Dear Jim,
First let me say that I really enjoy SurvivalBlog.com! I faithfully read it daily even if it is very late when I get the chance, I read it daily. I pastor a church and much of my day is spent running around, so sometimes I don’t get the opportunity to “research” the news like I want to; SurvivalBlog readers do a good part of that for me. Thanks for all you do and for all they do.
About two months ago I stepped into my local archery shop and purchased a bow. I bought a recurve with 50 pound draw, a dozen arrows, a glove, two strings, string wax and a few small accompanying items, I also have extra arrows being made for me now and a few extra parts that I plan on ordering as soon as I can get the money together (rest, an Allen screw, etc…). I bought this particular recurve bow for several reasons and thought it may be beneficial for your readers to share my thoughts and experience.
I grew up in the piney woods of East Texas, running around with a pellet gun or a small Bear recurve and a pocket knife about as early as I can remember. It seems to me that I could shoot either as early as maybe 8 or 9. It may have been later than that but I honestly can’t remember. In my youth/childhood days we were given all the pellets or BBs we wanted and most summers we were in the woods almost all day shooting anything that moved, or attempting to anyway. Of course many lessons were learned then through that. I lost a many an arrow due to my silliness and an aluminum arrow was something that was very difficult to come by where I lived. So after a couple summers of shooting “anything” I ended up with only one or two arrows. Thankfully by then I had graduated up to a Bear “Cub” (I think that was the name) compound bow that was amazingly nice. At 25 pound or 30 pound draw I could easily shoot most small game. Sadly in the 6th grade we moved out of the country and into the city. I did join the school archery class (I don’t know if they still have those anymore – I sure hope they do) and really enjoyed shooting all through much of Junior High and some of High School when girls and trucks became the rage in my life.
Later, after I was married a few years, my dad, brother and I went back into an archery shop, purchased compound bows and again started to shoot. After a couple of years of shooting sporadically (I never got that deer) I had a problem with my compound bow, but much to my chagrin, couldn’t find a bow shop in our area to repair it. The shop we bought our bows from went out of business and the only time I would remember to take my bow to service and repair I would not have the time or the money. You probably know that routine; time or money. Again, I was laid off and I moved to a major metropolitan city to find work. My bow sat in the house or under a bed for many years. Eventually it sat for so long I was scared to draw it back and it became an “Old Bow”.
I recently realized my shortsightedness and decided to change my ways. This time: I purchased a recurve; It has hardly any moving parts, much less service required and much of that I can do myself. I also made sure that I purchased a “Take Down” bow; one that I could unstring myself, take the limbs off and throw into a case/bag. This will give me many many more years of a shootable bow. What I learned as a young man was that the compound bows should be shot often or serviced often and sometimes a combination of both. For a shooter like me (recreational and only periodically/sporadically) I was not assured that I would/could shoot it often or have it serviced as it should be. This bow I can put it together in about 2 minutes and be ready to shoot. In another two minutes or less I can have it taken down and in its bag ready to tuck under the seat, behind my seat, attached to a backpack, on my back riding a bike… You name it, the bow is ready to go. The arrows must have feather fletchings for a quicker recovery after release and traveling across the rest, but other than that, the bow is very basic. No sights, so “one less thing to worry about”. I shoot it instinctively and so far have about a 6″ group at 20 yards. I will continue to work on that.
The bow I purchased is a Hoyt Dorado that cost fully fitted out around $650, compared to a basic compound price I am very pleased with this price and with the bow as well. I do like to shoot, though I have lost some of my ability. I do plan on taking it deer hunting this fall and hope to finally bag a deer after all these years. A recurve bow is a true survival tool. It is almost silent, you can kill (with the right draw weight) anything in North America, it is almost (not totally) maintenance free, and most of what little maintenance that must be done can be done by the owner. It can be a defensive tool if in the right hands and in the right conditions. I don’t have this problem but; it is not an “Assault Weapon” in the house so Mom and the Kids can live with it (good grief that makes me sick thinking about that). And lastly, my bow can be stowed away in the right environment for many years, brought out and shot.
I don’t know how bad things could get out there in the future, but for someone wanting to cover as many of the bases as possible, I like the idea of having a bow around. Not only is a bow fun to shoot and able to provide meat on the table, but I personally like to shoot for purely therapeutic reasons. Hahaha – In other words, It makes me take my mind off all the other things I have going on and concentrate on shooting. I am sure since I have been out of the sport for so long that others could add much more depth to this letter, but in it’s simplistic way, a takedown recurve bow is a thing of pure beauty. All for Jesus! – Pastor Keith C.