I just talked to a guy who builds bows in Louisiana.  He said his recurve limbs consist of a red elm and carbon core.  Does that sound up to par compared to other bow makers?? Would red elm be in the same class as action wood??and what about the carbon is that normal?

Michael

Some say Bambo is smoother draw some say red elm is faster ?? sounds like a good combo  , I also think carbon does'nt add any speed ??

As for it's performance, I can't say.  I do know that it's not a "new" limb wood, and more than one bowyer uses it.

Red elm=Good!The rest is in the design though.

Well I being from Louisiana am gonna give it a shot.  If anything I can say that I have a bow custom built in my home state and not to far from my own town actually.  The man said he would put his bows up against any so I'll let everyone know when I get it, should be around August or September

uh, michael, weren't you supposed to buy a silvertip?  i thought we had that all figured out.
but seriously...it isn't easy deciding is it?  we are lucky to have so many really good bows to choose from.
not to kick a dead horse but - you could buy a Holm-Made recurve AND a "matching" Holm-Made longbow for  a total of 950 bucks if you wanted a "matching brace" of bows.  And those are really good bows.  
bill

Bill,
 The Silvertip has been ordered but I can't wait 9 months to get my hands on a new bow.  The old bear that I'm shooting now has a twisted limb and I don't trust it to hunt with.  So I want something for this hunting season to hunt with...and guess you could say I'm just ate up with it right now and want about 1 of everything....but yes the Shafer is coming for sure!!

Michael

How can I move this to the Bowyers Bench???

Red elm is an excellent core wood in edge grain and looks good in flat grain for veneers. Carbon does help a bit more for stability in a curve than performance. To gain performance it needs to be on the tension side not the belly of the limb. used in place of the glass.

I'm glad to hear of another bowyer in Louisiana.   Would you mind sending me a pm of his info?  

As for limb material,  I've never built a bow but have shot many models and designs.  I have learned to trust what the bowyer liked in his particular design.  So
when I order I normally let them pick lb material after I pick riser woods.

Got a bow w/ boo/carbon core that seems pretty quick but the performance is definitely in design.Also have a longbow w/ carbon back,core,and belly that's very quick,so each their own.
Sounds like a good combo w/ all things else being well designed.

Red Elm is both beautiful and functional.