ATA 2022: Reconnecting With Recurves

The author shot numerous compounds and crossbows during the 2022 ATA Trade Show, but it was 30 minutes spent in the Bear Archery shooting lane that refueled his desire to hunt with a recurve.

ATA 2022: Reconnecting With Recurves

During the 2022 Archery Trade Association Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the author test drove a number of different recurves in the Bear Archery shooting lane.

Like many kids born in the mid-1960s, I shot toy bows at everything from pop cans to water balloons in our backyard. For Christmas in 1975, Santa brought me a “real” bow, a Browning Cobra 1. This 50-inch recurve was made in the USA by Browning during the years 1969 to 1975; mine had a draw weight of 45 pounds.

The author (center) at four years old in 1969, ready to go huntin’ with his bow at a nearby park with his dad and brother.
The author (center) at four years old in 1969, ready to go huntin’ with his bow at a nearby park with his dad and brother.

Even though 45 pounds doesn’t sound like much, for a skinny 10-year-old, I struggled to draw the string to my anchor point, and my shooting form suffered greatly because of it. With my toy longbow, which featured short fiberglass limbs with a draw weight of less than 10 pounds, I could draw smoothly, anchor and aim briefly, then release the string. I was deadly at close range with my lightweight longbow, but I had trouble hitting a large paper plate consistently from 10 yards with my harder-to-pull Browning.

I shot at only one whitetail with that Cobra 1 recurve — and missed from 15 yards. My arrow sailed a foot in front of a big doe’s chest as she stopped broadside while I slipped through the woods during a deer push. I was too proud then to admit that I was over-bowed (i.e. shooting too much weight).

In the late 1970s, I stashed the Browning Cobra 1 in the corner and focused my attention on a new Browning Deluxe Nomad compound. With the wood-handled compound set at 50-pounds with 50 percent let-off (as I recall), I could shoot it very well, first without a bowsight, then with one.

The author’s first hunting bow was a 45-pound-draw Browning Cobra 1, which was made from 1969 to 1975.
The author’s first hunting bow was a 45-pound-draw Browning Cobra 1, which was made from 1969 to 1975.

My desire to go “old school” hit a handful of years later, however, when I invested in an expensive custom recurve. And while you’d think I would’ve learned about proper draw weight from my time spent with the 45-pound Cobra 1, I wasn’t the sharpest broadhead in the quiver when I ordered — and this is not a misprint — 70-pound limbs. I know — crazy!

Needless to say, I couldn’t draw the bowstring of my new recurve back to my face. Even so, I practiced with it a lot, and killed a handful of whitetails with the bow. After many years, I finally admitted my mistake and ordered a second set of limbs for the take-down recurve. But even then I made a mistake: I ordered 55-pound limbs. Sure, the lighter limbs were a tremendous improvement over the 70-pounders, but I sure wish now I would’ve ordered 40-pound limbs.

If you’re thinking of trying traditional archery, don’t make the same mistake as the author (above) and shoot too much weight. Here, he’s struggling to hold 70-pound-draw limbs on his custom recurve for a quick photo.
If you’re thinking of trying traditional archery, don’t make the same mistake as the author (above) and shoot too much weight. Here, he’s struggling to hold 70-pound-draw limbs on his custom recurve for a quick photo.

That Was Then, This Is Now

This walk through my bowhunting past brings me to today, or more correctly, to my time recently at the 2022 ATA Trade Show and the Bear Archery shooting lanes. Traffic was light at the Show due to Covid concerns, plus a winter storm had hit the Louisville, Kentucky, area, further reducing the number of attendees. I took advantage of the situation and stopped to look over a wide selection of recurves in the Bear Archery shooting lanes.

“Do you have anything that pulls 40 pounds or less,” I asked Kenny Branham, pro staffer with Bear Archery.

“There’s not a bow on this rack that draws more than 45 pounds,” he said. “In fact, almost all of them are 40 pounds, with a few at 35.”

I smiled ear to ear as I slipped my fingers in a leather shooting glove.

As I shot and we talked, I was brought back in time. With these recurves, I could draw smoothly, find the corner of my mouth with my index finger, aim briefly and then release the bowstring. Arrow after arrow went where I was looking. I didn’t have to worry about heavy poundage; instead, I focused on the bull’s-eye and let my hand/eye coordination take over.

This is not an exaggeration: While I’ve shot a bow of some type my entire life (I’m nearly 57), and various top-notch compounds for the last 25 years, I haven’t had that much fun sending arrows downrange since I was a young boy sniping pop cans in the backyard with a toy fiberglass longbow.

The target was close — 10 yards — so it’s not surprising that I could repeatedly send arrows into the 9-inch-diameter bull’s-eye, and I finally asked Kenny if I should aim at a different spot to avoid damaging arrows.

“Don’t worry about,” he said. “You’re demonstrating to others just how accurate all these recurves can be, plus I brought dozens of arrows.”

In general, I found the longest recurves — 60, 62 and 64 inches — to be the most comfortable to shoot. I noticed a bit of finger pinch with bows measuring 52 to 58 inches, but I could still hit the bull’s-eye. Note: My draw length is 27.5 inches with a compound, so I assume it’s about 27 inches with a recurve.

Perhaps the most well-known recurve shooter today is Fred Eichler (above). He was the first recurve shooter to complete the Super Slam — killing all 29 North American big game animals. Eichler’s recurve of choice is a take-down with a Mag Riser from Bear Archery.
Perhaps the most well-known recurve shooter today is Fred Eichler (above). He was the first recurve shooter to complete the Super Slam — killing all 29 North American big game animals. Eichler’s recurve of choice is a take-down with a Mag Riser from Bear Archery.

A Modern Take On a Classic Design

I shot only one longbow on display and found it to have more hand shock than the recurves, so I didn’t grab another. I also avoided shooting the one recurve on display that had an aluminum riser. While it looked cool dressed in old-school camo, I wanted to focus on recurves with classic wood handles.

“Before you leave, you have to try the one with the aluminum riser,” Kenny stated. “You’ve shot everything else now, so I’m interested to hear what you think of it. Even if you wouldn’t want to own a recurve with an aluminum riser, you should still give it a go.”

He handed me the take-down recurve with camo riser and I could immediately feel the additional weight due to the aluminum construction. I don’t mean to imply it was heavy like a compound, but its weight was noticeable compared to all-wood recurves.

During the draw, the 62-inch, 40-pound recurve was very smooth. I aimed while finding my anchor, then quickly released the string. And that’s when my jaw hit the Show floor. Wait — what?

The arrow sailed into the target at least as fast as from any of the other recurves — maybe even the fastest — AND hand shock was almost zero. Perplexed, I loaded another arrow and fired. Then another. And another. This take-down recurve with an aluminum handle, called the Mag Riser, has to be felt to be believed. On a scale of 1- 10, it’s an 11.

The one downside of the Mag Riser is price — $399.99 (handle only). Matched with a set of take-down limbs ($399.99), a finished Mag Riser recurve is $800. For reference, one-piece wood-handled Bear recurves are priced at $420 to $730, so the additional investment in a take-down bow featuring the Mag Riser is substantial. That said, I’m a firm believer in “you get what you pay for” when it comes to most products in life, and I’m confident that’s the case with a Mag Riser recurve.

The aluminum Mag Riser from Bear Archery is available in Moss Green or Fred Bear Camo (shown) finishes. The finished take-down recurve length is determined by your choice of Mag Riser handle style (style B is slightly longer than style A), as well as choice of take-down limbs, which come in three lengths. The longest possible recurve is 64 inches and results from choosing style B handle with #3 limbs. The shortest recurve is 56 inches and results from matching a style A handle with #1 limbs.

Bear Archery's Mag Riser in Fred Bear Camo.
Bear Archery's Mag Riser in Fred Bear Camo.

Final Thoughts

I’m more excited for the upcoming archery deer season than ever before thanks to my time shooting recurves during ATA 2022. I don’t know if I can afford the $800 Mag Riser recurve from Bear Archery, but I’ll figure out something.

This fall, will I stash my compound and crossbow to bowhunt exclusively with a recurve? No. But I will have a 40-pound-draw recurve in my hand a substantial amount of time. At a minimum, I’ll try to kill a doe in Wisconsin. (In my hunting zone, receive two antlerless deer tags and one buck tag with my annual archery license.) With some dedicated practice, I should be able to hit the lungs of a broadside adult doe at 15 yards or closer.

Of course, the key to making this happen involves practice, setting up the correct arrow/broadhead combo for my recurve, and also making sure I have natural ground blinds set up that provide me with cover to draw my bow without being busted by a slowly walking deer. Sure, it’s not illegal or unethical to tag a deer from a treestand with a recurve, but I want the challenge of killing one from the ground. I can’t wait!



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