[American Flatbow] Flatbow Draw weight

kool4katz

New member
Hi everybody

I have been shooting for 3 months now using recurve club kit and i am at the stage that i need to choose a bow.
However i am getting more and more interested in traditional archery and i quite fancy a quality AFB maybe leading onto a longbow.

My question is what is the best way to achieve the draw weight that i will stick with.

The route i was thinking of was to hire a stylist recurve which gives me up to a year to up my draw weight without paying out for limbs and then switch to AFB but even this route means i have to pay out ?150 ish at the outset.

Any thoughts please

Happy New Year :cheerful:
 

Seanmgn

New member
First of all I have to point out that i'm very much a beginner myself.

What poundage bow do you currently shoot? I ask because I now shoot an AFB which is much heavier poundage than the recurve I started with, and because I hold it at full draw for a shorter time I don't find it a problem ( plus I was a bit underbowed to start with).

If you decide to stick with recurve for now then the advice I was given and which seemed very sound was to go for a decent riser and increase the limb weight as you need to. You may be able to re-sell the limbs to offset the cost.
 

Macbow

New member
A "quality" AFB isn't going to be cheap so you will want to get the most from it. Personally speaking, I'm 5' 7" medium frame and averagely strong and it took no time at all to handle 50# although for comp shooting I am using my 42# bow as I can hold at full draw for any length of time. Shooting four arrows per target for 28 targets is less tiring with the lighter bow. Most of the women I shoot with are using 45# AFBs, same weight as most of the men. The circa 45# weight range tends to be most popular as it gives you fast enough arrow speed for flatter trajectories. A quality bow however will give you more performance from less poundage. Why shoot a heavy bow when new materials like carbon graphite can make a faster but lighter bow for a few quid more?
My recommendation is a Blackbrook Zeta C (carbon) 40-45#. I have a 47# Zeta Standard and when I have the money hope to order a 42# Zeta C.
 

kool4katz

New member
Hi seanmgm, im using a 24lb bow. Im 5ft 8 medium build.

I see what you are getting at macbow and that makes sense to me.The info on weights was interesting as i was'nt sure what was average so to speak so it gives me an idea what weight i might be shooting at. Do you know a web site you can point me to for the Blackbow Zeta.

I was erring towards a Bowtec FB

Cheers
 

Macbow

New member
Hi seanmgm, im using a 24lb bow. Im 5ft 8 medium build.

I see what you are getting at macbow and that makes sense to me.The info on weights was interesting as i was'nt sure what was average so to speak so it gives me an idea what weight i might be shooting at. Do you know a web site you can point me to for the Blackbow Zeta.

I was erring towards a Bowtec FB

Cheers
Check out my links page where you will find the website for Andy Soars/Blackbrook. The Zeta is a very high performance R/D bow, however, Andy makes a reflex limbed bow called the Epsilon. My mate has one and it is such a sweet bow - not quite as fast as the Zeta but very stable and predictable. Most of the photos on my website are either of the Zeta or the Epsilon. The Bowtecs are also really nice bows for the money. The prices for Bowtecs have gone up to what is a more realistic price and right now I don't think they are taking on any new orders for a few months. Don't forget about Border - about 90% of the people I shoot with use Griffons or Harriers. My 42# bow is a carbon/yew limb Griffon and it is a superb bow. I recommended the Zeta because the riser and handle are as close as you can get to a recurve while remaining IFAA & NFAA legal. As you are coming from a recurve background the Zeta would feel more natural and stable to you whereas bows like the Griffon and Bowtec Mistral have a smaller more traditional riser - lighter but easier to torque the handle. The guy who won the 2006 IFAA World longbow (AFB) division won with an old Hill-Style bow - about as trad as you get. These bows usually have a straight limb profile (no reflex or deflex), a blocky handle and small risers. Compared to modern AFBs they are slow and generate a bit of handshock but once tuned they are quite forgiving to shoot and are predictable. I've got an old Rex Oakes Saggitarius which I absolutely love shooting for those reasons. It is a beautifully crafted classic 68" bow in the Howard Hill style but at 55# is a bit too heavy for a whole day's shooting.
As far as poundage goes the first bow I bought was 45# so I had nothing else to compare it to. For the first few sessions it felt like a workout but as I said before it really doesn't take long. Get a really good glove or a nice thick tab, use a deep hook release and you should be able to hold at full draw without any discomfort. With an AFB I would urge you to use the same techniques you are already doing. Come to full draw and a nice solid anchor, settle the weight between your shoulder blades, aim and release when it feels right. Avoid bad habits like short drawing and snap shooting. It is worth buying the Masters of the Barebow DVD from 3Rivers Archery (see my links page). All of the featured archers have solid form, even the instinctive guys.
 
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