Hello again,
I am a beginner again in the bow making process. Got my hardware for the limb form from Bingham and at the crossroads of what form to make; a flat form or a reflex form. The easy route is to cut the flat form but I don't want to spend time on something I won't like in the end. Is there much diference in performance of a flat longbow and a reflex/deflex? Come on. Be truthful. The saw is running.
Leftyloosey :knothead:
Of course there,are those that swear by the flat profile.
I'm not one. Made my first bow straight as an arrow.
Jarred my teeth.
The R/D design in my opinion is worth the extra work on the form.
Feels better after the shot. My wood BBO bows have very little hand shock.
I prefer a r/d - just more comfortable for me to shoot.
I love my Hill-style flat bows. You can make a smooth shooting flatbow with great cast, don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
But I will admit that I think it's easier to get a fast, smooth shooting bow with an r/d design. (Although they can be screwed up and knock your teeth out too.) I would suggest if you don't favor a design going in, invest the time in the r/d form and you'll be a happy camper.
and nobody ever made just one bow i don't think..... they're kinda like tater chips. ive only built wood bows, but my favorite shooters have been static recurves, r/d, straight limbs in that order.
Nothing wrong with a good straight Hill-/flatbow- but to protect your teeth you`ll need heavier and slower ammo but be rewarded with heavy hits at low till midrange shots.
R/d shall be faster and use lighter ammo- increased range and speed.
First even preferes a bit higher drawweights.
The preference is so very personal depending on your demands and feelings...
I personally love Hills and longbows but I`m way more handy with my 58" hybrid (or better re-brid^^).
In other words I like longbows but they don`t like me the same- so I shoot them youst formyself at home while nobodies watchin` ;)
Ed.: I also tend to say preparing a riser, glueing, shaping and finishing a straigt bow is much more eazy...
I have not built many but I sure do appreciate the R/D style, seems to feel smoother on full draw. I like..
I really enjoy building a hill style bow, but much prefer a highly R/D bow to shoot and hunt with. I think a high r/d bow is comparatively much faster and has less handshock that a straight bow by my measures.
Which of the R/D forms are you considering from binghams?....the mild r/d form may not have that much difference in performance form a straight bow, thus if you are deciding between those two, I would suggest picking the one that appeals to you more.
But like Eric said...it is highly likely you will build more than one style..and a straight form is always good to have around!