Just arrived today from Nate Steele, 66", 52@29, dark stained curly maple riser that's phenolic stripe reinforced, dark stained all boo limbs under satin black glass, coco overlays on the back of both the riser and limb tips. This is one dark, serious looking longbow.
The handle is a bit deeper than a the new Hill locator, and it's a "reverse teardrop", where the rounded part fits your palm and the wedge part is on the riser's back. It has a very slight locator and is covered in laced black leather. The total mass weight is a feather light 19ozs. The limbs have an almost imperceptible hint of reflex.
In essence, this is an AFL (American Flat Longbow) in the Howard Hill style. Now, here's the thing - my draw length is 29" and I need a 68" longbow length or I'll get some stack - better yet at a good 70" ntn length.
BUT, this little 66" popper is stackless to my 29" draw. Dunno how Nate does it but dang, she's a smoooth 66" that rivals my 70" Tembo. No kiddin'!
postscript - i hafta say, this is by far the absolute fastest american flat longbow i've ever shot.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh3-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh4-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh5-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh6-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh8-1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/archery/bh1-1.jpg)
Dang thats nice , congrats :thumbsup:
Rob, looks like another winner! Congrats, someday I'll get a chance to try one of Nate's bows. :thumbsup: :clapper:
Very nice, the curly maple with the dark stain looks great, and sure to be a big hit with guys with a long draw at that length. :thumbsup:
What a looker!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Very nice, love the curly maple.
Sure is a pretty bow Rob :thumbsup:
Nate not only builds some beauty's but every one I've put my hand to has also been a shooter.
Congratulations Rob!
God bless,Mudd
Welcome to the club Rob! That looks a lot like my 2pc, love the dark stained Curly Maple. Beautiful bow, and those dark bows do have a 'Dangerous' look about them. Congrats!
Haven't shot any of Nate's bows, but have had many biz dealings with him and he is a strait shooter for sure!
Geez,That is one nice looking bow.That Curly maple gives it a beautiful antiqued look like a fine piece of early american furniture or a classic Flintlock Rifle,I just love that look.All the best with her.
Rob , that is a sweet and classic looking longbow as I have seen . I love those tips too .
There is something about dark coloured glass that just floats my boat .
Is there much reflex unstrung ?
QuoteOriginally posted by Ben Maher:
... Is there much reflex unstrung ?
it's so little unstrung reflex you'd hafta really look super close or use a straight edge. my guess is there's about 1/4" on each limb, a continual slight angle from the riser to the tips. i'll get out the 72" straight edge and digital mic l8r. bow is soooo smooth for 66" and a 29" draw. how do he do it?
"how do he do it?"
Many hours and bows of experimentation later! :goldtooth:
Nice choice Rob. My first Hill style longbow was a BamaBow Elite Classic Takedown. The first time I saw the pics of a curly maple riser on Nate's website I had to have one. Mine has Red Elm Limbs with Osage Orange accents. Beautiful bow and it shoots very well. Enjoy your new piece.
Nate puts everthing into his bows. If you aren't overwhelmed, he ain't happy.
I am on his list for a 2pc Elite Classic. I'm going with a Cocobolo riser with Boo accent, and 2 lams of Bamboo and 2 lams of Yew under clear glass. It'll be my Bama Half-Breed!
Very nice!
Good looking bow Rob.
Rob,
Nice bow for sure. I have a 66" 73# at 28" Hunter and a 62" 65# at 28" Expedition.
Love the bows Nate makes.
I would be curious if his 62" Expedition would stack on you at 29"? Better ask Nate to send you one, just to check it out.
:bigsmyl:
Fine lookin piece of equipment Rob. I just got my Bama long bow back from Nate. I dinged my shoulder and couldn't do the 62lbs anymore. He pulled it down to 50# @ 29 and it is nice. I forgot how quite and smooth it is while it was gone and I was shooting other bows. Have fun with it.
Nice bow Rob :bigsmyl:
I have a 29" draw like Rob. My 58" Expedition has no stack whatsoever and is a real shooter!
Dang Rob you're making me crazy. First DannyBows asks me if my Bama TD Hunter is done and describes the Elite he's getting. Now you post pics of yours. I was a rock, I wasn't going to ask Nate how much longer didn't want to bug him. Well I had to email him and find out, about 3 more weeks. That Hunter you just got is sweeeet! I went for the curly maple as well with boo limbs and bocote overlay and tips @ 64". Hope I don't go insane waiting. I love to here that it's sooo smooth. DannyBows and Mudd have told me how nice they shoot. Enjoy!!!!
Whenever I reach for a bow to shoot it always seems to be my Bama Hunter. I just can't shoot it enough. I also have the dark stained curly maple.
Congrats on the new bow.
Sheesh Rob, you've let out the secret. Now everyone will want one! :biglaugh:
I love my Elite. It has ligher brown stained tiger maple riser and reddish brown stained bamboo limbs. Nate's matte finish is one of the best in the business, no reflection at all but still still highlights the wood beautifully.
Oh yeah, it shoots good too and is exceedingly quiet with a very user friendly grip.
Nice looking bow
that Hunter looks a lot like mine, I shot prolly 70 arrows thru mine the other nite, I have a hard time deciding between my Bama Royal and my Hunter its hard to have these tough decisions! LOL congrats NICE bow!
QuoteOriginally posted by kennym:
"how do he do it?"
Many hours and bows of experimentation later! :goldtooth:
That about sums it up. Nate's in the shop non stop! Great looking bow Rob! Welcome to the Bama brotherhood!
I can't put my Royal down. I just keep it hanging by the target now. It's good to see so many recognizing Nate's work now.
Congrats Rob, love those Bama's!
:thumbsup: A real beauty!
Very very nice Rob. I can't wait til I hoard enough sheckles to order a hunter t/d, won't be for a while unfortunately, but seeing yours eases the pain of that.lol :)
Fin
I want a takedown Royal real bad. Especially with Nate's new carbon system. No more metal.
Nice Bow! I have an Elite Classic ordered and can't wait to try it out!
after lots of shooting, i hafta say - this is by far the absolute fastest american flat longbow i've ever shot.
Nate definitely knows how to build 'em!
If you think the Hunters are fast you try a Bama Royal with the 6 lams on the limbs!
Super nice! Just remember me at christmas time!lol
Rob, I just started shooting longer, D-Shape bows last year. My Bama was my first. I knew it was an excellent shooter and so much fun to shoot. The workmanship is top-notch also, but I didn't know how it compared to others. It's excellent to have a review from someone that is very knowledgeable and experienced with many different bows of this style. You've saved me a ton of money buying and selling to find out.
I'll be putting my money into more Bamas! Thanks! :thumbsup:
Rob, that is a sweet looking bow.I hope to see some pics of dead critters from it in the future.Good luck with it.
i ditched the 12 strand dacron string for a whipped up 10 strand bcy dyneema'02 endless string w/padded loops. mmmmm, even better. oh yeah. this is one *serious* hunting longbow. fer sure. :readit:
So you upped the ante by going fastflight. I'm in the process of getting my specs together for some 10 strand D-97 strings to put on my Hills and my Bama. I was gonna go with 8 strand, but I think 10 is a better bet, being a little beefier. Whatya think Rob?
Dang Rob....that's a shu-nuff looker....looks like you need to go to SC again for further testing. :D
I've been using 10 Strand D97, loops padded to 14 on mine (Oliverstacy), and she's liking them. I'm going to have Josh twist me up a 450+ for her to eliminate the hot weather creep.
Just got in from a shooting session with mine. I love how forgiving she is. I decided that to improve my shooting I need to stick with one style of bow, and as I shoot the D-Bows best I'm going to commit to them. There's just something about the feel of them that seems 'Right'.
:bigsmyl: