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

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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?

I guess it would work, might need more than the 7 strands from one length of cord though just to be safe

Update! Added some cheap rubber string silencers I got at my local farm store, picked them up for about $1.50, noticeably reduced the noise and the vibration I feel. Took it out shooting yesterday, bullseye from 40 yards, still getting the hang of instinctive shooting. I have now decided to make the full switch to a recurve hunting bow!

I have to agree with the gents who pointed out getting a proper string. The bow will shoot better and tune better with a proper string. Stick with dacron string and not any of the newer "fastflite" type materials.
The brace height "distance from the string to the handle" is way to height. This would be due to a short string, another reason to buy one. To find the proper AMO bow length, use a cloth tape measure, and measure along the back of the bow, following the curvature of the limbs, from string nock to string nock.
Once you have a proper string installed and begin tuning, alot of the bow noise will disappear. I would also suggest once that is done, measure the draw weight at you draw length and start looking for arrows to match.
Good luck and welcome to trad archery!!!!

Nice!! I went to all the thrift shops in my area today with no luck. Hopefully soon I can strike gold!

I use the closed fist with thumb sticking straight up.......set your little finger of the closed fist on the hand grip with the thumb sticking up towards the string......the tip of your thumb should just touch the string.........string length is somewhere around 4" less than bow length...........for bow string I use 3/32" double braided antenna rope......works good for me.......I have 8 recurve bows and use it on all of them.
NS

Hey NavySeal does that method work for a long bow as well or just for recurve bows

I use the closed fist with thumb sticking straight up.......set your little finger of the closed fist on the hand grip with the thumb sticking up towards the string......the tip of your thumb should just touch the string.........string length is somewhere around 4" less than bow length...........for bow string I use 3/32" double braided antenna rope......works good for me.......I have 8 recurve bows and use it on all of them.

Duece
I use it for both recurve and long bows.......not set in concrete.....you can add or subtract a little to fit the bow....for my long bows I use one knuckle less on the thumb on brace height.
NS

Thanks ns,,now ive got all three of my bows strung up,ive got a 20lb fibreglass recurve,a 40 lb les dunston longbow and a browning windriver compound

The idea of using the fist and thumb method (called fistmele), doesn't get your bow tuned with any degree of accuracy. It just means all your bows have a brace height that matched your fist and thumb height. That method was originally used in a time when nobody walked around with rulers or didn't have one. It simply insured that your bows brace height was always the same and therefore always shot the same.

Proper brace height varies per bow but the goal is the same, make it quiet, and the least amount of handshock. I've measured my fist and thumb and got 6 3/8", I don't own a bow that takes a brace height that short. Too short of a brace height will make an arrow react as if it is too stiff.

Most recurves take a brace height of around 7-8", longbows slightly less. Keep in mind if I set up BH on a bow for me, it will be off for the next guy due to different draw length and release.

Just my 2 cents

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