my damon howatt blew up yesterday so i'm in the market for a new bow. i like the look of the bob lee hunter & signiture. what are your oppinions of these bows? can you buy limbs of different weights for the same riser? any other t/d's that you think are worth a look. i'm looking at spending up to AU$700. i want something that has a grip that puts your hand nice and close to the shelf. thanks for any suggestions.
I have a 58" 52#@28" Lee TD Hunter, which is firmly in place as my primary bow. I have several others, and none beats it for performance (low 190's with 10GPP) and shootability.
I bought mine off their website/stock inventory. They have a good selection on hand so mostl likely have one that fits your pistol, ready to ship...
I have just received my second Lee Clint. The first was the Signature T/D now this one is the Elite Signature.
I only shoot longbows so cannot comment specifically on your recurve - but I can speak about Lee bows in general.
I cannot speak more highly of the service that Lee offer - truly the best of the best. My new Lee only arrived about a week ago and I noticed that it had some milky streaks in the glass. One could see this contrasted against the dark Bubinga on the limbs. Not a huge deal but I am a perfectionist and this bow cost me over 900 US (with postage).
I wrote an email to Sandy expressing my disappointment. She said it must have been the batch of glass. They were great about it - they are letting me use this bow while they make me a brand new bow. They said they will post that to me first - then they are trusting me to send back the first bow when this one arrives. Service just doesn't get any better than that.
I have my one-piece bows well and truly nailed. However it is a bit harder I find a three piece that fits me as well.
The Lee is very accurate because of the grip. I have the h/w and it fits me perfectly. However, I think because the bow has a high b/h (8"), that it perhaps does not balance in the hand as well as my one-piece bows. Seems to be riser heavy when one balances it in the webbing between thumb and forefinger.
However that is not a criticism - just a comment from one who mostly shoots one-piece bows. I only want the 3/p for travelling. I fly back a lot to the East (NZ and Sydney) and it is a real pain flying with a big pvc tube. The muppets who control security at the airports think I am lumping around a bazooker or a rocket-launcher - and treat me accordingly!#$%^&*!!
The jury is still out on the Lee whether or not it is my keeper 3/p. I will spend more time with it and let you know.
However it is well made, bullet proof constuction and accurate. I also think Clint that they are very fast bows. My Turkey Creek is no slug and my new Fox Royal is even faster -however the Lee is quicker than both of these. I thought my Firefly 3/p was fast, but again the Lee is quicker.
My only suggestion is that it would be great if they gave the option of boo cores. I really like the feel of bamboo and usually pay the extra to get that. My new Lee Elite (and that is in their top of line range)only has maple cores.
Keep us posted with what you decide mate?
Sutto
another question- what is limb/part availablity going to be like now that they have discontinued the hunter? suppose if i get a signiture i won't have that problem.
Give them a call or email, they will bend over backwards to answer your questions and help...
The Lee's make a great bow (I have 2 of their 'curves.) The Signature limbs will fit the Hunter riser etc., so parts aren't an issue. As for maple cores; as I recall, the bow tests in TBM had the maple core Bob Lee recurve about 3-4 fps behind the fastest bows. Can't go wrong with a Lee.
The Lee's make a good recurve.
I have a Lee Signature which I will probably use as my main bow. And yes you can buy additional limbs for it. I know I have. Only thing I didn't care all that much for is the looks of the bow. But there is always a camo dipping. :)
The Lee bows are smooth and efficient. Check the classified section on this site. You can usually find a number of their bows up for resale at affordable prices. Go that route, save a few bucks and after you have determined what you like or dislike, order a new one and sell the old for about what you paid for it. Just a suggestion. Good luck. :thumbsup:
i have a lee siganature elite waterfall bubiga long bow 55#@28 62" with some copperheads skinz,all i can say is when i release theres a flame comeing from my bow ,the limbs are very smooth im pulling 29" and shooting 8.3 grains and i havent chrono it yet but i bet its shooting 200fps or a little more here are some pics (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z281/jpg122471/100_0767.jpg) (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z281/jpg122471/100_0769.jpg) (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z281/jpg122471/100_0773.jpg) (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z281/jpg122471/100_0774.jpg)
I love my Bob Lee :thumbsup:
i have a lee hunter and i love it
Hunters on Sale for 499.00. Why Not
i must say...i HAD a bob lee one piece longbow w/ bubinga and the veneer was split the full length of the top limb. called rob and talked about it. he said it was cosmetic and would not replace it and couldn't be repaired. since im a perfectionist i had to get rid of it. shoot great though but im not paying good money for a bow to have it arrive with defects( even cosmetic).
Bailerbr3 - If you read my comments near the top here and my experience with the new bow that just arrived - looks as if I did well then. Sorry you had a bad experience with Lee.
I am the same as you. The milky glass in no way affects the performance or shootability of the bow - but I am a perfectionist and no way want to tote around a $900 bow with imperfections in the glass. I was so happy that Lee came to the party, otherwise did not know what to do. I would not have even been able to sell it.
sutto
yeah suttoman mine also had the minor white striping in the glass....like i said the top lam/venneer is what got me. all i could see every time i picked it up to shoot( splinters and all). guess i caught them on a bad day..because i wasnt getting another bow.
Wow - that sounds truly aweful Bailerbr3. Isn't it funny how even the best company can call the wrong shots sometimes.
I remember reading a thread recently on that 'other' site where a guy wrote some very disparaging things about Lee and their service. He, like you, had had a very miserable experience. The happy Bob Lee customers leapt the poor fellow with one accord and verbally ripped him limb from limb.
Now I am a satisfied Lee costomer too - and yes I only want to hear good things - but this guy was equally entitled to his opinion, just as much as the guys with the good reports.
I 'jumped' aboard the thread and told them so.
I sometimes think companies forget how bad it can be for their business having a few loose-cannons like this floating around. They would be better to rectify the problem and get good feedback all round.
I had better shut up before I get accused of hijacking this thread - sorry.
Sutto
I just bought a used Lee T/D (signature) off the classifieds here and could't be happier. I am used to shooting a 1 peice so the riser is a little heavier than i'm used to, but that is to be expected. The construction looks very solid and i like the fact that the limbs are secured with 2 bolts. A lot i have seen use only 1. While 1 is probably plenty, i don't mind having a little extra strength where it won't affect bow speed and would probably make it more durable.
Mine is 61# and I have shot 550 to 750 grain arrows so far and they all smoke. I am going to set some up shooting for the 600 to 650 range for my hunting setup.
I did see they are clearing some out on the website and since you have the dough you could get in at a great price and maybe even have enough change for another set of limbs.
I am happy to have a used bow with a couple of dings. I am going to hunt with this bow and I know I am going to knock it around. It happens.
i appreciate you seeing my side suttoman....even though it is negative. you always want to hear the good about a company but there will always be some negative things. along with my bow, a good buddy of mine shoots fedora and lee exclusively....well he will only buy one piece lee's now.....after having one delam at the 2bolt t/d area( which bob lee replaced) and having the replacement lower limb tip delam/crack. it can happen to any company but at the same time its unsettling if you have always liked the product
I do not know the nitty gritty details but it went, in essence his way; A few years ago (maybe 5?), Gordon was having problems with the defects mentioned above (streaks, milky areas, etc.). They were supplying the defective clear glass lams to ALL the bowyers that were using clear glass.
With no alternatives, the bowyers were turning out bows that had the defect. They were working with Gordon, but Gordon was turning a deft ear to the problem. The bowyers could not fix the problem themselves. They tried to encourage customers to use colored glass (brown, black, etc) but customers demanded clear.
So under those circumstances, it's hard to expect the bowyer to honor the cosmetic defects as a warranty issue when their hands were really tied by Gordon.
Bob/Rob Lee was one of MANY bowyers affected by this problem.
In my opinion, Lee makes one of the finest, fastest, sweetest shooting and most affordable custom bows on the market today, and his customer service is second to none.
Al (Als Decals)
yes i did hear about the glass problem and understand it cant be fixed by bowyers. a local bowyer/ friend has had the same issues with the glass. the difference is i even mentioned getting a brown glass bow replacement from the inventory list....but like i said they said it wasnt happening. so i would have taken a lesser bow( money wise) and sent the defected one back. my local bowyer wouldnt let that type of defect out of his shop.....so i have to say the customer service for ME was horrible. i'm a 25yr old newlywed putting my wife thru college and sending my 1 yr old to daycare and as you can guess i cant afford to save up for a bow only to have it come in with busted and split lams...even if it is cosmetic