posted on Sep, 30 2012 @ 12:39 AM
Having explored compound bows, recurves and longbows, I am convinced that longbows offer the best hunting.
While compound bows are obviously superior for hunting from a stand or blind, I have found them to be useless for stalking. their weight makes them
difficult to carry far, and their bulk and numerous cables and attachments means they will hook on branches in heavy cover, and accumulate grass and
leaves when creeping through tall-grass pasture. They are purely stationary hunting weapons.
For stalking game, particularly deer, a recurve has numerous advantages. A recurve weighs less, can take more physical abuse, and most importantly
can be drawn silently. Most of the stalking deer I have done takes place at very close range (10-20 yards) in cover. A compound almost always makes
some noise when drawn, either from the cams, the cables, or just the arrow shaft being drawn backwards across its rest or biscuit.
I have recently begun stalking with a long-bow and have found it's stealth outweighs the superior range of a compound, and the recurve's ease of
draw. While it is harder to pull than a recurve, and definitely harder to shoot as accurately, the fact is that the longbow is even quieter than a
recurve.
I have spent some time investigating this. The string on a recurve slaps the limb on the outside curve nearest the notch, which produces a slapping
sound as the arrow is released. It is THIS sound that deer react to, and what causes a buck to "jump the string," and instinctively duck when the
arrow is shot.
A longbow doesn't have this second, complex curve at the tip of each limb. This means that there is no stacking, making the long bow harder to draw
and hold. But with string dampers, the longbow approaches near silence.
I experienced this effect this morning, when shooting at a buck and missing. The buck tensed up, but stood upright--he hadn't seen the arrow fly
past (I'm sure he heard it zoom over his back), but he didn't key on the location I was shooting from (I also have rabbit-fur dampers on the
string). I think he believed the stray first arrow was a bird. He didn't freeze, but stood with his head up, looking around and moving his ears to
pick up on any sound. This would never have happened with a recurve.
Has anyone else noticed this difference?