Who makes a real good longbow??

[GF.]

Funny thing.... As soon as I got out there Elk hunting with the Contraption, I was wishing for a tradbow again. Especially with that fast-moving cow, and the fact that even at about 25 paces, she seemed a long ways out there... I've seen a lotta Elk a lot closer than that, so maybe my tradbow max shooting distance isn't as limiting as I thought

And of course, that damn Contraption is just an anchor to haul through the mountains all day...

I doubt I'll be able to make it happen for a coupla years at least - shy of selling off some other weapon, anyway - but just fer sumpin' ta think about while sitting in my treestand this fall....

Any idea who could build me a fast, R/D longbow with a fairly well centershot riser and good 'goes where you point it' performance? I'm thinkin' Dedicated Elk Rig, so probably in the 65-75 pound range, since I'll want to shoot at least 3- and maybe 4-blade heads , and I want 'em at least pokin' out t'other side.....

[Hi Ball]

G.F.*** I would contact Black Widow out of Springfield, Missouri. I don't know if they are making long bows anymore but I would start with those folks.

[Greywolf]

Turkey Creek

[GF.]

Haven't heard o' Turkey Creek... They new?

I was thinking about the options....

There's a guy who used to work for G.Fred at Bighorn and who went out on his own... His shop is in the same town as - or nearest town to - the little patch of riverbotom where I first learned to hunt and where I went with my first-ever archery tag, and where I missed my first shot. If I can track him down, it might be some kind of good bowhunting juju to carry a bow made right there where it all began for me

And Ben Graham makes some real good bows over at Hummingbird; Squatch was real fond of his work.... Maddman and I shot one one day (one of Squatch's, actually), and it was a pretty sweet little shooter

Fedora sure has a great rep, too, for building a hard-hitter that shoots right where you're looking....

Kinda funny to read the Cabela's catalog and see the performance claims... The cheaper the bow, the more likely you are to see something like 'this bow shoots 180 fps!'... Yeah..... with an unspecified draw length (let's guess 30 inches and up!), probably a mechanical release and oh, yeah, did we mention that 5.5" brace height?

As if the feeps are really all that important in instinctive shooting.....

[Greywolf]

GF,
they are all nice. Not too many dogs in that market, looks-wise.

i shot a Turkey Creek that had carbon in the limbs, and it drew like a twenty and shot like a forty.


here's a link:
http://www.turkeycreeklongbows.com/images/tcllogo.jpg

[GF.]

Priced the Widows, just fer grins.....




The Turkey Creeks seem like nice bows, but there's always that sketchy feeling when you deal with a bowyer who hasn't gone at it full-time just yet.

Some of them have to be just as good as anybody else out there, or nobody could ever make that jump, of course, but those guys are usually pretty easy to spot. They're the ones who'll buy the bow back from you if your custom work of art shows up and disappoints you in any way....

[Hi Ball]

GF.......YOU only get what you pay for and that covers must items in this man's world.

[GF.]

Yup, but sometimes you do pay for the name. A small factory with a lot of high-tech equipment, a full-time staff, and a very considerable marketing budget don't come for free, either....

It's all rolled in.....

And there's nothin' that a zillion-dollar CNC machine can do that a good hand can't accomplish with a few simple tools, yet by the same token, there's no substitute for a good hand applying the final touches. You can get real close dimensional tolerances with CNC, but working in wood? You'll never get the tiller just right if you leave it to the machine.

So really, apart from the volume they can produce in a week, the biggest difference between a bow from BW or any other factory and a bow from a one-man shop will come down to the design of the limbs & riser and how well the grip fits the hand and shooting style of the individual.

There are no patents in the tradbow industry at this stage in the game

So I have little doubt that there are a lot of small bowyers out there who can build a bow just as fast & just as smooth as a Widow... Or better.... And for somewhere between 1/2 & 2/3 of the price... if you were to buy new & custom-built.

It's just a matter of finding a bowyer with a good rep and evaluating the individual bow.....

I think if/when I get serious about this, I might just take Widow up on their 'test drive' option, though. I don't expect that their bows would be noticeably 'better' than any number of bows from good, small shops, but I suppose if I were to shoot one and decide that nothing else would do, then I guess I'd have my answer

[My buddy]

While I shoot a Widow recurve, I have never really been fond of their longbows.

I purchased a Martian Savannah the first year they came out. I think back then it cost me $400. For the $$$ it is a great bow. However, I believed that they are more expensive nowadays and Im not sure it would be my choice if I were in the market again. Used they run around $300.

I have a John McCullough Griffin longbow that I really like. He makes an excellent bow and his prices are very reasonable.

Being that you are looking at an Elk bow, with a high draw weight, I would suggest trying to buy a used bow. Chances are you can pick up a high dollar custom for a great price as high poundage bows are hard to sell and typically sell for much less than bows in the 50# range.

Either way, good luck.

[Greywolf]

GF,

I just happen to think of a buddy of mine up the road--making his own bows. He owns and opperates a mill.
A rather large boy, as in "he could hunt bear with a stick" or "eat steak with a snow shovel".

He has passed one or two to me that were nearly finished. There was no way I was goint to draw one of them. He typacly finishes up at #70 +

Although, I don't think he is quite ready yet, to call himself a bowyer.
I just happen to think of him when "your buddy" posted and mentioned that you would probably want a high draw weight bow for Elk.

Have you ever been a member here?

[URL=leatherwall.bowsite.com/tf/lw/THREADSX2.CFM[/URL]

I think I recognised a name or two from this board over there.