Over the last 10 years of building bows this question always kept me thinking. At first, I was wondering "what did I do wrong" when I would see a used bow of mine for sale. After getting my sponsorship to TradGang, I realized that it's just the way things go. There are used bows for sale by every bowyer out there. I started getting emails and calls from people that bought my used bows and just love 'em. I have even sold bows that I made special for myself.
I guess to sum it up....may everyones dream bow find them for many years of happy hunting together. I just built mine for mysef!!!
Thanks for Listening- JD
JD : I shot your demo bow and since then have been looking for the right one to turn up. I am happy to say that I found it on here for sale and bought it. I love my new to me mojostik , walnut and ebony 42@28 and one sweet shooter. Thanks for a great bow. Drew
I think many shooters don't realize what they are looking for until they have shot several bows. I have taken advantage of the vendors at shoots to experience many bows from Black widow to Joe the bowyer. A friend turned me on to a particular bowyer, and I thought his bows were just great shooters and I bought one. Since then, I managed to save some money to have the same bowyer make a bow to my specs, including the way my hand fits the grip. I now have a bow that I feel is a part of me.
I think we keep choosing bows untill the right one chooses us. :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by wtpops:
I think we keep choosing bows untill the right one chooses us. :thumbsup:
Agreed. ;)
JD...I'd love to see the one you just built for yourself. How about posting some pics and specs?
JD... You make a fine recurve. I have been fortunate enough to buy two (used) from this site. Their grips differ somewhat so one will be for sale soon. That is not a reflection of your fine workmanship... It's just the way one feels better in my hand than the other.
Thank You So Much!
... mike ... :archer: ...
Oh Yea... Bows Choose Us...
What wtpops said. :thumbsup:
They say love at first sight, with bows its love at first shot. When it feels right its right
I choose to buy or trade for all kinds of bows. Then after I receive one and shoot it for awhile it remains to be seen whether it will choose me, or not.
Bill
There is definitely not a "one bow fits all" out there. It is sure fun trying to find that perfect one.
Wildman said it for me. There is nothing wrong with your bows Jim. Your crafstmanship is excellent and your pic of vaneers and handle woods is excellent too. After a few years of 20+ bows that I have traded and sold I finally have it narrowed down to four bows that fit me to a tee. Super kodiak recurves, Morrison recurves, Firefly longbows, Predator recurves. These four seem to nail everything I need to be deadly accurate and consistant. Low shelf, More mass weight and all but the kodiaks are takedown models. It will not be the same for next fello shooter though. It will be completely different for the next guy or gal. My wife loves shooting the 52" Kodiak magnums. she shoots them well too. I have a difficult time shooting a one peice well because of their light weight, My bow arm tends to jump alot on shot so the Kmag isn't a great fit for me.
Finding the right bow is kinda like dating and marriage, except without all the drama and expense when you decided to trade for a new one. And you get to keep your furniture.
Love JD's recurve...I shoot longbows mostly ... :)
We search for the perfect for us bow. When you think you have it, it may or may not turn out that way. I ordered and waited a year for a brand new top shelf bow. It had everything anyone would want it any bow but we just never connected. I believe there is a special bond in the perfect for you bow that varies from person to person.
We all have different likes is the biggest reason one person will not like a bow but the next will. I know own three top notch bows (in my eye) and a Whisperstik Mojostik is one of them.
I have built bows for people with grip or wood choice that I wouldn't choose for myself. I have also shot bows by other bowyers that make me want to cry because I know that I can't buy it. I would personally love to try an Owl Bow by Ed Scott or one of Dryads all wood bows. I also have a special place in my heart for all Great northern bows. Rick and Jerry may not remember me, but I certainly remember them. They were always willing to give bowyers advice to a new comer, instead of shunning me off like unwanted competition. It wasn't until last year that I parted with my superghost. JD
Pretty interesting thread JD. I tend to agree that bows choose us. I myself have shot what I consider many bows and feel that only a certain few felt good to me. I was never a longbow guy until I received the one you sent me. I shoot that bow just like my takedown recurves. I will own another in the future. I believe it is just a matter of how the bow feels to an individual when he/she shoots it. I myself still like to shoot different bows. I guess it's great to live in a country where we have "choices". One thing I like about trying new bows is that I seem to make a new friend everytime I shoot one. That,MY FRIEND, is more important to me than any bow. Keep doing what your doing JD, you make a fine product. Not to mention your customer service is "TOP" in my eyes.
Mike
I hope the Kajika Stik I'm waiting on chooses me. :D
QuoteOriginally posted by sweeney3:
Finding the right bow is kinda like dating and marriage, except without all the drama and expense when you decided to trade for a new one. And you get to keep your furniture.
sweeney3,
That is a great post!!! You should use it as a signature line!!!!!
Great Thread LBJ!!! It's the quest that makes the final prize fun!!!!
All the best to everyone's journey!!!
From my experience is dealing with bows...
Picture a large store with 20 Custom Bowyers inside all showing their wares...When a guy walks in and looks around, its like a 10 yr old walking into a candy store at Hershey Park Pa...
Eyes are bigger than his stomach and he finally chooses a "favorite". After a while he makes many returns and always seems to find something different that tickles his taste buds.
Same with stickbow shooters. We choose something right away because of appearance and are pleased with our choice. However, the more we "walk around" and look, we always have to try something new because of the way it looks, feels, shoots etc....
There's nothing wrong with the original item chosen, just human nature and our curiosity that takes over........
Amen to sweeney3's post. If I had found the perfect bow 12 years ago, I may not be married now. LOL. I got lucky enough to find a wife that puts up with my hunting affliction. Just as I have found a bow to put up with my bad shooting days. JD
after buying\\selling a lot of bows I found one that fits me perfect, a dryad orion td longbow, now I want to get into building my own glass bows so I can build a bow that is truly built for me, oh and I really like that new 3piece td longbow JD
JD, I'm still looking for that perfect bow. I enjoy the search. I would hate to go through life having only shot one or two different bows. I am finding a blessing in owning and shooting so many bows. Now I can narrow down the search and go back and custom order my favorite bows in the specs that suit me the best! I do however believe that one day a bow is going to show up on my door step in one of those pretty brown boxes that has been looking for me all along! :bigsmyl:
Thanks for the thread J.D.
-Leonard-
My last bow chose me. It's a Bear Super-K just because I started with a Bear in the 60s! Frank
I had 3 bows custom made for me and numerous more picked up here and there trying to find that ONE! It took a used Morrison from VM13 to find what I was looking for. :D It's a Morrison Shawnee with Dakota limbs. I just ordered an extra set of Arapaho limbs from Bob yesterday.
I still have quite a few, including the custom ones but, the Shawnee will be the go too bow and ultimate stayer! It was a fun journey but, now it's time to settle down and really have fun! :bigsmyl:
Never thought of it...I am still relatively new to trad archery and picked up a used Bear recurve for my first. After that got a used Bear longbow and said goodbye to recurve forever! Was able to get my hands on a Robertson Heritage longbow and it picked me! Felt just right and shoots right where I wanted it (most of the time) But now have made the switch to LH and have had to start all over. I have another Robertson longbow and just last week picked up a Whisperstik VooDoo Stik longbow from here. Hard time picking between them so it is a work in progress. IMO it is all in the feel of the bow as to what fits a person best. Love the opportunity to try / buy new trad archery gear.
I've run through a lot of bows over the years. I really like some aspects of some bows and different aspects of others. Basically I need to spend some time with each to see what I like or don't like about a particular design. What I look for is smoothness, quietness, forgiving at the shot, performance, and looks. Pretty much in that order.
I won't take performance or looks if it is noisy and/or touchy with any form flaw at the shot. I've found what I like in a bow, and shoot what I like to shoot. Which is what I think everyone should do to find the bow that works the best for them. It's easy enough to buy/sell/and trade in the classifieds to try a lot of different bow designs to find what is right for you. Plus it is fun...
A wise old trad man once told me "You know not what you like until you've tried them all". Or maybe that was my Dad talking to me when I was a teenager.
That's all I got to say about that.
K....TJ: Was he talking about bows or women! :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
Exactly
When in it comes to bows, I am of the original Mormon faith. ;)
David, no worries when you die we will chisel "East Coast Bow Pimp" into your grave marker.
not to choose sides or anything... i understand how people want to shoot different bows because of a change in personal taste, or age creaps up on them and they look for a lower draw weight bow. how do people get or remain consistent in shooting when they change bows like they change their underwear... just an observation.... not meant to ruffle any feathers here
Broketooth, Shooting different bows and hunting with different bows is defferent in my eyes. I'll shoot a bunch of bows in the off season but about a month before the season I stick to one bow. Toward the end of the season I might tinker a bit but I mainly use one bow to hunt with that year.
Mike
QuoteDavid, no worries when you die we will chisel "East Coast Bow Pimp" into your grave marker.
Can't stop holding my side! :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
I am superstitious, I think certain bows are meant to be with certain people. I was at a store with my wife and noticed a Martin Savannah on the wall. THe salesman dropped the price by two hundred and my wife bought me the bow. You can't tell me that bow wasn't made for me, it was meant to be.
First impressions go along way. The first few shots someone takes with a bow leave a lasting impression. Before a bow leaves my shop I spend a lot of time shooting it and getting it tuned perfectly for me. The problem is the customer has a different shooting style and different arrows. The bow needs to be adjusted for that person's individual style/set up when they get it. Maybe sometimes people make a judgement on a bow without really taking the time to tune it and set it up.
At shoots where I am a vendor, when somebody wants to demo a bow I try to get them to take some of my arrows with them to the range as I know they will shoot well out of the bow. Chad
ROTFLMAO! "Bow Pimp"
Well, as you all know I go through a bunch of Bows. I just love the feel of a fine bow in my hands. Now, I cannot shoot a self bow for squat but would love to be able to. I have found what works for me,yeah there are 7 or 8 different bows on the rack and I whoot them all almost daily. When I have a hunt planned, I stick to the one bow and the back up I am taking on the hunt. But with the bows I have I find I can pick any one of them and shoot it just fine, any one of them! Same arrow out of every bow. Life is too short to shoot only one bow, it is all fun.
We all choose bows for our own personal likes or dislikes, but yes I do believe eventually a certain bow will choose the shooter, what lights my candle in looks and style of shooting may not be what chooses someone else.
Danny
I am always drawn to bows that I find aesthetically pleasing but in the end I always end up with the one I shoot the best.
It's funny, but I build my own and am still always looking for another. I built my perfect hunting bow when I built "Bloody Mary". I thought I was ready for a straight handle. The first shooting session was awesome, but I've had bad days since. I have found that straight handle easy for me to grip a little off and it really affects my shooting at times. This morning I was carving on it! Now it's got a locator grip and a little smaller. Perfect, for now! :)
I,ve bought,traded and sold alot of great bows,still kicking myself over some of them,I have recently been shooting one bow and I have seen an improvement in my shooting but I stll cruise the classifieds drooling over my next puchase.