1st longbow suggestions. Quiet and forgiving.

[gsurko]

If you're looking for forgiveness , that's Gods job not a boyers.

[Bladepeek]

I've bought and sold quite a few. Nearly all shot well, but the keeper I came back to after owning a righty and switching to left hand is the Mohawk Sparrowhawk. Mild reflex/deflex that strings up as a straight "D" type bow, but has a bit more "zip" than any other "D" type longbow I've ever shot. Mine has a locator grip that doesn't feel like too much of a change from my mid/low wrist recurves. Price is right in the middle of the pack, delivery time very quick and Vince is very easy to work with.

[skychief]

Thanks for all the great replies.

I am going to borrow a friend's 68" Great Plains longbow and see how we get along.

Can any of you define or illustrate a "locator" grip???

Thanks a bunch again, Skychief

From left to right, 1. straight asymmetrical straight, mine, 2. locator, mine, 3. very slight dish Schulz.    

[skychief]

Great post pavan. Much appreciated.

Best regards, Skychief.

[Shadowhnter]

Toelke Whip. I strongly feel you won't easily find another bow as quiet, smooth, and forgiving.....unless you bring up the Pika.

[catman1]

Yes on the Toelke Whip as said.
I won't ever sell my Whip Classic Apache 66" 45@28 and it's fast & quiet with NO stack.

[Sam McMichael]

I am a fan of Hill style bows. Lots of good builders out there. You may want to look for a used bow to start with. When you find what you really like, then consider putting money into "the" bow. In some ways the journey is more fun than the end result - if you ever really find the end of the road on great longbows.

[Fletcher]

For your qualities of quiet, stable and forgiving, I would recommend a Toelke Whip, Robertson Stykbow and Liberty Contender.  I'm currently shooting a Whip and it is tops at those qualities.

[pdk25]

If you want forgiving, that will be due to a combination of factors.  Some of the more important ones being the mass of the bow, the stability of the limbs, how well the tiller suits your release, and a few others.  They will also affect how dead in the hand they are.  I would consider a 3 piece td longbow for some of those reasons.  Especially coming g from a recurve.  The Whip is a great bow, and the longer models are probably a little more stable, but I wouldn't characterize them as overly forgiving, personally.

[pdk25]

But of course that is only my opinion.  I have shot a couple of the whips, and they are nice quiet bows.

[Obe-Wan]

Being someone who loves longbows, but shoots Recurves better, I'll offer you this. I believe the physical weight of the bow has as much bearing on the suitability as any other factor. If it's a trad long bow, ie Hill bow or ASL it's going to be light.

So twitchy may mean it's short, or it may mean it's too light. I've had a couple of Toelke Super D's, and some custom ASL's that are fantastic bows, but they are very light. I found this detrimental to my accuracy.

I lean towards R/D longbows with either phenolic in the Riser, or hybrid styles that have wider, flatter limbs and more mass in the Riser than traditional ASL's. You also get centre shot shelves on a lot of bows of this style.

Dependant on your budget, and particularly if you're coming from Recurves, I'd recommend either the Tomohawk longbows or a Black Widow PL.

Take this with a grain of salt, it's just my opinion and experiences.

Good luck with you're search.

Cheers, Scott.

[Red Beastmaster]

The whole "forgiving" thing gets me wondering sometimes.

You are going to get away with more with a longbow than a thinner limbed recurve. But, a bad grip and release is a form problem that will affect the shot regardless of what bow you have in your hand.

[pdk25]

True, but slight form deviations, in particularly regarding release, are much more obvious with bows that are light in physical weight, or extremely short.

[skychief]

Update: having tested 4 bows of my friends, I've narrowed my search to a mild r/d bow.

I'm going to start a new thread about the particulars of what I'm searching for.  I hope you all will give advice on it.

I really appreciate your help.

Best regards, Skychief

[ahab78]

I draw 26" and I am relatively new to trad archery. I have a 54" Toelke Pika. The bow is so quiet I only hear the arrow hit the target. No hand shock and the bow hits where I am looking. It is insanely forgiving. A 56" Pika would be fine for a 29" draw, but the Whip might be even better if you want to stay over 60".

[Mike Taylor2]

Before you jump on the Bear Montana look at 7 Lakes Archery and their North American Hardwood bow.  About the same price but you get to order it custom built.

[PICKNGRIN]

I have a 64" Holm Made Goshawk from Chad Holm that is an excellent choice.  I have owned other longbows, but none better for handling and quietness.  I think he makes it in a 66" length also.  Chad is great to deal with.

[redshedbowhunter]

Originally posted by PICKNGRIN:
I have a 64" Holm Made Goshawk from Chad Holm that is an excellent choice.  I have owned other longbows, but none better for handling and quietness.  I think he makes it in a 66" length also.  Chad is great to deal with.

I have this same bow awesome shooting bow.

[David McLendon]

Bottom line is right now you don't know what you want, and you don't know enough about what type LB you will end up liking simply because right now you just don't know enough, and you will need experience and several bows probably to find your way. You are going to have to do this on your own because only you will know what is right. I was a big BW LB shooter and happened to buy a Bear  Montana off the big auction site for $125. I had planned on flipping it but it turned out I loved the way it shot and I'd buy another if the deal was right because it is just a fun bow. I hated that I ever sold it, but I now shoot a Shrew T/D Carbon CH as it is best for me. I'm not going to tell you that the Shrew or any other bow is "the one" because you'll have to find that out for yourself. I will say that I'd buy a Bear Montana because it is a good shooting stable bow for you to develop on and then go from there maybe based on what you learn about your style and preferences. It's a journey, you pick the starting point. Take every opportunity to visit the big shoots that have a lot f vendors, talk to them and shoot their bows. Don't go randomly plunking down big sums of $ until you have educated yourself.