Traditional Recurve Crossbows

A traditional recurve crossbow is a crossbow with the standard crossbow components and wooden or metal recurve limbs. The recurve bow design originates from Central Asia and was especially prominent among the Turkic and Mongolic speaking nomads of the Eurasian steppes, from which it spread to East Asia, the Near East and Europe. While the recurve design dates from 2000 BC, the earliest specimens of the recurve crossbow date to the 4th Century BC. The recurve design was especially useful for horseback archers because it resulted in a very compact, powerful bow.

  1. Physical Components

    • The traditional recurve crossbow contains a stock, a simple prod and wooden or metal limbs. Horn and bamboo were also used in the making of recurve bows. The "recurve" aspect of the limbs means that unlike an ordinary bow or crossbow, the tips of the two limbs are curved away from the archer. The bolt is unleashed with a simple trigger located at the base of the crossbow.

    Recurve Limbs

    • The defining characteristic of the recurve crossbow is its recurve limb design. Recurve limbs are bent away from the archer, which gives the bow a longer draw length than a standard or compound crossbow. This gives more acceleration to the crossbow bolt when it is unleashed, resulting in a more powerful shot capable of covering longer distances. Compared to a straight crossbow of equivalent size, the recurve crossbow is always more powerful due to its longer draw length.

    Recurve Crossbow Power

    • There are two factors that determine a crossbow's draw power -- the amount of potential energy turned into kinetic energy when the bolt is unleashed. The first factor is the crossbow's draw weight, which is the amount of force required to draw back the bow. As you draw the crossbow farther back, the draw weight increases until it can be drawn back no farther. The second factor is the crossbow's draw length, which is the distance between the drawstring's position at rest and when fully drawn back.

    Calculating Crossbow Energy

    • There is an approximate formula you can use to determine the total energy of a recurve crossbow. The total amount of potential energy a crossbow can hold is roughly equal to its draw weight times its draw length, divided by two. As the recurve crossbow's draw length is greater than that of a standard crossbow, so is the amount of potential energy it can hold.