21st Century's company history please.

[joe ashton]

21 century was the first long bow I bought.. I shot a bunch of animals with it.  I have since retired it ... but never once considered selling it.

[nineworlds9]

skychief-

Milton has a bit of a rep for being 'a pill' but most folks don't have any issues with him.  You have to take what you read on the net with a grain of salt.  

I owned one of Milton's bows built spring of this past year.  The bow was 100% a shooter.  70" Lonestar Carbon 2222C, hands down one of the most accurate and forgiving bows I have ever shot, ever.  It was a tack driver.  The only reason I sold it was that I wished so bad it was 5-7# heavier.  

As for fit/finish, well I can't compare it to a Jim and Buddy bow, but for any bow I would call it "decent".  Lets say compared to a Toelke being a 10/10, the 21st was maybe a 7.5-7.8 /10 at best.  It was a lovely bow and seemed well constructed but in bright light you could find a fair amount of sanding marks and also there were dull spots in what was supposed to be a semi-gloss finish.  Let's put it this way, it was perfectly functional and fine for hunting, just not 'work of art' level.  

The thing to consider is the performance you get for the money, I think the one I had with exotic veneers and the carbon lam ran right about $600, simply a lot of bang for the buck considering what a shooter it was.  In the hands of a better archer than myself that bow could have won any 3D shoot it wanted.  

Would I buy one again?  Sure.

Edit:  in regard to my finish remarks, I think Savage chimed in and I have also noted others' comments on various forums, Milton seems to have some consistency issues.  I guess I got lucky and the one I owned was generally a-ok.

[savage1]

Here's a few grains of salt for you. I will not get too negative.
 If you like sand marks and dished or
crooked looking limbs and in my case a bow 2 inches shorter than what I ordered for your $650, go for it.
My old friend gave it the once over and refinished it and I then gave it to Junior at Ojibwa, he is only 12 but he wears a size 11.. lol

Jim and Buddy bows rock. Good luck finding one, there out there.

Lou

[Holm-Made]

Jim is living in Minnesota.  I met him for the first time, last March.  He was competing in the indoor MN State Archery Tournament where I was set up as a vendor.  We had a nice long chat.  He still has a passion for archery at his age.  Chad

[mjh]

Had the pleasure of shooting with Jim a few times. Actually helped with my shooting form.  A true gentleman!  Very well designed bows.  A 21st Century bow would be a good choice.

[Gordon Jabben]

I have always shot my old 21st Century Nova the best of any bow I have owned which have been many.  I also had the great pleasure of shooting with Jim.  He didn't offer any advice on my form other than to say it was interesting so I guess it was too bad to fix.  He really is a nice guy and fun to shoot with.

[V I Archer]

I have a Jim and Buddy 21st centurey Constellation.  A Holmegaard limb design and double nock grooves for 3 diffeent string lengths and draw weights.  The handle design is phenomenal!  it settles in your hand identically everytime.  I haven't shot the bow in years, being more drawn to d-style bows than readical hybrids.

A great design and a true shame the reputation of the company has taken such a hit over the years.

[bow loving man]

It is the one bow I wished I had back. Mine was a LH 21st century Nova Graphite 66" 62#@28" with a Jeff Massey finish on it...I didnt know what I had while I had it... If I ever see it for sale again...it will come home to me!!! Great shooting bow