mez

What are your thoughts on the quality of Black Widow bows? There are a couple on ebay I was looking at. Seems you can buy a used one for little more than a production bow. Are they worth the extra money?

LBR

Well, BW has one of the most recognized and controversial names in the bussiness. Some people love them just because they are a BW, some hate them just because they are a BW, and some people really like/dislike them because they work/don' t work for them--confused yet?[X(]

As far as the recurves go, they are well made bows, although as I understand it the narrower limbs may twist a little easier than some others. Speed is very respectable, but not the fastest bow on the market. Very heavy, solid, tough risers--the thick lam of fiberglass in the riser is good insurance against breakage. Most of the ones I have shot were noisy, but could probably been helped some with some tinkering. They have a good reputation for resale value, but comparitively I think you tend to loose as much on them as most any other--buy a Martin for $400, sell it for $200, you lost 50%. Buy a BW for $900, sell it for $450, you still lost 50%--of course there are exceptions.

I don' t care for the longbows--' nuff said there. The recurves shot ok for me, but they were not outstanding in my hands--fit, finish, performance, etc. can be matched for a lot less money--but it won' t have that cool web logo on it.

I do have a gripe with the sales tactics--in my opinion there is at least one segment on the video (the older one with Bill Bohnner--haven' t seen one since he left) and part in the catalog that is misleading. The part in the video where Mr. Bohnner is " trying to destroy" a limb is pure hype, as is the part in the catalog where it says something like " some people say the BW longbow is smoother and faster than most recurves, and far superior to any longbow" . Well, that may be true (somebody said it), but you can find pretty much anyone to say anything--just rubs me wrong. They do not require outrageous spines either--bare shafting any bow cut past center will show that it needs way heavy spine (just last night talked with a fellow shooting a Habu " Death Adder" longbow, cut past center, that was 60@28 and only got good bare shaft flight with arrows well over 100# spine--115#, I believe). This is also misleading--if they shot that " hard" , you would see some amazing speed to go with it.

Overall though, if you can get it at a reasonable price, you will have a good bow that will do the trick, get you into some circles, and thrown out of others . Might fit you, might not, but should be able to sell it easy enough if you don' t like it.

Chad

CT Bowhunter

Save your money and buy another bow. There are alot of better and cheaper bows on the market. Shot alot of bows, if a BW feels best buy it. But I' d bet that you can find a better bow for less.

JRW

Quality? I don' t think you' ll find a more bomb-proof bow on the market. I had a 2001 SAIII that I shot at under 7 grains/pound with a 32" draw and an endless Dyna string. Probably put well over 10k shots through that bow and never had the slightest hint of a problem. I ended up selling the bow because it just didn' t fit me right.

On the other hand, I had one other exotic wood custom bow, that cost less money than a Widow, blow up the riser shooting 8 grains/pound. Got a replacement riser and that one developed a glue line problem shooting almost 9 grains/pound. Shot the line with epoxy and it' s held up...so far.

Suffice it to say, I' ve switched to a different brand of bow and am very pleased. My " repaired" bow is now collecting dust, in case I need it for a backup. I might even use it for bowfishing this year.

The good think about buying a used Widow is that if you decide to resell it, you should get your money back out of it...if not more (inflation ya know). In the end, there' s a reason why Black Widow has a very high reputation for quality...it' s well-earned.

JRW

Woodduck

What they said.....

IrishLad32

I' ve never shot a Black Widow, so I don' t want to appear as though I have. I remember the first ad I saw for a Black Widow though. I thought it looked pretty sharp, but I didn' t think it was worth the $900 it was taged at. To me they' re just production bows, like an overpriced Bear. What are they made out of? After looking at the site, all you do is tell them what poundage at what draw lenght, how ya want it tillered, and if it' s drilled for sights/stablizer etc. I may have left a thing or two out, but that' s about how it goes. I' m not an expert on it or anything, but I don' t get why they' re priced at a grand.

Brandan

mez

Have the prices on the new ones gone down? I looked at their web site and you can order a brand new one for $730, $100 more for the takedown models and add another $70 for a custom grip. Everyone keeps talking about $1000 and they are not that much on the web site.

IrishLad32

If they' re not priced at around $1000 they must have gone down ' cause I remember seeing some models in that range. Not every model was that pricey, but some were. I believe the takedown LIW is $950; somewhere around there. Sorry if I gave some bad info.

Brandan

mez

You didn' t give bad info, the takedowns are more$ than the one piece, which is what I' m looking at. The SAG, is the one i' m interested in, I like the shorter bows, these were $730 new on the web site, can' t see paying $600 for a used one.

woodbow

You' ve asked a popular question and there' s lots of opinions out there.

Are they a good bow? Yes, when properly tuned they are exceptionally quiet, shoot a smooth, good arrow flight. Fast ? fast enough. Accurate.

Are they worth the money? The person spending the money must make that decision. Personally, I think they' re WAY over-priced but then I don' t think Martin makes a bow worth 400 dollars either..guess I' m an old tight wad

I do admit to being a bit biased when I can make my own for an investment of some time and no money...