I really love all the great things I have heard and seen about the Shrew longbows. The problem is that they have an 18month waiting list if you order one and used ones are really hard to find. Im wondering who else makes a bow that compares to the Shrew in size, feel and performance?
Shrews are great bows. I have owned 2 and probably still would have them if they were not just a little heavy in poundage for me. I will name a few that I either own or have owned and they are all very good bows. This is in no particular order. Kanati, Lost Creek, Cascade Brush Hawk. You cannot go wrong with any of these, they are all great bows with a short wait time. We are blessed with so many quality bowyers.
What about Hoots?
I may be biased, but my vote is for the Kanati. I have owned an older Shrew(which admittedly isn't the same bow as the current model Shrew but, nevertheless, is still a Shrew) and I know that the Kanati is a great bow, very similar to the Shrew.
Ditto to above post !!!!
A super shrew is much different than an older shrew. There has been a LOT of refinement done to the SS's and it is worth waiting for the original. They come in the classifieds now and then. They are the best of the best of the short hybrid longbows. I have one that is just a little better than all the others I have had over the years that would take an awful lot to get me to part with it.
I would give a Kanati a try.......and save a bunch of money in the process!
IMHO, nothing but another Shrew.
My suggestion is to watch the classifieds for a couple of months religiously. They don't come up often, but they are there from time to time, so you could cut some cost and lots of wait time off (there is a lefty Classic Hunter and a RH takedown Little Favorite there now).
I second the
double post , sorry. I second the Hoots bows and he usually has several in stock.
I haven't shot a Shrew, but for what it's worth, I bought a Big Jim Thunder Child at Cloverdale and love it. According to Jim, it's his "version" of the Shrew.
I would have to say go with a lost creek. They are great bows & Chad is a great Guy to deal with. Not only are they great shooters but they are one of the best looking bows too. Good luck
I think the Griffin made by John McCullough is pretty similar, unfortunately also a long wait for a new one. Keep your eyes on the classifieds, Shrews and Griffins show up there often enough you will find one before too long.
Never shot a shrew but I love my lost creek. Good luck!
In reflex-deflex nothing else is like a Super Shrew!!!!! :thumbsup:
Big Jim Thunderchild.RC
Have you tried putting a WTB in the classifieds, thats how i got mine.
Shrews and Griffins are great bows thats for sure but I liked the Kanati the best . Only thing with the Kanati is wood choices are limited .
Shrew CH Carbon Foam T/D was well worth the wait. I won't have need of another longbow, keep you eyes on the classifieds as they pop up ocassionally but go fast.
Dwyer has one called the Endeavor. It kind of looks like a shrew, never shot one or heard about them. Might look into it though.
love my Classic Hunter carbon core with bow bolt just a fun bow to shoot. I would wait.
I'd look at an Acadianwoods. Website says 2 months.
I've shot a few of his bows..real nice to say the least. Never shot a Shrew though.
If you are looking for a high quality "short" longbow with a short turn around time from the bowyer, try a Great Northern Lil' Creep. It is a 58" longbow. I have pulled one and inspected it a Jerry's shop........awesome! I believe that he has a Lil Creep in stock right now that is 53# @28" 58" amo. This bow is also alot less money than a shrew. I have owned both shrews and Great Northerns and would take my Critter Gitter everytime! Check out GN's web page.
I have owned most of the bows mentioned above. I currently have a Griffin, two Kanati's and I have a new Hoots that I picked up at Denton Hill just recently.I have owned a couple of shrews in the past.
I will try and focus on the original question. What bows are like the shrew? All the bows mentioned are very similar. Some of it depends on what floats your boat. I happen to have a real liking for the handle on all these bows. I love the forward handle and the way they are all shaped to fit the hand. As far as performance -- from my perspective, they all perform very well but I have no formal evidence such as chronograph figures. I am impressed with how all the bows shoot.
What is important to me is the ability to get my hands on one. No disrespect to any of the bowyers but delivery times can be quite long for some of them. In one regard, that is good because they are busy and have plenty of orders. I wish that for all our hard working bowyers. On the other hand, a two year wait for a bow is probably at my age about 20 percent of my remaining time left in my life that I expect to be able to hunt with traditional equipment. I don't want to spend 1/5 of my remaining time waiting for a new bow. You young hunters out there can deal with that better than us old geezers.
My preference for the moment for a forward handle hybred long bow is with the new Hoots I have. Some of that may be due to the new bow.
I absolutely love my Kanati's too and all the bowyers for these bows have been great to deal with. All make a very fine product. So, to get back to the question, The Hoots, the Kanati, the Griffin and several other bows mentioned are very much like a shrew. I don't think you will go wrong with any of them. There are quite a few Griffins in lighter weights that have been available lately and a number of shrews for sale in the classifieds. What I am surprised about is how long some of them have been up for sale. The economy is definitely down when these bows stay up for sale for more than 8 hours. They used to go the first hour or two they got listed. Right now! not so much.
Good luck with whatever you choose cause you may get yourself caught with the fever that so many of us have for these short hybred longbows. Shoot often and have fun!!!
As mentioned, a Griffin is very similar to a shrew. The thumb ridge in the grip is a little less "pronounced" on the Griffin than on the Shrew.
I have a SS Samauri and 2 Griffins and they are all great bows, but I shoot the shrew better.
My vote is for Big Jim Thunderchild. I own a 56" Thunderchild and draw over 30 inches and have never had more fun with a bow in my life. Light manueverable and easy to shoot. And, it looks amazing.
Take a look at a Thunderchild, very good quality. Big Jim is a stand up guy.
Nate Steele of BamaBows is making a very nice short, forward riser bow called the Expedition. His prices are good and a very reasonable wait on one. His work is top-notch and he's a real pleasure to do business with. Lifetime warranty also.
The Riser of my Hoots is some what like Shrews...
(http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu55/KEITH63/CopyofDSCN0857_087.jpg)
(http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu55/KEITH63/DSCN0855_085.jpg)
(http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu55/KEITH63/DSCN0862_092.jpg)
Man that's a fine looking bow Keefer!
I have several of Bob Sarrels Blackhills II which are forward riser very much like the Shrew.. Here are a couple of mine..
Bob Sarrels is a sponsor here so you can easily take a look at his bows.. I also believe he is having a sale ...
(http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g478/Brushrat/shelfside.jpg?t=1314033891)
(http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g478/Brushrat/LB20R.jpg)
Thanks Danny but Lee Hoots deserves the credit ...He's done a great job in making my "Chocolate Moose" (as I call it) little Hoot's recurve... :thumbsup:
Treadway makes a really good bow and the price is very good to...
This is a quote from a thread on Griffin bows that Ron LaClair posted some time back. For those that may not know or wonder why such similarity exist between Griffin and Shrew bows.
"Just to set the record straight, the "Grayling Spirit" is the name I gave the bow that John made when he made bows for me. I always liked the 59 Bear Kodiak and had used one back in the day.
I still had one and used it occasionally. I wanted to recreat this great bow so I gave John my personal 1959 Bear Kodiak to use as a model to make a form. The Grayling Spirit had a Rosewood riser and Purplehart inlayed in the riser, maple limbs and brown glass, just like the original Bear bow.
At one point John wanted to have his own line of bows so he started making the Griffin longbow which was/is a copy of my Super Shrew design. He also made a copy of the Grayling Spirit and called it the "59'er". His 59'er was brown or gray actionwood. After John stopped making bows for me he continued making the Griffins and 59'er with the customers choice of woods.
Even though John doesn't make bows for me anymore we are still very good friends. John is a very knowledgeable craftsman and he helped Gregg Coffey tremendously when Gregg started making the Shrew bows. You can't go wrong with a McCullough bow."
~CB
what compares to a shrew???
a mouse, star nosed mole, etc...
sorry I couldn't help it :bigsmyl:
how does it compare to a treadway black foerest?
Hoots.... There it is!
Although I haven't owned or shot a shrew, I have shot several and still own a Kanati. Of all the bows I have shot (and that is a bunch), the Kanati is the best. The speed for the draw weight is really unbelievable. The draw is stack free and there is absolutely no hand shock. Nothing I have shot, shoots better. Heavy arrows...no problem. It is and always will be my go-to bow.
Ditto on KANATI by Jason K.
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
The bows made by Big Jim and Lee Hoots look very nice, but I haven't ever shot one. I KNOW the Shrews are fantastic bows!
Allan
Ok, can i ask for a link to the kanati bow please... ?
ak.
I have a Shrew Classic Hunter and will never part with it.
QuoteOriginally posted by Al Kidner:
Ok, can i ask for a link to the kanati bow please... ?
ak.
www.jkbows.com (http://www.jkbows.com)
I've shot the Shrews and love my Kanati
What KentuckyTJ said.
The Griffin but the wait is just as long. I kind of get the feeling that John makes bows to his liking then calls people on the list. Don't quote me on that.
I have a new Lost Creek made to my specs (62" 44@28) and will probably be shooting that one a long time. What led me to Lost Creek is a used Life Ender. 58" 48@28 that I got first. I can't force myself to sell that bow. It shoots faster than ANY other bows I have (and that's over a chrono). The fact that I'm drawing the 58" bow 29 3/4 probably has a lot to do with that, but it is just plain FAST. And I had Chad pretty much copy the grip off the Life Ender for my new one.
If your looking for a great quality "short" bow, I would highly recommend a Two Tracks Ambush. 50" tip to tip. I'm taking mine down to Texas next week along with my RER LXR. Hopefully there will be plenty deflated by both.
Just about shot all of em, the Kanati is at the top of the heap for a forward handle short longbow taking into account performance, ease of tuning..will shoot just about anything you feed it. Very easy to point and loves heavy sticks !!
Froggy
Yes Bladepeek, you are right. My lost creek is just plain FAST. And quiet.
Never shot a shrew but my new cascade brush hawk hasn't left my sight since I got it. I picked up my black widow once and put it right back down. This thing is light,quiet,super smooth, no handshock, and is fast for a 56" bow. The best 500.00 ever spent.
Since I got my new whip we've been moving up fast on the build list. Waiting time for a new Shrew now is less than a year.. :readit:
:archer:
Well i have something here i designed that may interest you, and i must say that i had a photo of the Shrew on my bench when i designed it....
I love your bows Ron!
i read in your web site that if anyone ever copied your design, you would take it as a compliment. Well... mine didn't come out looking quite like yours, but they are definitely shooters.
i figured you would appreciate my design technique here.... this is what i call "Carpenter Cad" desining...
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Pure%20Poisen/PurePoisenForm003.jpg)
This one is called a "Yeti" . These are built in 52" 54" & 56" and shape the grips to the customers request to high/med/ med-low
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Leaded%20Yeti/SANY0004-1.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Leaded%20Yeti/SANY0014.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Yeti%202010/SANY0005-1.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Jonesy%20Yeti/SANY0019.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bow%20building/Yeti%202010/SANY0005.jpg)