I want to learn to shoot a long bow. I have a stand at my place that I could kill a deer out of every day. 20 yard max shot. I don't want to rush it. I would like to get a bow and start shooting. I want to be ethical so, might not even try this year unless I'm confident.

Where do I start? Brand? Size? I'm tall and long armed . 31" draw plus D loop on my compound bow. Don't mind spending the $ on nice equipment. Would love to build my own. I have a fairly extensive woodworking background from years past.

Any help would be appreciated

The AMO standard for poundage on trad bows is measured at 28”. So if you’re a 31” draw, you will pull more weight than what the bow is listed at. Keep that in mind. How much weight depends on the bow. Some of them really start stacking past 28”. If you’re pulling 70# with your compound, don’t assume you will with a trad. bow. Best advice I can give you is start off with a 40# bow, nothing too expensive, just to get you’re feet wet. See how you like it and get a feel for what you like. If you stick with it, then upgrade. Shoot a heavy arrow with a cut on contact broadhead. As for what spine arrow you shoot, that’s going to depend on the weight and of the bow and what point weight you want to use. You’re going to have to be careful choosing your spine because you’ll most likely be shooting full length shafts and won’t be able to cut the shafts to stiffen them up when you bareshaft tune it.

There should be a few other guys chime in that are more knowledgeable about trad bows than myself (Boff and BhamFred).

Thanks Shaw. Are there any Archery shops around that lean towards Traditional? I don't mind traveling.

Shaw pretty much covered it all. I'll add some ammo to one thing he talked about. Stacking. I have a 29" draw length. I have owned one bow that came in 10 lbs over 28" weight just adding the 1 more inch. It was a Hoyt Gamemaster 2. I hated it. Another guy loved it because the stacking served as a draw stop for him. The best trad bows are purely personal preference. You can spend as little or as much on them as you want. Shaw recommended a 40 pounder. With your draw length, I'd suggest even going lower than that. Maybe even 30lbs. I don't know about longbows but I know with recurves that you can buy risers where you can interchange the limbs. You could buy one riser, get a light set of limbs and work up in weight as you get more use to it. Too heavy a weight in a stick bow will make you have really bad form. Nothing could be worse for a trad shooter than having bad form. When I got my first one, I was shooting 90 lbs on my compound and I could shoot it for hours on end. I shot at least 2 hours every day. That was back in the day that if you wanted ANY speed, you had to shoot really heavy draw weight. I got a 65# Martin Hatfield Takedown. It took every bit of strength I had for me to pull it back to any anchor point. It took me a decade to get over the bad form that I learned from shooting that bow. START LIGHT

Call me buddy. I got bows you can try and I got wood to make bows and I got skills. 205-486-7479 leave a message. I'm in Haleyville

Also if you just want to keep it simple to start.pick out bow I'd go 50 lbs. Order bow,shooting glove,arm guard and arrows and put knock on string and go out and start shooting.
You might want to buy some cheap full length arrows to start some aluminum Easton xx75 or cheap carbon just to get feel for it and help decide on arrow selection for later on and your going to lose some starting out for awhile before you order those nice cedar shaft arrows. also recommend buying some hay bales to put behind target till you get a anchor point settled in to catch your arrows

watch video after video after video. i'd suggest a samick sage or other takedown recurve for which heavier limbs may be purchased. yes, start with 40 pounds or so. when you start shooting, start at 10 FEET. when you can put three arrows in a coffee cup at 10 feet, back up five feet. repeat process, backing up five feet at a whack until you are confident at your chosen max distance. matching field point/broad head weight to arrow spine to bow weight LOOKS far more complicated than it really is. there are several trad shooters here who know mucho ...

There are certain things that must be done consistently,exactly the same just like in rifle shooting. Best to learn from someone who knows what they are doing than someone who thinks they know. When I started I sought out the top archers to teach me.

I'm going to call you soon.

Good advice in the above post. You may not end up pulling as far with a recurve.
Southwest Archery makes a good takedown for bout $165.
Limbs cost $80 so you can move up in poundage later.
Basicly the same bow as the Samick Sage.
As mentioned above..dont start out with too much poundage.

Put up your man card and go light and understand your draw length won't be nearly as long as with a compound. I'm 6'2" and around 240. I started longbow hunting with around 70# and it didn't take long to have it reworked (shaved down) to a poundage I could shoot properly and with good consistent form. Learn good form without worrying about hitting your target. Shoot a bale of hay for a while before you begin learning to aim. Hitting a good consistent anchor point is more important than anything with traditional archery. For tournaments I will be around 45# at my draw length of 29" and hunting usually around 50-55# according to which bow I decide to hunt with that day. Recurves are more forgiving but there's just something special about a longbow to me. I do shoot both though.

anchor point, anchor point, anchor point; release, release, release.
i use a finger tab rather than glove. far more consistent for me. i also use three fingers under nock; again, most consistent for me ...

Some great advice here from some guys. I would also say to start with a light draw weight and get your form correct. I would recommend a bow that has interchangeable limbs so that your bow can grow with you instead of having to get used to a new bow when you want to up your draw weight. I started with the Samick sage at 45lbs then progressed up to 55# in a couple of years. Then I invested in a higher quality bow once my form was ok and my muscles adapted. I would also highly recommend practicing from an elevated position such as a tree stand. Also spend some time getting your arrows tuned to your rig, it will help you a lot. Good luck

I just started shooting a traditional some this year. I got a Samick Sage to start out with and like it so far. I shoot 65# on my compound but went with a 45# on the recurve and I'm glad I did. I would wouldn't go over 50# personally. I enjoy shooting lots of arrows so the 45# has worked out great for me so I can focus on form.