Hey all,

Just curious to see if anyone here has a Dave Johnson longbow.  He makes Hill style bows.  According to his site he is back building bows again on a limited basis.

If anyone has one, how about telling how you like it and how it shoots?  How do they compare to other Hill style bows including Howard Hill bows?

Pics are always welcome.

Thanks
Nalajr

I have a Dave Johnson bow that I bought from him in the late 80's.  It has cedar limbs with black glass on the back and white on the belly and in my opinion was just beautiful.  It has been to hell and back with all the small game hunting I have done with it so I don't want to post pictures.  It is 75# and I haven't been able to shoot that heavy a weight for quite a few years.  I have owned  Hills, Northern Mists, Meigs, and Bama bows and wouldn't hesitate to buy another bow from Dave.  It will shoot with the best of them.

The bow in my avatar pic is a Dave Johnson.  Like Gordon's, it is cedar cored with black and white glass and a myrtle riser.  I think she was made in '87, is 65" NTN and is marked 55 @ 27.  Unbraced, she is dead straight.  She is my favorite Hill style bow and I have a few.  No, she's not for sale.

I exchange emails with Dave, and he told me that he won't build a bow heavier than 50#... For reasons the explained to me...
Look like he knows what he's doing!

I have owned one and can hopefully find a way to get one of his that will be built just for me.

The one I had was most definitely a shooter.

The draw weight started early but it was smooth all the way out to my 28" draw.

The bows performance was flawless and hit where I was looking w/authority.

God bless,Mudd

I remember back in the early 80's seeing advertisments for the Dave Johnson Red Cedar Longbow. Read a good review on it in the old "Longbow" magazine, that Bill Bagwell had written. Wanted one but couldn't afford it. If I remember right, Dave was getting $350.00 for them which was top dollar for longbows back then.

Last summer I had gone 2 years not shooting a bow due to shoulder injury. I've got an old hickory backed red cedar longbow that I'd made back in the mid 90's. It shoots great, but I won't shoot it much due to frets and chrysles on the belly. Got it out anyway to see if I could shoot pain free, and it was. Shortly after, I saw where Dave Johnson was back in busniess, so I called him and we talked about him making me a bow. When I got it, it was/is exactly how I orderd it. 66" 45#'s @28" blk. glass on back, wht. on belly. Riser laminated with 1/2" of bubinga and myrtle on top. 12" long riser from fade to fade. Thin narrow peaked grip with a slight dish. Slight amount of backset (3/8")
The thin pigskin leather strike plate & grip wrap set it off. The finish he uses takes several days of work... and it shows.

I understand now why Dave uses red cedar only in his bows.
It is my opinion that it's one of the few bows being built today, that is in the true American Semi-Longbow style.

I have a Good friend who just got one recently from some "Old  Feller" who pretends and dress's like "Robinhood" at times on here! He really likes it so far from our talk today...  

Stop it guys! I've been emailing Dave and pondering on getting one of his bows. Y'all ain't helping the pocketbook!    AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!  

QuoteOriginally posted by Bud B.:
Stop it guys! I've been emailing Dave and pondering on getting one of his bows. Y'all ain't helping the pocketbook!            AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!          

I beg to differ cause it actaully makes your wallet a tad bit lighter and keeps your blue jeans from falling down showing your under drawers from carrying  that extra weight in yur wallet ...Now go buy one...    

I sent him another email....

doghouse bound  :(

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

Dave

I'd like to see more pics.

Nalajr

I had a long talk with Dave yesterday and decided to have him build me a longbow. I explained my problem with my left hand and how a Hill with its wedge grip will sometimes make it hurt and finally go numb. He asked me many questions and asked if I could give him a drawing of what I wanted in a grip, because he stated that he wanted the bow to "be mine" and if it were uncomfortable to shoot than that could not happen. I found Dave to be courteous,understanding and most important concerned with doing the best for me, his customer.

I spoke with him last night too. Top notch and he asked many questions to make sure we were on the same page. After hanging up with him he called back in about two minutes and asked one more clarifying question.

So the wait begins....

Bumpin in case someone has more photos of Dave's bows.

That would be great, more photos that is!!

From a prior post by Dave on another thread.

Why wont he make them heavier than 50 lbs?

Why wont he make them heavier than 50 lbs?