Recently received a one piece Flatliner longbow from Kirk Lavender of Bigfoot Bows. Specs are 62" and 54@28. The bow is single carbon on back and black glass on belly. Cores are bamboo with a small accent of bloodwood to the fade-outs. Riser is a solid piece of ebony. No I-beam in this build, but I do find that option attractive. The bow is light in the hand, but has exceptional stability. The craftsmanship and finish are flawless. My first thoughts upon shooting the bow were holy fast and nice grip! Actually ruined my first arrow within the first twenty shots put through it! Yes a robin hood within the first twenty shots of shooting this brand new bow... Does that add confidence? Yes indeed! Although I have been accused of sending too many arrows down range per session...I no longer memorialize such occurrences, but opt to put the good arrow back in the quiver and rob the destroyed arrow of anything reusable.
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/DSC02113-Copy.jpg)
:jumper: :jumper: :jumper:
Very nice!, Kirk is a great bowyer and the proof is in the pudding (or bows in this case) His bows are top notch...now how about some pics of the bow! lol
Keith, although we've talked before....I must say you have the coolest Avatar I've ever seen. Anyone reading this, take a good look!
Now, I've been eyeballing Keith's bows for quite some time and appreciate every post about them. I'd love to see the bow!
Kirk builds a great bow!
Congratulations! :thumbsup: Kirk sure makes a pretty bow!!!
Speaking of which...wheres the pics!!! You cant just tease us with a picture of an arrow! :biglaugh:
Pics man, we need pics! :knothead: BTW, who's skull is THAT???? :eek:
Ok, I must confess...I'm under the tutelage of Doc Nock on presenting a post in bite size morsels... He's one of my noted storytellers along with many others on this site.
Moving on... As any reguler TGer knows Kirk is kind of a mad scientist of the lever. And my accounts of his bow are merely a paraphrase of what he's explained to me. So Kirk please chime in to expand on any of this.
To this day I have not heard a bow that sounds quite like this. A sacrilege to say perhaps, but to me it sounds like high end wheeled bows I've owned and others agree. It is my understanding that Kirk actually video tapes the tips to record the distance the tip flexes past brace position once shot, which translates to the degree of vibration/hand shock. Wow does his research show and pay dividends. With my quiver strapped on I can't even hear my feathers rub against themselves. First bow I've ever owned with such manners. The long riser may contribute to the quiver not absorbing energy like previous bows I've owned. Not sure, but I can say that the energy of this bow dissipates extremely fast.
Upon review of his limbs I noticed that the tips each have wedges. I thought perhaps this is what made the bow FF compatible. The answer was no. The knocks make the bow FFc. The wedges are graphite and actually reduce the mass of the limb tips and help to bring the limbs to a rapid stop upon returning to brace. I hope this isn't proprietary to Kirk or disclosing intellectual property, but here is a profile of his tip.
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/DSC02115-Copy.jpg)
Sorry for the poor resolution.
Flying Dutchman,
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I'm crying.
Thats a clue...
~CB
Nice shooting in such a quick time with the bow. What type of grip do you use with a bow. Cooling looking tip shot.
QuoteOriginally posted by Chromebuck:
Flying Dutchman,
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I'm crying.
Thats a clue...
~CB
That's an easy one! :)That is from The Beatles, "I am a Walrus" :)So I might have a clue who's skull it is......
Kirk,
Here are pics of the grip. I would consider it a low grip, but different from other grips in that it has a flat surface without any radius. I really like this grip and have not found a way to grip it wrong.
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/DSC02119.jpg)
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/DSC02122.jpg)
Photobucket is working very strange since their update. I'm resizing images multiple times and they're still falling outside allowable size.
~CB
Beyond the awesome wooden box the bow comes in thats worth holding on to! I must say that the Flatliner is finally one of those bows I've received that surpassed my previous go to bow. I'm not what I would consider a speed demon, but I'm really liking the noticable increase.
Give Kurt a call and see what he says. His bows are a bit of a departure from the many I've traded and bought since I've found this site and I really give this bow high marks and find myself increasingly motivated to go shoot.
Very well done and thank you Kirk!
(http://i632.photobucket.com/albums/uu47/chromebuck/DSC02117-Copy.jpg)
:thumbsup:
Keith,great shooting,and I'm glad you got a bow that you can just bunch those arrows up downrange. Can't beat that feeling. WAY TO GO CHROMEBUCK!! rat'
:archer2:
Very nice bow...!..... :wavey:
Very nice bow indeed! Congrats and thank you for sharing
Kirk is a god guy, nice bow. :clapper:
Wondered what it looked like...
Been enjoying our email exchanges... :) And do I understand correctly you took a "stock bow?"
Think what you'd do if you got one zipped up the way you absolutely wanted it? Ha!
If I read his emails correctly, Kirk moves those limb tip wedges around to get the performance he wants at the length he's shooting for...
Boy spends a lot of time on a bucket looking at FD bend of limbs to figure out his next move!
As the saying goes about you and this bow, "By, Jove, I think you've got it!"
Good shooting! Neat to see you so jacked up over this puppy!
Yes, I must admit this was a stock bow that was 66" and mid to low 40's @ 28. Kirk cut down the tips and hit the range I was looking for at what I considered a fair price.
Just couldn't be happier with this bow. Went to the range lastnite and had a ball shooting it.
I didn't expect the bow to be as smooth being cut down from 66", but that only confirms that I know very little about such things. It is buttery smooth and feels less than 54lbs at anchor.
~CB
I think I remember Kirk sharing he was going to try to trim them back, re-taper or something and re-balance them.
Nothing leaves his shop till it's technically "right"! Then it's up to the individual to enjoy it...what a hoot it is to see you so happy with your purchase and having such a ball with it all, Keith!
Well i don't know how i missed your post here Keith... I think i was up in the mountains sneaking around trying to give a blacktail deer a pointed invitation to dinner.
First of all i apologize for your trashed arrow. Maybe I forgot to mention its a really good idea to have several spots to focus on bro... That stuff happens with these bows. :thumbsup: This kind of stuff makes the extra effort i put into all my bows worth while.
Kirk
Keith - or Kirk - do you have a full picture of the bow? Looks beautiful.
Here it is naked....on the left
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bows%202012/Flatliner/SANY0019-3.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bows%202012/Flatliner/SANY0036.jpg)
(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u301/kirkll/Bows%202012/Flatliner/SANY0048.jpg)
I dyed the buck skin grip a dark brown for him.
Very nice! Looks smooth....
Thanks, Kirk.