Longbow materials advice needed

[The Huntress]

Hi gang,
I'm helping my hunting buddy shop for a new modern traditional longbow and I need some input. We've looked at production line bows like the Martin Bamboo Viper, but now are looking at customs. Here is the possibles list at present:

*Tomahawk Woodland Hunter Diamond Series (or standard series...not sure if it's worth the extra $$$ for the diamond)
*Hummingbird Bowie
*Mohawk Standard

Now I know you all have your favorite bows, but what I really want input about is the materials, specifically, limb cores and risers.

For the three bows we're looking at, the limb cores are:

Red elm
Maple actionwood
Carbon
actionboo/bamboo/red cedar/red elm/osage

The risers are:

cocobolo, bacote, osage, zebrawood
maple
cocobolo with black phenolic accents
pau-ferra

I'm more of a primitive archer, and I know about the goodness of yew, hickory and osage. Can anyone give me some insights about what all these exotic materials do for a bow?

FYI:

Draw length=30"
Desired draw weight=53-56# at 30"
Desired length=64"
Budget $500-600 preferably
Goal=eastern whitetail hunting w/ some target shooting as well
Experience level=expert w/ compound, new to trad archery

Thanks in advance for your input!

[hawk4570]

bamboo for the limbs ( light and fast )

[Bjorn]

Bamboo is a good limb core choice............Yew is just as good if not better. Cocobolo makes a beautiful riser, so does Pau Ferra.
The draw weight you are looking at is a lot for someone getting into trad. I would suggest something in the 40-45# area and move up later. Perhaps the first bow could be from the classifieds?

[Rob DiStefano]

hey jan, you know my opinion already - mohawk!  :D

[straitera]

Bamboo is in a league of its own. Offset w/dark wood riser always looks good. Of those mentioned the only one I know is the Mohawk. Just flip a coin if it's too close to call. Powerhouse bows there. Suggest clear glass front & back.

[Fletcher]

Core wood doesn't make that much difference, but the lighter woods probably make a slightly quicker bow.  Red cedar is one of my favorites, both for looks and shooting; goes really well with an osage riser.  Red Elm makes a great core wood and is really tough as well as a nice shooter and performer.  Osage is probably my favorite riser wood, as I prefer American woods in my bows, but it really does make a good riser and you aren't likely to break it.

There is a nice Mowhawk in the classifieds right now.

[The Huntress]

Thanks for the input, gang. I think my buddy is getting the Tomahawk with carbon limb cores.