Basic knowledge - recurve bow

How to choose a recurve bow that suits you
A recurve bow is mainly composed of a riser, a limb, and a string.

What is the role of the length of the bow?
The bow itself has a length, ranging from 48" to 72" (incremented by 2"), and players should choose according to different heights and different purposes.
If you want to choose a competition bow, and the draw length is also longer, it is better to choose a longer bow, because the angle of the bowstring is not large when the bow is drawn, which can increase the stability of the bow, so that the lateral pressure on the fingers of the bow is not very large.
When drawing a short bow, the angle of the bowstring is larger, which will put more pressure on the fingers of the bowstring, but the shooting speed is faster. In ancient times, hunters mostly used short bows because they were easy to carry.

How to choose the draw length of the bow? The draw length (draw length) of the bow you choose must be longer than your own draw length.
If the configuration is more complicated, different bow handles and bow pieces can be combined to achieve different bow lengths. For example, American HOYT, Korean SAMICK, and Korean Win&Win manufacturers will have two or more specifications of bow handles, as follows:
Short bow handle (23'') with 64'' 66'' 68'' Bow limbs
Medium bow handle (25'') with 66'' 68'' 70'' bow limbs
Long bow handle (27'') with 68'' 70'' 72'' bow limbs
Long bow handle, short bow limb combination: fast but unstable
Short bow handle, long bow limb combination: slow but more stable

The material of the bow handle, decades ago, bow handles were mostly made of wood, but with the development of technology, carbon arrows and fast bowstrings (Fast Flight) came into being, which put a lot of pressure on wooden bow handles, so metal bow handles came into being. Now, wooden bows have basically become the choice of beginners, of course, there are also experts who use them for indoor short-distance or outdoor competitions to achieve good results; but outdoor long-distance competitions still make experts turn their attention to metal bows; and from the perspective of maintenance, moisture, sun exposure and other factors, wooden bows are far inferior to metal bows.
The process of the bow handle is generally: CNC Machining, casting, and forging.
Casting: It is cast by steel mold or sand mold. The alloys used are mostly aluminum-magnesium alloys. Steel mold casting is especially used for casting medium and short-distance bow handles. Bows produced by this method are relatively cheap, but steel molds also cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Forging: The production process is to put the raw materials in a mold and fill the mold with materials through high temperature and high pressure. The bow handles produced by this method are very strong, but because this process is relatively expensive, there are fewer choices for forged bow handles. However, this kind of bow handle is mostly painted instead of anodized, so the surface will appear more refined.
CNC machining: This process appeared in the 1990s and is mostly used to process and produce wooden bow handles, which also makes it possible to transform manual processing into large-scale production of high-quality wooden bows.

Bow blade The limbs are also the most important part of the bow, because only through the limbs can the kinetic energy be finally transmitted to the arrow. If the limbs are good, even if the release is not smooth, it can help the player correct it. This is the so-called forgiveness. However, if the limbs are not good, it is very far from hitting the ten rings.
Bow limb draw weight: The draw weight of the bow is mainly determined by the limbs. The bow draw weight is written on the lower limb, and it is expressed in pounds (lbs) all over the world. This pound number is measured when the bow is stretched to 710 mm (28 inches). For example, a 20-pound limb is written as 20 lbs 28'', which means that when you pull the bowstring to maintain a length of 71 cm, the effort you spend is 20 pounds, about 9 kilograms. This 28-inch draw length refers to 26.25 inches from the tail/arrow point to the innermost side of the grip (the position of the thumb when holding the bow) under the AMO standard, plus an additional 1.75 inches.
Materials of bow limbs: laminated wood, fiberglass, laminated wood and fiberglass plus some carbon fiber limbs, carbon fiber limbs and cores made of hard foam or ceramic.

Bow draw weight: Bow draw weight is a very important choice. The starting point of the player should not be to choose a very heavy bow at the beginning, but as the practice deepens, the arm strength will increase, and then the drawing force of the bow limb will be changed. It is recommended to choose a bow limb that is 4-6 pounds heavier than the bow that can be easily pulled for 10 seconds. But there is no absolute. You can also choose a bow that does not challenge your strength, such as an 18-pound practice bow, and you will not feel tired after shooting for several hours. In other words, a light bow plus more archery actions can also increase your drawing force. In summary, when buying a bow for the first time, the poundage of the bow limb must be selected to allow you to enjoy the fun of archery. It does not have to be too heavy or expensive. When your arm strength increases, you can choose a heavier poundage and a more expensive one. If you choose an inappropriate drawing weight, it will not only affect the player's interest in archery, but also easily cause sports injuries.

The following draw weights are for reference:
Children (6-9 years old) 10 to 15 lbs
Youth (10-14 years old) 15 to 25 lbs
Youth over 15 years old and adult women 18 to 30 lbs
Adult men 26 to 40 lbs
The average draw weight for female Olympic athletes is 36 to 40 pounds, and the average draw weight for male athletes is 38 to 46 pounds.
As the technology of bows, arrows, and bowstrings continues to improve, the average draw weight of competition bows is also decreasing.