Dodger....depends on lots of factors....but probably 12" to 14" is worth trying for.

Thank you, Nate.

I suppose working limb length,grip size and how we hold the string (possibly) are some of the factors. If it does not involve giving away the tricks of the trade, could you list the various factors and how they impact on the riser length? Thanks.

I love your photos Nate!

Thank you for sharing.

God's grace,peace, and love, Mudd

Fun photos Nate!

A lot of people don't know what they are missing by not hunting from the ground. It's a lot more exciting, and it makes you much more a part of the hunt. The few times I have sat in a tree made me feel like I was just watching, not hunting.

P.S. If you pack a bear out with your bicycle, I just hope you don't have a Patrick McManus moment. I think the hardest I have ever laughed was reading the story about when he packed the deer off the mountain on his bicycle. I can only imagine how that will go with your bear!

Ah yes...the McManus moments...have had many of those!

Actually the bike is hard to ride when I have 80# in my backpack and 50# on the rear wheel...hopefully I get a bear heavier than that.  But the bike sure makes the return trips quick!

Hey all,

Can you all tell me if Craig can make a Hill bow with a grip like those that are on the DAVE JOHNSON longbows?  I really like the way the grip on his bows look and would like to have that same grip on a Hill.
The Johnson bow I am talking about is the RED DRAGON bow that MUDD had for a while.  If you look at the pics of that bow there is something about the grip that really appeals to me, moreso than the Hill bows.  The Hill bow that comes closest is that bow pictured back on page 590 or so, the one with the white belly and a grip that was narrow and wider than a usual Hill.

Can/would Craig make a bow with a different grip if a customer wanted it?

Thanks all.

I am really enjoying this thread even though I have never shot a Hill bow, I intend on changing that though.

Nalajr

Nala, Call Craig and ask, He is very willing to work with people,as are most of the sponsors.
You will enjoy the straight bow once you get it and set it up proper.

CTT

Nate and Ric,Thanks ever so much for the great photos,brings back so many great hunts with my father in British Columbia.Man  wished I carried a good camera in those days.Sure lovin my new Westley.
Coming up on 10,000 posts,who would have thought!
Theres more info here than in any book,thanks to everyone for all this info !

Thanks for the pics Nate. Looks like an adventure in the making. Good huntin to you, Zack and Rik.

Which of you shoot your HH's split figure or 3 under and why?  My new bow I ordered from HHA is to be tillered 3 under as I found I was more consistent than split figure using my old Wesley Special.  Now that I have read all 606 pages in the past couple of weeks I am starting to second guess myself as I had a number of form/grip issues.  Just had spinal fusion so I have not been able to shoot.  The only split figure advantage I can come up with is that you have better control keeping the arrow an the rest using split.

Mr Rik shoots with three under and is as fine a shot with his longbows as you can be....but maybe that is also because he shoots heavy bows barefingered....

I shoot split finger because 3 under just doesn't feel right to me and my bows sound like I am dry firing them. I have tried several times on many different bows.

If you can do it there is nothing wrong with. The best longbow shooters I personally know shoot three under.

Bob Wesley told me, "Gil it is hard to beat a 3 under shooter". That should tell you something right there.

Gil

Thanks.  I am still riding the fence on wether or not I should have ordered my new bow tillered for three under.  My whole life I shot split.  I never knew there was another way.  I figure I may have a day or two left before Craig starts my new bow.  I never have mastered my Wesley Special as I have only shot it occasionally over the years I have owned it.  I have never had any instruction on how to do it until I read this thread.  At some point I heard of three under and gave it a try.  My shooting improved quite a bit using that method.  I guess somewhere in the back of my head I ask myself if three under was that good why did HH shoot split?  Then I read about a guy l Ike Rik who shoots three under, in some life or death hunting situations, it give me comfort in my decision.

My hunting partner went to 3 under about 2 yrs ago.  he practiced during the summer.  He had shot split all of his life.  When an opportunity came to take a doe, he made a wonderful shot.  When we talked that evening about the shot, his eyes got big as he recalled "I shot that doe split-finger!"  He has gone back to shooting split.  For him he has too many years shooting that way.  I do too.

Nate those photos are great!

I shoot split finger...I like to shoot long distance and three under makes my bowhand cover the target.  I also believe that three under is synonomous with gunbarrelling which for me would lead to gap shooting...something I dislike because it leads down a slippery slope towards a static shooting style.  Imho.

Am I wrong or was the three finger anchor in the corner of the mouth considered a high anchor during the early years of Hill?

I shoot 3u up to my first point on, from there out I go to split, which adds another 15 or so yards to my next point on. My Nm Huron and Belcher Union Jack are both tillers or split and I can hear the difference.

I knew a fella named Bobby Lofton, bowmaker from Mississippi who made some prety nice American style longbows.
He shot 3 under and was a very good shot.
Problem for him was, most of the trad shoots down south didn't allow 3 under back then, so he wasen't able to compete as he'd of liked to.

Shooting split finger at longer ranges makes perfect sense as   bow hand would cover your target shooting 3under at longer ranges.  That would explain why so many of archery's legendary shooters shot split.  I haven't thought of that.  All my shooting is typically 20 or less with the occasional 30 yd shot.  I will sleep on it and may call HHA in the morning.  I developed some serious nerve damage recently that resulted in very limited use of my right hand (I am LH) and found that the longbow grip works perfectly for my new found disability.  So I sold my Mathews and ordered a new HHA bow with a lower draw weight.  Now that I have no other options I am going to master the longbow.  If I am going to master this I want to do it right.