Im still fairly new to traditional archery, I've been shooting wheel bows for over 20 yrs. and about 9 months ago bought a Martin Jaguar been shooting it the whole time,and getting pretty good with it. Got the form down and the tunning process, now im thinking of selling the wheel bow and going strictly traditional. I would like to have a bow built but how are the black widow bows. I need to sell or trade the Mathews before buying either, any recommendations. Thanks guy's.  

The one that appeals to you most.  Its best if you can shoot one first.  Not trying to be sarcastic but for your first one it would be hard to buy a bad one.  Lots of sweet bows out there.

Do a search. You'll find more info than you know what to do with.

Rusty

Find a way to get out and shoot a lot of bows.  BW has a demo program.  I like the BW recurves, but I also like a lot of others like the Predator and the Great Plains Swift I shot recently.  Then there is the Tall Tines and..................  One nice thing about the BW bows is they hold value well and there are plenty of them built so they are easy to find used.  I have had three of them and shot them then sold them without costing me much more than shipping.

The Classified section has many customs that won't set you back a new bow price. You should try some different bows before you build a custom. Black Widows bows are great bows but you don't know how they will shoot for you and what options you would want on one that is custom built and it may not work out?

It's all subjective as Rob DiStefano is fond of saying and its good advice. You will have less frustration and much more satisfaction with your custom build once your experience enough bows to know what works best for "you".

The prob. with shooting one first is there just aren't alot of trad guy's selling or any place around here at least that i know of that sell black widow or any other kind of custom made bow. Bass Pro. or Cabela's but they don't have any take down recurves.

Classified search blackwidow...


http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Quote...xtrema312

"BW has a demo program."
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http://www.blackwidowbows.com/store/Webpage.aspx?WebpageId=3

My main hunting buddy shoots a PSA Black Widow and it is a nice bow.In my opinion,the takedown BW has a handle with similar mass weight and grip of that of some compounds.Thus,making it easier for a smooth trasition from compound to stickbow

I like the Dale Dye bows alot as well. Thanks for ihe input fella's this is exactally the type of info. im lookin for.

When you hold and shoot "the one", you'll know it.  Unfortunately/fortunately for me, that was a Schafer Silvertip.

Good luck.  The hunt is fun.

Do some reading of back posts on this site, see what people like.  Figure out if you want to try a recurve or longbow, pay attention to popular bows, some are mentioned quite a bit.  Then keep your eyes on the classifieds and try one or two.  If you buy nice used bows and take care of them you can get your money back or trade for something else.  When you find one you like, then it's time to order one just the way you want it, wood choices, weight, lenght...

Most of the nice custom bows come with a pretty long waiting period, some over a year.  That's a long time to wait for something you aren't totally sure of.

30point- I just started a thread yesterday asking the same basic questions and got a ton of responses......good ones too I might add!
Check this thread out and read till your heart's content, hope this helps a little?
You and I are in the same boat I believe, not sure which one to choose.

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=100067

If I had it to do over again I would wait longer before ordering a custom bow. I shot many different bows and then ordered what I thought I wanted. I was close but a longer bow would have been better for me. Go out of your way to get to a trad event or two and shoot every bow you can get your hands on. I also found going just a little lighter helped with my form and accuracy.

Good luck.

Thanks SEMO_HUNTER Some really great advice from the guy's. Thanks for all the replies im taking all the info i can, im just tryin to do my homework before taking the plunge.

You will find that one is just not enough     I waited a while and went to a couple shoots for three years before deciding on a new custom.  I settled in on one and love it but now there is another I would like to have - don't need it but... well you know.  Definitely try before you buy which ever one you choose.

BW makes a fantastic product, and their test drive program makes it less dangerous to you & me... because we can shoot a bow for a few days and get a good feel for it.  I used to shoot compound... still have it, but rarely shoot it... now all I shoot is my Black Widow PMA (long-risered recurve).  I'm test driving a Black Widow PLX longbow now... and think that it may dethrone the PMA... which is a pretty hard thing to do!  Other than a fine custom longbow that I recently bought used, I am a 100% Black Widow guy, and really like them.

95% of the bows you get for $400+ in the classifieds here are very good.

Right now there is a Treadway, a Schafer Silvertip, a Mohawk, a Kota, a Morrison, a Pronghorn, a Dale Dye, an A&H ACS, a Robertson, a Tomahawk and 2 Centaurs for sale in the classifieds, all between 50 and 60 lbs @ 28", all spoken highly of in several posts on Tradgang!

And that was just browsing the first page! I am certain there are some Black Widows close by as well    

But, from what I hear and read, Black Widow are very solid and reliable bows, with formidable power built in!

Good Luck, and post some pics when you get a bow   :p

Thanks SveinD I've been lookin at those bows mentioned, I have a compound Mathews bow i need to get sold first, then it's on. And i'll be sure and post those picts.    

Asking about a custom bow on here is like the whole ford, chevy, dodge debate.

I agree with the "shoot as many as you can" thing. Also buy used first.

I had a custom Bighorn built a long time ago. Cost a bunch then and probably more now. Bought 5 "used" Bighorns since and they all shoot good.

Ease your way into it. Black Widow makes a great bow, but one with your name on it will probably cost a bit more than your compound.