Advice needed on weight reduction (Not me! lol. My Green Mountain Longbow)

[Moots]

I recently bought a Green Mountain Longbow.  66", 56# @ 28"; Bolivian Rosewood Riser, Yew limbs.  Please see pictures below.

I bought the bow knowing that it is too heavy for me.  I just love the lines of this bow, and when I first shot it, it just felt right.  Except that the draw weight is probably 8 pounds too heavy for me.

1.  Is it possible to reduce 8 pounds on a longbow like this without screwing up the shooting characteristics?

2. If this is possible, where would you send this bow?  I've heard of The Bow Hospital - Jim Belcher (but I don't think he owns it anymore).  

I don't have a lot into this bow.  And getting it reduced in  weight and refinished would kind of be a labor of love.

Any thoughts?  Thank you!

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bear Heart]

I think eight is a bit much

[dnovo]

8 is probably more than recommended. I would say take off about 3-4 # and then send the bow to me.!!!!!

[damascusdave]

The first thing to consider is that you appear to be a healthy individual who is into cycling so not horribly out of shape...I am pretty much out of shape and over 6 years older than you and I can shoot 56 pounds all day long...my current project is a bow that draws over 65...so I believe with some work and belief in your abilities you can learn to shoot that bow the way it is...the second thing is the bow is 66 inches long with yew limbs which to me should be worth close to 5 pounds in terms of feel to start with...finally, any good bowyer would be able to reduce the weight of those limbs easily using a technique called "trapping", which is essentially changing the cross section of the limbs from a rectangle to a trapezoid...just make some calls and see who in your area has the time and willingness to do that if you really feel it is too much for you...and you are right about the fact that is one gorgeous bow

DDave

[arrow flynn]

56 lbs is not a lot of weight if you have healthy shoulders. You could work up to that weight. It seems heavy now but if you are determined that Is a nice poundage to hunt with.however you definitely could take some weight off.

[Moots]

Excellent thoughts here.  My draw length is 30 1/2", so I am pulling a bit more weight.

Vince at Mohawk bows is near by.  I don't know if he would be willing to do this.  Are there other bowyers you might recommend to reduce weight on this bow?

[pamike]

John Rafferty at bow hospital took care of me. Great work. I only asked for 5#'s and he nailed that for me. Highly recommended.

[Moots]

Hey thanks Mike!

Rob

[T Sunstone]

Jim Neaves of Centaur archery reduced the weight on a friends bow I think 5 or 6 #.  I was so impressed with his work I had him refinish my Pronghorn and apply snake skins.  Fast too, he said 2 weeks and 2 weeks it was.

[damascusdave]

You are not pulling a bit more weight at 30.5 inches...you could be pulling as much as 7 or 8 more pounds of weight depending on the force draw curve of that bow...I am currently shooting a bow that is somewhere around 65 pounds at 28 inches and I can only draw it about 28 inches right now I think because it am not standing beside myself to see where it is just before I release...I like to say my draw length is 30 inches because that is a nice round number...in fact I can draw a 45 to 50 pound bow with my index finger in the corner of my mouth to right about 31 inches...so what is my actual draw length...I like the way Bert Frelink puts it...your draw length with a stickbow is whatever feels good to you at the moment...read Glenn St. Charles book "Billets to Bows"...those old guys were so unsophisticated in the days before internet coaching that they actually believed they could shoot things without coming to full draw with a multi-point anchor...even that old Bear fellow was known to draw funny at times...I would guess today if he was on here we could mess his shooting up rather quickly with well meaning advice...what I am saying is do not be afraid to short stroke that bow for a while in order to build up to it...sure if you start spraying arrows all over the country side you are probably going to mess up all your shooting...if on the other hand you find, like I do, that you tend to shoot a lot of weight more consistently then just go for it...you may be surprised

DDave

[Fletcher]

Jim Duclos built a very good bow, but as you will notice, it definitely was not "overbuilt".  Even five pounds might be a stretch.

[Moots]

I can pull that bow to my draw length probably 5 to 10 times, and shoot fairly accurately, but after that, my draw starts to shorten and my accuracy falls off -- just too much weight.

I am now thinking that if I could even take 5 pounds off that bow that it could make a big difference for me, and I think this bow might be worth the effort and expense.  It really is a great shooting bow!

[joe vt]

I had Dan at Toelke reduce weight off his Lynx model for me. He trapped the belly limbs just like DDave explained. Excellant work!! I don't know if he touches bows not made by myself.


Green Mountain Longbows are awesome. The amount of weight coming off will depend on the glass thickness Jim used during the build; and how much trapping that can be done.


Vince makes a simular design longbow. Since he lives close by I would bring the longbow to him and get his opinion. He may also be willing to work on it......worth getting in contact with him.

[Moots]

Thank you for all of the great information and advice.

A number of people have cautioned me against reducing weight on a finished bow, and I have decided NOT to reduce the weight on this bow.  This is a fine shooting bow, and I simply don't want to risk ruining it.  I will try to adjust to the weight, and if I can't, I will sell it at a very fair price to someone who will appreciate shooting a Green Mountain Longbow.

Thanks!

Rob