Can somebody share 21st Century's history with us. I am interested in knowing the history because I am looking for an older bow from the company. Who owned it before Milton Callaway, differences in his bows and the previous owners, etc, etc, please. Opinions of past and present 21st Century bows also appreciated! Thanks, Skychief.
btw: I recently shot an older 21st Century that had the most pleasing grip I have ever shot. It was quite straight with little to no palm swell. The owner said the name of that style grip. I can't remember the name he said....anybody have any ideas?
I can't help a lot with the history queston but will bring it to the top for you.It is one of my favorite bows and I am always looking for another one.:)I don't think any bow has one as many big events as the 21st Century bows have.Now days you never see any post where people are getting new ones but assume Milton is still building them.They are very popular overseas where there shots are much farther than our typical 3d shoots.
James,
After shooting most of the other top designs, I am with you--they are my favorite design as well. I have three (2-Lonestars and 1-21st Edge), which will never leave my corral!
Skychief,
Milton bought from Jim and Buddy (founders). I have met Milton, and purchased some youth bows for my ministry. While his craftsmanship skills are not on par with the best in class (bows are not eye candy like some), his Lonestar and 21st Edge are--IMHO-- top in class in design.
Good luck finding one! You'll love it!
Todd
Yeah Todd I have a 70" Lonestar I modified quite a bit to make my 3d bow from.I am trying to find another simular to make a two piece for hunting from.I have a lot of other bows,have shot a lot of other and built more than a few but the 21st Century design just works real well for me.I wish Milton was more active and kept his website in better shape.If the pictures of the different models were better I would have already ordered one instead of searching the used markets for them. :)
a buddy of mine has two 21st century bows one is about a year old and the other is one of the older bows with the re curve type handles. i would not shoot a bow built by milton for personal reasons.
i hope you don't have any problems with one of his bows because "he ain't walmart he doesn't take refunds"
Jim Ploen was an old NFAA shooter who designed the 21st Century line to enhance performance in a longbow design. Early on, the 21st Century bows were disallowed in some competitions because they were deemed a hybrid.
I had a Nova that was 60#@32" and it shot a chronographed 214fps with a 750 grain arrow.
I killed a bunch of critters with that bow.
Like this one....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/whoffman1955/Whitetails/157iowa.jpg)
He musta been real close....RC
Dang nice deer Biggie! I have never shot or even seen a Nova but have heard nothing but good about them.Maybe I will run across one for sale one day. :)
I used to do some work for Jim Ploen and Buddy Stamper years ago. I do tool and die work and Jim had me make him some taper fixtures for his core laminations. I shot their bows exclusivly for years. They are great bows! Buddy has been a boyer for a long time. He used to build bows for Bob Lee back in the days of Wing Archery. Buddy no longer builds bows as far as I know. Jim is living in Ohio I believe. Last year I stoped by the shop and met Milton Callaway. He is a nice guy and a real good shooter. I believe he is from Huston, Tx originaly. His shop is only a few miles from my house, in Jacksonville, Tx. He told me he sells alot of bows over seas. Mostly to a guy in Spain. As far as I know he is still building bows. His phone number is 903-586-0715 or his e-mail is MitonCallaway@Prodigy.net
-Leonard-
Big,
That's still one of my favorite photos on my trophy room wall.
The smile on your face says it all, friend!!!!
A hard won, well deserved trophy. Jim wasn't a tremendous speaker, but he sure built one fine longbow.
beautiful buck!!!
yea i think that older bow my buddy has is a nova, pretty bows. i love that bow, shoots fast is quiet like a longbow and has the heavy mass riser like a recurve the "perfect" hunting bow.
214, man i wish i would have signed up for a 32 in. draw when i was getting made.
i have a Buddy and jim bow.
its awesome.
i think it almost feels like it has a let off :)
it just gets smoother the further u pull it.
just wish it was 44 pounds instead of 54.
thinking about sending it to belcher to have it brought down some.
but im afraid it would change the bow.
and maybe i wouldnt like it as much.
B&J Achery was an awesome place. Buddy Stamper was the production supervisor over Wing Archery in years past and knew how to build bows very efficiently. Jim Ploen came from a background of a target archer and sales. Jim was the first man on the East Coast to shoot a 300 indoor.
They were a great pair of guys to buy a bow from and visit with. The knowledge between those two men on bowmaking/hunting/shooting/physics of bow design is phenominal. Jim gave me many a pointer on shooting over the years. We used to shoot beside the shop, but there was a train track behind the bale, so if the train came you had to wait to shoot.
Jim called me up after I was fortunate enough to come out in 1st place in May of 2000 winning the Texas State Longbow Championship shooting the "Edge" longbow. He said "Are you ready to order a new bow?" At the time I was not, due to fianances, then he told me they would build me a bow for winning the shoot. Jim said he wanted to give something back to me as a shooter for my effort and promotion of the bow. That really blew my hair back! I still have the bow.
There bows caused a stir in the traditional community when they first came out due to the reflex/deflex design. The bows if you look at them unstrung are 3 large circles. The bows where bannned from some shoots because the handle was too big or the limbs too reflexed.
It is really amazing to think, how many bows built today get there design roots from the original 21st Century Longbow design. The business was sold a few years ago. If you can get you hands on a B&J Archery/21st Century, you won't be disappointed.
Jim, Buddy, Me
(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x136/schulz_photo/BJ_Archery.jpg)
I want one!
Jim is a wealth of information too. I shot a 3D course with him a few years back up near Duluth. We had a ball and what a great gentleman. He used to make it to the Coon Rapids traditional shoot and put on shooting demonstrations as well.
I have a Nova that Jim and Buddy made and a Lone Star that Milton made.
Both are good shooting bows.
The Nova has the bigger riser as shown in Biggie's picture. NICE DEER.
The Lone Star has a smaller riser that I reworked a little.
The nicest way to put it is that Milton's web site just plan sucks. It does not do justice the bows that he offers.
He seems to sell a lot of bows over seas. I have not seen very many 21 Centurys at 3D shoots the last several years. I hope he does not loose his over seas market because it would be a shame to loose this line of bows.
Skychief,
Sent you a PM.
there is group of guys here locally shoot 21st century bows some are miltons some are jim and bills all are nice bows and milton is still building them I have heard a story about your return deal there in TX but all the guys here think he is great guy
Jim & Buddy built me a few Edges and they were all amazing hybrid stealth longbows - clearly heads above all others at the time - any bow built by those good guys will still be top shelf today.
Jim also authored a number of excellent shooting methodology and target panic articles for Instinctive Archer magazine.
This is a thread that never dies!! I wanted to add a bit more information about Jim and Buddy in Jacksonville - In about 1988 I bought two bows from them, manufactured at their location on Rusk Street, but made under the "Wing" name. I can't recall if it was Jim or Buddy who explained that the forms they used were the old WING forms. I still have the bows, in perfect condition as I did not shoot them much - a "Wing Redwing Hunter" recurve and a "Wing Traditionalist" longbow. So, for at least some time before the name "21st Century" came along, Jim and Buddy made MORE "Wing" bows!
21 century was the first long bow I bought.. I shot a bunch of animals with it. I have since retired it ... but never once considered selling it.
skychief-
Milton has a bit of a rep for being 'a pill' but most folks don't have any issues with him. You have to take what you read on the net with a grain of salt.
I owned one of Milton's bows built spring of this past year. The bow was 100% a shooter. 70" Lonestar Carbon 2222C, hands down one of the most accurate and forgiving bows I have ever shot, ever. It was a tack driver. The only reason I sold it was that I wished so bad it was 5-7# heavier.
As for fit/finish, well I can't compare it to a Jim and Buddy bow, but for any bow I would call it "decent". Lets say compared to a Toelke being a 10/10, the 21st was maybe a 7.5-7.8 /10 at best. It was a lovely bow and seemed well constructed but in bright light you could find a fair amount of sanding marks and also there were dull spots in what was supposed to be a semi-gloss finish. Let's put it this way, it was perfectly functional and fine for hunting, just not 'work of art' level.
The thing to consider is the performance you get for the money, I think the one I had with exotic veneers and the carbon lam ran right about $600, simply a lot of bang for the buck considering what a shooter it was. In the hands of a better archer than myself that bow could have won any 3D shoot it wanted.
Would I buy one again? Sure.
Edit: in regard to my finish remarks, I think Savage chimed in and I have also noted others' comments on various forums, Milton seems to have some consistency issues. I guess I got lucky and the one I owned was generally a-ok.
Here's a few grains of salt for you. I will not get too negative.
If you like sand marks and dished or
crooked looking limbs and in my case a bow 2 inches shorter than what I ordered for your $650, go for it.
My old friend gave it the once over and refinished it and I then gave it to Junior at Ojibwa, he is only 12 but he wears a size 11.. lol
Jim and Buddy bows rock. Good luck finding one, there out there.
Lou
Jim is living in Minnesota. I met him for the first time, last March. He was competing in the indoor MN State Archery Tournament where I was set up as a vendor. We had a nice long chat. He still has a passion for archery at his age. Chad
Had the pleasure of shooting with Jim a few times. Actually helped with my shooting form. A true gentleman! Very well designed bows. A 21st Century bow would be a good choice.
I have always shot my old 21st Century Nova the best of any bow I have owned which have been many. I also had the great pleasure of shooting with Jim. He didn't offer any advice on my form other than to say it was interesting so I guess it was too bad to fix. He really is a nice guy and fun to shoot with.
I have a Jim and Buddy 21st centurey Constellation. A Holmegaard limb design and double nock grooves for 3 diffeent string lengths and draw weights. The handle design is phenomenal! it settles in your hand identically everytime. I haven't shot the bow in years, being more drawn to d-style bows than readical hybrids.
A great design and a true shame the reputation of the company has taken such a hit over the years.
It is the one bow I wished I had back. Mine was a LH 21st century Nova Graphite 66" 62#@28" with a Jeff Massey finish on it...I didnt know what I had while I had it... If I ever see it for sale again...it will come home to me!!! Great shooting bow