RECURVE OR COMPOUND

[BOBANDTOBY]

I am looking at buy ing a crossbow and I cant decide which to go with. I dont know the pros or cons of both so I am asking on here. I know it might be a little bias towards the recurve because that is what excaliber sells but I just want some honest opinions. The only thing that I can tell is the width difference.
thanks

[warningshot]

recurve....lighter bows ...ususally
recurve ...less maintance and easier to change strings etc .. and less to go wrong with
recurve ...wider resulting in more difficult to drag thru the bush

[vixenmaster]

Don't own a compound CB, Pro's on Excals lighter over-all weight, abit easier through brush as its just one string without cables & cams. Depending on the model maybe abit slower in speed than compounds. I use & shoot the smaller models much easier on me. Easier to work on if you have to. Easier to string & restring. I haven't found anything i don't like about mine unless you try to shoot out of a single chair blind,

[Pydpiper]

The compound does have an advantage, and that is the width as you know, but the recurve has many advantages too that far out weigh the width standpoint.
If you only plan on using your crossbow to hunt with once or twice a year from a blind than a compound may be worth considering.

[blackjack]

g'day l sold a horton early last year after l got my first excalibur the compound was just so heavy the excalibur there just so simple & lite well the width man its a bee's dick just a few inches, but what ever you choose good luck ok. regards from australia

[lscha]

WELCOME BobandToby!

I am biased but my husband is not. A couple of months after I bought my Ibex he bought a popular TenPoint model. We hunted with them this past season.
1. I noticed that during discussions with other people he always bragged up the Excalibur.
2. His has an auto safety and anti-dry-fire mechanism, but he didn't like that he had to shoot an arrow to uncock his.
3. He adjusts his scope about 10 times more than I do.
4. He had to take his in to the sport shop to have his string adjusted.
5. He noticed that mine is not as front heavy as his.

I recently tweaked mine a bit and he said "Save that other part for when I take over the Ibex and you get your Vixen".

I see some changes coming!!

[hawg hunter]

have been shooting a xbow for about 5yrs now, own both recurves and compounds. both are very accurate,the compound must be serviced regularly to keep it shooting accurately,recurves you just change the string yourself,compds are heavier,recurves are wider, dollar for dollar recurves are cheaper for the same performance.

[Undertaker]

The Vortex is the best bow out there. Plenty of steam to go clean through, yet tame enough to be enjoyable to shoot. My second choice would be the Ibex, for the same reasons.

If you have to have blazing speed to satisfy, then get a compound. If it is just for hunting and plinking, get the recurve.

There is a man here who shoots the same holes at twenty yards, hard to top that.

Plenty of quality hunters here, who could afford any other brand, and yet.....they love their recurves.

You should at least handle an Excalibur before you commit your cash elsewhere. Plenty of time till next season anyways.

I love my Vortex, and am grateful I took my time in deciding.

[picasso]

A recurve goes along with most things that I believe in which is to say "Keep it Simple"!!
With a recurve you have reliability, accuracy and pretty much maintenance free.
Simple is the way to go in my opinion.

Picasso

[bob1961]

before i bought my exocet 200 i did my homework....excalibur crossbow's are the only crossbow out there that i never heard of any recalls on, that sold me right there....can't say that bout any other crossbow from what i've read and heard, true or not i'm not sure....i have cabela's lighten set 4 season blind and can sit two in there with crossbows and has height for compound bows too....it has 75" x 75" footprint with over 6 foot height inside....my exocet is shooting my custom made 550 gr 2117's XX75 camo hunters at 295 fps with just under 100 fp of KE at 40 yards....i have speed with a ton of knock down power and can work on my own crossbow ..............bob

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[sumner4991]

I don't like going to a bow shop to have work done on a crossbow. There qare still a lot of archery shops that are not crossbow friendly. Therefore, for me, I'd have to buy a bow press. I don't really have room to put something I'm not going to use but, maybe once or twice a year. Also, I was thinking how hard it would be to take the bowpress with me on my hunts. If I broke a string, then I suppose my hunting would stop until I found a local archery shop.

I think you get the idea . . .the benefits just didn't seem worth the hassle. Besides, once I'm set up in my blind, I have plenty of room. The width of my recurve hasn't been an issue. Getting a deer into my shooting lane . . .a little more difficult.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[dutchhunter]

well i can say that after hunting with cross bows for 20 years now and first starting of with the horton hunter .a great bow for deer .no doubt about it .we did shoot a lot of deer with the 150lb bows .never did i feel under powered .about 10 years ago i got my first xcal from bill himself and just got to love it and the service that came with it .i never realy had any problems with the horton or the xcals .but last fall well at a 3 d shoot in woodstock i had a string give out on me .with my xcal recurve i change the string in the woods and never even missed my place in line .got to love that easy working tool .a lot less to go wrong .thy both will hunt and do it well .but for my money and the trip of a LIFE TIME or just a trip to the back forty the recurve will get her done with a lot less worrys DUTCH

[the elf]

Well said Dutch !!!------Simpler is better---no fuss --less worries--more time for fun.

[Cossack]

I shoot both. The compound is my fling with speed and "sexy>" That said, I'm finding that speed has it's downside: hard on gear and targets. I tend to pick up one of the recurves more and more, be it for fun shooting or hunting.
I make my own arrows, strings and maintenance so the going to a shop issue isn't pertinent. However servicing the compound is much more involved. Had to build a press because the one at the local shop wasn't strong enough and didn't adjust down to the size of my bow. I can change strings on the recurve in several minutes using nothing more than a homemade stringer. The Flemish strings I make for the Excals are both stronger and quieter (not to mention less expensive) than the 'endless loop' strings and cables I make for the compound.
Since they have fewer moving parts The Excals are stronger, more durable and trouble free. They use flat nocks, which IMO are stronger and more accurate than the moon nocks required by the compound. And, I needn't worry about indexing the arrow.
Yes, the compound is narrower and faster. The downside is that it's more difficult to cock and is heavier. It has a flatter trajectory, shorter flight time and longer range. However, the recurves both shoot minute of deer to 40 yards, my personal distance for live targets ...regardless of which bow I'm using.
After owning 5 bows, 2 compounds and 3 recurves, and if having to pick just one (heaven forbid), it would likely be my Phoenix or it's sexy sibling the Ibex.
i can shoot that bow all day without getting tired, gives me complete passthrough at 4o yards and is more accurate than I am.
Oh, by the way, not to overlook the no-questions-asked lifetime warranty.

[gerald strine]

The thing that goes on crossbow are the serving ,on a compound you need a press to reserve or restring on the re curve you can reserve your self or restring very cheep a cable job at the archery shop is $ 50.00