Dave Paxton's Talon Swift...59 Kodiak Copy

[tippit]

After seeing the Green Mountain longbow post from bowyers of the past. I thought I'd show what I think was the best 59 Kodiak copy...Dave Paxton's Talon Swift.  Unfortunately Dave has passed away but his bows live on from his longbows to his recurves.  I have quite a few of his bows but the Talon Swifts are special.  Unfortunate like a lot of my bows the draw weights have been left in my younger days         tippit

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Since it was a copy the one He made custom for me, I had him inlay a bogus Boeing copper 59 Bear coin...

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[Orion]

Yep.  He did make fine bows.  Hardly ever see one of his longbows come up for sale.

[Irish Girl]

Beautiful bows!

[Pine]

Very nice , thanks for sharing .

[eidsvolling]

Originally posted by Orion:
Yep.  He did make fine bows.  Hardly ever see one of his longbows come up for sale.

Which is why I JUMPED at the chance last year to snap one up at a low price. It's going moose hunting this fall.

Oh, and the Swift was feeling lonely here.    

[ron w]

Nice......my Green Mountain Catamount is now back in Vermont where it was made. Joe VT has it now and I think he is real happy.

[David Mitchell]

Tippit, so right about Dave's bows. I am glad you brought up his name and work. He was a friend of mine and I often had the opportunity to visit his shop. I am a pastor and conducted the simple memorial service for him after his passing out by his bow shop. Simple, as he would have wanted. I owned a Swift, but like you, my age has dictated a drop some in draw weight.  That beautiful writing was in Dave's own hand. I still own my Talon Classic longbow and it will stay with me.

[tippit]

David,
I know Dave had two versions of his longbow...was it the Talon and the Talon Classic? I know the second version had a riser that wasn't equal in length at the fades.   I appreciate you talking with me a couple of years back about Dave.  I still have your PM saved.  Thanks...Jeff

[tippit]

Charles,
If your Swift is feeling lonely, you should make a trip South to find it a friend as I am unloading a lot (a real lot) of bows heavier than 40#.  Will you be at the White Mountain shoot in August?

[eidsvolling]

Hi Jeff. Sent you a PM.

[David Mitchell]

Yes Jeff, Dave's classic is the one that has the riser longer at one fade than the other.  It is offset by 2"--longer on the top of the fade.  I would love to find one of his bows in a left handed version at around 45#. Never see them for sale.

[Tedd]

Nice bow. I  hope I'm wrong...I believe she has a hairline crack?
I am considering a 59 reproduction. Does anyone make a 62" version?
Tedd

[tippit]

David,
I've loved his Talon Classic longbows so much that I've reduced the weights on 4 of them so I can still shoot them.  Some I've taken down to 40#...so I guess it's a Talon/Tippit model.  They still shoot great!

[Ron LaClair]

I sold Dave's Talon bows out of my shop for years. The trim lines of his longbows made for a great shooting bow.

I was the one who talked Dave into making a reproduction of the 1959 Kodiak. Dave used my personal original Kodiak as a model for his Talon Swift.

We lost him too soon.

[David Mitchell]

Ron, I remember when you sent that bow to Dave.  I saw it in his shop when he started to work on the recurve.

[tippit]

Hey Ron,
I'm going through stuff around our house as we are trying to down size...ran across a couple of your invoices from 1980!

[Walt Francis]

Jeff,

I have seen pictures of your basement and do believe you are the personification of a "Bow Hoarder".  Have they tried scheduling you for the  reality show Hoarders yet?

[tippit]

Walt,
You never know when you might need an extra bow