A takedown recurve's ability to be taken apart and easily stored after a day at the range or a morning in the field makes them very popular for recreational archers and traditional bowhunters. These bows are commonly sold in kits that need to be assembled. Properly setting up a takedown recurve bow provides a simple platform for an archer to learn proper shooting form and gain confidence in their equipment and abilities.
How to Set Up a Takedown Recurve
When you receive your takedown recurve bow, it will probably arrive in a box with a bunch of parts. You will want to start the setup process by grabbing the riser and limbs. The limbs will be marked as a top limb and a bottom limb. The markings for this should be near where the bolt goes through to attach the limbs to the riser. Once you've identified which limb is which, you will attach them to the riser using the bolts that come included with the bow. Screw the limb bolts all the way in by hand; they should be snug but don't need to be super tight. After the limbs are bolted on they should your bow should look something like this:
Once you have the limbs attached to the bow, you are ready to string it. A bow stringer is a good tool for this as it makes the process of stringing the bow both easier and safer. On the string, you will notice that one loop is larger than the other. The larger loop of the two is meant to go on the top limb. Run the large loop over the top limb and pull it down the limb so that you have room to place the small loop on the bottom limb. After placing the string on the bow, use a bow stringer to string the bow by placing the bottom limb in the pocket of the bow stringer and running the loop end of the bow stringer over the top limb. Then, step on the bow stringer and pull up on the riser to bend the limbs. This will give you the room needed to secure the string in the groove in the top limb and string the bow.
Once you have the string on the bow, you will want to make sure your brace height is within the manufacturer's specifications. The recommended brace height range for your bow can be found in the owner's manual. To check your brace height, a bow square is a nice tool, but any tape measure will work. To find your brace height, measure from the throat of the grip to the nearest point on the string. If you need to adjust your brace height, unstring your bow, and add twists if you need a higher brace height, or remove twists to lower your brace height.
Once your brace height is set, you are ready to get the rest and nocking points installed. Most takedown bow kits come with a plastic stick-on rest that is attached to the bow using an adhesive. The rest should be mounted on the riser with the hole in the rest lining up with the threaded hole on the inside of the riser. Once you have the rest attached, get your bow square back out for the nocking points. The nocking points that come with these bow kits are brass nocking points that are clamped onto the string. To find where you should place them, start by clipping the bow square onto the string and move it up or down so that it is lying on the blade of the rest. The bottom edge of the top nocking point should be 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch above the center line on the bow square. Clamp the nocking point onto the string using nocking pliers. After you have the top nocking point attached, grab an arrow and nock it on the string right below the nocking point and place it on the rest. Clamp your second nocking point below the arrow's nock while leaving a little bit of room to prevent the nock from being pinched at full draw.
At this point, your bow is ready to shoot! Once you are done shooting for the day, you will want to unstring the bow to preserve the strength and straightness of the limbs. You can store the bow unstrung with the limbs still attached, or take down the bow into its three main pieces: the riser and two limbs, once the string has been removed. The limb bolts may be unscrewed and the limbs removed for more compact storage; just be sure to check that the top and bottom limbs are in their respective limb pockets when you set the bow up for your next practice session.