AF Archery Tatar Recurve Bow, 54" Traditional Laminated Horse Bow for Mounted Archery and Precision Shooting Longbow Left Right Hand

Strong, good-looking, well made bow at an affordable price (I got mine for $129 in June of 2024). The bow is sold as black, but in the sunlight you can see it is almost brown, which I like. It also was listed as a 45 pound bow at 28 inches. Honestly, I do not draw this bow to 28, so I do not get the 45 pounds of draw. I draw it to 22-23", and get between 33-36 pounds of actual draw weight. That said, even with the shorter draw, I was able to get consistent 155-160 fps shots through the chronograph. So it is a fast, hard-hitting bow. I like short bows and the asiatic horse bow is one of my favorites. This is a great bow for recreational shooting, small game hunting, and shooting competitions including horse archery. For big game, I would get a heavier drawing bow so I would be sure to have enough power with a shorter draw. I don't think this manufacturer makes a bow over 50 lbs.

I've shot archery for over 3 decades, have taught archery, managed and judged sanctioned competitions. This bow itself is one of the finest bows I have ever shot, hands down. It is light weight, a real pleasure to shoot, and accurate.Note that the price seems to jump from $130 to $330 and back again. This identical bow is regularly available on Amazon for $130 and under, so note the current price before hitting the buy button. ;DThis is Mongolian / Turkish (Tatar) design. It is more difficult to string than normal recurves or longbows... even with a professional stringing device. So be VERY careful when stringing, every time. Those thin-width, significantly-curved tips could cause the bow to flip-n-strip very easily.Two solutions: I made my own bow stringer out of paracord, with two large-loop pieces of leather on the end. Instead of stringing off a tip of the bow, I place the leather strips on both limb centers, which stabilizes the bow during stringing and minimizes the chance of twisting and de-layering. I would not use a tip-based stringer; these tips are too curved and too unusual.Second solution: Once I got used to the bow, I use the standard step-through, brace on the shin and string method. One still has to be very careful. Make sure the braced limb is very flat and firmly placed on your shin. Hold the free limb close to the tip, bring the string up and under your palm, to the tip and into the anchor hole. VISUALLY CHECK the other end to make sure the string is centered on the string guide before releasing tension on the bow. This method works well if you're careful and attentive. With this type of bow the stringing process is most critical.The bow itself fires well if you enjoy traditional shooting (there's no shelf, no sight provision). I don't hunt so I ordered the 25# 'target bow' size (for $130), and am very pleased with my purchase.MODIFICATION: I shoot 'Olympic / Mediterranean' style (three finger, left side) rather than traditional thumb release. On a whim I made my own 'shelf' out of a bit of plumbers epoxy putty, painted black and added a brass nocking point on the string. This improved the accuracy significantly, as the arrow fires exactly the same way off the shelf every time. While not exactly traditional, this is an excellent modification to consider. My accuracy with this bow is excellent. (You can use wrapped, tied and glued string instead of a brass point... but such tends to be permanent thereafter.)I recommend 700-spine carbon arrows with feather fletchings. The bow itself is made of modern materials so there's no real need for traditional wood arrows unless your club requires it. Carbon arrows are much more consistent and accurate. I do have a set of 400 spine bamboo arrows and they're both fun to shoot and fairly accurate... but the carbons are lighter and more accurate.STANDARD TIPS: Always use arrows with feather fletchings, not vanes. Vanes are plastic and bounce off the bow, causing inaccurate results. Feathers bend and give. Investing in feathered carbon arrows is well worth it when it comes to increasing accuracy. I use Mediterranean (Olympmic) 3-finger shooting style... but that's just my personal preference.Beginners tip: If you're new to archery, shoot at 10 yards / meters. You can extend your range as your aim improves. 'Canting' the bow (leaning it a bit sideways rather than straight up and down) will improve accuracy. Watch videos for suggestions on all shooting styles and realize: every archer has their own preference and some can be very opinionated. Do what works for you. ;DQuality-wise, this bow can't be beat if you are looking for a Tatar / Mongolian-style bow. Otherwise my choice would be a thin-center shelf bow. But I specifically wanted a Mongolian style bow, so I opted for this quality Tatar model. The light weight of this bow make shooting it a delight. A friend who has the pro model of this bow (a lot more pricey) agrees it's one of his favorites.Again beware of different-seller price-hikes. But as for the bow itself, it's shiny.

Excellent bow! I was shocked at how lightweight it was compared to my first bow (another recurve, but one with a takedown metal riser). One thing to be aware of though, the product description mentions that the bow has bone chips to protect the arrow release point. The black bow does not have this. Only the slightly more expensive Oak version does. The black version does have some protective leather or tape instead of bone.

Be aware that these bows draw about ~10lbs UNDER their specified draw weight. The description says the specified draw weight is measured at 28" (the standard in archery) but the two 35# in oak that I ordered pull 24# and 25# @28" as measured on a calibrated bow scale. They are both right around 35# at max draw of 32". Honestly though, the full 35# would have been a lot more painful while getting used to thumb draw.Other than that I love the bow! The 1st one has been going strong for 6 months of daily shooting