I don't know what happened to winter this year. The bottom line is I don't care. Spring just kind of oozed right up on me and like a wiser man once told me,"it can stay this way for a month and then get better". Amen!

Back in the winter I had decided to revisit longbows. I'd had a pretty long run with my recurves, but the longbow mentality is always just below the surface.

As a matter of fact I have to purposely stay away from any books or videos and most discussion about Hill style longbows. Hill style bows are what really turn my crank.

I've shot radical RD longbows as short as 60" and mild RD styles of 64" lengths. They just don't do it for me. At least not like a long limbed, deep cored, straight handled Hill style bow.

My first Hill style bow was a real Howard Hill Archery beauty. A 70", 75#@28", Big Five built by John Shulz.
I still have that bow, but it mostly gathers dust these days. It seems to not have aged a wit, while my old muscles have't fared quite as well.

Here she is at work...
   

Not only am I not able to make those limbs bend like that, I can't make my knees bend like that either.

There have been many longbows of the Hill style since that Big Five. "Yellow Girl" a solid shooting all Osage bow, "Honey", the sweet shooting Yew bow made with Yew from Earl Ulrich, "Grover" a self Osage shooter, "Dirty Girl", of naturally marked bamboo and Yew and "Crow Wing", the all Bamboo hammer. All of my own crafting.

I could have chosen any of those, but I longed for a new bow. One of special design and material. I placed an order to Howard Hill Archery and purchased a Bamboo backing strip and ground bamboo core strips.
Nothing else would do but to work with the preferred materials of the master.

Late in the winter I sprayed the final coats of Fullerplast on the bow I'd named "Blondie".  
Horn overlays.
 
68", 58#@28".
 

Very, Very Sweet!!!   Love the horn nocks    

No matter how many really nice recurves i have owned i keep coming back to the longbow


But wheres the turkey???

Nice looking bow .....  

Nice bow my friend, love that Hunter's Head broadhead.

Nice bow!!! I love it when you post photos of the past!!! Thanks

Great short story and beautiful long bow, Charlie! I always find your posts interesting.

I'm the same way you are, except I'm not ready to hang up the recurves. Just something special about an Osage selfbow.    

Lance... I called it a "SHORT story", not a "QUICK story".
     

Even Charlie's short story's are the best        

Tracy

Nice bow

Very few professional lifelong bowhunters share their lives with us via picts and stories as our Mr Lamb does. I know I really appreciate your posts Charlie as we all do. Another great benefit to being a TradGanger. Now lets see the demise of this turkey...

OK my day is made...A Charlie Lamb story  

Super looking bow Charlie.

What makes up that dark stripe between the bamboo back and your Bamboo lams?

I'm looking for to the "Paul Harvey".

Thanks for sharing Charlie!

God bless,Mudd

Beautiful bow Charlie!

Thats a beautiful bow Charlie!

Thats carbon Mudd      

Tracy

   

     Nice bow. Eager to hear the rest of the story.  I have the same problem with my knees, though I got a new one last year, which helps.

I wish I knew half as much as you Charlie.  Thanks for the story.