Got the stickbow bug

[swoop]

Hello everyone !

I have a confession that my £1000 worth of recurve has sat in its box for the past month as I bought a £100 Viper Deluxe AFB "just for a bit of fun" and have been enjoying shooting it far more than I believed I would.
Problem is that outside of field you can't really use the AFB for target - well of course you can use it, but because it is the illegitimate love child of a recurve and ELB it doesn't fit anywhere in the target classifications. Closest thing is the new barebow classification but I want to stick with a simple wooden bow with wooden arrows and this doesn't compare fairly against a modern recurve with composite carbon limbs and ACE arrows.
So I really want an ELB as this'll give me the full on stickbow fun factor / challenge and give something to aim at (groan ) for target comps and classification scores. I have been reading the knowledge on this forum for a while and think I know what I'm after but can I put some questions to the collective wisdom here before I take the plunge.
1. My AFB is 40lbs and I'm comfortable with this and I tried a fellow club members 40lb ELB and found it much easier / lighter to draw - I'm presuming due to the longer bow length - so would a 45lbs ELB be about right ?
2. Would a 45lbs ELB get me out to 100yds without too much pointing at the sky ?
3. If my draw is 28" then do I want a bow tillered to 28", 29" or 30" ?
4. Anyone heard of Anglesey bows (Welcome to Angleseybow.co.uk home of the Anglesey Longbow) as the prices seem very reasonable.
5. Can someone lend me £350 so I can get an osage/purpleheart/bamboo bow from Yewtreearchery ?
Many thanks in advance for any replies.

[steve58]

[quote=swoop;246501]Hello everyone !


1. My AFB is 40lbs and I'm comfortable with this and I tried a fellow club members 40lb ELB and found it much easier / lighter to draw - I'm presuming due to the longer bow length - so would a 45lbs ELB be about right ?
2. Would a 45lbs ELB get me out to 100yds without too much pointing at the sky ?
QUOTE]

1. Most who convert to ELB from recurve seem to go up 10# from the recurve draw weight to start with and work up from there if they feel they need the power.
2. That is going to depend on the bow, the arrows and your technique. A run of the mill bow shooting 11/32" pine arrows, 4" fletchings and 125 grain points with a glove, probably not so likely! A decent bow (Yew Tree have a good rep on here) with 5/16" Sitka Spruce arrows and a low profile fletch, shot with a tab, and you might be OK. My mate shoots a 46# Bickerstaffe with a tab and very light arrows and has a very similar reference at 100 to me, we are both using a spot on the bow hand to line up on the boss, rather than hoping the clouds will stay still for the whole shoot!

Good luck with it all!

[swoop]

Thanks for the reply Steve.

I'm toying with the idea of a 45lbs bow solely because I tried a 40 which felt too light and a 53 was too heavy but I assume like recurve limbs it has a lot to do with length, composition and quality as to the actual feel of the draw.

Interesting to know that your friends 46lbs Bickerstaffe will get there. Do you know which of the Bickerstaffe bows it is and what its made up of ?

[steve58]

Originally Posted by swoop

Thanks for the reply Steve.

I'm toying with the idea of a 45lbs bow solely because I tried a 40 which felt too light and a 53 was too heavy but I assume like recurve limbs it has a lot to do with length, composition and quality as to the actual feel of the draw.

Interesting to know that your friends 46lbs Bickerstaffe will get there. Do you know which of the Bickerstaffe bows it is and what its made up of ?

You are dead right that quality has a huge impact, when I first went up to 53# I had to see the thing on the scale before being convinced, it was so nicely made that it felt little heavier to pull than the 43# Ron Palmer I was upgrading from (my muscles were not fooled and got a bit sore until they adapted!)

Not sure about my mate's bow, it was bought from a shop I think, rather than being specifically made for him, pretty sure it will be hickory back, lemonwood belly and a couple of hardwood cores.