Thinking about a horse bow. Need input

[Archer1019]

I've been intrigued by the Asian horse style bows and may consider purchasing one but I need some input and sage advice from those who remember what it was like starting out with one.

What are the do's and dont's? Needs and no needs?
Ideas on a good entry level bow for my 30" draw?

Thanks

[iohkus]

I have no experience with one, but I am interested in them and have researched them quite a bit. Check out the Kaya made ones ...........
   http://www.koreanbow.com/shop/index.php?id_category=18&controller=category     which are Korean bows, or the Cinnabar bows .......http://www.cinnabarbow.com/marinerbows/index.html        which are Chinese.   Most everyone will advise you to start with a very light weight bow if you are going to shoot with a thumb ring.

[Pat B]

Are you talking about an all natural, origin style Asiatic Horn bow or a FG reproduction?
 James Parker(huntworthyproductions)makes authentic replicas and reproduction horn bows and would be a good person to talk to. You can also look up ATARN, the online Asiatic Horn Bow group.

[Archer1019]

I'm thinking something like the Lynx 2 that 3R sells or something similar.

[nineworlds9]

Fingers or thumbring??

[old_goat2]

Do you have a horse?

[Archer1019]

I'm more looking for what types of bows to avoid and which are suitable for a beginner.

[trasher]

I've no practical knowledge with Horse Bows, but a good buddy said: at the beginning, the KTB with a very light wight is realy good to learn thumbshooting.
He is shooting a cinnabarbow and I know a lot of people here over the puddle how says cinnabarbow has a good value for money.

There is a good Webpage about Thumbshooting but it is only in German.


Check it out if interested:    Thumbarchery

Take care
Andy

[nineworlds9]

For beginner and cheap:  Bearpaw/Bodnik Horsebow Express.  If you want something more authentic and a shooter but at higher cost- Hwarang.  If you want something really special:  Saluki, period.

[yononindo]

matnjoe

welcome to thumb ring archery style

Stay away from those cheap fiberglass bows ... they kick like a mule and are not worth the money in my opinion

a good entry level bow would be a kaya
wether it will be the wind fighter, ktb or a newer model like the nomad

you will get quite a lot of bow for your money

  here´s a video of me shooting a kaya Nomad bow with thumb ring style  

some pics

 
 
 

draw length is 32.5 inches

be warned here ...

as with every archery style .... form is very imported

shooting these bows with a thumb ring will be very difficult to master in the beginning ....

[nineworlds9]

Forgot about the Windfighter.  Also nice to start with.  Daniel I love that arm guard!  Very slick!

[Archer1019]

Thanks Daniel. Thats,the kind of info I was after.  I'm looking not at this necessairly being a hunting bow but something new to try and spend the time learning it.

[Nativestranger]

I agree with the above avoid the solid fibreglass limb bows. They perform poorly and have alot string slap and vibrations. The second thing to avoid with these bows is to overbow yourself.   Because of the lightweight risers and having no arrow shelf, Your shooting form is quite critical with all of these bows. If you are comfortable with  50# 3 pcs recurve, I would suggest start out with a 40# horsebow.

The best I have have tried and the one I currently have is Grozer biocomposite Scythian bow. Decent performance not the fastest but probably the sweetest shooting bow I ever shot. Really no hand shock and whisper quiet.
A close second favorite would be Grozer biocomposite Assyrian. This one is quite a bit faster and can be drawn smoothly past 30" without stack. But it's a bit noisier. Perhaps due to the horn and sinew construction both bows are surprisingly free from string slap.

Besides the previously mentioned Kaya and Cinnabar bows also take a good look at Akosbow
   http://akosbow.com/  
their Turkish model is a great performer and they have an interesting Tarim model.

and elitebogen
   http://elite-bogen.com/Einkaufen/Bogen  
They make great looking laminated Turkish and Hungarian models as well as true horn composite bows.

[2fletch]

I have owned and shot several horsebows in the Asian style with no shelf and also one made by Suluki. It was a bow with the limbs of a horsebow, but with a shelf for Western style shooting without a thumb ring.

Shooting with a thumb ring is very awkward for Western style shooters. You are shooting with the arrow on the opposite side of the bow, as well as getting use to the thumb ring. I tried for several months to shoot Asian syle before going to the Suluki bow. Horse bows are usually very  fast, but (for me) just require to much readjusting. You would need to dedicate a lot of time and practice to make the change.