HH bug got me ... Part One!

[khardrunner]

Now we need to figure out who had them made and what tom-tom means

[Mike Mongelli]

Originally posted by kestimator:
Yeh Mike's looked a tad prettier than I remembered "mine".....but "our" Tom-Tom's real beauty was in the sweet draw and shooting department........man that hurts to type that....

Mine is plenty sweet in the shooting department too! No plans of letting this one go anytime soon.

[khardrunner]

Apparently he knew how to order them!

[akbowbender]

BCWV: It's been a while since you posted the photos of the bow and quiver you made, so I figured I better say something about it now:  both look great. I wish I had the skills to do such nice work!!

Did your Shelton get displaced from the rack?

[BCWV]

Thanks Chuck.
 No! The Shelton still has it's spot. As a matter of fact I won 3rd place in our indoor with it Sunday. It's still my sweetheart.

 I want to try to build a string follow hill style some time. There's no way I can build one as nice as Steve's Shelton. I don't have that many years left.

[akbowbender]

Brad: Congrats on you third place finish,

I got my Classic with the intention of shooting in (and winning!) the State Indoor this year. Didn't feel like I was far enough along in my shooting to tackle that this year.

 I'm starting to try and build up muscles a bit so I can shoot the same bow to kill a moose and shoot the tournament. The moose this fall, and the tournament next winter.

[BCWV]

Yep, I shoot my hunting bows anytime I shoot any type of target shoot. Of course, the shoots I go to are very informal. It's still fun to shoot that Shelton and wooden arrows and give the metal riser and carbon arrow guys a run for their money.

 Good luck with that Classic on both the moose hunt and tournament.

 Brad

[BCWV]

Sorry, I meant to edit my spelling and quoted myself instead. So I had to delete.

[Sixgun]

Ok guys. How important is grip depth to consistency? My bow had a depth of 1 7/8" on the handle. I taped a few pieces of cardboard to the back of the grip. Total grip depth is now 2 1/8". It just seems like I shoot more consistent now.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Ray

[khardrunner]

depth is personal preference. find something comfortable to you. I like larger grips with a bit of a wedge to them.

[Overspined]

I agree with that Khard, a little deeper with the wedge. I have a medium size hand. Such a good feel. That's a great idea playing with a temporary material for depth adjustments. I usually add/skive some leather, but cardboard is a good place to start.

On the opposite spectrum, the reverse handle grip is equally nice. Naturally comfy and easy to be consistent with. Again, a decent circumference is my preference.  

Maybe a bit larger size helps to keep from squeezing the grip and torquing it as much.

[MT Longbow]

Hey guys, I'm going to receive my Miller old Tom in a few months and I would love to see some pics of those who have them.

I'm getting brown on brown glass, 75@28 , 68 inch , string follow.

Love to hear about performance also.

Thank you for making the time go by easier!

[Ralphie]

Hey Patrick,
 
 
 

45#@28 68" Brown glass, belly and back.Myrtle riser, (light as a feather!), B-50 string. It had fast flight on, but it's a lot sweeter with B-50.
The bow?   ... ;
It does what I want it to.
A great bow.
I hesitate to compare it to any of my other Millers, an Expedition, and a Sage. They are all equal in my mind. The only thing that varies is me. My form, release, etc is not perfect, so sometimes I do better than other times.
The arrows I use make differences.
All of Miller's bows have strong personalties. David has been making bows a long time. He is not doing it part time, and has studied with the best.
When I am going to the range, whatever bow I take is fine.
All in all .... think harem ....
 When I am with the Sage, I cant remember the Old Tom, and when I am with the Expedition ... the same.
again think harem.

Congratulations !
You will love the Old Tom.
Miller told me he modeled the Old Tom, on the bow Schulz uses in his "Hit 'em like Howard Hill" video.
You are as lucky as I am ... maybe luckier ....
ralph

[mikebiz]

Here's my "Old Tom", Patrick.  Certainly not the stunner that Ralph's is with that curly myrtle.  Plain Jane myrtle on this one, brown glass back and belly.  64", 40@28, string follow.  

Ralph and I have spoken about his bows and both agree that when you build these bows everyday the practice pays off.  I feel that David Miller is at the top of the class when it comes to crafting American Semi-longbows.  He may share that spot with some others builders, but I have yet to see and shoot any bow that surpasses his creations.  You will love yours.  Good luck with it.  

     

Hey Ralph.  If you ever intend to sell your "Old Tom" I'm claiming top spot on the list.    So gorgeous.

[two4hooking]

I have a newer Wesley with the handle a hair under 2" deep and an older Big five with a 2 1/4 inch deep handle.  I have been playing with my grip lately and I notice the fuller handle seems to induce less torque for me when I grip it with the hand fully around the grip like Pics of Howard.  The Wesley still shoots great but to me is easier to torque and I have to be more conscious of it.

[Rob DiStefano]

"caramelized" bamboo/cane limb cores

fwiw - just got off the phone with craig about this matter and he sez ... he does not heat temper or stain the "caramelized" limb cores, they come that way (heat tempered, not stained) from his offshore vendor (japanese cane, as howard used - not "action-boo").

[Bud B.]

Thanks Rob.....and Craig.

[ArrowPlane]

My goodness, the shine on Ralph's bow is amazing!  Totally gorgeous.  Look at the way it reflects the surface of the table...  Is that a special-order high gloss finish, or the standard David puts on all his bows?

I was struggling over whether to order an actual Hill or a Northern Mist, and the Hill won out, so I was thinking Mist next, but after seeing these, my next might have to be a Miller.  That wait time is killer, but it seems to come with good reason.

Lovely bows, both.

[tradlongbow]

Originally posted by tradlongbow:
 

Originally posted by sunset hill:
So which way does Craig carmelize?  Two methods said as per Craig....

I just talked to Craig on the phone, he does not stain the bamboo, it's heat treated when he buys it. I remember him telling me this several years ago when I bought mine. Stain bamboo will fade in the sun, the heat treated will is carmelized through out the bamboo. [/b]

Rob-

I know it's been a couple years since I bought my Big 5 with carmelized bamboo limbs but I had called Craig last week to clarify that it is heat tempered.

I'm going on almost 3 years of shooting this bow. The only thing I've done was change the grip material a couple times and the string.

[tradlongbow]

This is my carmelized bamboo Big 5 with high gloss finish, and the arrows I made for the Hill Hog Hunt.