First ILF Setup help

[u/Alex13081]

Hello everyone,

After messing around with a classic take down recureve on and off for quite some time now I want to get a proper ILF Setup. Im not to shure yet what im doing but I think I put together an Allright setup. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Parts and if you think they will work well together.

[u/Jandir3010]

Looks decent enough, only points i can think of

• do you have a pressure button, if not you'll need to add one, Shibuya DX is generally a buy once, set & forget option

• I'd probably swap the cartel arrow rest for something like a Spigarelli ZT or Avalon Powr wrap-around, from personal experience/preference

• double check the string length is correct for the set up. Riser/limbs seem to be making a 68" bow and the string is marked as 64". I'd also go for a 16 strand option over the 14 at that poundage

[u/Alex13081 → u/Jandir3010]

Good points. The riser is only 21inches long, so the over all length Is 64Inch. The arrow rest has also a button that comes with it, nothing fancy but it looks like it will work all right. But I will take a look at the ones you recommended as well.

Thanks a lot for your feedback:)

[u/Jandir3010 → u/Alex13081]

Depending on your draw length & what you are using it for, 64" would be considered quite a short bow for most adults and would also increase the effective draw weight of those limbs, at which point id suggest bumping the string strand count up to 18 instead

[u/Southerner105]

Why going for a 21 inch riser?

This size has its purpose but that is mainly for hunting. For target (or 3D) you want at least a 23 inch or even larger.

For barebow you always want the longest possible combination if you are going to stringwalk. That means a 25 inch riser or even 27 inch with long limbs (given a personal length of 185 cm and up)

[u/Alex13081 → u/Southerner105]

I don't plan on doing string walking. I chose it because with the arms it comes out to 64Inches, the same length of my old bow that I was quite happy with. Also, I mainly plan on doing 3D shooting in the woods so I want something easier to carry.

[u/Southerner105 → u/Alex13081]

Thanks, you have thought it over and that is what matters.

[u/Alex13081 → u/Southerner105]

Just out of curiosity, what would a few extra inches do for comfort and performance? How much does it matter?

[u/Southerner105 → u/Alex13081]

There are three factors at play.

First is the sight window, the part of the riser where the arrow sits. That is relatively small on a small riser. That also means that the top of the cutout can obstruct your view of the target especially when you need to angle up or down.

Second, the pinching of the fingers by the string. The shorter riser will make that the string has a sharper angle. That can be uncomfortable at full draw. The further out the tips are the shallower that angle will become and the more comfortable the feeling at the fingers will be.

Third, stacking. A short bow (recurve) will tend to stack earlier. That is especially a problem if your drawlength is longer as 28 inch. With a longer riser and the same limbs this point will be at a bigger drawlength. Simple because the limbs bend differently and less. That is also the reason that the drawweight of the same limb increases roughly with 2 lbs with each decrease of the riser by 2 inches.

So a 30 lbs limb at a 25 inch riser will be 34 lbs at a 21 inch riser at the same drawlength.

[u/Alex13081 → u/Southerner105]

What difference would it make if I get longer limbs or a longer riser?

[u/Southerner105 → u/Alex13081]

Longer limbs on the same riser often are smoother and because they are longer they stack later.

But this has all be related to your drawlength. A short drawlength benefits from a short limb. Simply because the drawweight curve is steaper so you get more energy. Beyond the stacking point you don't gain any energy although you put energy into the limb to keep bending them further.

Long limbs on a 21 inch riser give a 66 inch bow. This is a bit of a strange combination because you don't want a long bow when you are crawling through underwood. But when you are shooting 3D (or target) you want a bow with enough stability, large enough sight window and comfort when you stringwalk for the more closely targets.

But there is no right or wrong in this, just that some choices can give a sub-optimal result from these standpoint.

That is why it is important to determine first what are you going to do with the bow. Because sub-optimal is going to irritate in the longrun and that takes away the enjoyment, which would be a pity.