1st longbow experience

[kctibs]

Working out of town this week and found a guy with a bow shop at his house. I have been wanting to get back in to archery again, I used to shoot some compound. So I went to check out the guy's shop. Long story short the guy measured me up got me set up with a recurve and a long bow. I decided I liked the longbow better so he let me shoot 7 different bows. And let me tell you I had a blast it was the most fun I have had out of town in a long time. So 2 hours later I left.
Needless to say I am going to do some more shooting with him and going to look seriously into getting a long bow. The one that felt the best and shot the best was a Navajo Stick "Apache". 62'' limbs 51# and 500 grain arrow.
I went in thinking recurve and ended up liking a longbow a whole lot better.

[All Hawks Kill]

Awesome, welcome to the Darkside........

Keep us posted and let us know if there are any questions we may be able to answer.

Derek

[scout4]

Yeah Man! nice Kctibs! If you need it, we are here to help! scout4<><

[kctibs]

Right now I am doing some research and developing a few questions. I am looking forward to learning and doing some more shooting. I will be posting a lot of questions and any help will be appericated.

[streak]

Well watch it ! It is addictive!!
Guess how I know??

[Cottonwood]

That is awesome, wish we lived closer and I would let you shoot my BamaBow Hunter model which is a 55# 65" AMO 28" DL and is the smoothest longbow I have every shot.  I had been shooting a Bear Kodiak 45# recurve and thought that was the cats meow as it was also smooth.  If you get a chance check out www.bamabows.com where Nate has some great longbows for sale in the Hunter, Elite and Royal.  Nate also has a video that you can watch as well.

[kctibs]

I looked a bamabows and they look great and the price seem very reasonable for a beginner. I emailed Nathan there and he gave me some info on the woods to use. What kind of wood do you recommend for the limbs Cottonwood? A fast wood or a smooth shooting wood.

[Frank V]

Kctibs, did you notice how quiet the long bow was? They are whisper quiet with heavy arrows. Welcome to the LB society, it'll grow on you.
Frank

[kctibs]

Frank V I did notice how quiet longbows are I like the simpleness of them. No balancers, pullies, cables, sight pins, releases ect. I suppose a person could go on and on.  So far I have the itch.

[Cottonwood]

I looked a bamabows and they look great and the price seem very reasonable for a beginner. I emailed Nathan there and he gave me some info on the woods to use. What kind of wood do you recommend for the limbs Cottonwood? A fast wood or a smooth shooting wood.

BamaBows are hardly a bigginer bow.

My wood is the cocobola/walnut/padauk model, and it shoots so dead and smooth that I would choose no other. 

Here is what a buddy of mine who sold me the BamaBows Hunter model had to say about his new Royal.

Well guys...knowing what Nate could do with the Hunters at $279, I just had to try a Royal at $479.

Now the Hunter is a nice bow. I love them and they are definitely an awesome bow to hunt with. I didn't think the Royal would be that much better for $200 more.

I was wrong. They are both great and have a purpose, but this is in a different class all its own. A little thicker than the Hunter all over but smoother and faster. Just an incredible bow and buy.

This one is 47# at 28". Curly maple riser with cocobola accent, red elm limbs with bocote veneers and cocobola/phenolic tips. Clear glass and a satin finish covers it all. Riser is cut even further to center than my first Hunter and the shelf is crowned perfectly.

Wow. Perfect. I'm seriously impressed. I only wish my photos did it justice.

Nate knows his woods, and his bows better than I, and can do you better if you call him rather than emailing him.  Tell him Jon from Kalispell, MT told you to call him.

I did this logo for BamaBows

[Frank V]

You are going to really like the longbow. I've been shooting them for about 9 years now & I've really gotten to like them. They are simplicity in the extreem.
Frank

[Cohort]

I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with one of these  ,if i were standing in the middle of barn !
I know ,Practice my man .

[kctibs]

I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with one of these  ,if i were standing in the middle of barn !
I know ,Practice my man .

Are you referencing longbows or BamaBows?

[All Hawks Kill]

I might have to give a Bama a try.  The doc says I really should back down on the poundage a little.  First I have to decide if I want to get to 50 or 45 pounds.

[Cottonwood]

I might have to give a Bama a try.  The doc says I really should back down on the poundage a little.  First I have to decide if I want to get to 50 or 45 pounds.

Nick just got his Royal model in 48# and loves it, talk to Nate at 256-997-6349 and he can answer all your questions.

[All Hawks Kill]

I've got to get my "Fun" money stock built back up before I'll be ready.  Been spending too much on my new hobby (Handi Rifles).......

[Cottonwood]

I got a handi 7mm-08 with Nikon 3x9x40 pro staff with BDC redical that I'm selling to fund my next BamaBows Royal model.

[Frank V]

One of the worst causes of not learning to shoot well is being overbow'd. It will cause short draw, target panic, & several other bad habits that take lots of work to overcome. I'd start with a bow that is fairly easy to draw, & if that means a 40lb bow, that's what I'd do. As you practice with a bow that isn't too heavy for you you will find yourself saying this is fun instead of this is work. Your muscles will build up over a period of time & you will work into a heavier bow. Don't try to push it, it's supposed to be fun, & hitting with a 40 or 45lb bow is way more fun than missing with a 55lb or heavier bow.
Just remember a 45lb bow is heavy enough for deer with properly tuned arrows. In the 60s when I first started with a recurve we shot 45 & 50lb bows & no one thought they were under bowed. I started with a Bear Hunter of 48lbs. Just don't try to use too much poundage & it'll be fun. Don't worry what the experts on some of the forums say, there is nothing wrong with a 45lb bow. ENJOY! 
Frank

[kctibs]

One of the worst causes of not learning to shoot well is being overbow'd. It will cause short draw, target panic, & several other bad habits that take lots of work to overcome. I'd start with a bow that is fairly easy to draw, & if that means a 40lb bow, that's what I'd do. As you practice with a bow that isn't too heavy for you you will find yourself saying this is fun instead of this is work. Your muscles will build up over a period of time & you will work into a heavier bow. Don't try to push it, it's supposed to be fun, & hitting with a 40 or 45lb bow is way more fun than missing with a 55lb or heavier bow.
Just remember a 45lb bow is heavy enough for deer with properly tuned arrows. In the 60s when I first started with a recurve we shot 45 & 50lb bows & no one thought they were under bowed. I started with a Bear Hunter of 48lbs. Just don't try to use too much poundage & it'll be fun. Don't worry what the experts on some of the forums say, there is nothing wrong with a 45lb bow. ENJOY! 
Frank

The legal draw weight here in Colorado is 35#. I was considering going with a lower draw weight to start but the 51# draw felt pretty comfortable and easy enough to draw for me.  I did shoot several bows ranging from 35# to 55# and seem to like the 51# the best. But I have been considering going with a lower draw weight.
Thanks for the advice.

[streak]

As I mentioned in my earlier post , they can become addictive! I have two hybrid longbows, a Dakota 60# made by Rick Welch, and a Bob Lee 52#, then I have a traditional longbow , a Zebra( War Eagle) in a 62#. All shoot great! The Zebra is really a handy bow as I can shoot it laying down, sitting, standing. and kneeling! I use 600- 620 grain arrows with the Zebra.

[All Hawks Kill]

One of the worst causes of not learning to shoot well is being overbow'd. It will cause short draw, target panic, & several other bad habits that take lots of work to overcome. I'd start with a bow that is fairly easy to draw, & if that means a 40lb bow, that's what I'd do. As you practice with a bow that isn't too heavy for you you will find yourself saying this is fun instead of this is work. Your muscles will build up over a period of time & you will work into a heavier bow. Don't try to push it, it's supposed to be fun, & hitting with a 40 or 45lb bow is way more fun than missing with a 55lb or heavier bow.
Just remember a 45lb bow is heavy enough for deer with properly tuned arrows. In the 60s when I first started with a recurve we shot 45 & 50lb bows & no one thought they were under bowed. I started with a Bear Hunter of 48lbs. Just don't try to use too much poundage & it'll be fun. Don't worry what the experts on some of the forums say, there is nothing wrong with a 45lb bow. ENJOY! 
Frank

Great advice!!!!!!

I also started out with a 45lb recurve, many, many years ago.  If you can hit what you are aiming at, a 40lb bow will do a fine job on a deer sized animal.  It's not till you move up in game classes that you will need to think about a stronger bow.  By the way, I killed a 200lb Black Bear back in the 70's with that old 45lb recurve....

[All Hawks Kill]

I got a handi 7mm-08 with Nikon 3x9x40 pro staff with BDC redical that I'm selling to fund my next BamaBows Royal model.

Do you have it up on the classified?  I'd jump on it, but I just bought two new barrels and the funds are all drained.......

[Cottonwood]

I got a handi 7mm-08 with Nikon 3x9x40 pro staff with BDC redical that I'm selling to fund my next BamaBows Royal model.

Do you have it up on the classified?  I'd jump on it, but I just bought two new barrels and the funds are all drained.......

I will have to check if I did put it there, oldtimers disease sometimes hits and can't remember the foggiest    But iffin its not, it soon will be. 

Gonna shoot some

[Rustyinfla]

 Congratulations KC!

  When I was growing up almost everybody that shot a bow shot a 45# recurve. Usually a Bear or for a little less a Ben Pearson. A few had 50# ers and every once in a while you'd run into a real he-man that had a 55#. It was explained to me then by a more experienced hunter that the goal was to stick the animal and have the arrow left sticking out. That way as the animal ran through the woods the action of the arrow bouncing up and down and all around would be doing more damage causing a better wound and the animal would pile up and expire.
  Now days a lot of people think 55#s is the minimum anyone should shoot and every shot has to be a complete pass through or it wasn't tuned right.
 Personally I think the old timers did just fine.

[All Hawks Kill]

 Congratulations KC!

  When I was growing up almost everybody that shot a bow shot a 45# recurve. Usually a Bear or for a little less a Ben Pearson. A few had 50# ers and every once in a while you'd run into a real he-man that had a 55#. It was explained to me then by a more experienced hunter that the goal was to stick the animal and have the arrow left sticking out. That way as the animal ran through the woods the action of the arrow bouncing up and down and all around would be doing more damage causing a better wound and the animal would pile up and expire.
  Now days a lot of people think 55#s is the minimum anyone should shoot and every shot has to be a complete pass through or it wasn't tuned right.
 Personally I think the old timers did just fine.

You are right about that bouncing around of an arrow stuck in the body.  When I started hunting out of trees though I found I perferred a pass through because I'd have a blood trail to follow.  Stick on high in so you get the boiler room from a tree and you don't get a blood trail.  Up in East Texas where I hunt, no blood trial and you likely won't find your deer.

[streak]

 Up in East Texas where I hunt, no blood trial and you likely won't find your deer.
[/quote]
All Hawks Kill,
What county of E.Texas do you hunt? I do alot of varmint hunting in Cass county.

[All Hawks Kill]

Angelina, we got us 40 acres of heaven up there butt up to the National Forest........

[streak]

Angelina, we got us 40 acres of heaven up there butt up to the National Forest........

Familiar with the area! When I lived in Houston.always wanted to squirrel or deer hunt along the Angelina river bottoms! I would pass through part of the area on my way up to Shreveport,LA. Beautful woods in that area. Back in the 60`s did a lot of bowhunting in N.W. Louisiana  using a Ben Pearson 55# recurve ( Palomino) until it delaminated on me one day! That will get your attention!! Sent the pieces to Ben Pearson factory and they replaced it with a 57# Mustang free of charge! Finally got into longbows when I came to Colorado in the 70`s. There are some top notch bowyer`s here in the Denver area, which makes it nice to go to their operation and see and shoot their bows!

[Karl B. Andersen]

Awesome, welcome to the Darkside........

I'm pretty sure it's the other way around.

[All Hawks Kill]

Familiar with the area! When I lived in Houston.always wanted to squirrel or deer hunt along the Angelina river bottoms! I would pass through part of the area on my way up to Shreveport,LA. Beautful woods in that area. Back in the 60`s did a lot of bowhunting in N.W. Louisiana  using a Ben Pearson 55# recurve ( Palomino) until it delaminated on me one day! That will get your attention!! Sent the pieces to Ben Pearson factory and they replaced it with a 57# Mustang free of charge! Finally got into longbows when I came to Colorado in the 70`s. There are some top notch bowyer`s here in the Denver area, which makes it nice to go to their operation and see and shoot their bows!

One of the feeders to Hanks Creek runs through our place.  There are gray squirrels and rabbits everywhere, and now the deer are really starting to show up as well.  I really can't complain, I'm a lucky man.