how do I start with warbows

[daniel]

Hi Fellows
I'd like to start shooting warbows some day and need advice: to what bowweight You think its good to stick to at the beginning?
I have few years of experience with recurve (58@29") I'm 6' and around 195lbs
don't want something to heavy, cause I really like to learn good technique first to be able to pull full 32" or more
and 2-nd question: would You go for laminated hardwood longbow or Yew selfbow if You could get these two at the same price?
regards
Daniel

[adb]

Hi,
I believe it's a process of working your way up. If you're shooting 50-60# now, next step would be 70-80#. I might take you several months to master a weight change.
If you go right up to 100+#, you will hurt yourself. Medieval archers spent a lifetime working up to heavy bows.
As far as a bow goes... yew selfbows are expensive! Like $800 to $1000 expensive, for a warbow. Plus, they have a limited life. If you have a choice, go with a laminate bow. It will last much longer.

[daniel]

Thank You adb3112,
I can pull +70# longbow fairly easy, but I guess I will take Your advice, and stay in 70-80 range for few months;
about Yew longbows: I have a buddy in Poland who makes them from baltick Yew, and they cost about the same as Bickerstaffe laminate bows
looks like I'll be buying and selling few bows on my way to 120#
regards
daniel

[markinengland]

Daniel,
One approach would be to have a bow that you can reasonably comfortably pull to say 28 inches, and use this to work your draw back and draw weight up with lots of shooting. At the same time you can have a heavy bow that you can just draw to say 28 inches with difficulty. Use this to  develop strength, pulling maybe 10 times every morning and every evening, until you can pull it failry confortably to 28 inches. Now start shooting with this, and work back draw length and weight. go back to the lighter bow to re-estblish good form and accuracy, switch back to the heavy bow.
You could quite easily end up having three bows, all of which get use, heavy to develop strength, lighter for form.
I think it is good to shoot the heavy bow at distances and with a very different "in-the-bow" style. there is a risk of injury if you try to use the static arm strength draw with a heavy bow.
I can shoot a 90lb or so long warbow at a roving shoot, but maybe half that weight primitive bow for field archery.
Maybe you could pull more that 80lbs. Only one way to find out, make one!
Mark in England

[alanesq]

Hi Daniel,

If you can draw a 70lb bow (I assume you mean to 28"?) then you souldnt have any problem at all pulling a 80lb at 32" warbow
You draw a warbow in a very different way to any other bow and so the weight isnt as difficult as it sounds

You will probably find that when you get your first warbow it wont be long at all until you are ready to go up in weight so no point spending a lot of money on it

[Yeomanbowman]

I'm not sure where the idea that a self yew warbow was a thing on fleeting ephemeral beauty came from. That it's all very ‘nice’ but will self destruct after a short while, but it hasn’t been my experience. 
If you are looking to move up draw weight them a cheap laminate may be a pragmatic answer, based on cost.
However, why do you want to shoot in the warbow?  For me it’s a connection with my history and my heritage, so I shoot a self-bow in a period wood. That’s the real McCoy! 
If well made and looked after a self-yew will last you well, trust me on this one.  Maybe get a laminate initially, until you are happy with your style and draw weight etc., but don’t think that a self-yew/ wych elm will not last.  It will.

[stevesjem]

I totally agree with Yeomanbowman.

[daniel]

thats the guy I was talking about: Lukasz Nawalny, from Lodz in Central Poland
Chaetaux, could You post some pictures of these bows? 

[Loki]

There's a Polish Bowyer selling a 'WarBow' on ebay now,65#@30" made from taxus cuspidata,does your Bow have a Camelot Badge on it?