The ILF limbs seem to have some kind of perceived advantage over 'regular' limbs.
Why is this so???
Charles.
You can switch limbs and riser to make different set-ups.
OK.
I can do that already with my Bear Take Down bows. Or with my Hoyt Gamemaster....
I don't understand why ILF limbs are perceived to be an improvement over regular limbs.
Maybe you can explain why ILF's are better???
Charles.
Charles,
ILF stand for international limb fitting. Using this system you can mix and match limbs and risers from different bowyers.
Your Gamemaster can use the same limbs with a different fitting so you have some experience. The advantage is being able to use the system and the flexibility it provides for tuning.
With a regular bolt up limb setup you are fixed with that bowyer. Now if that's us . .then it's ok. . .LOL
Mike
The ILF's go well beyond a regular take-down system. ILF's are a standardized system. Limbs and risers from different mfg's can be interchanged. There is also some adjustment to the system so you can set tiller and change draw weight a bit. Most of the limbs also use the latest materials and designs.
Nope, I don't have one.
Are there ILF limbs of different construction, such as carbon/fiber, that are perceived to be better or shoot faster, smoother, etc???
Charles.
ILF is just a standard in limb connections. Bear, from what I understand, is close to ILF but isn't (correct me if I'm wrong) and means that you're limited to what Bear offers. On the other hand, you can interchange between brands that conform to ILF giving you more options. Performance is not guaranteed to be better...you just get to choose from more stuff.
jarhead....When Bob Gordon designed the Warf bow and David Soza improved the design by designing a hunting riser that would accept these limbs they were the best recurve limbs in the world. Olympic/FITA bow manufacturers have put tons of money into designing and R&R on how to get the best, most accurate shooting limbs for international competition. Although the term actually refers to the way the limb is attached to the bow, the Korean, Chinese and Japanese companies that produce those limbs were considered to be the best in the world...both in terms of the shooting characteristics as well as materials (i.e., carbon/foam limbs were designed by Asian bowyers). At that time, 5 or 6 years ago, the only US company making that type of limb was Hoyt and they were reluctant to use their ILF limbs on a hunting bow (they have a new model coming out in Oct.). Many US bowyers, Bob Morrison, being one of the first, collaborated with Dave Soza and he soon had a wood ILF riser and soon afterwards started making ILF limbs. Now there are a number of US bowyers making ILF compatable limbs and risers. However, it is simple to make a limb that has ILF fittings. It remains to be seen if the US bowyers limbs can live up to the performance level of the Asian bowyers. So, just because a limb has an ILF fitting does not mean it has ILF performance...that is, compared to the limbs used by international ILF shooters, most of which come from Asia, primarily Korea and Japan where FITA competition is very popular and competitive. One exception would be Border Archery in Scotland.
For me, I am pleased to see US mfgrs. getting on the band wagon. In general it simply raises the bar on bow performance and the new technology is already beginning to show its benefits.
I hope I have answered your question. ILF limbs, when ILF hunting bows first came on the scene, were the best performing limbs in the world.
In addition, which is a whole different conversation, ILF limbs are very tunable, interchangeable and come in "beginner" and high end models. You can do a lot with one ILF riser and a bunch of ILF limbs.
Gentlemen:
Thank you for the education and information.
Special thanks to Bill Carlsen.
Charles.
For me it's not about one pair of limbs or riser, the fact that I can mix and match numerous limbs, longbow or recurve on several risers with different grips and tiller settings, and I can create a setup that fits my goal. And the best part is you can use limbs and riser from different manufacturers to really get yourself a true custom bow.
I think also they are one of the most handshock free setups in the trad world.I haven't shot much of what's out there but what I have shot (7-8 setups?) had the least amount of handshock than any other trad bow I've ever shot.That is a huge plus in my book.
Jar Head, what Bill said about the R&D is true. have a set of Samick/TradTech Black Max Carbons, made in Korea that are quality wise, smoothness, speed, and all around performance, right up there with limbs costing between $400-$600, best buy in the business I have found, and they cost $220, in 3 different lengths. The Tradtech Titan riser aint no slouch either, as good as any ILF riser could be for hunting.
Are the bows quiet? Most of the FITA bows I have heard shot sound like a 30-06 going off.
yeah most arent so quite. :) however i will say i purchased some hybrid ilf limbs from dyrad. i am very happy with the speed and performance on these limbs. its my lightest bow 38#@30" and smokes a rocket a 188fps. i put the limbs on a W&W 25" riser makes for a 68" bow. i shoot this bow better than any other bow i have. even if i dont wanna admit it :) another great thing about my dryad limbs, they dont have all that expensive stuff in them and there still fast. i dont really care about speed. i normaly shoot hill style bows. just saying i couldnt beleave at the poundage how fast they are.
If any of you know Joel Riotto I was shooting with him last year at the Muzzy stump shoot. Joel has been around the block a dozen times and is very active in P&Y and Comptons and PBA. He asked me about my bow. I asked him what piqued his curiosity and he said it was the fact that my recurve was the quietest recurve he had ever "heard". Yes, because they are so tuneable you can get them whisper quiet. Just have to find all the sweet spots....as you would on any bow.
Good question. I really like a custom bow that has the hand of the bowyer in it. The ILF system seems to be moving away from the direction I am taking, less technology. But that's me and I am starting to shoot my selfbows again more and more.
Koger -
Do you have any contact info, literature references or web/internet links to the Samick/Trad tech limbs???
Thanks.
Charles.
Charles sent you a pm, pm me back for more info if I can help buddy, fooled around with a lot of ILF. And as to you other guys questions about quiet, with two small bundles of wool yarn in my Titan/B Max limbs, 10gpp weight arrows, There is no bow sound, period. I can hear the swish of air of the feathers, and the shaft sliding back, and forward when I release, that is it! I use a D-97, flemish I make myself, 14 strand.It does have a set of limbsavers at the fadeouts. A lot of ILF target shooters dont worry about sound, just performance. I do, since hunting is my #1 priority, and my target suffers if I make a bad shot.
This was a very educational thread with lots of good info!
Thanks :thumbsup:
Margly
to each his own. i turly don't want to start any kind of debate. :pray: i perfere the bows that are made with the personal touch. as far as quietness goes it's how a bows tuned, string siliencers, arrow wieght,ect. As for as how a bow shoots,(in my opinion) it's the person behind the bow and how much time they are willing to spend praticing. as for asian, korean,etc. that is a sore spot, i'm a retired auto worker and have had two plants shut down under me. they do make good prouducts i will addmitt, but how many jobs will we lose because we want to save a dollar. i choose to buy american bows, made by my americn brothers.
We have several custom bowyer right here in the good old USA making very custom ILF risers and limbs, even some low priced limbs...US Quality is as good and better in fit and finish than any oversea limbs I have seen, Preformance is NO better. There is 1-2 fps difference in the best out there. From all I have seen US limbs are quieter with less vibration and are getting as stable as anything available from other countries. Personally I'm going to keep as many of my dollars as I can right here. It's getting harder to do that, Camo, boots, arrows and the list goes on. I will spend more to keep it here.
Bob
Bob,
Have one of your TD longbows & one of your ILF TD with your C/F Longbow limbs. The regular bow is 5lbs heavier with boo limbs but that ILF shoots 5fps faster. Great bows.... both of them.
Lots of good info on here for sure. When it comes to the "traditional" aspect of this, I don't see much difference between ILF and normal t/d. Never understood how a bolt and a pin is "traditional" but a bolt and a pin with spring in it isn't.
What I like about LF is that if you want the built by hand "custom" touch, its available, if you want total function, it's available. If you want to mix the two, it's available. If you want Morrison beauty with TradTech functionality and value, no problem. How about a metal riser with Dryad static limbs? That little pin with the spring in it makes all these combinations possible. What if you want (need) a new set of limbs but don't want to (can't) wait six months to get them?
How about little things like switching from split finger to 3 under and your favorite custom is tillered for split? With ILF, no problem...just adjust the tiller. How about those carbons that you just can't seem to get to fly perfectly out of your setup? One size is too stiff and one size is too weak. Why not just adjust your poundage by a couple pounds and dial them in?
I would agree that the there is some really nice ILF stuff being made here by the custom bowyers and I'm betting that it will only get bigger and more popular. The only difference I see is the ability to shoot lighter arrows if you choose to. Companies like Hoyt, TradTech, Winn Winn, and others are quite comfortable with arrow weights in the 6-8 gpp range but I don't think bowyers like some mentioned here would be too comfortable with that, either with their limbs or risers. To some people, especially those that are into 3d and target shooting as well as hunting, that is a drawback.
Although it wasn't really new, DAS re-introduced an old concept to the hunting market with a few new twists. Since then, others have stepped it up in terms of convenience, performance, custom options and availability. I can't wait to see what comes next.
Bob,
I fully concur with your belief. Too many jobs have been outsourced oversea. Need to support USA made products as much as possible.
Secondly, I am just amazed w/ my Morrison ILF setup. It's the mini 14 w/ two sets of c/f limbs. One is a set of 40# D limbs, and the other a 50# skinned B limbs. Both very smooth and smoking fast.
Lastly, I had emailed Bob with a general question, and was surprised he personally called me an hour later with an answer. THAT is what I call customer service. Thank you
''I can't wait to see what comes next.''
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Wheels!!!!!!
:bigsmyl: ........stabow
As far as the Asian limbs verses American limb performance mentioned by Bill just go to Blacky Schwartz's website. Morrison's single carbon longbow limbs performing right with the top dollar Samick BF extremes recurves. And the Morrison single carbon recurve limbs are at least a click or two faster than the long bow limbs. Speed isn't everything though, but it helps a lot. The Morrison limbs are also very quiet and smooth. Yep we got em right here in the USA.
QuoteOriginally posted by stabow:
''I can't wait to see what comes next.''
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Wheels!!!!!!
:bigsmyl: ........stabow
Wow, that little spring must be dangerous. It's like an asprin being a gateway drug to meth.
:laughing:
I have a fairly good understanding of the basic ILF concept, however the bottom line for me is how does the bow feel and shoot. My Morrison is one fine shooter.
I read as much of it as I could but got lost. I guess the ILF system is just too complicated for me.
I get lost easily but that's ok all I really need is a stick with a string that'll fling an arrow.
God bless,Mudd
Not that complicated Mudd. Pretty much like the normal takedown, only with a different bolt attachment and a lot of adjustability.
I personally am a believer of "The less moving parts, the better." My Hoyt Dorado is as crazy as I get.
Good Shooting,
Craig