Hill redman vs big 5

[swampthing]

Curious as to the differences and experience one  has had with the Hill Redman? how do they compare with the bamboo models?

[SCATTERSHOT]

There are those who will tell you that there is no difference, but I have shot both, and I think the Redman is a bit smoother. Of course, as poorly as I shoot, I'm not sure I should be the judge, but that's my impression.

[Stone Knife]

I have had both, I'm told that the Big Five is a tad faster. From my experience the Redman was quicker, I like the yew. I think the half breed would be the best of both worlds, yew and bamboo is a great combo.

[RC]

Never shot one but I love the Wesley and the Cheetah.RC

[Matt D.]

I've owned a bunch of Hill's, and can't tell the difference in shooting qualities between the different models.

[SpankyNeal]

I'm with Scattershot on this one. I've owned both and the Redman was definately smoother, but the Big 5 was just a tad faster. Not enough to make a hill of beans difference in the real world, but it was noticeable. The more I shoot Yew cores on Hill style bows the more I like 'em!

Regards...Ken

[Dick in Seattle]

Have had them all.  The Redman is very smooth, but for about 2 years a Halfbreed was my "go to" bow.  Great bow and, I felt, a hair faster than the Redman, but speed really isn't what Hills are all about.  They're both great feeling bows, and the wood gives them character.  I've had any number of Big Fives, nice bow, but their "character", plain glass and boo, just never grabbed me.  The Cheetah is another that's a super, super bow... Juniper and boo. In fact, I just finished building one of my own today. Two more coats of finish and I think I'll have the prettiest bow I've ever owned.  So many bows... so little time...

[Shinken]

I really enjoy the contrasting lines in a Hill-style longbow and if you add a dark riser, my two favorite models of Hill bows by Craig are

The Halfbreed = Yew + Bamboo

The Cheetah = Juniper + Bamboo

Find one in your draw weight and enjoy!

Shoot straight, Shinken

[GingivitisKahn]

The only Hill (only longbow, for that matter) I've ever owned is my Halfbreed and I really like it.

[David Mitchell]

Well, I guess I'll have to be the contrarian here. I own a Redman, a Wesley and a Tembo TD.  Both the Wesley and the Tembo are quite a bit more pleasant to shoot.  Maybe it's just the ones I happen to own, but that is sure my experience.  I have other bows as well and the bamboo cored bows always seem to be sweeter to me.

[Tom Mussatto]

I agree with David. In an American style longbow with narrow, deep cored limbs backed and faced with thin glass like the Hills, bamboo has a better “feel” to it than any other core material I’ve shot.

I never could understand the big interest in combining different wood materials in these bow designs, other than the fact bamboo is about an ugly a core material as you can get when under clear glass. All woods have different reaction times or “springyness”. You can see this clearly when you try to match arrows of different woods by static spine figures. When all the materials in a limb are not working totaling in unison you can’t help but have some negative impact on how well the bow feels at the shot, and probably cast as well. Heck, Jack Howard use to even spine his glass before  glue up to help insure his limbs were well balanced, which is probably one reason his bows shot so well.

In recurves or R/D bows of wider, thinner core limbs, where the glass contributes considerably more to the working of the limbs, the core material is probably irrelevant. Foam cores seem to be the rage these days because of their light weight. I’d be interested to see what happens if a narrow, deep cored American style longbow backed and faced with thin glass (like the current Hills) were made with foam cores.

If I had to choose between a pretty bow and a great shooting bow I’ll take the shooter every time. Which explains why my Hills are all made of butt ugly bamboo only. No mix and match for me.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I have a Redman, and have a Wesley Special in the making, so I'm looking forward to having an opinion on this soon!

[swampthing]

Does anybody notice a difference at the shot between the 2? For example, my Wesley has what I'd call a mild thump, not a sharp rap or a dull buzz or "shock", but a mild thump at the shot. Can anybody sense more or less of a thump or is it a different sensation all together?

[SCATTERSHOT]

I don't notice any difference.

[David Mitchell]

My Redman definitely has a more pronounced thump than either the Tembo or Wesley.

[Greg Skinner]

I have a HH Halfbreed(50#), a HH Tembo(57#) (I finished from a blank) and 2 St. Charles Pacific Yew TD's.  The Halfbreed is also a TD.  I used to have a Cheetah that got burnt.  I'm not sure that the core material has much to do with how the shot feels.  My oldest St. Charles(60#) is only 60" and has deep core limbs.  The one(52#) Jay built for me 2 years ago has flatter, wider limbs.  The Halfbreed has a carbon strip under the yew backing strip and the Tembo has a carbon under black glass backing. To me the yew has a smoother feel to the shot, but seems to be slightly slower in arrow speed.  The Tembo is definitely the snappiest of the bunch, although the Cheetah I lost was smooth and fairly quick for not having any carbon backing.  The Halfbreed has more of a "thump" to it than any of the others.  In fact I don't really notice any thump from the other 3. I seem to be more consistent with the Tembo than any bow I've ever owned and I keep thinking I need another one just like it in TD.  I've always liked the overall shooting characteristics of yew, but I certainly would not trade the Tembo at this point. I suspect that there is as much variation from bow to bow of the same material as there is from one material to another.  Maybe I need to get another half dozen or so Hills and see if I can find an answer.

[SpankyNeal]

I agree with David. My Redman had more of a thump at the shot. I suspect that might be true with any of the wood cored bows since the wood is heavier than the boo. I need to own a few more to be sure though!    
I own one of those carbon backed Tembo's too, and it's the sweetest shooting Hill bow i've ever shot!

Ken

[pktm]

I have 4 Hills, one of them a Big Five and it's a keeper. Nothing fancy about it, doesn't have and tip overlays and it had a chubbier grip than the rest. But it is without question my best shooter. The Halfbreed I have is prettier and the Wesley Special is a real quiet bow. the Cheetah I have is my powerhouse. So I would recommend the Big 5 to anyone looking for a nice solid performer. The Halfbreed wins the looks contest with the Cheetah not far behind. As for a Wesley, how quiet this bow is, might be the one that comes with me this October.

[Romans3]

this is interesting. I'm going to be able to shoot a few different hills side by side next week. I have a big five (but not for long, it's on the classifieds due to it's draw weight not fitting me), my dad is coming to visit with a wesley and my new cheetah (the big five's replacement) and my brother's coming with his tembo. No redman's in the mix, but it will be interesting to shoot a few side by side.

[swampthing]

I thank you all for the input/experiences. I am going to go for it. Redman, 68" 55# @28, I draw 29.5".