dshaliscak

What are some of the top custom bow makers out there . Do you have info on them?

BobCo19-65

There are a lot of them out there. What I would suggest doingis to try to go to one of the bigger shoots. They should be there to talk to and try out their bows. You could also get a copy of Traditional Bow Hunter Mag and start your research there.

Also talk to LBR here, he sells Chek Matebows which are custom and reasonable priced quality bows. I have one on order as we speak.

isshe

Here is my Black Widow PSR V.....I had it made for me last year...Black Widow is in Nixa Missouri...great people to deal with before and after the sell....just type in Black Widow Bows on a search....

LBR

There's LOTS of great bows on the market these days. My advice would be the same as Bob's--if at all possible, get to a shoot and check them out in person. If you can't do that, do as much research as possible. Don't get caught up in hype or the flavor of the month. Don't get hung up on prices--just because a bow costs $2,000 doesn't mean it's a $2,000 bow. What works great for one person may not be so great for another. I've shot and owned a LOT of bows, some in the $1,000 price range, but my favorites cost much, much less. Some of the more expensive ones were, to me, pretty lousy--and some were great.

Of the ones I've shot/owned, here is a short list of the one's I'd give a whirl.

Chek-Mate (of course)
Navajo
Marriah

That's just my opinion, based on the one's I've shot/owned.Quite a few I've read rave reviews about just didn't impress me that much.

Talk to the bowyer or dealer. See what kind of service you get. Ask LOTS of questions and see what kind of response you get.

If you are looking strictly at recurves, I'll leave you with something Ken Beck of Black Widow said to me a few weeks ago. "There's not a nickle's worth of difference in performance among the better bows."

Chad

BobCo19-65

Actually that pretty much the same thing OL Adcock told me at one time, different words, same meaning. And I believe there is a lot of truth to that.

LBR

I agree Bob.One thing that bothers me is "speed" has been used as a selling point for a lot of bows. Cut through the technicalities and compare apples to apples (same type string material, same strand count, same amount and size serving, same amount and type silencers, same draw length, same release, same arrow weight, arrow tuned to the bow, etc. etc. etc.) and we'd see that there is no magic bow--there's just so much that can be done. When I see an advertisement touting a trad bow with speeds of over 200 fps, I start looking for the fine print.

Not saying it can't be done, but it's not normal in the real world, and will generally involve a very long draw, light arrow, tiny string, shooting machine with caliper release, etc. Heck, I can get over 230 fps out of my longbow, but with my normal set-up I average 187 fps.

Marc Moriez (bowyer for Chek-Mate) has a favorite saying: "Everything is a trade-off". The longer I'm in this sport, the more I find that to be true. For instance, deflex a riser to gain stability, give up a little speed. Lower a brace height to gain speed, loose some stability. As far as I know, only bumblebees can defy the laws of physics--bowyers can't.

Of course there are things that bowyers can do to help in both departments, and the better bows/bowyers are working towards a happy medium of both speed and stability--but one bow can't have the absolute best of both. I still like for them to keep trying though--that's why we have such a great selection on the market today.

Chad

BobCo19-65

I'm with ya on that!

slugman

try rudderbows, AP had mentioned them to me awhile back. Prices are very good and seem to be very nice people. I called them before I ordered mine.

http://216.119.68.89/store/index.php?main_page=index

bigcountry

You know I am sucker. I know this. I have been sucked into this idea sometime that "more it cost, better it is". So when I was looking at bows, and looked at rudderbows, I was thinking, "man, thats too cheap". So I passed. I know I am a sucker, so thats half the battle. I just don't know how they can build a quality bow for 200 dollars.

LBR

BC, a lot of the time you do get what you pay for. I've yet to find good wood shafts that were cheap--the cheap ones I've tried were pretty much junk. I'm not familiar with Rudder bows, but I think they are wood bows (no glass)? If that is the case, that's a good bit of material cost taken away.

With a lot of bows (and pretty much everything else on the market) there is a lot of overhead to cover--one biggie is advertising. Notice the "generic" products on the shelf next to the "name brands". It's not always the case, but often the generic is the same quality as the name brand, but about half the cost or less--guess where that savings comes from? They are packaged the same, have the same ingredients, are transported the same way, and sold in the same store--but one spends a fortune on advertising, while the other doesn't.

Another factor with bows is the bowyer's experience and equipment. I don't know how many threads I've read over the years proclaiming that it takes in the neighborhood of 40 hours to build a laminated bow. Marc (bowyer for Chek-Mate) can build 10-15 bows in 40 hours--he has the experience and equipment. Wood bows can take even less time--at the TN Classic at Twin Oaks, there's kids and adults that scratch out a wood bow in a weekend--many that have no prior experience at all, and using mostly hand tools. Some of the more experienced adults may build 3-5 bows in a weekend, using the same method. I've seen a glued-up stave become a bow in less than 20 minutes using power tools. It needed some touch-up and finish work, but it shot just fine.

Anyhow, don't feel like a sucker--you just followed human nature. Just consider that laminated bows, in general, cost pretty much the same as far as materials go. Experienced bowyers shouldn't have a ridiculous amount of time invested in one bow. If they advertise, that cost has to be covered somewhere.I don't know for sure (as I haven't seen the books), but I've been told by someone that should know that as much as 30% of the cost of some bows goes directly into advertising costs--a pretty big chunk if you are talking about a $1,000 bow.

Chalk it up to experience--learning is a big part of the fun!

Chad