Pilgrimage to Toelke Traditional Archery

tzolk · January 16, 2014, 10:42:00 PM

This past Saturday I made the three hour drive in rainy north Idaho weather over to Ronan Montana to visit with Dan Toelke. I stayed only a couple of hours, got a tour of the shop and chatted about their building process, design process and shooting techniques. Yes, I got a first hand visual of Dans shooting style. I know there was some conjecture in the shooting forum about this and his style is different from what I've read there.
The trip there, mostly along the Clark Fork River, is breathtaking.
Here are some pics of the trip and of the 64"whip I brought home to try out. Ebony riser, Myrtle lams and horn tips.

I hope to get back there when the weather is better and spend some more time. Dan is a wonderful generous guy and an expert craftsman.

The Clark Fork River.

tzolk · January 16, 2014, 10:47:00 PM

The 64" Whip. Pic of it drawn is at a 30" draw. No stackin.

Surffever · January 16, 2014, 10:55:00 PM

Envious. I have 2 Whips and love them. Dan has been very helpful to me "coaching" me over the phone a bit. I don't know about his style of shooting, but every suggestion he made helped me improve.

Jesse Minish · January 16, 2014, 11:30:00 PM

Nice looking bow!

January 16, 2014, 11:58:00 PM

Nice lookin' stick....and country too!

Bisch

LongStick64 · January 17, 2014, 04:43:00 AM

Ok I'll bite, what is Dan's shooting style ?

Flying Dutchman · January 17, 2014, 04:45:00 AM

Envious too... And curious about Dan's shooting style...

TxAg · January 17, 2014, 09:16:00 AM

I'd love to make that trip one day. Nice going on the bow! It looks good and a 64" Whip is one of my favorite bows.

Trumpkin the Dwarf · January 17, 2014, 10:47:00 AM

Tzolk. Sent you an email. That Whip is a beauty!

tzolk · January 17, 2014, 03:36:00 PM

Dan uses a split finger tab but only rests or uses very little pressure with his top finger. He grabs the string as pictured. He seems to cradle the area between his thumb and index finger on the bony prominence near the upper part of his ear. I cannot grab the string like he does, I've tried and it isn't comfortable for me at all. He has some stout fingers, far thicker than mine. See pics.
String goes between the joints on the middle finger and in the first crease on the ring finger. He also holds his bow very loose, cradles it so that after the shot it tips back toward him. No grip interference with the shot.

Cookus · January 17, 2014, 07:09:00 PM

That's a sweet looking longbow!

tzolk · January 17, 2014, 07:23:00 PM

A sister bow to my Super Static recurve. Same woods. Macassar Ebony and Myrtle-they make a great combo.

tzolk · January 17, 2014, 07:43:00 PM

A sister bow to my Super Static recurve. Same woods. Macassar Ebony and Myrtle-they make a great combo.

McDave · January 17, 2014, 07:44:00 PM

I have several Toelke bows, and would like to make the pilgrimage to visit him one of these days. Dan is very helpful on the phone and SUPER on his service.

There was an article in the Apr/May 2009 issue of TBM about Dan that I saved, because it is so informative about his bows and shooting in general. For example, in that article he discusses what he considers the three most common shooting problems that he sees:

1. Sloppy or non-existent anchor.

2. Not getting the elbow back behind the arrow by applying back tension at full draw.

3. Short-drawing the bow.

2 and 3 are definitely related, but are not exactly the same thing.

rnharris · January 17, 2014, 09:06:00 PM

Gorgeous bow and country would love to drive up there and buy a bow but the drive would be more like 24 hours lol love the look of the super static would like to own one someday!

Alexander Traditional · January 17, 2014, 09:11:00 PM

That is a good looking bow,and I really like the pictures of the country also.

ron w · January 17, 2014, 09:12:00 PM

Pretty cool stuff......

Surffever · January 17, 2014, 11:38:00 PM

Yep, those are some of the things he got me to change about my shooting. Got rid of the glove and started using a tab. They never wear out and don't get a groove worn in them that will interfere with release. Anchor on the cheek bone between my eye and ear. Pull mostly with the middle finger, or at least ease tension on the index and third as you come to anchor. And several other issues. I am saving for a new bow and hope to go pick it up and beg for a little coaching in person.

tzolk · January 18, 2014, 01:09:00 AM

Of all the R/D bows I've owned or shot, Dans are the only ones with a very narrow limb and deep multiple tapered cores. Most of these style bows have a couple of core woods that don't tapermuch and are wider than the Whip all the way down the limb. At its widest point, the whip limb is at 1", not a hair more. He was talking about how the bow is similar to a good bamboo fly rod. Same principle. Also no hand shock what so ever. I was a big Dwyer Dauntless fan until I tried one of these. The Dauntless is an excellent bow but this is a whole new experience.