"OLE BEN" LONG BOW how do they shoot?

[redeemed]

how efficient of a bow was this long bow?
fast
quiet
penetration


50#/68"  450 gr sitka

[Mike Byrge]

Fast - not really
Quiet - YES
Penetration - don't know but I suspect adequate
Rare - YES, I've only seen a few for sale over the years and bought two of them.

There were two different versions of the "ole ben" that I am aware of.  One was a plain-looking straight bow with a straight grip, and the other I've seen had what looked to be an "action wood" riser and a locator grip.

If Van/TX sees this he will know.  His dad was the archer in one of the "Ole Ben" longbow ads.

[Eric Krewson]

The one I had, mid 80s version, was slow, quiet, penetrated poorly with 500gr arrows and would jar your toenails loose with hand shock. I sold it for half what I paid for it just to get rid of it. I still felt guilty for putting it off on someone else even though I gave the new owner a graphic description of the way the bow preformed.

I was watching the various classified ads and noticed the new owner sold it within 2 weeks.

[Kevin Breaux]

I'm with Eric on this one. In 93' I gave 100.00 for the same version and a quiver loaded with arrows. The thing that will always stick with me about the bow, was the force relayed through the grip, it was like getting popped on the elbow! I put it up for sale six months later and ended up trading for a Bear Kodiak Mag cir. 73'-74'.

[Gator1]

Help???

I have an 50's Model Long Bow, Green Glass, with Maple Core.

Stright handle, a small chunk of leather to shoot off of???

Is this the vintage of what you guys are refeering to as "ole ben"???

Any input on value etc would be appreciated..

[Gator1]

Ole Ben.

Guys, I have a 50's model Ben Pearson Longbow,
Green Glass, Maple.

Straight handle, a tuft of Leather to shoot off of...

Is there any value to this old 5' 6" Longbow at 50lbs?  Just got a string for her, and am looking forward to slinging a few arrows..

I appreciate any feedback ..

[Mike Byrge]

Gator1,
I think the Ole Ben was made in the 70's.  

I've seen quite a few odler pearsons like you describe..they show up on **** quite a bit too.  Not worth much money wise from what I've seen.

I wasn't going to be as blunt as Eric and Kevin but the two Ole Ben's I had were not good shooting bows.  Still a neat bow to own if you can find one though.

[Dick in Seattle]

Funny how the subject of old bows seemed to pop up on about three different threads today.  I spent part of the day shooting an old Pearson longbow...   Posted this earlier, elsewhere...

Anyway, I got a yen to shoot some old bows. I had my own duplicate of Ol' Buck... late 50's or so York lemonwood longbow, and a comparable age Ben Peason lemonwood that I got last year... painted barn green! My foster son has been working on refinishing the Pearson, and has it down to lovely original wood, but no new finish on. Both bows are approx. 65# or a bit under at 28", and pull 48 - 52# for me at 25".  I strung them up and grabbed four wood 40 - 45# arrows that were still in the quiver from last year's NALS that Ol' Buck and I went to.

Man, what a pleasant shoot I had! The arrows grouped a bit left from the Pearson, but all four struck each other from 14 yds right out of the quiver. The York was better centered, but I didn't seem to group as tightly. I shot the two bows for about 1/2 hour and it was a pure joy.

Bottom line, if you think you might be interested in old bows, go for it! There's a lot of these old bows out there, and if you string them up and bring them back careful... don't pull all the way right off, but work them back into flexibility over a couple of days, they still have a lot of easy shooting in them. I'd take either one of these off to a 3D shoot any weekend, and I don't have $50 in either one.