Hill style bow hunting weights?

[Ari_Bonn]

I mainly shoot r/d longbows but the more I think of it I really enjoyed and shot the best with the robertson purist I that I found in a pawn shop. I sold it unfortunately as it was too heavy for me to practice for long periods (66" 70# @ 28) and I had only been shooting just under a year every day mind you but still.

last few months I have really gotten into the history of hill style bows and been practicing the technique that john schulz shows in the video.

Im very interested in a HH cheetah and I think I would like a bit less weight than I'm used to pulling for a hunting scenario. So my question is... Will #40 OR #45 do it cleanly with a finely sharpened 2 blade with this style of bow? My set up would be surewood shafts with grizzly broadheads. In my province #40 is the legal minimum for everything but bison.

Also I talked to craig he says he can make the cheetah reverse handle or string follow and I am having a hard time deciding.

Appreciate all advice and thank you in advance  

[Orion]

If you can handle 45#, I'd go with that.  With a sharp 2-blade head, it's plenty for deer size critters.  Probably get the job done on larger critters as well, but for elk and bigger animals, I'd recommend more weight. Nothing saying you can't get a heavier bow later.  

There's some renewed interest in string follow bows lately.  Because they don't have as much initial weight at brace vis-a-vis a bow with setback limbs, some folks find them a bit smoother on the draw.  On the other hand, they have a little less performance than a bow with straight or set back limbs., i.e., they're slower.  

Reverse handle is also seeing some recent interest. A reverse handle flexes the limbs less compared to a regular straight grip for a given draw length.  That, too, generally means a bit less performance. A reverse handle can help accommodate a very long draw by reducing stress on the limbs.

Not talking big differences here, but in a Hill bow, I think some backset in the limbs is the best design.  Gives the best performance, and any differences in draw smoothness are negligible and probably not noticeable by most.  Good luck.

[ChuckC]

It gets a bit addicting doesn't it !  Ari, I know Jerry (Orion) and tend to agree with his views.  He has been there and done a lot.  I agree with his post above as well.

Besides..as he suggested, you will probably get another later !   Addicting !

[Ray Lyon]

45# string follow and reverse handle would make an extremely pleasant shooting bow.

There is a 38 at 26" cheetah on my bow rack that has put a cedar arrow with either a Hunters Head or a 140 Hill either completely through or on the ground past the deer it has killed.   I would say say that if want to shoot one of those bison you may want more than that.   As I understand they say that the reverse handle does not quite have the cast of their standard backset bows.  For deer 45 would be plenty.

[Sam McMichael]

I have been shooting Hill bows for a long time now, and like them a whole lot. I have 2 Wesley Specials at 65#, but I don't shoot them much as my shoulder is still not totally up to par following shoulder surgery. For several years, I hunted with my 55# Cheetah, which is a great bow. My 50# Big Five doesn't get a whole lot of use, because I bought 2 Northern Mist Sheltons, both at 53#. These are my current go to bows for this year. However, when I started back shooting after my surgery, I was not sure if I could use my 53# bows this year, so I did my rehab with my 40# Cheetah.

I was totally sure that this bow is adequate for my deer hunting. It is plenty powerful (even though I am a proponent of heavy bows)to handle all the hunting I am likely to do. If 40# is what you want to shoot, you can do so with complete confidence that it will shoot sweetly and effectively. Go for it!

At my draw it seems that a lighter Hill style bow will shoot a wider span of spines than a super heavy bow.  As an example, my 85, 89, and 96 longbows did not like spines to their pull weight, even though I was drawing all of the 27" bop arrows with 160 grain Hill heads the same, pulling until the broad head touched my index finger.  While with the lighter Hill bows pulling the 27" bop broad heads to my finger with same head weight, 160 pound Hill heads, I can go five or ten pounds over spine and still get the arrow flying on its sighted line.  Also, if one is shooting 9 or 10 grains per pound the arrow speed is about the same.   Byron Fergusson calls that heavy bow thing the point of diminishing returns.   To be absolutely honest, I do not believe that i gained a thing, ever going over  55 pounds for the way I hunt and what I hunt.   A straight flying Surewood with a Grizzly up front is a very deadly thing out of any legal hunting weight Hill bow.  Our group has shot dozens of deer with them.

[Ari_Bonn]

Thank you guys I really appreciate it. I think ill get a HH cheetah with a reverse handle. Maybe later down the road ill get a jd berry or a northern mist.

[ron w]

I have a 2 pc Wesley Special 45#@28" and I draw 29". I would hunt almost anything with that bow with wood arrows and a 2 blade head.    

You will find it very difficult to impossible to torque the grip on a reverse Hill.  My first Hill was a reverse Tembo, 19wayback something or other, Schulz build.   My current accuracy standard is a reverse grip that 53@26 Berry Morningstar.  I shoot 1918s 27" bop with 160 original Grizzlies out of it.   Some may argue, but I am pretty certain it is enough for elk.

[RC]

I killed 6 deer and 8 hogs one year with a Hill style string follow of my own build. It was 45ish at 27. I shot 550 grain arrows and Grizzly and Ace heads. Pass throughs on all but one. RC

 

[Ray Lyon]

RC is registered with the CIA AND FBI however he's correct that that combo is very lethal. Love Grizzly heads, wood arrows and hill style bows!

[Shadowhnter]

I just realized,  I may be a hill style lover, and never knew it....

[damascusdave]

With the string materials we have available today draw weight is only a part of the formula...go with a reverse handle and a bit of string follow to make for a comfortable shooting bow and then add a string made with BCY-X, Fury or Rhino to bump up the performance...and as always practice to hit right where you are looking and use proven sharp broadheads...lots of game killed every year with selfbows that generate relatively low energy levels

DDave

[Longbow1415]

Where about in Canada are you? I know it's a big country, but if you are relatively close to me, you could see some John Schulz string follow longbows, and even a reverse handle model I have. PM me

[jhk1]

Just my 2 cents-- if I were ordering a reverse-handle Hill-style around 40-45#@28", I'd go with backset instead of string-follow.  You'll get a little better performance (speed with the backset limbs, which I think is nice to have with a bow in this weight range (since if you're shooting wood arrows, you'll likely be shooting at least 11-12 gpp arrows).

Another thing to think about when choosing between string-follow and backset limbs: string-follow limbs have less early draw weight, and build draw weight at a higher rate throughout the draw cycle (especially at the end of the draw cycle) than backset limbs do.  The backset limbs will have more early draw weight, and will tend to feel slightly smoother at the end of the draw cycle.  For example, a 50#@28" string-follow bow might gain 3# per inch at the end of the draw cycle, whereas a similar 50#@28" backset bow might gain 2.5# per inch at the end of the draw cycle.

It's all personal preference-- some guys like the draw feel of string-follow bows, and other like the draw feel of backset bows.