New to the Longbow

[djthompson]

Did a 6 week course (recurve last year in Farnborough), now doing one with Devizes Bowmen. Had the chance to shoot the longbow 3 times now. 1 time was a bow made by a club member, the second was a re-enactment bow with self nocks (shot very smooth), the third was a lovely simple triple laminate. The longbow is for me. Recure/Compound does not interest me at all!

I hope to buy a bow in the coming months. Maybe something in the 40 lb region. Not sure about size (I'm 5ft 10"), or draw.

I've looked at loads of bows on the net. These look beautiful, and good value:

http://www.yewtreearchery.co.uk/

Anyone on here shoot with a Yew Tree Archery Longbow?

Cheers, Dave

[Kae]

The length of the bow has nothing to do with your height, only to do with your draw length (it just so happens that height and draw length do correspond roughly).

When buying a longbow, make sure that:
It is a D shape, and not flat
It has horn nocks (self nocks are ok, but for regular use, are not strong enough)
Has a years warranty (often on a sliding scale, ie 100% replacement for the first three months, 75% for the next three months etc)
And is tillered to your draw length.

Rule of thumb, laminate bows are stronger than self bows, and bamboo is the fastest bow material. (/discuss, lol).

[djthompson]

Many thanks for your reply. i guess I need to work out my draw length - to find suitable length arrows - then the right bow for the arrows?

Is there a guide to this - or a calculation as to size (bow) to draw length to arrow length to arrow weight?

I think a bow of 40 lb would be about right for me, maybe 45 lb tops. I've had a go with 38 lb and that was comfortable.

Cheers, Dave

[Kae]

Another rule of thumb, lol - You can draw 5-10# more on a longbow than you can on a recurve, due to the different styles.

The best thing to do is speak to either the bowyers themselves, or a shop experienced with a bowyers bow, because each one is different, and can make a difference to the length of bow you need.