I have a Cabela's Internature 68" 55# at 28" longbow. My draw length is 30.5" and would like something around 50-55# at full draw. Have considered black widow but it's 10-12 months wait. Any better brands that would be available sooner or off the shelf? Saw the 3rivers Mesa 64", wondering if that would be fine for my draw length? Any other opinions??

Best,

Zac

Toelke can build you a bow much sooner, be pretty hard pressed to find a better longbow (or recurve) in my opinion.

Brian Wessel makes stellar bows as well, not sure about the wait time

You would be hard pressed to find a finer bow like you describe than a 60" Whistler or a 64" Whip by Dan Toelke!

Plenty of great longbows and hybrid longbows to choose from.  Many bowyers have a limited stock of bows available for immediate purchase.

rms gear and big Jim have huge inventory's of used bows,,,,,, if not your in WV,,, Id strongly suggest holding out till July and going to denton hill where you can spend all day trying different bows and you will find the right one.

X3 on Toelke's longbows and turnaround time. Dan also has a steady list of inventory bows on his website. Unless you're left handed, then you'll have to order one ... speaking from experience.

x4 on Toelke.  Like Maclean said, they usually have a decent selection of bows in stock and custom turn-around is quick.  On top of that, Toelke bows are awesome to shoot - fast, quiet, stable, forgiving.

If you're interested in Black Widow, you might want to check back with them.  I just received an order from BW in a little less than 4 months, about the same lead time as Toelke.  Both Toelke and Black Widow are great to deal with.

With spring just around the corner there will be Trad archery shoots with vendors like the Tenn. Classic and the Howard Hill and others. There will be lots of bows to try out, some used, some new.

You may not be picky about design particulars, and would probably be a better man for it!  I, however bought a custom bow once and had a hard time with it.  It was an awesome bow, but not for beginners, as I remember reading, but bought anyway (Sovereign Ballistik). After having the benefit of forums and YT videos, I wish I'd have held on to it.

That being said, I do not regret playing with price point ILF gear to figure out what grip angle and riser lengths I like.  I can also play with limb length, and see on the draw board, what my string/tip angle is, and tweak the tiller and weights if needed to work better with the arrows I shoot.

When all said and done, I probably would have been happy right off the get-go with a Bear T/D B riser and short limbs in 42 to 43#.

A better longbow? Maybe you should look to be in a better shot. I'm sorry for being brutal. Everybody's looking for something to fix their own problems. Learn how to shoot. Sorry for being abrupt. So many people are looking for a crutch.It drives me nuts.

Way to jump all over the new guy Terry...

OP never said anything about struggling to shoot or blaming shooting ability on the bow. He simply asked about a better bow, whether that be in regards to construction, shootability, smoothness, etc. Given Cabelas trad bow offerings, I think most bows would be considered a "better bow" in almost every category aside from maybe price.

As a lot of people have mentioned, test drive a few if you get the chance. Theres a ton of different longbow options, and you might find you like a longer bow, a shorter bow, a deflex/reflex design or a traditional D shaped bow better. It's tough to say what the better bow would be for you, but you can't go wrong with any of the suggestions already made.