If you can afford to spend some time hitting yard/garage sales you can eventually come across something well worth the money. I have two Bear, Grayling bows, a Kodiak and Black Bear. Got $85.00 in both of them and the Black Bear had a half dozen old Pearson cedar arrows with it...still in the original box with those huge, perforated two blade braodheads such as I started with back in the mid 60's.
NRA Benefactor 2008
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." John 14-6
I Shoot a black widow PA one-piece autom oak cross grain and love it, but i understand not wanting to spend the money, it was acually my first traditional bow, but mainlly because I live about 40 minutes from there headquarters in nixa, MO so Ive been drooling over a black widow my whole life, also you cant beet the owners of black widow they are some of the nicest good christian guys Ive ever met
If u want a well priced bow I really like the Martin hunter its a good hunting bow and is also not that bad looking, My opinion the martins have always seemed smoother than the bears but if u find a bear that cheap seems to be a good buy to me, also if you look around on the internet I have seen some new martins pop-up for around 400
Couple of things to remember when starting out Trad shooting. First get a bow lighter than you think you need. 30-35# for an average size guy will work you much harder than a 70# compound. Second get a bow longer than you think you need 62-64" bows are smoother and easier on the fingers. Third don't spend much money on your first bow. You may not like it and if you do you will likly be wanting a different bow within a couple months anyway. I highly recommend "Shooting the STickbow" for all new shooters - $20 from amazon and the text book for trad shooting. Good Luck with it.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
Dan makes a damn great longbow. Truth is, out of all the guys building LBs (and I've shot just about all of them including ACS bows) I'd pick Dan everytime. But his recurves suck.
Then there's Schafer Silvertips.... They are hands down the best takedown recurve on the market, and I'll never be without at least one of Dave's bows. Stable, fast, smooth, and quiet all in one. Think of it as a Widow, with the limbs on the right side of the bow, that doesn't have that twang when you dump the string Dave's longbows have never impressed me...
Pat, you never fail to suprise me... Never figured you for a trad guy... My brother's Schafer, "Double Haul", has one set of limbs that are 73# at 27" and the other set of limbs is 55 at 27" The same arrows through the screens, and the 73#ers are 8 FPS faster is all. Heavy limbs these days is a lifestyle choice. I'm a little jealous of guys that can tug 'em though. 3 AC seperations in my left shoulder means I get to shoot 60# limbs, and thats it. You need to hit the Barber Ranch shoot down on the Hungry Hollow Road next year. I'll be there
For the money a Bear "super kodiak" in 55# will get you a nice accurate fast shooting bow for hunting and not cost so much for your first bow...thats good advice! My Tom Gore built cascade superblackhawk is 22 yr.old this season!Recurves Rock!
Frank Glaser,Alaska Wolfman:"with a lung shot on hoofed game the .220 Swift killed quicker than any other gun I ever owned."That included caribou,moose,wolf,and sheep.
Dan makes a damn great longbow. Truth is, out of all the guys building LBs (and I've shot just about all of them including ACS bows) I'd pick Dan everytime. But his recurves suck.
I disagree with you on that. The Classic Chinook is a great recurve. I have never shot any of Dan's take downs so can't speak for them. I don't like take downs anyways. So if they do in fact suck it is no lose to me.
I've shot Shakespheres, Bears, Black Widows and some customs and though I'm by no means an expert I've several decades of pulling strings. My favorite is this very smooth Fedora take-down Hunter. I've taken some twenty deer with bows to date. With recurves, the most important thing is to not "over bow" yourself (for example,this is about max I want to pull in a recurve) be disciplined enough to shoot regularly and as with compounds, have your equipment tuned.
This is my Bruin recurve (have two sets of limbs-53# and 57# at 28"; length 54" and 58" respectively). It is shorter than the Fedora, very handy in blinds or on a stand with the shorter limbs. Ive taken a lot of game with it.
Dan makes a damn great longbow. Truth is, out of all the guys building LBs (and I've shot just about all of them including ACS bows) I'd pick Dan everytime. But his recurves suck.
I disagree with you on that. The Classic Chinook is a great recurve. I have never shot any of Dan's take downs so can't speak for them. I don't like take downs anyways. So if they do in fact suck it is no lose to me.
Dan's recurves are slow... I've shot 2 of them through chronographs right next to a Schafer of the same weight, and with any weight arrow, the Schafer will go 10FPS faster. Anytime you want to shoot a Schafer takedown, look me up when you're in kalispell next. Just bring you're Toelke LB for me to shoot
When I got my Black Widow they told me 50-55 pounds is plenty for deer and other medium size game, mine is around 55 and Ive shot a few hogs and deer with it and had no problems
Next time I am out your way I will let you know and will make sure I have the XX Whip with me. I have a very good friend in Missoula that is hounding me to come out. Hopefully next year for archery elk.
The Zoo is smack dab in the middle of some choice Elk country if a guy wants to drive a couple hours in just about any direction. Great party town too...
The head west of there and work over the Thompson Falls area. You're going to see other bowhunters, but not too bad. Be willing to work to get at them, and you might actually pull it off...
I use the other approach, I backpack in 12 miles, stay put for a week, and rarely ever see humans in September.
I bought this Wing Archery Co. bow in 1972. Its the RedWing Hunter model in 45 lbs. I killed many deer with it over the years. In the 1970's it was cedar arrows with turkey feather fletching. But the 80's brought quality aluminum shafts and better broad heads, too.
If I were seeking another recurve, I'd go for Martin Hatfield or a Damon Howatt custom.