HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Rob DiStefano]

what mikem said - craig cuts 'em 1/8" proud of center and it'll be about 3/16" with a leather or velcro pressure plate.  that works fine for me, but i wouldn't want it more that for the different arrow spines and types i like shooting.  for a 1/16" less, i use a piece of .010" teflon tape for the arrow plate.  

[Nate Steen .]

most straight-end longbows are cut about the same...1/8 - 3/16 from true center to edge of bare wood then add the leather, etc.  This keeps enough material in the handle area for strength.  If you look at a r/d bow or recurve, there is enough mass in the handle to offset the handle from the limbs and make the bow centershot and still be strong.

looking at Hill's personal bows, they were very slim through the handle, so Hill didn't cut much into the bow for a shelf, and almost exclusively he did not use a side pressure plate...just let the arrow pass over the wood.  This was very common from the old self-bow days where bowyers would usually add a more dense material into the riser for a pressure plate...sometimes mother of pearl, bone, antler, hardwood, etc.  This helped keep the arrow as close to center as possible so arrow spine issues were minimized.

I think leather or rug arrow shelf rests and plates only became real popular with the intro of the recurve and the deeper sight window and arrow clank....previously it isn't seen much in the older bows

[Ron LaClair]

Like Nathan said.

 

[David Mitchell]

David Miller told me that Howard Hill did not use a side plate because he shot the bows as he was making them and cut the shelf in just a little at a time until the arrow struck right where he was looking.  He did not use an arrow plate because the wear of it as he shot (a lot) would change the center shot he had so painstakingly built into each bow as it wore thinner.

[Dick in Seattle]

I have one of Howard's and no arrow plate, very thin shelf.

As a lot of you know, I often go with no shelf at all and love it.

Someone will have to verify this, but I believe that for a lot of longbow shoots there is actually a restriction against closer than 1/8".    I don't think that's universal, but I've heard it mentioned a time or two.

[dragonheart]

Texas State Longbow Shoot does not allow centershot bows and I think the IBO also has the restrictions.

[MT Longbow]

Good stuff fellas!

[Nate Steen .]

years ago, I used black electrical tape for a side pressure plate for awhile....it kept the bow from being marred by the arrow, it was slick, and slightly quieter than the bare wood....cut to fit it didn't look too bad and could be replaced as needed.....it was one of Duke Savora's tricks.  anyone remembe him?

[Nate Steen .]

for those who might want to see slow mo photos of longbows and wood arrows in action....check out utube peter stecher movie 2011.  a short promo of Hill longbows for the european audience.  neat photos of archer's paradox, arrow rotation, etc....

[David Mitchell]

Oh, yeah, Nate, I remember Duke--Savora broadheads....still have a few in the stash.

[Buckhorn47]

For a good length of time, I owned a Duke Savora Takedown recurve, which I trust is still curculating out there-very slim, deep grip handle and a smooth recurve, actionwood cores.

[Ron LaClair]

I wrote this poem in 1981, one year before  before Craig Ekins book, Howard Hill The man and the Legend came out.

 Archerys Legend.........                                  by Ron LaClair,1981  


The Bow and Arrow is centuries old

it was designed by man to kill

Down through the years many stories were told

but one name stands out... HOWARD HILL  

His love for the bow was a lifelong affair

his ability has never been matched

This man from the south had a quality rare

The list is long of the game he dispatched  

A hunter without equal was this man Hill

but he was more than just good with a bow

He was larger than life with a cast iron will

A man you'd be real proud to know  

He did more for his sport than any man

He brought archery to the public eye

Movies and books were his master plan

his dream was to kill the big five  

Children adored him, grown men were his fans

His charm gave people a lift

The strength was great in his arms and his hands

He said his talent was a God given gift  

Now Mister Hill has gone on to his Lord

He left a void that no one can fill

In the hearts of all Archers the memory is stored

of the man, and the Legend, HOWARD HILL

[xbmedic]

That is awesome, Ron!

[Rik]

I remember a year or two ago we had Ron convinced to spend some quality time writing a book to share some of his great memories and adventures and pictures.

I think we need to work on him some more to make sure he keeps that pen a writin'.

[straitera]

Excellent Ron! You carry a smart size torch yourself. Ain't no secret. Thanks for all you've done. Much continued success. Poems too.

[droz il]

[frank bullitt]

Did someone say lectric tape?

Yeah, I use "White Man's Leather"!  :D  

Great stuff!

[stik&string]

             Nice one Ron!

[Rik]

A few of you have known me for a while. Most of you have teased me for just about as long, for more things than I can count.

SO. . . with only seven weeks remaining until elk season, it's long since time I made this admission------ Yes,it's true, I am a long-timer. I admit it, I make no bones about it.

But here's the thing. Until this last weekend, I did not realize how much of a long-timer (a.k.a. "old-timer") I really am.

It seems, in writing a letter to Rod Jenkins of Safari Tuff this last weekend, I realized this coming fall will be the 30th anniversary of what, in my life, was THE most life-changing event I have experienced.

The day that event occurred changed everything, from where I would choose to live to what I would choose to do to make a living, to who I would marry. It was a truly memorable day. . .

Since the topic is not totally Hill Bow related, if you are interested, you should travel on over to page three of the Arrowmaster Quiver thread.

Seems this archer has taken up a challenge that will make some of you applaud, that some of you will question, and that will make some of you scratch your heads and wonder just what in tarnation is wrong with me.

Too late though, I have made the decision———Come Hell or High water, this is going to be one whale of an elk season.

. . . Oh yeah, there's one more revelation to come, but that's two or three weeks away. No peeking!

[Ben Maher]

Go get 'em buddy !