The Recurve Bow

A recurve bow is a bow that, in contrast to the simple longbow, has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is held in the shooting position. The technical difference between recurve and other bows is that the string also touches the limbs of a recurve bow when strung, while only touching the tips of other types. The recurved form is employed in both traditional composite bows and competitive bows. Those used by archers in the Olympics employ advanced technologies and materials. The limbs of these are typically made from multiple layers of fibreglass, carbon and/or wood on a core of carbon foam or wood. The riser (central part of the bow) is usually constructed from aluminium or magnesium. A range of aluminium/carbon hybrid bows have been produced of late and an Italian manufacturer has begun to produce a carbonfiber riser. Risers for beginners are usually made of wood or plastic.
The recurved limbs allow for: A lower bracing height with the same limb length, or a shorter limb length with the same bracing height, More spring force over the first few inches of draw, and A smoother draw. It is the only form of bow permitted in the Olympics (though the Compound bow is permitted in some categories at the Paralympic Games) and is the most widely used by European and Asian sporting archers.

The recurved shape of the limbs causes a fairly linear increase in force as the string is drawn back. By contrast, the traditional longbow tends to "stack"—that is, the required draw force increases more rapidly per unit of draw length as the string is drawn back. A recurve will permit a shorter bow than the simple bow for a given arrow energy and this form was preferred by archers in environments where long weapons could be cumbersome, such as in brush and forest terrain, or while on horseback. A recurve bow releases its energy more efficiently than a longbow, giving a greater amount of cast for a given draw weight than a longbow.

An unstrung recurve bow can have a confusing shape and many Native American weapons were incorrectly strung and destroyed when attempts were made to shoot them. This is especially true of the reflex bow. Like the recurve bow, this design was used to increase the amount of stored energy in the bow. However, the reflex bow when unstrung flexes its entire self away from the archer, like a backwards "C". When strung it resembles a strung recurve bow.

Recurves have been used in Africa, Asia and Middle Eastern countries since before the Middle Ages. The Huns shot composite recurve bows from horseback as did Genghis Khan's hordes 700 years later. During the Early Middle Ages recurve bows first spread to Spain and Greece and later became relatively commonplace in all European countries. They became extensively used as an alternative to longbows for centuries. Throughout this time there were two types of longbows; symmetric and non-symmetric.

The modern Olympic-style recurve is a development of the American Flat Bow, with rectangular-section limbs that taper towards the limb tips. Most recurves today are "take-down" bows—that is, the limbs can be detached from the riser for ease of transportation and storage, and for interchangeability of limbs. Older recurves and some modern hunting recurves are one-piece bows. Hunters often prefer one-piece bows over take-down bows because the limb pockets on take-down bows can often be a source of noise.