simple question    pros/ cons    thanks

My personal opinion is that they are one of the very best bows out here.  I have shot them for the last 7 years and been happy with it.  I shoot a lot of bows, but when 3d season comes around I turn to my 21st Century.

I have found 21st bows to be fast, quiet and shock free. They have been reliable top performers for years.

In my opinion, 21st Century in an original and unique longbow design - different from all other longbow designs except for those that have since copied it.

Cons 1) they look plain or odd to most folks. and  2) the fit & finish doesn't rank among the best on the market

Pros 1) they look unique & have a visual appeal to some folks. and 2) they have a reputation for outshooting most other longbows

I have had 2 and if I where to have some more longbows, I would for sure have at least one in the herd....

I have an older 21st Century Nova and a newer 21st Edge,they are both great shooting bows.Fast,smooth drawing bows and outstanding shooters in my opinion.

Another Pro - 21st Century longbows are custom made to you specs but they're relatively inexpensive. You can just about buy two 21st Century longbows for the price of one of the closet competition.

That should read closest, not closet competition.

The one bow that I regret selling,wish I had it back.

imo, depends on who built the bows. previous, startup owners jim & buddy were innovative, top notch craftsmen.  i've owned and loved more than a few custom edge's and nova's.  and their constellation and gold star models were just incredible (no longer offered). j&b even offered twin limb nocks, for dual bow draw weights!  if you can find a j&b 21st, grab it!

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=31;t=000309

I can't speak to the qualities of the newer 21st Century bows, but I do love my J&B Nova.

I have one - I will never get rid of.

vtmtman, that thread is insane!

The new owner, Milton, builds one heck of a bow too.  He has been very easy to deal with as well.  Give him a call and see.

I had a J&B century nova, wish I had that one back...It was quite unique as Jeff Massey had put his finish on it...definitely fast, steady, and a pleasure to shoot...

I can only speak of the older models, the Jim & Buddy bows. They are fast, no hand shockand very consistant.

For Scott Toll IAM article on the Buddy/Jim 21st bow company, here are the pages in image format ...

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p17.jpg

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p18.jpg

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p19.jpg

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p20.jpg

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p21.jpg

www.tradgang.com/rob/jploen/p22.jpg

I am a big fan of the 21st Century bows.I have some J&B bows and one of Miltons as well.No doubt finsh wise the older bows were better but Milton's bows are still fine shooting bows at better than average prices.I also have a Big River bow built in the 21st Century design that shoots great with excellent finish work and detail compaired to the others.I like them all as they allow me to shoot a 70" bow that outperforms most other bows even with my short draw length.Perfect for 3ds.  

My only experience with owning a 21st Century (a Jim and Buddy model) wasn't good.  Jim and Buddy still owned and operated the company at the time.  I bought a used one from a fellow.  The finish was, to put it nicely, awful.  I was told this up-front, so no biggie.  When I got the bow, I noticed it was strung upside-down, with the larger loop on the bottom.  The reason for this was because the string groove was cut wrong on the top limb, and if the top loop wasn't tiny the string would jump out of the groove (this happened).

This was obviously a mistake from the factory, so I contacted them about a fix.  They said they would re-finish the bow and fix the string groove for $150 (this was SEVERAL years ago--I don't think I paid that much for the bow to begin with).  

I contacted a different bowyer and he agreed to fix the string groove and re-finish the bow for me for $50, which he did.  After that it was a great shooter and looked good to boot.  I sold it anyway--it was a good shooter, but not great, for me anyway.

Moral of the story here, if it's a J&B bow I'd check it out good before buying.  I have no experience with Milton or his bows.

Chad