When you look at the modern archery equipment on the market today, one could argue that it isn't necessarily that traditional.  Fast compound bows with high let-offs, armed with fiberoptic sights, torque stabilizers, and dampeners definitely have an edge over traditional recurve bows.

I'm not going to abandon my Matthews Switchback, but in an effort to get even more challenge out of the hunt, I've recently picked up a Browning Cobra 2 Recurve Bow.  I have to say that I love it.  I haven't shot recurve bows since I was a kid at camp.

I was initially struck by the look of this bow.  I love the different layers of laminated wood.  I personally believe that Browning was a strong leader in the quality an manufacturing of recurve bows.

BROWNING VINTAGE RECURVE BOW NOMAD I 48 54 1E262 1 RH 2 DEADLY ARROWS    US $59.95

Browning Fury ll recurve LH bow hunting vintage    US $51.00

After stringing this bow up and shooting it a few times, I was struck by the differences between traditional recurve bows and modern compounds.  The most noticeable difference was the lack of the let-off.  With a compound bow, your draw weight peaks before you reach full draw, and then the draw weight is reduced by 65 - 80% at full draw.  The recurve is the opposite, where the draw weight starts off light and increases to the peak draw weight at full draw.  As a compound bow hunter, I tend to draw a little early and let my shot develop because I can hold my full draw due to the letoff.  With the recurve, I will probably wait and draw right at the point that I will shoot, because it will be more difficult to hold full draw.

I'm looking forward to the challenge though, and can't wait to get into the woods with my recurve.