Well, despite trying really hard at Bowaholics Anonymous, I fell off the wagon just over five weeks ago. Of course, I have excuses: "I spent too much time hanging around Tony and his D longbow..." or, "I've always wanted to try this particular model..." Anyway, with the funds from a bowhunting story burning a hole in my pocket, a few e-mails to Craig Ekin at Howard Hill Archery, and the deal was done. In the process I discovered that FedEx does deliver to Katherine, as long as you give them the residential postcode and not the PO Box postcode. I missed the delivery yesterday as we went to Darwin to drop the Grandmother-in-law off at the airport, and was excited to see the note on the door when I got back. I popped in to collect the longbow this morning, and soon set it up for some shooting, with Gabby supervising. The cool thing about this one is that it's the first bow I've had where the wooden arrows are made by myself right from the start; and they flew nicely, too (I'm a strong believer in The Formula). Anyway, here are some pictures:
Oh, and it is 70", 75lb @ 28", tillered for 3-under. The riser is bocote, and being a Wesley Special it has five laminations of bamboo. The arrows are 30" long Douglas fir, spined 95/100lb, and wearing 160 grain tips, for a total weight of 701 grains (which surprised this beginner arrow-maker a little, as the arrows that Joe made for the Silvertip, same specifications except spined 105/110lb and with a painted cap / crown [I think that's the term], weigh 775 grains).
Good shooting to All,
Ben