I wanted to try a longbow after shooting recurves. I first bought a Bear Montana. It was 50# and seemed to pull heavier than that. It also was a bit hard in the hand and didn't have a very nice grip. So I tried a Martin Savannah 50# at Cabelas and it was nice to shoot but pricey. A lot nice finished and much smoother than the Montana. Lucky for me, I took a little while and was able to buy a used Martin Vision for $200 with the original bowsock and in very nice condition, very similar to the Savannah but now discontinued. 50#. It has a nicer grip than the Savannah for me since it's partway between the longbow grip and partway between the recurve grip. It's a locator grip which makes it easy to hold and you hold it the same all the time. Nice reflex deflex and shoots faster than the Savannah. Shoots very fast generally speaking. Draws and shoots nicer than the Montana. Once again in my opinion. The newer bows had a reinforced nock (you can tell because there is a layer of black glass under the wood) which allows for a fast flight string. I got one to replace the string it came with which was a flemish and sort of getting worn, and it really pepped things up. I don't regret trying a longbow. It took some searching. I would be willing to invest in a custom bow now that I would know what I wanted. But I like this Vision so much I don't think that will happen for a while. Good luck with the search.
sam