Where Where The Longbows

[randy grider]

Longbows were fazed out in the '50's, after fiberglass backed recurves came in to being. The fiberglass backings allowed for radically reflexed limbs, meaning more speed,smoother draw, eliminated handshock, and permitted a much shorter handier bow for hunting. Longbows came back into the picture when some started getting tired of the technology compounds, and went back, even farther back than before. The simplicity is an attraction, and in my opinion theres no better hunting weapon.

[GreyGoose]

In my little backwater in the 1970's recurves were the only choice unless you made your own.  It was funny, because the few books I could get my hands on at the library were older, and all referred to longbows as the norm.

[ti-guy]

Interesting thread.TBM advertizers did'nt have websites when the magazine was launched.Could TBM+internet have helped for the increasing popularity of the longbow? On a certain level I guess...

[randy grider]

there is no doubt TBM is responsible for the resurgence of Trad Archery. It got me back in it, and it was the only publication to speak of.

[JackReid]

I ordered my first long bow from Ben Pearson about 1941.  It was hickory, 60 inches long and 30 #.  His catalog had almost all long bows in hickory, osage and I believe some yew.  All were long bows with the exception he offered a bow with the last two or so inches in a sharp recurve. At that time He offered Howard Hill arrows.  I later bought a 60# hickory bow that I never could draw. At that time He was located in Pine Bluff, Ark.  He offered a broad head of which I still have two that if identical to the rib teck.

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by randy grider:
there is no doubt TBM is responsible for the resurgence of Trad Archery. It got me back in it, and it was the only publication to speak of.

Just prior to TBM appearing there was a magazine called "Traditional Bowhunter" (Special Issues) and Traditional Archery" published by Harvey and CarolAnn Overshiner.  I subscribed to this until Harvey's health issues and it was the only source I had for traditional "current" issues.  

Not nearly as nice a format as TBM but the vendor ads and "How To" articles were invaluable.

I was shooting a Dick Palmer longbow at the time.

[David Mitchell]

One of the greatest boosters to the revival of what we now call "traditional archery" was Fred Asbell.  Fred was hunting editor of Bowhunter magazine and hunted with a recurve.  I recall back when all the major companies were dropping trad bows from their lines that it looked like they were a thing of the past.  Then I noticed an ad from Fred in Bowhunter mag for his Bighorn recurve--the Grand Slam.  I sent for info and received a single photo copied page about the bow with a pencil drawing of the bow profile--back before all the neato techie stuff, don't you know.  The bow could be had for $150!  Fred had an enormous impact on archery and bowhunting back then.  I'm not sure how aware most guys who have come on board in the last 20 years realize the debt we owe to G. Fred.  He stuck his neck out back when most folks figured he was just way behind the times.  Now there are many making and promoting the traditional way of archery--back in the day it was Fred and a handful of others.  Larry Bamford was another hunting editor at Bowhunter (this was well before TBM came along) who hunted with his Phil Grable recurve--later marketed as the Archery 2000 SST--by the way, a metal risered bow with a real skinny, broomstick sort of grip.  I still remember how unusual it was to see those bows in Bowhunter when most of the entire bowhunting clan had gone off after the siren song of the compound. I hope newer guys to our revived sport learn to appreciate what G. Fred did for us.  

[David Mitchell]

Another shot of a Longbow magazine cover.  Recognize anybody?