I have a Cabela’s gift card and have been wanting a recurve bow for a while now. I have a limit of $435. The bow I’m looking at is branded by Cabela’s and called the Thundor recurve bow. It’s actually made by Fleetwood Archery and is their Knight recurve bow. It’s a 66” bow and I’m getting it with 45lb limbs. I’m 6’1” 220lbs and my draw length is 29.4”. I do tree removal for work, so stay in pretty good shape. I have had a compound bow for a few years, but don’t shoot very often. I am comfortable with the mechanics of drawing a bow. I think I would shoot a recurve more though. I’ve also always kind of wanted a takedown bow for my hiking pack.

So, I wanted to get your guys’ opinion on the bow and accessories I’m thinking about ordering. I’ve heard some say that 45lb limbs are too heavy to start out with for a new recurve shooter. But I’ve read other guides that say that a man my size would be fine starting with a 40-55lb bow. The archery specialist at Cabela’s thought that the 45lb or even 50lb limbs would be fine for me. I could always get lighter limbs later. But if I was to get a bow with lighter limbs from the start, it wouldn’t be very good for hunting. So, what do you guys think of this bow?

Cabela’s Thundor recurve bow

As far as accessories go, I’m getting a glove, arrows, arm guard, a couple arrow rests, string silencers, feather fletched arrows, quiver, bow stringer, bow square, recurve sight, and a few extra nocks. My thoughts are that I will probably want to shoot as traditionally(from the shelf with feathers) as possible, but might want to play around with using the arrow rest so I could shoot plastic vaned arrows. I figured using a sight to start would help me get on target faster and avoid destroying arrows. Is there anything I just shouldn’t bother with? Should I ditch some of the accessories and get one of the more expensive bows Cabela’s has? I liked the Thundor bow because it has an aluminum riser, which seems like it would be more durable. Again, my limit is $435. Here is a screen shot of my order.

I also took a screen shot of the other recurve bows Cabela’s has to offer. So here they are:

Whichever bow you decide on, get a set of 30 lb limbs and practice your technique. Once you get good technique, then try out whatever weight limbs will meet poundage legal requirements for your State. I personally use a modern version longbow. It has reflex/deflex on the limbs. It is not tradional, but it works very well. Just don't let the "Traditional " guys get you down, use what you can do well with. The animals you shoot deserve a solid shot. Actual bows used by native users test out in the 30's lb area or even slightly less. Arrows kill by bleeding out an animal, sharp points are the real trick, combined with shot placement.

Well that’s kind of a problem. The lightest limbs this bow has is 45lbs. They have the same model bow(Cabela’s Thundor recurve) with a blue riser and 30lb limbs, but it looks like shit IMO. The one I have picked out has a camo riser. That being said, I could just spray paint camo the blue riser on the 30lb limb model. The dang limbs are like $80+shipping though. Which is more than half the cost of the damn bow. Do you think 45lb limbs would be too heavy to practice my technique with?

Yeah, I do. I would get a 3 piece takedown and start with 30-35# limbs. The Samick Sage, is very popular. The SWA Spyder is an ergonomically improved Sage and use the same limbs. Both can be had for under $150.00 Spyder is what I shoot 3D with. For hunting I had more than 1 but I found my Grizzly at 58" to be a nice compromise between maneuverability and ease of shooting. Due to an injury I can no longer use a vertical bow of adequate draw weight for hunting. Martin's (ie.Damon Howatt) current Black Mamba at 58" would really tempt me for a hunting bow as well; but I would hold off on that kind of bow until you have some experience under your belt. Custom bows I like Blackwidow and Timberhawk.

I know you have the gift card but this is still what I recommend

I wouldn't say 45 is too much, but 30 would be better... try searching google for Samick Sage, a very good design for beginning with all weights of limbs available.

I'd say 45# is a great starting weight. I started with a 37# at age 12 and would shoot my dad's Bear Grizzly which is 45# without much trouble. I'm only 5'8" now and was a scrawny kid.

Most important is to get a good match of arrows for your bow. A good bow shop is your best friend. Might cost a little more, but you should be on the right path out the gate.

Also check out eBay for a bow. Bought my son a Kodiak Magnum 45# for only $200 IIRC and it came with hunting arrows. This was probably 15 years ago though.

If you want to shoot a glove this is the best I've found: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dura-glove-archery-shooting-glove.html

I was shooting a 60# compound when I transitioned back to a recurve. Started with a 45#. Hadn't shot one since I was a teen and in retrospect I really wish I would have gone lighter. You really need to totally focus on your form and a bow that is completely effortless is very useful for doing that

Darn phone!

Lighter bows are certainly easier to learn with but I think you'll be fine with 45 lbs. Just shoot for short sessions the first couple of weeks. I think you will find that your draw length is a little shorter with a recurve but maybe not. I shoot a 45 lb. Bear Kodiak Magnum with a 30 inch arrow and 150 grain or 125 grain points and 500 spine arrows fly much better for me than the 400. I just got back into this myself and youtube is a big help, look for videos by Jeff Kavenaugh or Clay Hayes. Enjoy your new bow!

Thanks for all the input guys.

I think I might go with the one with the 30lb limbs and just camo spray paint the riser. Then, once I’m more comfortable with the bow, and my form is up to par, I’ll get heavier limbs.

What is your guy’s opinion on shooting from the shelf vs shooting from a rest? I know with shooting from the shelf, you can’t use plastic vanes, I thought about using a rest, as the availability of arrows would be a lot better. But I’m not sure.

Oh and to those advising that I get a different bow, from somewhere else, that isn’t an option. I have the Cabela’s gift card and that’s the only means I have to buy a bow at the moment. I’m not trying to sell it, because I would take over a hundred dollar hit selling it to an online service.

I shoot from a rest with feathers. It gives me the best arrow flight off the bow. It’s a little harder to keep the arrow on the rest than a shelf when drawing but once you get it down your better off IMO.

Used a seal fur rest in the past but it didn’t last very long. A rest will last a lot longer.

I use a rest with a thin metal wire flapper with a Teflon tube covering it.

This

I started out with a #45 Samick sage

Great first bow!  Has all the inserts for sights, stabilizers, rest. plus it breaks down to fit in your pack.  Can’t go wrong with this one .