Nigel, the bear Alaskan 59/60 halloween bows are really like a modern R/D long bow. They have somewhat narrow limbs and while they may not be the fastest bow they are no slouch either.Very light in the hand too. Most will be lower draw weight but i have seen them in 50 - 55 pounds too. The riser wood is usually just a plain straight grained wood of some kind, i think it may be walnut but not sure. Whenever i have a group over to the house to shoot bows my Alaskan is always the one most of the guys end up likeing to shoot the most.The shelf are not cut real deep but are as deep as most any D shaped long bow and are closer to center shot than most D shape long bows.Another great thing is you can pick them up at very good prices. You really cant go wrong with the Alaskan.