ILF longbows and long draws

[Jeremy]

Yeah, another ILF thread! LOL!

My quest for "the one" bow lead me somewhere I didn't expect to go - a recurve!  The no-tools ILF bows have had me wondering if I might be able to find a longbow that fit my needs (OK, wants) though.

I looked at the Pinnacle longbow two (3?) years ago and on the recommendation of a few people I trust I didn't get one.  A few years, a riser redesign and a few really good reviews later I order one.  It arrived today (really fast shipping from TT!)

I don't have many issues with the riser and the ones I have can be solved with a rasp and a few minutes.  The limbs... they're a bit rough, especially with my 30+" draw.  The last two inches aren't pleasant.

Is a 64" longbow that's smooth out past 30" on the 19" riser a pipe dream?  Is my no-tools needed t/d destined to be a recurve?

[Jeremy]

The TT is about 28" fade to fade.  That's not a whole lot of limb left to make my draw.  How do some of the other limbs compare?

[trashwood]

Ooooo     64"-19" = 45"  that is 22.5 inches  max of working limbs to soak up 30+ inches. that seems like a little doing a whole lot.  

if you had a 7.5" BH, that would leave (30.5" draw) 23" more inches for the 22.5" limbs to move.  that seems like a lot to me

rusty

[wihill]

Not to hijack your thread at all, Jeremy, but your question is at the heart of something I've been worried about for a while -

ILF limbs come in three sizes, and it seems that most of the limbs out there used in "hunting" bows, are the ILF Shorts.

With what Rusty just wrote, it would make more sense to use a longer limb for those with a longer draw - but in order for that to happen the riser has to shrink.  A 19" riser with shorts = 64", and a 15" riser with longs would be the same at 64".  I'd imagine that the long limbs would respond better to the longer draw, just because the working area would increase.

In my mind, though, there has to be a problem -

The long limbs for ILF were never really designed to be run on such a small/short riser.  I would guess that the shortened geometry would cause stresses not normally seen and lead to a shorted lifespan on the limbs.

Am I crazy in my thinking?

[Jeremy]

A 19" riser with the Longs make a 64" bow.  Riser length is supposed to be the distance between the bolts + 5" (and that's what this riser is).

These limbs were designed to be on this riser, but I understand your point with many of the ILF limbs.  Dryad and Morrison both offer "extra long" limbs, so dropping to a 15 or 17" riser brings the length back in the 62-64" range.

The ILF system seems to work really well and I like the idea of being able to pick up a set of limbs easily if something goes wrong while traveling to a hunt, but if I can't get what I want from any of the stock Long limbs I'm right back where I am with the Bear T/D - searching for used limbs if something goes wrong.

The Bear T/D is also 28" fade to fade and 64" with the #3 limbs - it handles my draw well (the Rose Oak limbs do) and fits the bill for a no-tools t/d.  I think putting the Long recurve limbs on this riser will work as well, but it's still a recurve!    
I'm killing time until my new set of #3 limbs come from Brandon and figured I was doing myself a disservice not looking into the ILF bows.  I think I'll swap these longbow limbs with some recurve limbs and see what I get.  The F/D curves look a little better, but I was really hoping with the longbow would work with the limbs backed all the way out.

[Lenny Stankowitz]

Originally posted by wihill:
ILF limbs come in three sizes, and it seems that most of the limbs out there used in "hunting" bows, are the ILF Shorts.

Might just be me, but I rarely see shorts being used.  Mostly mediums and some longs.

[James on laptop]

I hunt with shorts if the riser is 21" or more.I use longs in any of the 17" risers.Don't want any riser shorter than 17" unless someone makes longer limbs for it.I only draw 27" and would not think of useing shorts if drawning 30". jmho

[wisconsin wood butcher]

i have aTT pinn.2 and put dryad XL longbow limbs 52@30 on my scale they're 50 it ended up 66"s long. the bow is very smooth iwould and most likely will get longs or med. for hunting
the limbs are great on a TT riser with the one piece ILF bolt and Dryad limbs you need to  grind off the "washer" in order for the slightly thicker Drayad  limb butt to fit right. my piont is the TT limbs are sluggish compared to Dryad and worth grinding off stuff on the TT riser they are a nice match. Im sending pics to mike when i figure out how so he can share with others

[Jeremy]

Gonna try one more thing before swapping these limbs out.  The recommended brace range is a ridiculous 8.5-9"... I'm gonna drop that down in the 7-7.5" range and see what I get.  That should reduce the string angle at the tips to get another 1-2" of smooth draw.  Don't know what I'll get for noise, but it's worth a try.  I don't really see why the brace range is so high anyway?

[Bob Morrison]

We have 6 different longbow ILF limbs that go from 52" on our Mini 13 up to 68" on our 19" Risers. We also have metal risers in 13" and 15" ILF, the longbow limbs have been out for almost 3 years now.

[Jeremy]

Well, I posted an extensive review on the Pinnacle II longbow, which was then deleted   :confused:        
So here's an abreviated one.
If you have a long draw or are unwilling/unable to 'fix' the limb tips, don't bother with the limbs.  The f/d curve on mine didn't come close to matching what Pete Ward has on his site... the last inch was somewhere in the neighborhood of 4#/in.  So consistency...?
I was pleased with the riser and it probably would have worked out great with Long recurve limbs, but I was chasing a 64" ILF longbow.  For the price, it's a nice riser.
If you have a long draw and want a sub-64" ILF longbow, go with a 15" riser and some XXL limbs.... Morrison (Bowbldr) still has some in his clearance sales and you know you're getting good stuff when you buy from Bob - he's one of the few bowyers whose work I can't find fault with (I don't own and have not owned any, but shot, handled and lusted after lots of his bows).

[vermonster13]

You can get extra longs from Black Swan also. You get a 64" bow on a 17" riser and they are good out to at least 32"