7 Lakes Longbows - Short Night...pics inside

[emt137]

I got to order myself a bow for Christmas and after talking with several different bowyers decided to get one of Mike Ballenger's bows.  After chatting with him for awhile I followed his recommendation for his Short Night.  Mike is a great guy and will answer all your questions and give all the time you need to make your decision.

I have not had a chance to shoot it extensively, but I will share my initial thoughts.  The fit and finish are spectacular.  Mike was able to take what I wanted and make a beautiful bow.  The draw is smooth and the bow is fast.  I didn't notice any hand shock and the grip is quite comfortable.  Now what everyone cares about: specs and pics.

The bow is 62".  51# @ 29" (I asked for 50 @ 29, so he did well in my opinion).  Limbs are 4 lams of eastern red cedar.  The riser is cherry and walnut with an accent stripe of osage.  The overlays are osage, and I believe cocobolo.  All topped off with a string ray grip wrap.  Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

Got a few more...

[emt137]

Some more...

[emt137]

Who wants a couple more?  Why not!

[wooddamon1]

Sweet! That Stingray grip is cool!

[Bob B.]

Wow,great pics ... looks like a hell of a bow!  Good on ya buddy!

Bob.

[Bladepeek]

Very, very nice.

The little bit of work I've done with sting ray, I would guess that wrap will outlast you and the bow.

[ron w]

Well....I have to ask, how's it shoot!!?? It looks good.

[emt137]

Originally posted by ron w:
Well....I have to ask, how's it shoot!!?? It looks good.

The little bit of shooting I've gotten to do is very enjoyable.  It's exceptionally smooth and felt quite stable.  It seems to be a fairly fast bow; I don't have a chrono to do specific measurements.  I just grabbed a handful of mismatched arrows and shot away.  Also not having fiddled with brace height, nock height, and position of string silencers I did not notice any hand shock and the bow was very quiet.

[Wapiti Chaser]

Mike makes a great bow. In my avatar is a Short Cloudy Night I had for along time. I really miss it. Probelly the quietest longbow I have ever owned.

[ron w]

Cool ....sounds like you got a good one!!  

[Terry Green]

[Bud B.]

You're not helping my continuous thoughts of owning one of Mike's bows....        

Congrats on a very nice looking bow. I shot one of his Carolina Nights and was very impressed. That'll be the one I eventually order. But that Short Night looks amazing. Nice wood choices.

[emt137]

Bud, I'm really happy with it and my experience with Mike. If I was going to get another Hill style bow Mike would be my first call.

He was one of only a couple bowyers I talked with that was willing to make me a bow with all cedar limbs, and that is what I was really really wanting.

[JJB]

That's a really nice looking bow, I like the smooth lines.  That sting ray grip is really cool!
-Jay

[Joshua Polland]

I'm glad that you like your 7Lakes, really is a great guy to work with. I'm like you and have a draw longer than 28" and Mikes bows are still  so smooth to shoot. Have fun shooting......that grip is awesome!

[Ed Frye]

   

[Brianlocal3]

Very nice looking bow Pat, Now we need to find some time to get together and shoot while the weather is nice.  Mike at 7 lakes must be a good bower to get a grip to fit hands as small as yours!!!!!!! LOL.

I had to do it Pat.  If you can we should try for saturday or sunday shoot.

[Jedimaster]

I nearly ordered a 7 Lakes recently and now you've got me regretting that I didn't! Beautiful bow and those cedar laminations are incredible. Hope you enjoy it, she sure appears to be a good one!

[Richie]

Nice bow , thanks for sharing.  

[Shifting Shadow]

Enjoy your new bow! I have had 2 of Mike's u-finish longbows. Really enjoyed them.