Howard Gamemaster Jet -Update Pg2

[Burnsie]

I'm on the look out for a Gamemaster Jet.  Can those of you in the know share any information you may have on them.  Were they all 66", seems like all the ones I have seen were 66.  Were the fronts of the bows always white glass?  Seems like most of them were in heavier weights as well.  Any and all relevant information is appreciated.

UPDATE - had two Jets show up on the classifieds over on the other site, and I was fortunate enough to snatch them up. See pic and info on page 2.

[dirtguy]

After reading about them and finding that I like longer bows, I looked for one for a while.  I decided that they don't actually exist, they are like the holy grail, you can spend you life looking and never find even one.

Although, one guy did say he would trade his to me for a unicorn.

[Kyle Lancaster]

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=070616#000000

They are the "bomb" and will hold their own with most of the "top end" bows made today. He did make them in lower weights. They did have white glass on the face and black on the back.

do a search on TradGang and you'll find alot.

Good luck,
Kyle

[Ryan Rothhaar]

All Jets are 66 inches, all black and white, all have rosewood and vermillion riser, hard maple limbs.  They are the Cadillac'o'bows, Jack was an exceptional bowyer and designed a bow that is really something.  Its a shame folks are scared of longer bows in general.... his 66 inch design with a long riser, relatively short working limbs, and the Howard hooked recurve is phenomenal.  I got the bug a few years back and they do exist....I ended up with 5, marked 51, 53, 55, 59, 60 lb.  My 55 lb bow is unshot.  These bows will live in my house as long as I do.

They are 3 lb heavier than marked at 28 due to the way Jack weighed them. We've measured several and they pick up at or just below 1.5 lb per inch past 28...yep, that smooth.  I've killed a bunch of stuff with mine, many posted on here. Kelly Peterson, who hangs around here some, is the world expert on Jacks bows.

R

[Sawpilot 75]

That is one bow I have always wanted. I don't even know where to begin to look.

[MnFn]

The Footed Shaft (sponsor here) had one about a year ago. Very nice condition as well. Maybe Terry knows where it went.

[Firstlight]

Love my 41#, 66" game master jet.  Will never sell it and it's my go to recurve.  

You can find them but it's rare.  

They should have a serial # indicating the date made.

I liked his feather rest that he used so much that I now use them on my longbow (69")

Don't fret the 66", it's never bothered me at all, even from a tree stand.   I'm biased to longer bows thou.

Very smooth bow to pull and shoots very well.

Good luck on your search, it is an exceptional bow.  

Kelly is the guy to talk to, he also keeps an inventory of all serial numbers for any Jet's he is made aware of, which is why I know mine was potentially the last one Mr. Howard ever made.

[Burnsie]

Originally posted by Ryan Rothhaar:
All Jets are 66 inches, all black and white, all have rosewood and vermillion riser, hard maple limbs.  They are the Cadillac'o'bows, Jack was an exceptional bowyer and designed a bow that is really something.  Its a shame folks are scared of longer bows in general.... his 66 inch design with a long riser, relatively short working limbs, and the Howard hooked recurve is phenomenal.  I got the bug a few years back and they do exist....I ended up with 5, marked 51, 53, 55, 59, 60 lb.  My 55 lb bow is unshot.  These bows will live in my house as long as I do.
They are 3 lb heavier than marked at 28 due to the way Jack weighed them. We've measured several and they pick up at or just below 1.5 lb per inch past 28...yep, that smooth.  I've killed a bunch of stuff with mine, many posted on here. Kelly Peterson, who hangs around here some, is the world expert on Jacks bows.

R

Thanks Ryan, I was hoping you would chime in. I'll keep my eyes open, if you are patient enough something will usually show up, just have to have the cash ready and prepared to pounce.

[Three Arrows]

I regretted my poor decision to sell the  Jet I owned.  It was the best shooting bow that I ever owned.  Yes, it was a bit long but it shot so smooth! The riser delaminated on mine and Jack passed away before I got a sent it back to him.  Those Jets were truly masterpieces.

[highcountry]

Most of them have white but a few I have are all black.  Those are my hunters.  

[Sixby]

I worked on a couple of them last year doing repairs and refinishing. Since I had a couple and could compare them with an old Howatt Hunter side by side and mike the limbs out both in profile and taper and composition I could tell no difference in the bows except for length and taper rate of the limbs. The two Jets had 0 taper in the laminations and the old Howatt had tapers in the limb. Actually I like the Howatt better and it is a much more available bow and a much better price. That is all Bovine Scatology aside and strictly from a bowyer perspective. Not putting the Jet down but giving an honest opinion.
They are both really great bows.
God bless, Steve

[cacciatore]

Thanks Steve for your review.

[Sixby]

Thanks and you are welcome,
One additional thing. The finest factory bow I have ever shot was an old Howatt Monterrey, This too was a 66 in bow with a wonderful rosewood riser. It was unbelieveably smooth and when chronographed with a brand new Brackenberry three piece. that was 55 lb. , the HOwatt being 52 lb , both bows pulled on a scale and both bows shot with same arrow and average of three shots the Howatt was not only three lbs lighter but 10 fps faster. I believe if one could find a Monterrey in good condition and in hunting weight that they might have more than a good substitute for the Jet.

God bless, Steve

[iohkus]

Most likely I will never see or handle a Jet, but I would like to add to Steve's high praise of the Howatts. I recently acquired and refinished a 58" 49#@28" Hi-Speed and am "blown away" with it's performance. This is my first and only Howatt and has immediately become my favorite bow!
   Not trying to hi-jack the thread, but I thought  I'd chime in whilst we were on the Howatts. Think I may look for a Monterrey!!

[iohkus]

I have some old brochure from Jack Howard which explains his method of building  his bows. I've kept this brochure because it's interesting in showing how meticulous Jack was. Without going into a lot of detail, I will simply give you the highlighted titles of the paragraphs:

HOW HANDLE RIGIDITY & GLUE LINE EFFECTS BOW EFFICIENCY

CONTROLLED LIMB RECOVERY

IMPORTANCE OF GLASS SPINE METHOD (He actually spined his limb glass)

IMPORTANCE OF WOOD TO GLASS RATIO

DRAW LENGTH -- LIMB FLEXIBILITY

GLASS SPINE SYSTEM

[Archie]

My dad was good friends with Jack Howard, and he was involved in this field test of the Gamemaster a long time ago...

Let's see if this will work...


 
 
 
 
 
 

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Yep, highcountry is right (he should be, he has a boatload of them                ).  There are a few black on black ones, I've heard special order or later in Jack's career when he was running out of higher wt white glass, not sure which, or maybe both.  One was on e8ay a while back, black on black, didn't sell at reserve.

Jack also sold a "Howard Hunting Bow" which were simply Howatt Hunters that he bought rough and finished himself as a lower cost option, they were 62 inch, like all howatt hunters.

He also made a couple or three versions of Gamemaster bows (not "jet").  As well as a target bow that is extremely rare.

I don't know about the comparison to limb profile on Hunters, I've compared limb profiles and observed significant differences, but I've only looked closely at maybe 10 howatt hunters in this way, so maybe there were changes over the years... I'd be interested to see pic overlays of the Howatt with the same profile as Jack's Jet.  Certainly the Jets are 66 vs Howatt hunter 62 inch, and have vastly different profiles at full draw.

I love the '70s hyperbole in Jack's ads, but the Jet isn't "world's fastest bow"               .  I've chronyed Jets, and probably a dozen bigger name recurves and really don't see more than a few fps apples to apples comparison... as everyone I've talked with that impartially has done similar crony tests of better quality recurves.  That said, Jacks bows don't take fast flite, and still compare to the rest.  In reality you see very few bowyers trying to advertise by differentiation in speed anymore... pretty much everyone agrees that the "magic bean" for speed/performance is either imaginary, or compromises other aspects of shootability.

What his bows do have is a really great compromise of performance and "shootability"....this is something a lot of the bowyers influenced by target archery were or are able to maintain.  My favorite aspect of the Jet is the grip - you'll either love it or hate it, but for myself I've never shot or handled a bow with a better.

Jack was a character, and he made some enemies over the years.  He is a legend, too, and was quite a pioneer in his day.  He built something around 1000 Jet bows, as I understand, and over the years I'm sure the existing number is quite a bit less... it is known that quite a few were broken early in the fast flite days by guys shooting them with FF, for instance.  For the fans of his bows, the fit/finish, shootability, beauty, and legend of these bows is second to none.  There have been, and are, hundreds, or thousands of "full time" traditional bowyers out there.  A handful will be remembered after they are gone.... Jack is one of those guys.

R

[Joe2Crow]

The gamemaster jet is a great bow if you can live with the 66" length.  I'm also a fan of the howatt hunter but it is no jet.  I have a howatt hunter (purpleheart) that is marked 55# but it feels heavier.  My jet is marked 56#s and I'm sure it is heavier but it draws noticeably smoother than the howatt. Both bows are quiet, stable and accurate.  Both have great grips.  I'd love to get my hands on a Monterey in the mid 50s to compare to the jet.  And it's about as pretty.

[Charlie Lamb]

I've got a Jet and two Gamemaster Classics. Much prefer the Classic. I think it's faster (may or may not be)and is as stable and steady in the hand as any bow I've shot.
One of the Classics was Jack's first experience using carbon in the limbs. It's between 60-65 and a barn burner. It's way too heavy for me these days. I'd trade for a Classic around 48-50.

The Jet is around 57# but has issues and I'm hesitant to attempt a repair. A fine bow no doubt.

Jack told me that he much preferred Urac 185 for his glue ups but in later days fiberglass manufacturing changes forced him to use epoxy... he felt the epoxy made a slower bow. Hmmm.

[Sixby]

Interesting stuff. Especially from those that knew the bowyer and have hands on experience.
My personal experience with the bows is with two GameMaster Jets. I would not compare the smoothness of the 62 inch Howatt with them at all but the Monterrey is 66 inches and since I did not have it at the same time as I had the Jets I cannot honestly compare them. Both were super smooth to pull. However Craftsmanship wise they are dead equal. Looks would depend on whether or not you like white glass or black glass on the back of the bow. I like black, many like white.
Now to this thread. I do not want to hi-jack it in any way and apologize if I have done that.

 I only brought in the Howatts because I feel that they are the only bow comparable to the Jets and since the Jets are almost impossible to get and super expensive the Howatts would be an option for the person that simply wanted a great hunting bow. Again that is an opinion and everyone owns one so take what I say with a very small grain of salt.
God bless, Steve