10 Best Recurve Bows of 2021
Photo: the-zombie-hunter.blogspot.com
The recurve bow is a unique bow that combines good power delivery, accuracy, and beautiful curves to become one of the top choices for passionate archers.
This attraction of the recurve bow has led to many features and recurve bow styles, making it necessary that a beginner will need some guidance in making a good bow choice.
Following is all this information that you'll need to make this right choice, including the best recurve bows that are available in the market today.
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10 Best Recurve Bows – Review
- 1. Southwest Archery Spyder – Best Overall Take-down Recurve Bow
- 2. Buffalo Handmade – Best Traditional Hunting Recurve Bow
- 3. PSE Razorback – Best Beginner Recurve Bow
- 4. SAS Spirit – Best Youth Recurve Bow For The Money
- 5. IRQ Archery – High Performance Traditional Recurve Bow
- 6. SAS Explorer – Modern Take-down Recurve Bow With Metal Riser
- 7. D&Q Package – Best Take-down Recurve Bow Kit
- 8. Huntingdoor – Traditional Recurve Bow With Accessories
- 9. Samick Sage – Popular Take-down Recurve Bow
- 10. Martin Archery – Classic Hunter Recurve Bow
- Benefits of a Recurve Bow
- How to Buy the Best Recurve Bows
- Conclusion
10 Best Recurve Bows – Review
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PRODUCT |
FEATURES |
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1. Southwest Archery Spyder (Best Overall) |
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2. Buffalo Handmade (Best Traditional) |
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3. PSE Razorback (Best for Beginner) |
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4. SAS Spirit (Best Youth Bow For The Money) |
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5. IRQ Archery (High Performance Traditional Bow) |
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6. SAS Explorer (Modern Take-down Bow With Metal Riser) |
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7. D&Q Package (Best Take-down Kit) |
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8. Huntingdoor (Traditional With Accessories) |
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9. Samick Sage (Popular Take-down Bow) |
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10. Martin Archery (Classic Design) |
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PRODUCT |
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1. Southwest Archery Spyder (Best Overall) |
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2. Buffalo Handmade (Best Traditional) |
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3. PSE Razorback (Best for Beginner) |
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4. SAS Spirit (Best Youth Bow For The Money) |
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5. IRQ Archery (High Performance Traditional Bow) |
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6. SAS Explorer (Modern Take-down Bow With Metal Riser) |
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7. D&Q Package (Best Take-down Kit) |
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8. Huntingdoor (Traditional With Accessories) |
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9. Samick Sage (Popular Take-down Bow) |
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10. Martin Archery (Classic Design) |
1. Southwest Archery Spyder – Best Overall Take-down Recurve Bow
Photo: Southwest Archery
- Draw weight: 20 - 60 lbs
- AMO length: 62 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Both
Coming from the same designers of the popular Samick Sage , this Spyder XL recurve bow offers you equally amazing features, and it's great for both beginners and intermediate archers.
The riser is a beautiful piece of work, featuring a multi-wood laminate riser with mounting points for all kinds of accessories you can think about, including fishing reels and string silencers.
You get the 3-piece package, including the riser and 2 limbs. It also includes a stick-on arrow rest, although you can install any other type of rest that you like on the riser, or even shoot without one.
Since a stringer tool is necessary with recurve bows, you also get an opportunity to order one together with this bow, but it's not part of the original package.
Finally, Southwest Archery backs this bow with a 1-year warranty.
More Detailed : Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Review
Pros:
Cons:
2. Buffalo Handmade – Best Traditional Hunting Recurve Bow
Photo: Buffalo
- Draw weight: 30 - 65 lbs
- AMO length: 48 inches
- Take-down: No
- Hand position: Both
Recurve bows are known for their unique designs, but some bows even take it farther by standing out from the rest.
This Buffalo traditional recurve bow offers you everything you need in a good recurve bow. Plus, it's handmade by a real master in Mongolia's traditional recurve bow style.
Its draw weights range from 30 lbs to 65 lbs in 5-lb increments, and its limbs are covered in beautiful red cobra snake-skin. You also get 2 target papers and an arrow rest included in this package as a gift.
For its price, this is a high-quality offering which is very stable, powerful and durable. It's also very stylish in an elegant and timeless way, although it should have come in different colors.
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3. PSE Razorback – Best Beginner Recurve Bow
Photo: PSE
- Draw weight: 20 - 35 lbs
- AMO length: 62 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Both
The PSE or Precision Shooting Equipment Razorback is a top-rated recurve bow for youth and beginners, offered at a fair price. It also looks good and is well made, strong, and durable.
PSE makes it in both left and right-hand variants, and it comes with bushings for installing accessories like a bow sight and a stabilizer. This bow is a full 62 inches long.
Available draw weights range from 20 lbs upwards and the limbs are very easy to change without requiring a wrench.
PSE also makes the Razorback Jr. which is 54 inches long and designed for younger kids. As well as the 24-inch long Lil' Razorback, which targets even smaller kids and is available in 10-lb draw weights.
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4. SAS Spirit – Best Youth Recurve Bow For The Money
Photo: SAS
- Draw weight: 18 - 34 lbs
- AMO length: 62 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Both
Here's another impressive youth bow , the Southland Archery Supply Spirit bow. It's well made, strong, and fairly priced, which makes it perfect as the youth's best recurve bow for the money.
It's available with either white or black limbs, plus a riser made from laminating Gmelina Arborea, Chuglam, and Beech, which are very durable trees and which give the riser its trademark pale yellow color.
The limbs are Maple laminations with fiberglass to guarantee that they may bend, but be very difficult to break. It's 62 inches long and is available in draw weights from 18 lbs to 34 lbs .
Pros:
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5. IRQ Archery – High Performance Traditional Recurve Bow
Photo: IRQ
- Draw weight: 30 - 65 lbs
- AMO length: 54 inches
- Take-down: No
- Hand position: Both
Traditional recurve bows can come in many different styles but the Mongolian recurve bow stands out as a tribute to the glorious conquests of Genghis Khan: The Mongolian warlord and his horsemen who shot with these recurve bows.
If you love traditional bows, then this one could satisfy your desires. It features a simple, yet traditional design, which is both luxurious and provides a high performance simultaneously.
The bow is 54 inches long and made from wood, resin, and fiberglass, then covered with cowhide. For draw weights, you can choose between 30 lbs and 65 lbs in 5-lb increments.
Keep in mind that there's no arrow rest and this isn't a take-down recurve bow.
Still, as a gift for your love of traditional archery, IRQ includes 6 feather-fletched wooden arrows in this package.
Pros:
Cons:
6. SAS Explorer – Modern Take-down Recurve Bow With Metal Riser
Photo: SAS
- Draw weight: 22 - 34 lbs
- AMO length: 66 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Right hand only
Here we have a 66-inch long recurve bow from Southland Archery and they make its riser from aluminum. It's a great beginner or youth bow, and ideal for archers up to 6 ft tall.
You can either get it with a red riser or with a blue one and this riser is additionally polished and shiny. The limbs, however, come from Maple laminations, which get covered in fiberglass for extra strength and durability.
Draw weights range from 22 lbs to 34 lbs and the 34-lb version means that you can't legally hunt everywhere with this bow, but you and your young archer are free to practice with it.
Another small disadvantage of this bow is the right-hand-only design. Although it isn't a concern for right-handed archers, it means that left-handers are cut off.
More Detailed : Southland Archery Supply Explorer Review
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7. D&Q Package – Best Take-down Recurve Bow Kit
Photo: D&Q
- Draw weight: 30 - 70 lbs
- AMO length: 57.8 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Right
Made from aluminum for high strength and a low weight, here is one strong and dependable modern recurve bow. It's also a take-down bow at 57.8 inches high. Plus it features an ergonomically designed riser which fits perfectly in the hand.
Available draw weights include 30 lbs up to 70 lbs , with the bowstring made from a 16-strand string.
When it comes to accessories, everything is also included. You get a finger guard, arm guard, a carrying bag for the bow, an arrow rest , a bow stringer, bow sight, and 12 arrows, 6 of which have replaceable tips.
If you're searching for the best recurve bow for the money, then take a closer look at this kit because it provides you with everything you need to start shooting straight out of the box.
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8. Huntingdoor – Traditional Recurve Bow With Accessories
Photo: Huntingdoor
- Draw weight: 35 - 50 lbs
- AMO length: 49 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Right
Huntingdoor presents this classic recurve bow with a take-down feature, combining the old and the new into a very beautiful traditional bow.
The bow is 49 inches long and available in 4 draw weights including 35 lbs , 40 lbs , 45 lbs , and 50 lbs . This makes it ideal for most situations including legally hunting game.
Another beautiful aspect is its attention to detail. Fashioned in traditional Asian recurve bow style, it's additionally covered with a snake-skin patterned cover to create that authentic look.
The only issue is that it's only available in a right-hand version, but its price makes it a very attractive offer.
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9. Samick Sage – Popular Take-down Recurve Bow
Photo: Samick
- Draw weight: 25 - 60 lbs
- AMO length: 62 inches
- Take-down: Yes
- Hand position: Both
When it comes to beginner and intermediate bows, few recurve bows are as popular as the Samick Sage. It's available in both left and right-hand versions, and from 25 to 60-lb draw weights.
This high quality recurve bow combines Hard Maple and Olive Dymondwood for the riser, while the limbs combine Hard Maple and fiberglass.
You get brass bushings on the riser, which enable you to easily install accessories like a bow sight, stabilizer , or fishing reel.
The downside, however, is that the package comes without accessories.
With the riser's metal limb pocket, you are free to change as many limbs as you like though, to either increase or decrease the bow's draw weight. Samick recommends a brace height of 7.25 to 8.25 inches, which is the height between the string and the farthest part of the riser.
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10. Martin Archery – Classic Hunter Recurve Bow
Photo: Samick
- Draw weight: 35 - 65 lbs
- AMO length: 62 inches
- Take-down: No
- Hand position: Both
Martin Archery's Hunter is a high-quality, carefully designed and crafted traditional recurve bow that has successfully been sold for over 50 years.
It features a unique design with a 62-inch length, black limbs made of Hard maple laminations and a riser made from Shedua, Bubinga, and Hard Maple to create this hunter's trademark riser.
The hunter is built for power, speed, and silence. It will do well for draw lengths up to 30 inches and offers 35 to 65-lb draw weights, making it one of the most powerful recurve bows in this review.
Drawbacks with the hunter include its rather high price tag and the fact that it's not a take-down recurve, which means more portability and transportation issues.
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Benefits of a Recurve Bow
Photo: kimmie-smith-nn7n.squarespace.com
In spite of the many different types of bow offers out there, many folks continue to choose recurve bows. This comes as a result of the many benefits of shooting a recurve bow, which are as follows.
1. Challenge & Excitement
Unlike compound bows and crossbows , a recurve bow challenges the archer more, which in turn drives him to develop his archery skills beyond what is possible with a compound or crossbow.
Archery in the Olympic games, for example, is exclusively carried out with recurve bows, because it brings out the archer's skills to test. Additionally, when you hit a target with a recurve bow, your emotional reward seems doubled.
2. Traditional Archery
Some people prefer to do things the way they got done in the past, like shooting without a bow sight or any other accessory. Such traditional archers prefer to use a recurve bow because of its long and rich history.
Although the longbow has a longer history than the recurve bow, the major attraction of the recurve bow lies in its higher power delivery and better accuracy over the longbow.
3. Portability
In addition to producing more power than longbows , recurve bows are generally more portable because they can produce the same shooting power at a shorter length than a longbow. They were, therefore, used extensively by horsemen in the past.
With take-down recurve bows, you can additionally dismantle the bow and pack it more compactly than even a compound or longbow. This makes take-down recurve bows perfect for traveling.
4. Versatility
While the conventional recurve bow might not be considered versatile, take-down recurves, however, are very versatile because of their separate riser and limbs.
Since nearly every archer will consider buying a second bow as he gets more experienced, the take-down recurve presents the perfect opportunity to experiment with different draw weights and lengths at a minimal cost.
5. Cheaper than Compound Bows
Conventional recurve bows are cheaper than compound bows because recurves have no complex mechanisms like compound bows have. This makes the recurve bow generally more attractive.
6. Beautiful Looks
Finally, recurve bows are simply beautiful. A recurve bow is the most stylish and beautiful bow you can shoot, period.
How to Buy the Best Recurve Bows
1. Purpose
Your purpose for buying a recurve bow is important because it determines the specifications of the right bow for you, including its length, draw weight, accessories, and any other important features.
If you want to go hunting, for example, you'll need a bow with the least draw weight of 40 lbs, which is additionally as silent as possible.
2. Draw Weight
This is the amount of force that the bow produces and that's available to shoot the arrow when fully drawn. There are generally no draw weight restrictions except in competitions and for hunting.
In order to make archery easier and fun though, draw weights get suggested for different archers depending on their size. These suggestions appear below.
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Body Weight Range |
Archer's Weight |
Suggested Draw Weight |
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Small Kids |
70 - 100 lbs |
10 - 15 lbs |
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Bigger Kids |
100 - 130 lbs |
15 - 25 lbs |
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Small Females |
100 - 130 lbs |
25 - 35 lbs |
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Medium-Framed Females |
130 - 160 lbs |
25 - 35 lbs |
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Large-Framed Females |
160+ lbs |
30 - 45 lbs |
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Small-Framed Males |
120 - 150 lbs |
30 - 45 lbs |
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Medium-Framed Males |
150 - 180 lbs |
40 - 55 lbs |
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Large-Framed Males |
180+ lbs |
45 - 60 lbs |
3. Bow Length
Longer bows typically shoot better and more accurately than shorter ones, but since recurves typically produce enough draw weight without being too long, portability often becomes overshadows length.
It's left for you, in this case, to choose between a longer and a more portable bow. If you're target practicing, then length shouldn't matter much, but if you're going hunting, you'll want to keep the bow as short as possible for optimal maneuverability.
4. Take-Downs
If you're planning to travel a lot with your recurve bow, then you should seriously consider a take-down recurve bow such as the D&Q Package , because it allows you to quickly dismantle the bow and to pack it safely for storage or transportation as well.
5. Accessories
Although most archery purists will prefer to shoot with just a bow and an arrow, you are, however, free to buy a recurve bow with as many accessories as you fancy.
While most of the accessories like bow sight, quiver, and arm guard are optional, you should know that having a bow stringer is a must if you have a recurve bow.
6. Quality & Price
Quality and price vary from bow to bow, with the price getting higher with the quality. This is usually based on the material's durability, the quietness of the bow, its design, and other features.
Since each person is different and has different needs, it's left for you here to reach a decision which offers you a comfortable balance between the bow's price and its quality.
7. Handedness
This one too is important because you want to make sure you're getting a right-handed bow if you're right-handed and vice versa.
Conclusion
You've seen the best, the most powerful, and the top-rated recurve bows and it's now your turn to make a choice as we've come to the end of this review.
You can either go with the best overall, in which case our recommendation is the SAS Spyder , with its flexibility and 1-year warranty.
Or if you're after the best budget bow for youths, then our recommendation is the SAS Spirit with its attractive pricing, fiberglass limbs, and 3-year warranty.
For those who love the extra-ordinary, our recommendation is the
Buffalo Handmade traditional recurve bow
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