor / bulls eye / as well as styafoam animal forms both known and unknown distances while using the same compound bow (82lbs pull holding 45 lbs on round wheels no cam wheels)( not trying to straight back pulling motion but by adding rooling the shoulder to assist)... Knew some shooters in the traditional/long bow as well as recurve/ bare bow/no sights / and finger release that could and would give some of us a run for our money.... Go forth and have fun.............................. drill sgt.

SWA Tigershark Takedown [62" IIRC] here.
Very amateur & didn't want to drop $ not knowing if I'd really get into it.
Enjoyed it the few times I was able to shoot in the spring before our brutal summer rolled in. Need to get it back out once we get some mild & stable weather.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Compound bows are a lot of fun to shoot. You can dial them back if need be.
I get simple and tradition. Which are great. Shooting my hoyt compound always puts a smile on my face though. I do hunt with it as well.

Thanks for the feedback. This gives me more to consider.