Info on Bowyers in Australia for high calibre hybrids

[Kanin-maskwa]

Hi, before I drop some coin on a bow from overseas could any one tell me if there are any Bowyers in Australia that build a top notch Hybrid longbow?
I'm talking the calibre of Centaur bows, Montana whips, ACS CX, Cari-bow etc?

I'm after a very stable DF/RF quiet, dead in the hand longbow/flatbow 50#@28" that can fling a 660gr arrow at very near to 170fps . (I know the whip won't but the others do)

If that's not possible to acquire such a bow locally then I would look for something comparable to the whip locally.

Any chance?.........

Shawnee

[kimall]

Good to see you know what you want in a bow mate they are some highend speeds you are after there thats for sure.That works out anout 13.2 grains per pound so 170fps would be right up there.I have done a fair bit of testing with alot of differant designs through the chrony and I can tell you that even in the bows classed as quick you wont get many that will do what you are after.Best of luck in your search..
Cheers KIM

[kimall]

OK just incase I was talking out of my hat(easy to do as I have goldfish memory) I just did a bit of testing.
I used one of the more spritely D/R longbows I have and made up an arrow that came to about 13.27 grains per pound.
The bow is about 54 @ 28 but I may draw it 1/2 inch more not sure and the arrow is a Carbon Express heritage 350 with 100 grain brass insert and 250 grain field tip for a total weight of 750 grains.I would struggle to lift a full quiver of these babies.The arrow flight is nice and the chrony gave a reading of 158---160 for about 10 shots.
I know my bows are not in the class of the ACS but as I said before not many bows have done much better through my chrony SHOT WITH FINGERS as you can get a fair bit more with a shooting maching.Shoot as many as you can get your hands on mate and if you are really concerned with those speeds use a chrony(lie detector).
Cheers KIM

[Kanin-maskwa]

I hear you Kim and your not wrong.

Cari-bow 50#@28 in full hunting trim with finger release 707gr arrow at 163fps
ACS 50#@28 in full hunting trim with finger release 636gr arrow at 174 fps
The centaur triple carbon XL is slightly faster then the ACS but sort of splitting hairs.
There's a few other bows out there in this league. I prefer more wood and less carbon.
If I can't get something like this local I know which one I want but 10-14 month wait!
Then I would definitely be looking for something to tide me over.

In that case a good shooter and fine quality something comparable to a Tolke whip or Big Jim bow.
Would be nice to find something without a long wait.

I Tried to buy 3 bows this past week and every deal fell through because of overseas shipping blah!
Then went to the bowyer of my choice, he had near what I wanted in stock but only in a one piece, shipping though would be $270! I just can't do that. I'd rather wait a year and get a 2pce that costs $100 to ship.
Oh the humanity of it all!

[Stickbow Hunter]

Shawnee & Kim, the bows you are talking about are of deflex/reflex design not reflex/deflex! I mentioned this, again, as it just might help with the confusion that exists with the use of these terms now days.

Jeff

[Nephew]

Don't start with the semi-recurve stuff mate or you'll have 'em all bamboozled!

[kimall]

See I told you I had a goldfish memory Jeff I have edited my post.
Cheers KIM..
PS Moreton if I shoot it upside down will be a R/D then..........

[excelpoint]

If you cant find what you want here another to look at will be Border Bows. I know my Border recurve will achieve what you want. Mine gets close at 52# with a 26.5" draw, so at 28" you are good to go. Their Longbows are equally as fast.

[hazard]

I would sound these guys out they are very experienced and equal in every way to any bow in the U.S

Gringa
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=11649
Flatline
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=11034
Huntsman
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=10419
Norseman
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=6259
mailto:nicklousie@sctelco.net.au
http://www.norsemanbows.com/
Molinjar
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2504
http://www.molinjor.com
Centour Bows
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3464
Southern Cross
http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2047

[Nephew]

PS Moreton if I shoot it upside down will be a R/D then..........

Careful Kim, don't provoke him or he'll start! Ask him the difference between a longbow and a semi recurve sometime...if you have a few hours to spare!

That's an impressive list, there, Haz! We really do have some talent in Aus,, who needs the exorbitant postage costs of importing from the U.S. when we have these blokes right here?

[kimall]

[Stickbow Hunter]

Centour Bows
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3464

That one isn't Aussie mate.

Jeff

[hazard]

Thats terrible! well we'll have to take him off
Hazard

hazard wrote:
Centour Bows
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3464

That one isn't Aussie mate.

Jeff

[bigbob]

Delete centaur and add Raven bows 'though I dont know if Dave makes longbows as well as his terrific 'curves. You wouldnt go wrong with any on that list and they are all Aussie.

[twisted limb]

You should talk to Nisk Lintern (Noresman Bows) about his explorer model.I've got a 50# @ 28"x 64" and it spits heavy arrows.Everyone I've shot with remarks on it,s speed.
I can post some photos if you like.
John.

[twisted limb]

That's Nick Lintern not Nisk, it's the left most bow in my avatar photo.
John.

[Chase N. Nocks]

I'm not going to jump on the Aussie-made bandwagon. Although I am genuinely relieved to see the Aussie bowyers growing in numbers, skill and what they offer.

One Australian Bowyer that seems to get overlooked time and again on this forum though is John Clark from Aus Bow. He's been doing it for 30 odd years and was one of the first to produce quality information on bow building for the Australian Archer.

http://ausbow.com.au/longbows.htm

Now having said that I have to say that I buy the best I can afford, the bows I can get the best knowledge of, and the bow that best suits my purposes and desires at the time.

My personal preferences for woods are generally overseas exotics (sorry but I do like my Purple Hearts, Osage Orange and Ebony) I also like Micarta and Phenolic in a riser. In the case of the latter...lots of it. These woods and combinations are not as easy to come by here. I also like metal and synthetic handled bows just as much as wood.

There are just not that many options in Australia for these options. Nor for the bow styles and designs I have the greatest preferences for.

There are many fine Australian bows, some of which I lust after...Rod's/Gidget's new D/R bow and at least a dozen of Greybeards that I have encountered and Flatline bows even when my preference is for ILF.

As for the Centaur....well quite frankly, I have handled and shot 2 and these are literally just about the finest bows I have ever shot especially when factoring in heavy arrows. If that is not the main criteria then I would have to say the Montana Whip.

I would say the three bows you have mentioned initially are bows that would be considered just about at the top internationally and worth the $$$ and the wait and the freight.
The fact that you have been able to source information about these bows especially things like arrow/weight and speed as well as broad anidotal reviews is a definite help when looking at bows and missing for a lot of the Aussie bows.

Cheers
Troy

[wishsong]

If you want good performance and quick wait time ... Montana bows / Toelke Whip may be the answer . But those figures you want are pretty quick and I doubt that the Whip will get those kinda specs , beautiful and fast bow though they may be .

If you want the quickest ... have a look at Whippenstick , Ken is a great guy to talk with and hios bows are right up there at the Walk the Talk bow test competition .

Myself ... I'll stick with my slow ol' straight limb ' longbows '.....

[Chase N. Nocks]

Wishsong, I don't know whether to kiss you or curse you! Those Whippensticks look very special. And I just love those classic style recurves.

Actually I'll just say thank you for throwing another bow, another glorious bow onto the potentials list.

Cheers

Troy

[wishsong]

Wishsong, I don't know whether to kiss you or curse you! Those Whippensticks look very special. And I just love those classic style recurves.

Actually I'll just say thank you for throwing another bow, another glorious bow onto the potentials list.

Cheers

Troy

Chase n ..... Glad that you like them ... Ken is a top fella and makes a sweet bow ......
But as for kissing me mate, well ..... Oh ... umm .... Okay then .. just this once . I won't tell ........

[Gilly]

I would also suggest Nick Lintern, I don't have a df/rf myself but I know he has made them.

[Chase N. Nocks]

Wishsong, I don't know whether to kiss you or curse you! Those Whippensticks look very special. And I just love those classic style recurves.

Actually I'll just say thank you for throwing another bow, another glorious bow onto the potentials list.

Cheers

Troy

Chase n ..... Glad that you like them ... Ken is a top fella and makes a sweet bow ......
But as for kissing me mate, well ..... Oh ... umm .... Okay then .. just this once . I won't tell ........

Touche!

[Chase N. Nocks]

Expensive, very expensive but light and good performance.

http://www.alaskabowhunting.com/Grizzly ... 90C52.aspx

The Aarbon takedown Longbow

Review quote

Your Qarbon 52# bow at my 27” draw wouldn’t exceed 50# actual. With a 785 gr arrow the chrono showed: 161, 163, 162, 162, 161 successive readings. This exceeds any conventional flat limbed laminated wood/glass deflex-reflex longbow by about 20 fps. With such a conventional longbow you’d have to shoot at least an additional 8# of draw weight to equal your bow’s performance. Shoot a Qarbon Nano at 52# & equal what the other guy gets pulling 60#. The chrono doesn’t lie!

279fps with a 350g arrow, out of a Qarbon 70lb@30. Lifetime warranty and no waiting list I think.

Pretty impressive.

OH and it's all BLACK

Cheers
Troy

[Stickbow Hunter]

279fps with a 350g arrow, out of a Qarbon 70lb@30. Lifetime warranty and no waiting list I think.

Pretty impressive.

OH and it's all BLACK

OH and it ain't a longbow. OH and it ain't Aussie made.

Jeff

[wishsong]

The carbon nano thingy / "longbow" when shooting hunting weight arrows , as per Blacky Shwarz testing isn't really faster than any other bow . It isn't that much faster than a Bear Recurve which costs close to a thousand dollars less .

In the 80's , noted bowyer John Schulz , using light arrows and witnessed by the Wensel brothers at the Pennsylvania Bowhunters festival shot an arrow out of his longbows at 257fps ... and that was with a straight limb longbow .

It is a bit of an advertising click to be sure ... it probably shoots really well and draws really smooth ... but if thats a "longbow" then I'm Sarah Palin.....

[Chase N. Nocks]

Dear Jeff and Sarah,

Meh. Tomato, Potato.

Is it an ELB? No. But most Longbows aren't. Just different degrees of separation.

But I don't have a problem calling it a "Modern" Longbow but it seems plenty agree and disagree.

I think the performance is impressive but not a quantum leap away from other high performance longbows,

Using such light arrows out if the bow and still recieving a lifetime warranty would be the most outstanding thing I can think of besides the price.

Is it worth it? Only each individual can decide that. I could buy two beautiful custom made bows for that.

But it is unique and intriguing and if most of my other whims were satisfied and I was still single and cashed up. Sure I'd probably buy one. Maybe.

It's Black.

Cheers

Troy

[Stickbow Hunter]

Dear Jeff and Sarah,

Jeff

[Kanin-maskwa]

Okay well in the meantime Ive decided to buy a Big Jim Buffalo bow that was offered to me. It just seems to really call to me.
I know its not a speed king but I could not get the bow out of my head (Ill post pics when I get it)
Its a 60" 51# one piece D/R If it flings the weight of arrow I want adequately then Ill probably stick with it otherwise I know which bow I would go for but again its unfortunately not local.

There are so many nice bows out there and I hope I have found one that is in harmoney with me, guess I'll only know when I start using her.

Thanks to everyone that contributed and just because Ive settled on a bow for now doesnt mean others are not still looking and Im sure Ill be looking again

Cheers
Shawnee

[Stickbow Hunter]

Congrats mate and be sure to post those photos up of it when it arrives.

Jeff

[wishsong]

Big Jim makes a beautiful bow . Good choice ... !
The Buffalo is a sweet bow that'll throw a heavy arrow really well.