Going to have my first custom built

[Hoosierarcher88]

Have been talking with my wife and ive decided to mark my 30th birthday this year i am having a bow built. I told her i want to incorporate osage as i plan on keeping this one through my years and love how osage ages over time. Now comes the hard part of deciding who i want to build the bow and what style i want. Im a fan of r/d longbows and 50's style recurves but the thought of a takedown model is appealing as well. Ive thought about big jim, javaman, crookedstic, mcbroom and a few others  but i am having a hard time deciding who i would pick. What all have you guys had custom built that the build quality and feel of the bow really stood out to you most.

[Pine]

Let the fun begin. 
You are going to enjoy the ride. I've done that four times now and the anticipation is like a kid waiting for Christmas .

[Hoosierarcher88]

Oh i know the wait is going to just about kill me but it will be worth it. One of the other bows that recently caught my eye but i haven't heard much on is the new wood legacy. I checked out new wood at cloverdale last year and really liked what i saw and it felt good in my hand but i havent had the chance to shoot one

[Biathlonman]

Get a Zipper SXT and you can run recurve or longbow limbs  on the same riser.

[killzthemost]

I have had them all . For me easy black widow PL

[Alexander Traditional]

I have a few of Big Jim's bows, and a number of them from Mike Miller of Crooked Stic.

You can't go wrong with either of them.

Two of my other favorites are a Toelke Whip,and 7 Lakes Long Night.

[Hoosierarcher88]

I had a 62" crookedstic hyperstic last year and it was a real shooter. Mikes new forward handle looks good but so does the takedown he builds. Added bonus there is he lives not even an hour from where i work

[Alexander Traditional]

I like his takedowns the best,but would like to try the forward riser as well.

[Bowguy67]

I like my fatal styk by Robertson. Silvertip is another good one if you can afford that

[huntryx]

You can't go wrong with a bow from Big Jim-- beautiful, functional, take down if you want it.

[MIBIGHNTR]

Javaman

You cannot go wrong with Gregg's bows.  Smooth, fast, forgiving, and great craftsmanship!! 

Good luck in your choice and journey through the build.

[huntryx]

Can't go wrong with any of them, really. There's always another in the dream book.......

[Buckeye1977]

Get a Zipper SXT and you can run recurve or longbow limbs  on the same riser.

X2. That's exactly what I'm doing and can't wait!

[Broken Arrows]

I really like my Toelke Pika by Montana Bows. They just came out with a new R/D called the Whistler that will take long draws and the wait is around 6 to 8 weeks.

[Terry Lightle]

Hard to buy a bad bow these days,I am partial to Wild Horse Creek bows out of Perry,Kansas
Terry

[Mike Bolin]

Justin, not sure that you will remember me, but we shot together at Cloverdale last year. You may remember that I am a Black Widow PL fan and I don't think you can go wrong with a PL...but just to throw another bow into the mix I am going to suggest Timberhawk from Bloomington Indiana. Scott's shop is not that far from you, so you could actually go to the shop to visit your new bow as he builds it. The riser could be fit to you exactly as you want it. He is making a 3 piece R/D bow now that looks really sweet. Riser is trim and the overall lines of the bow was very pleasing to the eye. He only had a right handed version of the bow at the Tennessee Classic, so I couldn't shoot it, but both of my buddies shot it were very impressed! You might try to get up to Cloverdale next weekend and take one out for a test run!

[ty_in_ND]

If I may make a suggestion of a bowyer to look up (the ones you and others mentioned are definitely all worth consideration), you should check out Kota Bows.  Tim makes both a r/d longbow and a 50s recurve.  I cannot tell you my opinion on the longbow, but I ordered a Kill-um (the 50s recurve) from him and it's a pretty sweet bow! 

[Possum Head]

A takedown Mountain Monarch should nicely suit your itch and Jim can incorporate Osage very well with or without your input. He’s very creative. And Abe Penner does a nice 50’s as well. I almost hate to mention Bowyers as I’m sure to fail to mention some very qualified ones.

[Hoosierarcher88]

Justin, not sure that you will remember me, but we shot together at Cloverdale last year. You may remember that I am a Black Widow PL fan and I don't think you can go wrong with a PL...but just to throw another bow into the mix I am going to suggest Timberhawk from Bloomington Indiana. Scott's shop is not that far from you, so you could actually go to the shop to visit your new bow as he builds it. The riser could be fit to you exactly as you want it. He is making a 3 piece R/D bow now that looks really sweet. Riser is trim and the overall lines of the bow was very pleasing to the eye. He only had a right handed version of the bow at the Tennessee Classic, so I couldn't shoot it, but both of my buddies shot it were very impressed! You might try to get up to Cloverdale next weekend and take one out for a test run!

Thank you for the recommendation mike, i almost forgot about the timberhawk bows. If i get some free time next weekend away from work i may make a road trip to cloverdale. This time i will actually be able to walk around the show a bit better without having a brace on.

[Elkchaser]

X2 on the Toelke Pika. I love mine!! Bow-bolt take down. Quick and quiet.
As a bonus, you will still be 30 when you get it!! 

You have a lot of great choices out there. Good luck with the decision!