Im gonna say blacktail cuse i have one and will order another mine is 60# at 30" acouple days ago i put a 425x endless made by gene moe what an awsome change from a flemish twist made with dyna 97.i wasnt even looking for improvement i havent shot a bw with ff so icant really help. just wanted to brag about the blacktail.

A.S.
That is the case with MOST bows (recurves) they are all within about 4-8 FPS of each other. Not enough speed difference to worry about. Choose the one that feels and apeals to you the most.JMO

When I wrote in my earlier post..."Widows are better shooters/performers while the Blacktail looks better"...I should have included "for me".

Some tend to interpret this to mean "faster", but that is not what I considered since I do not think there is much difference.  I currently have a Black Widow recurve as well as a Blacktail and have no plans to get rid of either one.  

The stability, shootablility, and accuracy I get from both is certainly top notch, but I have to give the Widow a little higher mark.  

As they  say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and some of those Blacktails are works of art.  

Shoot them both and you will probably want to own both.

A comment on gamegetters post that I would like to make is that is not the case. Most recurves are not within 4-8fps. of each other. if you are talking most of the middle road performer(BT,BW, Schafer etc.) than yes, but there are others that are a lot quicker and others that are a lot slower. As I said both are great bows and the performance difference is not an issue as are the shooting qualities, but for pure beauty, in my eyes BT's have it all over the Widows. Shawn

For me it is a no brainer.Widow all the way.A choice between getting a bow in a few weeks verses a couple of years makes things easy for me.BT are great looking bows but I buy bows to shoot not look at or wait for.  

Somethings are just worth waiting for. One reason I hunt is look at the beautiful scenery. Why not have a beautiful bow too? Especially when you can enjoy how it shoots too.

When I hunt there is a good chance the bow will be covered with spray paint so all that pretty stuff will be gone anyway. :)There is not a bow in the world that I would wait over a couple of months for.Just too many other bows to be had that will shoot just as nice.Given a choice I had rather buy a bow used and walk away with it right then.  

I've shot both and have friends that own Blacktails in various lengths. My opinion is that Norm's 60" bow is significantly faster than his longer bow lengths. I have a buddy that owns one of his 64" models. When shot along side of another friends 60" with the same poundage and arrow weight, the 60" noticably out performs the 64". The Blacktail takes it hands down on looks but I prefer a 60" PSA. It's very forgiving, well balanced and will shoot along side of any of the ones known more for speed. JMO.

Terry

I've never shot a blacktail, never had the patient to wait for one and never had the cash when a used one comes along.  I've shot a bunch of bows and, hands down, Ishoot the takedown Widows the best.  

Now as far as looks are concerned I think Blacktail along with Brandon Stahl's Rose Oaks have the nicest lines among all recurves.  However, the Black Widow PTF and PA are very purty themselves.  Just my $.02...Mike

I know this is an old topic, but I first read it a few days ago.
I don't understand why some guys say that the widows are not top performers?
I shot whith many bows through the crono, and the widows I measured(a psav and a ptf) are the fastest, they outperform: blacktail(5 fps),Border with hex 4 limbs(2fps), great plains(5fps),Martin hunter(6fps),Predator(2fps),Bear grizzly(11fps)and some other bows.
All bows were measured with same grain/pound ratio and the same drawlenght.
Also the tests of Blacky Schwarz give us similar results. Maybe some bows(ACS,Black swan) are about 2-3 fps faster(Blacky test), but what are 2fps?:0,3" draw difference! Are they as forgiving,smooooooth and dead in the hand????!!!!

I have owned and shot both, and the the only Widow that may perform better is the TF model. If you shoot one of Norms bows with bamboo core and VL limbs they perform as well or better than the other Widows and as far as looks well it is not even close. Widows are bomb-proof and great bows but in my eyes do not compare to one of Norms bows. Shawn

I love my widows, but those blacktail one piece bows are smokin hot in the looks department. anyone got pics of those bows strung.

i really like my blacktail vl heavy arrows like 600 to 700 grains fly great . it may even be bombproof im not that gentle with it and shoot a lot.there are tougher than you may think.

Yeah, everyone should buy a BW......(that way I can get an order faster!) LOL

me first    

Shawn, I noticed you've mentioned better performing recuves a couple of times.. I'm not wanting to hijack this thread but what recurves have you had that were noticeably quicker than the BT or BW ?  Thanks for the info..

Black Widow all the way.  I have owned both and for me, the Widow was a much better shooter.  As mentioned above it was the much better performer and quieter than the Blacktail I owned.  As far as looks go, I think my PLGA is very nice to look at.

Snag to answer your question.  I definately would not give up 10 fps just for looks.  Alot of folks will say what's 10 fps.  Well it equal about 5 pounds in draw weight.  So I will stay with the nice looking 50# bow rather that a nice looking 55# that I can't handle as well.  I know speed isn't the only thing to look for in a bow, but neither is pretty.  At least, in my opinion.

I own one Blacktail and it is a very quiet bow, but it's tuned properly and I shoot a relatively heavy arrow for a 42# bow, 550 grains. Came with a Dyna97 string and a pair of rubber cat whiskers attached to it. I don't worry about speed since my shots are usually between 15-20 yards. Quiet is the name of the game for me. I liked my Blacktail so much, I have a second one on order and it should arrive September of 2009.  BTW, both of my Blacktails are long in length, the old and the new, 66".

There will not be ten feet per second between the two of them...same weight...same length...same arrow weight, etc.  

This gets a little tiring listening to the experts rave on about the bows that they like.  There are many bows that perform so closely that it really doesn't matter.  It would help if you could shoot the thing worth a hoot; I think that is more important than a lot of other aspects. Do not buy any bow until you have shot it yourself, and you will be less likely to be posting it on the classifieds within a year.

There will be lots of traditional shoots this summer to attend, that's where you need to look. Shoot other models as well; Zipper, Assenheimer, Hummingbird, Caribow, and myriad others.  You may find another brand that fits you perfectly and performs to your satisfaction.  Don't overlook the Pittsley Predator....one of the fastest tested by Blacky Swartz yet a very sweet shooting bow.

True performance encompasses shootability, in addition to comfort, speed, etc.  View the opinions for what they are, then get to some shows and shoot the bows you are interested in.  It's the only real way to find that special one.

george your right what shoots best for the person is whats important .... however its a fun debate otherwise