widow longbows

[RC]

What you fellas think about widow longbows. Fogiving? Fast? quiet?My biggest problem with a longbow is inconsistant grip I guess. how positive is the grip on these bows. I am in a dilemma, I LOVE to shoot and hunt with longbows but sometimes struggle to stay consistant and tend to go back to the old trusty recurve in November when it matters and I`d like to change that.Thanks,RC.

[McDave]

I have a Black Widow PL.  I am mainly a recurve shooter, so it's not my favorite bow, but it is my favorite longbow.  It is more forgiving and quieter than any other bow I have, has very little hand-shock, and of course, is very lightweight.  I haven't had a problem with the grip.  It's pretty easy to get your hand back in the same place every shot.  There is a picture on their website that shows the grip pretty well:   http://ns1.bowsite.org/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=9&CATID=1&Product_ID=92&count=1&Pcount=4&DETAIL=1  

My bow is about 56 lbs at my drawlength, and comps at about 165 fps with a 500 grain arrow.  A Black Widow recurve similarly set up would comp about 10 fps higher.

I tried out a similar take-down longbow under their test drive program before I bought the one I have.  All things being equal, I would have bought the take-down, but I noticed some noise in the handle.  I was told that application of some silicone or wax would get rid of the noise, but I didn't want to fool around with the loaner they sent me, and ended up ordering the one piece bow.

[TexMex]

I have a Sentman and love it.
Can't afford a widow -even used.  :(

[Gatekeeper]

RC

I don’t have any experience with a Black Widow longbow but, if you are interested in a longbow that will give you a consistent grip look into a Striker, Stinger longbow. Rick’s bows have an optional thumb locator grove built into the handle to help with a consistent grip.

His bows also have all of the other qualities that you mentioned. Also, check out the bow review in the latest TBM. There is a write-up on the Stinger bow.

Tom

[Crash]

I just recently came into possesion of a PL X bocote take-down with the beaver tail grip.  I personally like the grip, but I also favor longbows.  Once you get used to the longbow grip, it is repeatable.  I haven't had the opportunity to do a lot of shooting yet, but my initial impressions are good.  It seems to be consistent with good speed.  It has slightly more weight than I am used to in a longbow, but I don't plan on putting a quiver on it, so it should balance out.  Right now it has some noise at the shot, but I haven't even begun to try to quieten her down yet.  I think a set of cat whiskers will do the trick.  Overall I am please with the bow.  I would recommend the test drive if you haven't shot one yet, or better still, buy a used one and if you don't like it, they hold their re-sale value well.  There is a 47 pounder on the classifieds right now.

[killinstuff]

You sure see a lot of them for sale. What does that tell you?

[jeff / sc]

RC, I have PL X osage and a PL II on order, guess that tells ya I like them.  I like the grip, it's quiet, and I can shoot a variety of arrows. My osage is 50# @28 ( I draw 27.5)and it's plenty fast enough for me. For just dinking around, I'm shooting 2016, 2018, 2020, GT 3555, and CX 150.  The 2020's are the least forgiving of a poor release.  I'm hunting with the 150's.

[LV2HUNT]

My theory about seeing so many for sale is that owners of BW recurves buy them but realize that it is still a longbow not a recurve.

[Mike Bolin]

I have an LAG and have had a couple of PL's. I think the PL series is slightly quicker than the LAG, but I much prefer the LAG grip. If I was to order another one, it woud be a PL with the LAG grip (a no cost option). If you keep an eye on the classifieds, both here and on the Black Widow site, you might find one at a good price. An occasional LAG pops up from time to time and can USUALLY be had at a fair price. Good luck, Mike

[Benny Nganabbarru]

They work really well. They are the bow that I've used mostly in my relatively short bowhunting endeavour, taking goats, pigs, camel, donkey, and horse. I sold one of my Widow longbows to Mick Baker because I just wasn't using it, and had one too many. If you click on these threads, you can see some of the adventures these longbows have had:

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000215

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=98;t=000014

Cheers, and good hunting!

[Biggie Hoffman]

If you promise not to break it...you can come up and shoot mine some and see how you like it.
It's the most forgiving longbow I've ever had since the Bamboo Longhunter. Course, there is not a "magic bow" that will make you shoot as good as I, your Sensei.

[Dave Lay]

the grip is one of the strong points of the PL, it is fairly narrow and provides a very constant grip without a lot of chance to torque it, I have one now and have had a couple others. Of the same weight (63@28) my PL is about 5 ft slower than my widow PSAII recurve with the same arrows. the bow is solid as a rock and in contrast to McDave I feel it is heavier than my other longbows, adding stability, It is the best all around longbow I have ever shot. and is very consistant in its accuracy, But I am sorta like you, its tough to leave my PSA recurve. But I live to hunt and dont give a flip about 3-d or the bs that goes with it, so I shoot fairly heavy arrows and a fairly heavy bow year round. If I had to choose 1 bow, it would probably be my PL

[JRY309]

It is more of a personal preferrence.I like the grip on the PL Widows more then a LAG grip.And for me I have never liked a recurve grip on any bow.I prefer a straight,dish or locator type of grip.It's just a personal choice for me,I just shoot them better and they feel better to me.

[hogdancer]

I have a couple and like them alot, I can switch back and forth between the two and not have a problem.One of mine is a t/d and it is the quieter of the two. I think it is very fast for a longbow, not as quiet as some others but quiet enough.Seeing a lot of them for sale means they have been in business for a long time and probably make more bows than anybody else, I see a lot of Morrisons for sale too.

[McDave]

Just to clarify my comment, when I said it was "very lightweight," I was comparing it with the recurves I usually shoot.  I agree that it is probably a tad heavier than the average longbow.

[vermonster13]

Perhaps a set of LB limbs for a recurve riser would work better for you RC. Seen to remember you liking Bob Lees.

[camocowboy]

I have a PL3. It will never be for sale. What does that tell you? It is my favorite bow and I have a lot of them including an BW takedown recurve. Most widows that you see for sale are from widow owners who want to sell to get another widow.

[Lefty]

I have PLGA and really love it.  Very stable and quiet shooter.  I do like more of a recurve grip though, so I ordered mine with the old LAG/SAG grip which is more of a recurve grip.  Here is a picture of it.
 

[T.A.C.]

RC,
 I've only had mine for a short time, but I like it so much I'm selling all my 3 piece bows and ordering another PL. I've decided the PL and Wes Wallace's Royal are the bows FOR ME.
 With that being said I would seriously consider trying before buying. It'll only cost you shipping.
 Good luck with whatever you decide.

[T. Downing]

I own a  Takedown PLII that I absolutely love! It is so smooth to shoot that there are times that I had a hard time believing I am shooting 55lbs. I quieted the bow down with a couple of sets of cat whiskers. I would really like to own the same bow but in the 60+lb range. I won't be selling this bow anytime soon. T