Through the yrs, there have been a lot of great bows that never really got the credit they deserved for one reason or another.
If you own or have shot a bow like this, it would be interesting to hear what it is.
My first thought is the Jim Bo longbows, built by the late Mr. Willoferd of Ohio. (hope i spelled the name right, out of respect)
Ive got 2 of his longbows, which are AMAZING shooters!, which will have a home here always.
Your thoughts?
Legend Longbows by Jim Johnson, Lonetree by Ron Castoe and Frederick Longbows by Fritz Johnk. The first 3 that come to mind for me.
Green Mountain Longbows......Jim stopped making them and that was a real shame.......Great craftsmanship from Vermont!!
X2 on the Lonetree by Ron Castoe,just a shame he is no longer with us.
Dan Quillon Patriots
Gen 2 T-Bird by Jay St.Charles. :archer2:
X2 on Green Mountain. Jim made a great bow with exceptional eye to detail.
Rick Lepp, Bow River Archery, a Canadian bowyer that made great bows, I have a Whitetailer R/D long bow, it is a great bow!!
QuoteOriginally posted by Firstarrow:
Dan Quillon Patriots
Had one of them in 70# and it near killed me. But BOY did that throw an arrow!
MY vote for underrated would be the Shakespeare Necedah X line in the higher 30 series.
Dan Quillon Patriots
Aspen Longbow, made by Byron Schurg. I just picked one up a couple weeks ago, and I can;t put it down.
Jordan Stalker recurves by John Jordan of Ohio. These are great recurves made by a great man!
Black Canyon bows, love mine.
(http://i.imgur.com/G7hKd.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
Green Mountain Longbows......Jim stopped making them and that was a real shame.......Great craftsmanship from Vermont!!
x2
Harold Groves never liked to advertise his bows. If he did they would have been used by many more archers than they were.
Vince Yak made a really nice longbow line....Shadow bows. He got involved in other more profitable activities but his longbows were the only ones I could shoot as well as my recurves.
Black creek bows, fast and quiet!
Brian Holley long bows and our own Bill Warren Iraqouis bows.
Never shot a Holley but Grinch is dead on about Bill's Iroquois bows.
x2 on jordan stalkers i have 2 and are great bows, i've owned the best and these are as good as any i've shot
Jed I really like his bows I'd trade or buy one in a heartbeat,they are shooters.
I bought my wife a Miami Valley Longbow about 2 years ago.
It is a shooter... fast, dead, quiet and smooth. I would like to buy another one, but never see or hear anything about them.
God Bless,
Nathan
Back in the day, I wanted to buy one of the JimBo longbows with the red cedar veneers. When I showed up at Cloverdale the following year with a fist full of money, I learned of his passing.
Long River Longbows by Gus Delaghelfa. They shoot great and look beautiful.
John your right owned a couple Miami Valleys they were good shooting bows.
Ralph Castoe of Lonetree and Jack Smith of Blackhawk longbows are rwo that come to mind from the latter years.
Second Harold Groves of Groves bows and another would be Bill Pyle of Staghorn bows.
But IMO the most outstanding bowyer so far ahead of his time and still to this day many bowyers do not use any of his techniques is Jack Howard of Gamemaster/Gamemaster Jet bows.
Years ago I owned a couple of longbows made by a fella named Pat O'Brian in Texas. A lot of hype about other bows convinced me to sell them to get different. Wish I had never done it. The O'Brain's were top notch in every way.
I've heard there is a guy building them again on the same forms, but under a different name. Don't remember the name.
Beaver Creek longbow by Checkmate.
Alaska pennisula bows they were nice
I'll second this: Frederick Longbows by Fritz John, I just aquired one and it is a real beauty and great shooter, remarkably quiet!
Another is the bow my dad had built by Iron Mountain, I forgot the builders name, they aren't online, but they are real lookers and shooters!
I'm going out on a limb here, because this bowyer actually has a huge following but resale prices are dirt cheap.
J.K. Chastain's Wapiti takedown. What a fantastic shooting recurve. I bought mine for 250.00 on this site. It sat for a long time unsold before I bought it. They usually go for under 400.00 2nd hand.
I'm an ENORMOUS Silvertip fan, but I will not go out at least a few times without my Wapiti.
Diamonds in the rough they are.
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/bows/wapiti.jpg)
Tice and Watts ! (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/P1010321.jpg) :thumbsup: (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/P1010333.jpg)This is the Master hunter Model. :archer2:
Big River Bows by John McDonald from Wisconsin. He has a real fan base here in Wisconsin and for those of us who have his bows, we love them! In particular, his hybrid r/d longbow based off the 21st Century 33" radiused limb is an outstanding shooter.
Kris
Big River x2 and snowshoe longbows!
My first trad bow was a Jim-bo #572 55#@28 all osage. I bought it second hand, but the original owner gave me the receipt... $175 in 1997.
Worth every penny paid for this solid bow.
I gave it to a friend starting out in bowhunting, but I do miss it.
The Bob Savage Deathmaster was a good bow as were Rocky Millers. Canadian Bowyer Rick Lepp made excellent bows(Bow River Archery). I shot his Summitt T/D, took quite a few animals with it plus sold many of his bows here when I had the shop open.
Archery 2000 SST was another fine bow. Grable and Bamford had a neat design there. Tice & Watts and Groves from the early years along with the Original Bill Stewart Multi Cam take downs.
Bruin recurves in WI,incredible fast and accurate.
I second KentuckyTJ, Black Canyon Bows. Mike is a awesome guy and the bows are top notch, got another one on order and will hopefully get to help build it.
The other are Thunder Mountain Flatbows by Jerry Barr. He no longer makes them but they don't get the credit they desreve.
I agree with David Yukon. Rick Lepp,owner of former Bow River Archery near Calgary, Alberta. I have one of his Summit take down recurves and his skills as a bowyer were not known by many.
x3 Green Mountain Longbow and Blue Ridge Archery
QuoteOriginally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
[QB] Tice and Watts ! (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/P1010321.jpg) :thumbsup:
From the pricing I have seen on Tice & Watts bows lately I think they're pretty much getting full glory!
The first bow using computer aided design - in the early 1970's.
Rampart bows of colorado. Local bowyer, low profile but makes an excellent bow. Three piece longbows and recurves.
Monarcs by Monty Morovec and Brian Shurg and Frederick's by Fritz. I'd add Dave Paxton's longbows to that list. It's not that these bows are unsung. It's just that there aren't that many of them, and people who know about or own them them tend not to part with them.
The Jeff Massie made "Longhorn" long bow deserves to be on this list. Jeff stopped making bows a few years back, but those of us that were fortunate enough to discover this Shiner, Texas bowyer knew that his "Longhorn" would always be an outstanding shooter, with a superb finish, and bow tips that were simply works of art. The traditional archery community lost a good one when Jeff decided to retire for family considerations. :archer2:
YORNOC, ill step out on that limb with you ,J.K Chastain"s bows are great shooters. Ive got one of his T.D Yellowstones, and its smooth as butter.
Sley Bows by Pat Ley. And I agree Big river,Crooked Stic and Bodork also.<><
I have got to add Jeffery Archery bows.
Mississippi Lakes Long bow, by a bowyer in Canada. I picked up a Mark I a few years ago. I was mostly a recurve shooter before that, but I found that I really liked shooting this bow. Quiet, smooth and real fast, with no hand shock. I have not seen another one since then.
QuoteOriginally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
Tice and Watts ! (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/P1010321.jpg) :thumbsup: (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/P1010333.jpg)This is the Master hunter Model. :archer2:
Amen Sergio, another Tice and Watts fan here. Very fast and smooth drawing bows.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/reddogge/Archery/IMG_1974_1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/reddogge/Archery/IMG_1085.jpg)
Quillon Patriots and Longhunters , great bows and diffinetly the best short bow is Shawn Petersons Red Tail . My thoughts , Fred
Sticshooter thanks for mentioning my personal favorite "CROOKED STIC". I have been walking around with mine most of the day and plan on doing the same tommorrow if able. Looking forward to the day I can get another from him, funds just been kind of tight lately.4 kids and a wife kinda puts me on backburner this time of year!!!
Big River x3
Cold Mountain Longbows
7 Lakes Longbows
Again, a vote for Jim Duclos' Green Mountain Longbows. There is not a square edge anywhere on them.
Been out of business quite awhile now, but Dave Guthries(sp?) Appalachian Archery. Dave was in west Virginia I believe. Made some really nice, stable bows....classic line and good performance.
I had one Daves longbows yrs ago, traded it because it was to heavy at the time, awesome shooter. Now that im shooting bows in the 60 -80 lb range, i kick myself for getting rid of it.
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
My first Trad Bear with a Dave Guthrie Savage River Takedown. Quietest bow I ever shot!
(http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab246/yornoc/047.jpg)
One more you really never hear about. But bow he make a smooth bow and fancy,. Eddie Francisco of RAPTURE BOWS.<><
Another big fan of Appalachian Archery bows. My first longbow was a second-hand Middle Mountain LB, cocobolo with juniper lams. Since I bought that one, I've added another LB, a flatbow and a 50's-style static RC by Dave. Every one is a shooter.
Other bows that have come and come through my hands and left an impression are Miami Valley, Mississippi Lakes and 7 Lakes, all solid performers.
@YORNOC: Keith bows can be lookers. A lot are utalitarian bland in appearance though. A reason is, that customers often don't specify what they want. Your pictured bow is IMHO really ugly, but it shoots as good as my prettier version of his bows. On the other hand, as a field rep for Keith bows, I often find people like the bows best I find the ugliest. So tastes really differ in appearance.
Now, his DUGGAN Special is a heck of a looker and shooter and very unique. Worth a look. His website offers very good deal on brand-new stock bows as well.
Canyon Archery Traditions
7 Lakes Longbows
FireFly Bows - my son-in-law has one and too bad it's a righty or I'd shoot it more.
And a production bow that's a good shooting little workhorse, The Shakespeare Wonderbow.
Stewart multi cam recurve by Bill Stewart
Nice T&W's Spartan Hunters there Reddogge ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I must say Jim Duclos new what he was doing when he was making Green Mountain Longbows.
Mine is a beauty to shoot and even nicer to look at. The workmanship is superb. Too bad he quit making them.
Mo
Massie longhorn Longbow
Tom Kelley Recurves. They're excellent and I'm looking for a 50" between 45 and 49#.
X2 on the SLEY Bows. I have a recurve Pat made for me, just as he was going out of business. A cocobolo riser, great workmanship.
Maybe they got a lot of attention back in their day, but I sure like my Groves Spitfire Mag II.