nativeson

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I hunted small game with a bow as a teen then left it for ,... well a long time then a couple of years ago I bought a compound intending to hunt with it. I shot it some, never did hunt with it and hate it.I feel like i'm part robot and part cyborg shooting it. I want a long bow, i've always wanted a long bowso i'm gonna get one! So i've been trying to do some research of what is a good brand. Any suggestions?Howard Hill .. all name or great bow? Martin? Bear?Tomahawk? Or are they mostly names and a cheaper AIM bow shootand look justas fine?Also,In my search I came across an incredible article which mentioned which eye is dominant. By pointing to a distant object with both eyes open then close your left eye and if your still pointing at the object with your left eye closed then your right eye is dominant if not your left eye is and you should be shooting a left handed bow. Well, i'm right handed and by that article my left eye is dominant! The article said though unusual it's not that uncommon. It then suggested that I get a left handed bow because my accuracy would be much better because of it.I've shot right handed all my life! This is the first time i've heard of this... what about you guys? And if so, how hard is it gonna be to re learn everything?

JimPic

I love my Hill's-you might hate them.Try to get to a trad shoot that has vendors and bowyers there.Shoot everything you can and see what you like.I also have 2 friends that switched from right hand to left hand-both said it wasn't that hard

nativeson

Thanks Jim for sharing that photo,wow three! I guess you do love them.And you've tried others? Oh, and I had another question, with more traditional bows such as the Hill which are bamboo/hardwood lam do you have any problem with them losing spring/power over time? I guess i'm trying to say wearing out quicker than a bow like the Tomahawk?

JimPic

I've shot and owned alot of differant longbows.The Hill's and Stotler's are my 2 favorite longbows.I have a Stotler Gamegetter and I'm getting another Gamegetter Elite this week.Hills have glass just like Tomahawks-they won't lose any spring or power.

Cessna Flyer

I have a Martin Savannah and like it allot, But I am partial to Chek-Mate and have a Take-down Crusader on order now. LBR can help you with that.

PAstew

If there is a traditional shoot in your area, I suggest you go. Take a look at all the different types of bows out there. For the money, Ancient Spirits, Northern Mist, Lake Valley and Cari-Bow are the best I've ever seen and shot. Beautiful bows that shoot great andcost less than most you'll find.

nativeson

Thanks everyone for your input and help. I wish there were some bow club or organization around here but I don't even know of any place that sells bows short of driving to Nashville or Memphis (3 hours one way) so i'm pretty much stuck with mail order. I'll take a look at all the different models suggested.
Any suggestions or input about this dominate eye thing? I'm really worried about that. Has anyone else had that problem? What bows i've shot has always been right handed. How important in you guys opinion is that?

Arthur P

For most people, eye dominance is crucial. It's better to have the arrow under the dominant eye while aiming.

Some people have gotten awfully good shooting cross dominant. Fred Bear for one. He was right eye dominant but had to shoot lefty. When he was a kid, he lostthe fingertip of the ring fingeron his right hand while chopping wood.

If you're really sure you're left eye dominant, I'd definitely recommend going lefty. It will feel kind of odd at first, very odd if you're ond of those who uses their right hand for everything and the left hand is practically useless. After some practice - might even take a couple of weeks -it'll become natural for you.

BUT, I'd try to find an old recurve on Ebay or something, a bow with very light draw weight, to practice with at first. If you're any good at working with wood, you might instead try making yourself a lightbow out of a board for a starter. There are a couple of websites I can give you that have good how-to instructions.

http://mysite.verizon.net/georgeandjoni/archer.html

http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-us/

I've learned it's always good to know how to make a bow anyway. Sometimes you want a new bow but just don't have an extra $500 bill laying around... [&:]

BobCo19-65

I have a HH and a Schulz (very similiar). They are pretty much my favorite longbows. I have also tried others but prefer a d-shaped or very slight reflex/deflex longbow. The more radical types of shaped longbows really don't suit me very well.
I'd also consider other's advice on perhaps getting to a shoot and try a few used bows out. Most of the bigger shoots also have seminars and all the equipment needed to build selfbows. I think this year, I'm going to build one for myself. Last year we built one for my sonand it was a great experience. Be prepared though, it took us about 10-12 hours to build one.
Asfar as eye dominance, if you have not shotfor a very long time, I'd suggest shooting lefty.My son is a righty, but is left eye dominant. He started out shooting righty, but moved tolefty. It didn't take all that long for him to make the change over.
I believe that Howard Hill was another cross dominant shooter.If you can not make the change possible, then I wouldnt worry too much.

FWIW,at one time I inquired to Craig (he is the bowyer at HH archery) about making a double shelfed bow. He said he could do it on a new bow, but he could not modify an existing bow. If you did that, you could shoot either righty or lefty with the same bow.

LBR

Welcome aboard! First, where are you located? I'm in Northeast MS, and you are welcome to come by and shoot with me. There's also a great shoot this coming weekend in Clarkesville, TN (the TN Classic) where you could try out different bow, plus a shoot in Collierville at Herb Parson's lake once a month that is smaller but also very good.

Picking a bow will take time. My opinion is don't get caught up in nostalgia or who shot what. I love the history behind Hill bows, but they aren't the bow for me. I learned that from shooting several different Hill and Hill style bows. Very nice bows, I just don't do well with them. Same goes for Byron Ferguson's bows--met him several times, love talking to him, don't shoot his bows well.

There's gobs of great bows on the market, and if you look you can find someone that will say they are without a doubt the absolute best, and someone else that doesn't like them. Different strokes for different folks.

I would definately start out left handed. I'm right eye dominant and shoot right handed, but found I can shoot lefty if I need to, although not nearly as well. I know two different archers that shoot both left and right handed, depending on their mood--both are pretty decent shots.

Chad