Black Hunter and Brace Height

[Lungman1]

Does anyone notice any difference between differerent makers of the Black Hunter Longbow? I have a Mandrin Black Hunter but just had to drop weight and ordered new limbs today. Old man Time has caught me and along with a partially torn rotator cuff and tendonitis i will be down to 40 pounds, the NC minimum. 

Lungman1

[Rob DiStefano]

An old thread, but the content is quite relevant at any time.

The 60" Black Hunter longbow, and all its iterations, as there are many, can have a valid working brace height between 6-1/2" and 8-1/2", use whatever works best for you.  I've had many of these bows and they will all be better than the best of archers in terms of consistent accuracy.  Their overall design is quite good - a heavy and well laminated riser with a deep cut shelf and pistol grip type handle for stability and shock absorption, and bamboo cored glass limbs for smooth stack free drawing.  The metrics are as good as any other really good stickbow, it is what it is.  Quality of build varies a bit, but even the lesser ones are only a matter of aesthetics and not performance or overall durability.  It would be hard to beat the riser build of most if not all, but it's the limbsets that can sometimes vary in terms of tiller, build quality, and overall durability - but hey, for lots less than a C note a new set of limbs can purchased.  If a more precise limbset were available that'd probably be a good thing.

My current Black Hunter is the "Elite" model sold by Big Jim - it's just got a fancy riser but the limbs are all the same.  I use a 7-1/4" brace height and a 16 strand B55 string and it's very quiet, with no twang on release, more of a low growl "boing", with no string silencers.  Key for me is using a Dacron string with 16 fat strands and I spin one up to 57-1/2".  I use a strip of loop Velcro for the arrow shelf and a piece of thin Teflon tape as the strike plate.

I would be doing no wrong if this was the only stickbow I could have, and since 1953 I've had well over ten dozen bows. 

[SS Snuffer]

Rob, I have the same bow and riser as you with 35 lb. limbs. Brace height is best at 8 in. like you say it depends on how close to the centershot the riser was cut and the tillering. Killed an 8pt. buck this year with it. I don't like having to hunt with 35# but it's better than not hunting. Shot placement is everything. I will be taking your advice and switching to a B55 string this coming season. I put a lot of stock in your knowledge, thank you.

[Rob DiStefano]

I have both 35# and 45# longbow limbsets and with a really sharp cut-on-contact broadhead the 35# limbs can surely get the job done on thin skinned deer with good shot placement at reasonable distances.  I also use heavy wood arrows in the 12GPP range that I dial in for 20yds max, along with my fave broadheads, the Wensel Woodsmans.  I've also abandoned split finger for 3 under.  As one gets older, things change and one must adapt to remain relevant. 

A 57" 16s B55 string yields an 8" bh, which I used for quite awhile and does work well.  However, some limbsets just work better at a specific draw length and my 45# limbs like a 7-1/4" bh better.  Heavier risers, strings, and arrows can add a measure of stability to the release and maybe make for more consistent accuracy.

Getting as close to centershot as possible is why I always use a Teflon tape arrow plate.

 

[Kelly]

I run my BH longbows at 6.5-6.75” with B50/55 strings, mostly no silencers.

[Longtoke]

Mine likes a 7.25" BH as well.  it's a very sweet shooting bow.  I wouldnt sell it for double what I paid for it.

[Rob DiStefano]

I just spun up a 57-3/4" string using BCY Mercury HMPE fiber, 32 strands, 7-1/4" bh.  The twang tone on release has a bit sharper bite than with 16 strands of BCY B55 Dacron fiber, but not bad at all, still pleasing. 

No matter what, a Texas whitetail would drop down when hearing any bowstring vibrate on release, and if the initial aim was the boilermaker (wrong!!) the shaft would be flying over the deer's back.  String silencers will help a tad, but there's no bowstring that'll be dead quiet to most critters.

[McDave]

I use my Black Hunter primarily for teaching students and loaning to family and friends when they come to visit.  Several of my friends and students have bought one on my recommendation, and they all seem to like them.  I brace mine at 7 1/2”.  I haven't experimented around with any other brace heights, but that seems to work fine.

The only complaint I have is that mine came with a curve rather than an edge between the shelf and the strike plate, so that the arrow was not making contact with the strike plate.  I used a file to turn the curve into an edge.  It took a lot more filing than I expected.  The wood they use must be very hard, or maybe they impregnated it with something to stabilize it.  They make this bow in several different factories in China, and the quality may vary between factories, or even within the same factory.  I recommend buying this, or any bow made in China, from a reputable US company that has its own exchange policy.  I wouldn't look forward to dealing with some Chinese company named Grbyx directly.

The string that comes with the bow leaves a lot to be desired, and should be replaced with a better string.  My bow has been shot thousands of times with a spare Black Widow D97 string I had with no ill effects.

[Rob DiStefano]

Spot on, Dave.

Their supplied bowstring needs to be replaced if better overall performance is required.

All my stickbows get Velcro loop shelf rests and Teflon tape arrow plates.  This allows for a quiet draw and places the shaft as close to center shot as possible. 

There is no question that using bamboo core limbs makes for a smoother draw.  The BH limbsets are utilitarian at best and will get the job done.  It would be beneficial if a bowyer would offer a higher quality limbset to mate with BH risers.   Note that there are two separate generations of risers and each requires matching limb joints.  Almost all current BH risers and limbsets are what I call Gen2, with contoured limb mounts.

IMHO, the better Black Hunter bow buy, whether longbow or recurve, is via Big Jim.  Not only a better built and better looking riser (due to the added wood inserts), yer dealing with a reputable American vendor.

[Kirkll]

I have 3 BlackHunters ,all longbows, 1 with a SBD string ,quite but do not get the skinny string and the other two have Mercury strings, very loud! Stick with D97 .
Check the tiller on your Black Hunters there are all different, I agree the limbs are the weak point.
The risers are good design but need better quality limb bolts. Shot thru a big Minnesota buck with the 40 lb. one but will be using the Kanati again this year! Old faithful!
Black Hunters are OK but wish Kirk would start making limbs for them!

The only way I would build limbs for one of these is by having the riser sent to me, and I’d have to charge a minimum of $300 for a set.

[Kirkll]

Black Hunters are OK but wish Kirk would start making limbs for them!

Not just Kirk, but any bowyer out there could make a $ cloning those limbs with quality builds, long bow and recurve. Would tracing a static BH limb and making a form all there is to attaining a limb that shape? If so, I got limbs, and I know I could get better lama, wedges, and glass to make suitable limbs. But why, there should be peeps out there willing to fill this niche with better limbs, I assume some one that builds take down recurve or long bows could do it with minimal retooling. Am I wrong? Been there before……

Let me know how that works out for you Johnny. There’s a bit of difference between cloning limbs, and have them actually tract straight and are balanced out. A bowyer can’t build custom limbs as cheap as they are selling these things. Has nothing to do with tooling either…

 limb alignment on lighter draw weight bows is critical. I would imagine these low cost BH risers plus or minus tolerances are all over the map on consistency. You’d have to custom build each set to the riser to make it work…just for alignment reasons…..