Static recurve question?

[Dances with squirrels]

"I've learned a lot of longevity/durability after having bows finally turn 5 plus years old and some having shots thousands upon thousands of arrows. There is so much more to the story than simply holding together for a picture and a few hundred shots."

I couldn't have said it better.

I still like to push limits on occasion, but find myself appreciating the best staves turned into bows 66" or so long.

My #1 osage selfbow is 66" long and 63# @ 28" and has been shot I don't know how many thousands of times since I made it in '04, and it's unbraced profile is almost exactly the same as the day I finished it.

[sleek]

That stave is a beauty. I wouldnt make a bow i didnt feel comfy with no mater what it is of a stave that nice. That being said i would be perfectly comfortable making a 28 inch draw of that stav. 62 is my prefered length and most every bow i make anymore is that length. How many pounds are you wanting to pull? 5o would be fine but you do need to have a shorter stiff handle.

As for longevity, i have only been doing this for 6 years. My oldest bows have broken. They are more poorly made than my new ones and even they break sometimes.  I cant say this one will or wont break or if it does or doesnt why. But bows break. Its a risk when bending a stick.