When it comes to hunting with bows, the compound bow has long taken over the competition as the bow of choice for many, as it is generally easier to shoot and easier to make the arrows fly faster. There is more of a romance and a skill level to recurve bow archery though which is why it remains so popular.

What is recurve archery?

We mentioned the compound bow there and you may have heard of the longbow. The compound bow is able to use a series of pulleys and use the physics of them to be able to produce a powerful shot with quite a minimal effort. On the other hand, a longbow is just one piece of curved wood with all of the energy coming from you pulling back the limbs of the bow.

Well a recurve bow sits in the middle of the two options as it has a higher level of engineering that you find in the compound bow while still being able to give you the traditional feel of a longbow. It has a riser in the middle and then two limbs attached to the top of the bottom meaning you can store a lot more energy than you can in a longbow.

Your guide to recurve bow hunting

Hunting with a recurve bow can take a lot of practice and a lot of experience before you get it truly right but when you do you’ll be left with a huge amount of personal satisfaction. There are a few things that you need to know though before you get out there and looking for animals to hunt.

One of the key recurve bow hunting tips is that you want the bow to be as quite possible. Getting in the right spot to kill an animal can take a lot of time and effort and you don’t want to ruin it by pulling back on your bow only to instantly scare it away. The limbs of your bow need to be made of a quieter material and should be well tuned. Some bows even have dampener as well which can really reduce the noise.
One aspect which can make recurve bow hunting for beginners difficult is draw weight, which is a key part of any bow. For those that don’t know, draw weight is the weight of pulling back a bow equivalent to pulling a weight from the ground, when it comes to hunting, the bigger the better, but that’s where it can be difficult for beginners.

With your recurve bow hunting draw weight, there is a minimum that you have to pull which is about 40 pounds and in some states that have a statutory minimum weight that you have in order to start hunting. The reason for that is due to the fact that the higher your draw weight, the faster your arrow is going to travel and under 40 pounds your bow probably isn’t going to be traveling fast enough to kill the animal.
If you’re just starting out and can’t draw this weight then you won’t be able to hunt until you can. As we said, the bigger the better but there is also a big word of caution with that as well. There is no point buying a bow with a high draw weight if you are not able to control it so you want to be able to look for the bow which has the highest draw weight that you are still able to comfortably handle.

When it comes to your recurve bow hunting setup then you want to be getting the longest bow that you can as this will be able to give you more stability in your shot but you also need to be able to transport it easily as well so you need to bear that in mind. There are a few different accessories that you can add to your bow such as a bow sight, stabilizer and an arm guard which will all help with your shot. This is one of the best recurve bow hunting videos and will be able to explain how add a bow sight.

Hunting with a recurve bow vs compound

If an apocalyptic event happened tomorrow and you were given the option to choose between a recurve bow or a compound bow with which to hunt for your food, then you’d pick a compound bow every single time.

The reason for that is mainly due to the fact that you can get more accuracy and power than with any other type of bow. The system of pulleys and cams on a compound bow help to deliver a terrific amount of power to your target which also means that you can be at a greater distance from your target as well.

With a compound bow you are able to also have a higher range of customization as well as add-ons so you will be able to match it to your need and it also requires less upper body strength as well. It’s not all great news for the compound bow though as they are generally heavier than a traditional bow and they require more maintenance as well as there are more moving parts.

Despite a compound bow holding the main advantages here, there are other things you need to consider as well. A recurve bow is a more traditional way of firing an arrow and you need to ask yourself why you want to go archery hunting? Why not just use a gun? A lot of the answers to that question come down to the satisfaction that you can get from using a more traditional weapon.

Having to be closer to your target, needing to be more of an expert with a great aim and needing a higher level of upper body strength may seem like disadvantages to some but they could also be seen as reasons why hunting with a recurve bow would be a more enjoyable form of hunting.

It’s up to you what’s more important and why type of bow would give you the greater level of joy. Sometimes it’s great to have a compound bow and use that high velocity and distance while at other times it can be great fun to challenge yourself with a recurve bow.

Recurve Bows FAQ’s

Q: What is a takedown recurve bow?

A: As we mentioned before, a recurve bow is made out of a central riser were you are able to attach any accessories that you might have and then attached to that riser will be the two limbs of your recurve bow which will generate the power you need to get that successful shot.
On some bows though those limbs will be more permanently attached while on others you will be able to take them off which is very easy for transport and storing away your bow. A takedown recurve bow simply refers to this type bow which you are able to takedown into its separate pieces.

Q: What is the best recurve bow for hunting?

A: When you’re out there hunting you want a bow that is going to be high-quality, reliable and able to be customized to your needs and there is no better bow on the market for that than this one from Toparchery.
The riser is made from aluminum and it is a quality product which ticks all the boxes. Another important aspect for hunting is the easy transportation of your bow and with this being a takedown bow, you’ll easily be able to take it from one place to the next.

Q: Can you hunt with a recurve bow?

A: You can absolutely hunt with a recurve box but there are words of caution attached to that as it’s not as easy as hunting with a compound bow. When you’re out there, it’s only ethical and right that if you’re hunting for an animal then you have to kill it. You don’t want a deer, for example, running away with an arrow barely lodged into its side.

That’s why draw weights are important as they are the most important factor in determining the speed of your arrow and you want to make sure that it flies fast enough to fly through the air. If you’ve not quite got the strength for a recurve bow, then it’s probably best to use a compound bow until you’ve built up your strength.

Q: Is a recurve bow better than a longbow?

A: By most measures, a recurve bow is superior to a longbow as it will be able to generate more power so therefore you don’t need as much strength with which to pull it back. They are also generally easier to adjust and easier to hold as well which is why they are generally preferred to the longbow.

If you’re after a more traditional way of hunting though then you’re not going to get much better than the longbow and it also offers a greater amount of stability too. There are other aspects to consider as well such as the fact that the recurve bow can generally be taken apart, so id very easy to transport.

In terms of noise, a longbow would be a better option overall as it doesn’t have the slap back which a recurve bow can have but this only happens after you have fired the arrow. In terms of maintenance and cost the rank pretty equally so overall you’d say that the recurve bow is a better option but the longbow definitely has its advantages.

Q: What pound bow to hunt with?

A: A lot of states will have laws when it comes to the minimum bow weight that you can use so it’s important to check before you buy to ensure that you are going to be complying with the law on the matter.

Generally though, you’ll be more than fine with a bow that is over 40 pounds in draw weight as this will have the required strength in order to pierce the skin of an animal to make an effective kill shot when it is directed in the right way.
Getting a bow around the 50 pound mark though would be ideal as that would be able to fire an arrow at a very high velocity and would be able to do a lot of damage with that. Anything above this 50 pound mark would be a bonus but remember that it has to remain easy enough to pull for a stable shot.

Q: What is a good draw weight for a recurve bow?

A: For the most part, a draw weight isn’t really a choice and instead is more a mark of your actual strength. There is little point in pulling a 30 pound bow when you are able to pull a 50 pound one. In the same way, you shouldn’t be pulling a 40 pound bow when you are comfortable with a 30.

The best draw weight is the one that you’re going to be the most comfortable at. It could be that the best thing for you to do now is to practice with a 30 pound bow and improve your aim and experience and then when you’re physically ready, you can move on to a bow which would be ideal for hunting.

Q: What is the best recurve bow?

A: If you’re looking for a bow where style meets build quality then you’re not going to see many better options than this high-quality bow from AF Archery which comes in draw weights from 25 pounds all the way up to 50 pounds.

Not only does it have an incredibly high level of performance, but it also looks brilliant as well with its materials of glass fiber, bamboo and ash wood. This is not a takedown bow so it might be a little harder to transport but that is more than made up for by the ease of use when it’s in your hands. This is an overall great bow which has been highly rated by those who have used it.