Any of the bows you mention could be good. Since comfort is important to you I'd guess that you will have to try them to see what is comfortable.

Also, since you are only holding at most 15lbs with your current setup (58lbsx75% let off) I would suggest much lighter limbs to start (maybe 30lbs at fingers, so 35lb short limb would get you in the ballpark at your draw length).

One of the nice things about ILF is that you can easily swap limbs, and your lower weight limbs will be good for form training later on after you move to the heavier limbs. Also, ILF limbs are super easy to sell if you feel like you are really just done with them.

 

Welcome..... are you an experienced shooter just new to ILF, or brand new to shooting?

brand new to shooting start here for an inexpensive setup...
https://www.3riversarchery.com/fleetwood-hunter-ilf-recurve-riser.html
https://www.lancasterarchery.com/tradtech-black-max-2-0-glass-wood-recurve-limbs.html
hard to beat for the money.

Just new to ILF..... spend your money on the best riser you can afford.... a quality riser is heart and soul of ILF rig, and get an inexpensive set of starter limbs.... with ILF, you will end up with several sets in no time...

3Rivers DAS and Tribute risers are some of the best out there...
https://www.3riversarchery.com/das-bows-risers.html

Edit: with a 26" draw, get short, or medium length limbs...... longs will not preform as well...

 

That is too short and too heavy to learn. 64" and 30# would be better.

 

I started a few years back and I did not pay attention to this good advice. Length and poundage! I have nothing but good things to say about the Samick riser. I have one setup with longbow limbs that makes a very nice shooting 64" bow and another setup with recurve limbs at 60". I shoot both fairly well but if I was to be totally honest, I shoot better with the 64" bow. Personally, I would start out longer than 58". Coming over from the compound world as many do I think the bow length freaks us all out a little too much. You get used to it very easily.

 

I would get a 23" riser and medium limbs..in fact I have a set of samick universal limbs in 36# medium for sale...great carbon woods same as the samick/tradtech carbon woods. That will give you 66" do all bow

 

I’d recommend a 17” riser and short limbs. I also recommend getting a riser with multiple grip options. The Titan II and DAS Dalaa risers offer multiple grip options and the Titan has the pocket weight system to tinker with if you’d like.

 

I would recommend you tell us what you plan to do with the bow.
A lot depends on what you want to do.
Hunting you can go short but not to short. Hunt and 3D then longer, target even longer.
As you see you have answers from 58” to 68”


Chad

 

As a starter bow, a warf riser is hard to beat. I really like the way mine feels and shoots. I've used three different limbs and they all shoot great.

 

If you are set on Samick Discovery, Black Elk and Tbow, I would buy long limbs - all the risers and the limbs will be in a decent bow size for your draw length.
Samick Discovery + longs = 62" bow
Black Elk + longs = 66" bow
Tbow + longs = 64" bow

If you buy limbs measured on a 25" riser, I would buy #26-#28@28. This will bring your weight on fingers in the low #30s area.
If you buy limbs measured on 17" riser - TT 2.0 and the rest of TT, Samick Discovery, I would buy #30
If you want a wood riser on budget but with good looks White Feather Lark in 19" or 21" is another option.

 

Guys...thanks you so much for the recommendations and definitely will consider a longer limbs and lower poundage than what I was thinking in the beginning. I will start browsing for this bow set-up and forward to my quest on shooting recurve bow...thanks again

 

thanks for the offer, let me find myself a riser and I will contact you

 

I will use this for hunting and off season practice...not for any kind of shoot / tournament

 

LOT of the guys have liked the SAMICK DISCOVERY riser.
do a search for it on here and read up on their take(s).
Not sure where your budget lies.

 

So as a beginner, what determines the length of riser recommended?

 

In general is the draw length. The choice of bow length is just discussed in target archery
up to 27" DL - 66" AMO bow
up to 29" DL - 68" AMO bow
plus 29" DL - 70" AMO bow
From here, it is just personal preference passed down as "I know better" rule. For hunting bows:
up to 27"DL - 60" bow
up to 29"DL - 62" AMO bow
above 29" DL - 64" AMO bow
This doesn't mean you can't pick a 54" bow for 30" DL or 64"bow for 26.5" DL. The longer bow will help you to learn easier.

 

I love my Border 19" Tempest with a pair of CV9-H 40# mediums. it's setup with quiver mount.

 

For people with no experience with recurves, I usually tell those who will not be hunting to get a 25" riser and for those who will be hunting I suggest a 19" riser. Factors like age, height, body strength, etc. can affect those recommendations. From there they can use draw length to determine which limb length to go with. Those with hunting experience who know they will be in a blind or a tree stand a lot can go with a shorter riser, but in general I usually say to go with as long as a riser as you can. Just my opinion.

 

So length doesn't affect what I would call shoot-ability in a big way?

 

Longer bow= easier to shoot well for many reasons. More stable due to length, often easier to draw / "smoother" since longer limbs won't "stack" up as quickly, etc. Careful though, if you go too large it starts being less efficient... With a 26" draw you don't need a very big bow in any case.

Generally accepted guidance from community in past:
A target recommendation would be 64-66" (long limbs, 19-21" riser)
A hunter, for a bit easier handling and nice shooting comfort, might be 60-64" (long limbs, 15-19" riser.) Popular on prairies/grasslands/forests without a ton of undergrowth.
A hunter, stalking in dense brush or in a tight stand/blind might want shorter.. tips hang up on everything.

A couple of good articles below on bow length from different PoV below- hunting and target. Worth reading for a bit.
https://www.bowhunter.com/editorial...nal-bow/182296#:~:text=Bow Length&text=The old rule was if,to be a happy medium.
https://www.lancasterarchery.com/blog/what-size-recurve-bow-is-right-for-me/
-----------------------------------
Below is my PoV- take with a big grain of salt: All presuming ILF is your choice.

Almost any riser is a "good riser"- man, wait for the fur to fly on that comment. Grips vary, without trying them it is hard to tell. You won't know what "feels good" unless you go to a coach or pro shop and shoot a bunch of different bows.. and after a year you might have a different opinion anyway. I have shot about 10 different risers myself in 6 years. I like some grips better, but you learn to use them all. I like pretty wood risers.

I would just buy long limbs. Having a ton of limb lengths is confusing. Nothing shorter than "mediums." Spending more than $100 to start out would be wasted- galaxy bronze or silver star limbs are cheap, and good.

Whatever riser you get buy lighter limbs like 16# or 20#, they will be heavier on your short riser anyway. Just plan to invest in new limbs as you get experience. Light limbs can be cheap too.. it will hardly matter starting out.

Arrows are the hard part of the equation. I read in some book "Bow easy, arrows hard." Too true. Many folks recommend aluminum to start with, and there is no argument they are safer to start with! I tune in carbon arrows for my friends starting out with LIGHT limbs since lower arrow mass=more speed= less drop=more fun shooting. I can build out carbon arrows that are very durable and about 30% lighter than aluminum pretty easily. That means about 30% less drop.. 20# bow will shoot to 20yds easily, 30yds even.
-------
I personally start folks on the simplest, cheapest "decent" recurves I can find.. like a Samick Sage. If money is not a factor, consider just buying a bear takedown. Simple, no LLA screws to worry about, etc.
-------
And to close: Buy "shooting the stickbow".. Get a coach to help out, get your new bow set up properly with you, some decently matched arrows to start with, etc... worth a few $100 if it saves you a year of trial and error.
--------------------------

 

oh.. and keep an eye out on our classifieds section here
https://tradtalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=71

or over on archery talk similar.. and today there is a set of 20# mediums for $75..
https://www.archerytalk.com/threads/soul-blackflash-limbs.5965714/