Longbow grip question

[hardtimes]

I removed the shur-grips from my Widows the other day and wiped them all down. This got me to thinking. Why do longbows have the leather, or in my case shur-grip rubber wraps on them? I am guessing its because they dont really have a "locator" grip like most recurves, but don't know.

I did not get the chance to yet but I am going to try them without the grip wraps. I really like seeing risers on these bows. If it does not work out I may add some leather.

Anyone else out there shooting a longbow with no grip wrap?

Anyway, just kind of thinking out loud.
Ray

[Brianlocal3]

For me persoanally I think longbows just "look right" with the leather. Sorry but for me it's an aesthetics thing really, never actually tried one without the leather

[JRY309]

Not all longbows have a leather grips on them,you can have the bowyer not put a grip on your bow if you want.But for me I like a leather grip,even more then a shur-grip.And it not because of the grip style,leather grip doesn't feel slippery even when they get wet.

[RedStag5728]

Currently I am shooting my longbow without a grip wrap or leather. I am planning on eventually getting a leather wrap or grip for it though as it will help me grip the bow easier and for aesthetic purposes.

My longbow luckily has a locator grip so my hand naturally falls in the right spot every time, but I imagine when hunting in damp weather my hand could slide, and also a leather wrap will help protect the handle.

I as well like the look of my riser, so I thought about going with 3rivers leather bow saddle to get the best of both worlds.

[Orion]

I agree with JRY.  Leather doesn't get slippery like an uncovered grip.  Also, a lot of longbow risers are quite slender.  A leather grip can help fill them out.  It's amazing how a 3/32 thickness of leather wrapped around the entire handle can affect the feel. Also, as Brian points out, they just look cool.  

[Ric O'Shay]

Widows, like a lot of the R/D longbows, have a much more pronounced locator grip than any Hill style longbow. Being much wider and similar to a recurve, this allows your hand to repeatedly slide into the same spot. So with this type of handle, leather is not really necessary. Years ago the longbow did not have a cut in or arrow rest. You either shot off your hand or applied a piece of leather to the grip for the arrow. Eventually a narrow shelf developed on the longbow coupled with a leather wedge or extension to help hold the arrow on the shelf. In the warmer climates, leather was necessary to counter act the slipping affect of the "sweaty hands syndrome". That is, to keep the hand in place and not slide off when drawn and allow the bow to hit you between your eyes. Many of the used Hill style longbows that you find in the Classified Section display the stained leather grip typical of the sweaty hand syndrome.    

[damascusdave]

Leather is nice but I think beavertail is better...and lots of recurves have leather grips just as lots of longbows do not...part of the mystique of the 1960 Kodiak is that was the last year that Bear put a leather grip on the Kodiak...other options for a rougher grip surface are checkering and stippling

DDave

[Dave Lay]

i have always added a leather grip to my longbows, usually to the dismay of the bow builder, for covering up his fine wood work, but i just like the feel of leather vs bare wood....

[hardtimes]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I am going to give them a try bare, but more than likely end up with some sort of leather on there. I dont care for the shur-grip too much. I am accustom to shooting my spirit logbow with a leather wrap.