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
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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 ("poor man's yew"
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!