What is a Recurve Bow?
The characteristic that makes a bow a recurve bow is that when the bow is unstrung the ends (tips) of the bow turn away from the archer. Unlike a conventional longbow whose curve is on a consistent plane and always towards the archers body. Technically, the string on a recurve bow touches the bow itself (the limb). On a conventional longbow, the string only touches the bow limb tips and not the actual body of the bow.
Once a recurve bow is strung, the tips that were pointing away from the archers body will be more or less straight up and down. The extra curve on the bow allows the bow to store more energy than a regular longbow or straight bow.
The recurve bow is much more popular than a standard longbow since it has superior energy storing ability. Some consider the recurve bow a modern version of the old straight bow or longbow.
The recurve bow does not use any mechanical assistance like the pulleys used in compound bows.
The three main parts of a recurve bow are the:
Long bows and recurve bows are similar and are based on the traditional design. With the increased energy storing power of a recurve bow, a recurve bow can be shorter than a long bow and still have the same amount of power.
