Limb Material - Which is the Best???

[CT Bowhunter]

Would like your opinions on what's the best limb material for a smooth shooting longbow? I have yew on my 64&quot; Crusader and it's smoooooooooth. What about things like bamboo, walnut, elm, juniper, zebrawood etc? What should I order on my next longbow<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>(66&quot; or 68&quot. I'm not talking veneers, limb cores.

[Cliff_N_Di]

I think yew is your best bet. I have some limbs that are locust they are fairly smooth to draw. we also have a longbow with cocobolo as the core and bamboo as the lams.

Seems like most the bowyers that I have dealt with prefer to use actionwood or yew as the core woods, but ive only dealt with a few bowyers.

Does Bamboo make a good core wood?

Dianna

[john nail]

Black Locust core with HIGH ELEVATION yew veneer makes the smoothest, fastest longbows I have shot. I think Bamboo in a recurve would be about tops

Your life is made of time, not money.

[stealthycat]

CT BOWHUNTER - You should try my Adcock tonkin cane TD

Personally bamboo/cane bows have always seem to &quot;feel&quot; better to me. Personal choice though probably when its all said and done.
Stealthycat's Photo's

[LBR]

First off, let me say this--I am not a bowyer, not any kind of wood expert. I do, however, like to pick the brains of different bowyers and I love to shoot bows.

My personal choice, and the choice of most bowyers I talked to that had a preference, is yew. Several also liked actionwood, and I know some like bamboo. I have shot several yew limbed bows, and both my personal longbows have yew limbs with a center lamination of actionwood. One gains 2# per inch, the other 2.5# per inch--don't get much smoother than that. The 61@30.5 (64&quot got in the mid to high 180's with arrows that weigh well over 600 grains--640, if I remember correctly. This was not a high dollar chronograph, and I wouldn't bet my life on its accuracy, but the bow did shoot fast compared to other bows that were shot through it. Only know of one instance of a yew limbed longbow being shot against a bamboo limbed. Pretty evenly matched, two different bowyers but both hybrids, and the yew was consistently faster--not by a lot though.

I have only shot a few bows with bamboo limbs, and I really couldn't tell any difference compared to other woods. I haven't owned a bow with bamboo lams though, and probably won't. I have heard about a few instances where they bamboo eventually broke down and the bow lost poundage and/or got out of tiller. Took a long time though--10 years or so in one case. Probably wouldn't be much of a concern if you have a regular or shorter draw length, but I tend to stress the limbs a bit.

I really like walnut (&quot;poor man's yew&quot and elm. Don't have any experience with juniper, but it does look great as a veneer. Think zebrawood is a little slow on a recurve, not sure how much effect it would have on a longbow.

Talk to your bowyer or dealer, and see what they recommend on the particular bow you are buying. If you can, shoot several of the same kind of bow with different woods. Some differences are due to bow design as much as anything. Until I find out for myself that there is something better, I am sticking with yew (sometimes with veneer).

Chad



Long Bows Rule!

[Tuffcity]

I have walnut on my 66&quot; pigdog lb, draws pretty nice to the nearly 30&quot; I pull it back to. Plus it looks a lot better than, say, that weed-osage people rave about... <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RC

[Jim DE]

The smartest thing to do when selecting bow limb material is to explain your needs and wants to your selected bowyer and let him make the decision for you. He is the expert when it comes to his designed bows.....he will know what works the best.

Historically, yew combined with rock maple has proven itself on the as an excellent accurate combination of natural materials. Recently, tonkin cane, carbon, and some other materials have also proven their worth in traditional bows. Only your bowyer will make the wisest decisions for your needs. He want's you to enjoy his product.