i don't know about those other knock off brands but Blackwidow will let you test drive their bows

Bob Lee for recurve! In Jacksonville, TX.

Roy Hall for longbow! In Henderson, TX.

The doesn't make a huge difference in my opinion. In most of these custom composit recurves it's the fiberglass the does most of the work....others correct me if I am wrong here.

I am not saying there is no difference, I always heard bamboo was fast..for example, just not the main thing. The wood gives it a nice look and most of the bow woods work about the same.

I don't think many will let you order a custom bow, shoot it for a week and then send it back if you don't like it. Once you order it how you like it, it is yours. If you want to try some out, come to some shoots and try other guys bows.

Sneaky ol' Buff is trying to mislead you a little. BlackWidow will not let you custom order to your exact specs, one of there clunky old bows, and then send it back to them. They will let you try a demo model to see if you like it. Not exactly the same thing.

Before you drop a pile of money on a custom, my advice is to get a cheap starter at low weight and shoot it for a while....mean while, try a bunch of different ones out at shops or shoots. If you like it and figure out exactly what you want....then spend for real nice one.

Chunky, pretty much said everything. Bamboo is probably the fastest core wood. As far as the other woods they are usually for the limb veneers and risers. What I would say is that different woods do make the bow feel different at the shot. Some of your heavier /denser woods (cocobolo/rosewood) will be a little more stable than others (maple/tulipwood).

As Chunky said shoot as many as you can and then decide what you shoot the best. I have two Blacktails and absolutely love them. Norm makes a great bow, but you'll wait around 13 months or so to get one. There are a lot of very good bowyers out there to choose from. And I agree also maybe get you a starter one and see how you like it. Then you'll know exactly what poundage, length, style you will want to custom order.

If you want to test drive a Black widow, just nail three 2"X2"s together, notch the ends, add string and you'll pretty much have a widow.

Chunky what I meant was to test drive a demo before placing an order - not order a custom bow and if I dont like it send it back - I guess I will find something on the cheaper side before looking into the custom bows.

I have noticed that recurves will vary in lengths - some in the 50's - low mid 60's - are you gaining anything or losing anything with shorter or longer bows?

The length does matter to me. I have a 31" draw, so I like a longer bow. I prefer a 64" or 66" bow, due to it has less string pinch and they seem to draw a little smoother for me. The downfall is that it is a little more difficult to maneuver in a ground blind. Somwe bowyers will claim there shorter models ar e abit faster than the longer ones, but I've never seen any real difference myself.

Black Widow are the best really

If you want to test drive a Black widow, just nail three 2"X2"s together, notch the ends, add string and you'll pretty much have a widow. [/QUOTE]

OUCH!!!!

I didn't have to do it.

I did almost steal Buff's 57 pound longbow Saturday though. Its a shooter. Kinda slow, but it handles real well.

txbowhunter,

They say that the shorter a bow is the quicker, the longer a bow is the more forgiving and smooth. So it is a trade off. A couple of inches won't make a huge difference. If you are a really big guy or small, it would make more of a difference to you. If you are average like me....(insert joke here)....that would be the last thing I would worry about when buying.

First I want one that performs well
Then I want the weight right
Then the grip
And lastly the length...or maybe lastly the looks.

Thanks for the tips guys - Im gonna start looking for something decent on the cheaper side and work with it for a while then work my way into something nice - what about string silencers - I know folks have their prefernce but what works the best?

There are some good used custom bows out there for sale at great prices compared to new. If you knew what style grip you preferred, then start looking at bows with that type of grip. Then bow weight and length come into the equation.

Myself, I like a low wrist grip like Horne, Great Plains and Pronghorn have on their longbows. I have been trying to find a great price on a Pronghorn in my weight range. If I was left handed, the looking would have been over a long time ago. Left handed bows go a lot cheaper. Less demand.

Good luck in your hunt. Determine your preferred grip style and bow weight and start checking for quality used bows and you will find one usually before you can get one in by ordering one new. That is for most bows except Bob Lee.

Search on Tradgang and Stickbow for used bows and also do a search on a particular brand/model of bow and you can find a lot of info on what people think of these bows. I have done that many times when considering a bow to buy.

montanabows.com Dan has many styles to choose from. And they are pretty to look at and ask Eric, they are quiet and have to handshock.
Chris Kiefner

For string silencers, I go back and forth between Woolie Whispers and the cheapo rubber ones. I think they both work well and it really just depends on what I have on hand when I setup a new string. I would love to put some fur silencers on my longbow but I don't know how and just keep going back to the two mentioned above.