My $8 small/medium game bow

I bought this old herters fiberglass recurve at a thrift shop around the corner from my house, spent $8 so it was a steal. It didn't have a string, so I used a length of 550 paracord I had laying around. The hand grip was leather(at some point), so I wrapped it in some blaze orange paracord, I have bigger hands so it feels better than the small grip which was in pretty bad shape. It has a decent draw weight but probably pretty heavy for a smaller guy/girl. I still have yet to test its power against my 55# compound bow. I will post pictures after I test it.

The bow

Attachment 10083

Sweet, keep us posted!

EB

Great find at a great price.

Do your self a favor and buy your self a proper string.....paracord is gonna just blow up on you.
Just saying.....

I got a string priced for $10, didn't want to put a $10 string on an $8 bow, plus I have a few hundred yards of 550 to spare if the need arises

Look on ebay I saw strings from 5 bucks with free shipping, these were for 61 or 62 inch IIRC

I'd have to get it sized

It dont say on the bow anyplace?

No, its pretty old and worn, the only sticker that is left is the regiments of the herters sticker

too bad there isnt a model number , I wish I knew how to tell you to measure one for a string but Bows are not my thing.

If the bow is not used for a long time, will the limbs be safe enough? I have seen limbs breaking when its being drawn...causing some serious injuries.
I do not know what your limbs are made off...but I know mostly are laminated. If not used always, and stored for a long time, it could be brittle.

I would take it to a local archery store. The people in the stores don't always know everything. But, they'll have the tools to tell you what size string and also what the spline and weight of the arrow and arrow head you should use.

I would buy a good string or get the size and twist your own using a good guide online. Each bow has a sweet spot and that sweet spot can change over time. You may have to twist or untwist the string to get the best flight.

You could also contact 3riversarchery.com and ask them to try and help so you can buy a string and arrows and tips.

Technical Advice

1-866-587-9501 Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST
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This is the comparison bow, PSE Deer hunter with an apex lighted 3 pin sight
Attachment 10090

After quite a few attempts to get my sighting in on the recurve. The top arrow is from the recurve the bottom from the compound.
Attachment 10091

I might invest in an arm guard
Attachment 10092

The target I was using was a cardboard box, stuffed with cardboard and old sheets, a bow that can punch through a buck couldn't penetrate. I am going to buy an actual target soon, mabey a 3D target. But once I got the sighting right, I added a mark across the upper arm with a sharpie set at 10 yards. I'm still debating on stenciling on a camo pattern with OD green and black weatherproof spray paint. All in all it was a great buy for $8, I would trust this thing to take down a deer with the right arrow/arrow head setup, I'm thinking lightweight wood arrows, and Apache style broadheads.

Its been over 15 years since I had my traditional archery shop and at least 10 years since I shot any of my bows but from what I remember, your brace height looks too high, it should be in the 6"-7" range to start and then adjust from there. The easiest way to figure out string length is to measure nock to nock and subtract 4"-6", this will put you in the 6"-7" brace height.

Someone above mentioned 3rivers, give them a call.

Good info to know thank you

I have no clue on this, so I'm mainly just wondering. Could you strip the outer core and just use the inner strands of the paracord? And wax them like a regular bow string?