"Hill" style bows...Why all of sudden?

[Mudd]

Howard could have been from the same school a lot of folks come out of.."If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

It's also possible that he could have been a lot like me too.. just plain ole stubborn and set in his ways..lol

God bless,Mudd

[leatherneck]

My short stint with HH bows was very pleasing. I really didn't think the bow had that much shock at all. It was smooth,fast enough for me, but most of all,QUIET! I never really got into the idea of put your pinky here,your thumb here,etc. I just grabbed it and shot it. Lucky for me it hit where I was looking. I guess I was blessed.
I'm a firm believer that good form is a must. But I also believe a "simple" bow should be shot,well, simple. If that even makes sense to ya. I actually wish I never got rid of the one I had. It was a beaut. Little rough on my ailing shoulder at the time I guess. I'll be in the market for one again,soon I hope.

Still enjoying these HH threads. Good Luck!

[AdamH]

I would have to Agree Mudd ...

[Shawn Leonard]

Every one I have ever shot rattled my teeth!! I have a bud who shoots one very well and he uses light spined arrows(50-55 out of 60# bow) made of ash, this does help as the arrows are heavy 700-800 grains, but still feels like a broomstick to me. Good for the guys who shoot them and that shoot them well! Shawn

[SteveMcD]

I have always shot "Hill" Style bows. IMO.. most traditional shooters today lean toward the Recurve or the Hybrid Longbow due to the similarity in handle design "feel" and move from the compound. With proper brace height and proper arrow, Hill style bows are fine. I have never had a problem with Hand Shock.

[Shawn Leonard]

Howard could of shot a broomstick with matched arrows, just like Ron LeClair and many others. I have gripped a Hill style bow every which way and I have never shot one that did not have handshock. Sorry but they all do and it may not effect some but they have put a hurtin on too many people to say there is not some truth in that statement. Shawn

[KellyG]

Hmm I have not shot very many trad bows at all. I now own 2 one a Inature Viper and the other an Osage I made myself. I was wondering if I made a Hill bow or an American long bow, well I have learned through this thread they are one and the same. The viper does have hand shock. I think I will try to get ride of that, one by redoing the overlays and two heavy arrows. I have read that the FF strings clam them down. This bow does have mild r/d though.

However, my first homemade bow; my Osage; I let a soldier shoot it today and he all he could say was wow that is smooth, and that is all he kept saying about it.

I was really pleased with that, the bow is not finished, needs to be sanded and tips worked down a little, but my point is he has only shot re-curves, and now wants one like mine, and it looks like a HH bow to me. (I am going to help him make one if all goes well)

I just don't know about hand shock and noise yet, I am still learning but I know the one I made does not have the shock that the one I bought does.

I really don't know squat about why others want or  shoot them I just wanted to make my own bow, and it was the easiest to make and shoot so I did it.

Happy shooting and hunting to all,
Kelly

My experience tells me that if I am shooting a hill style longbow that is tillered normally for them, I am better if I shoot much like Hill taught. However, if I am shooting a recurve I adjust my form to match the grip.  I have an r/d longbow with a slight saddle that I shoot exactly like a Hill longbow. It is faster and has no more or less hand shock than my Hill styles with fast flight strings. I will say that with the Hill style bows I can can be a little more accurate at very fast shots than I am with the r/d bows. I have shot two deer on a fast trot with a Bear takedown and my biggest buck was shot with a Bear Super K on the move.  Rabbits is a different story, there is a definite advantage for Hills when shooting bunnies. I think if one prefers using a higher wrist and straight arm form, a recurve or hybrid of some type would be a more effective bow. If one is somewhere in the middle a quality r/d bow would best, as they can be shot either way depending on the grip to certain extent. whichever bow one chooses, it will work best for you if you shoot it the way it was designed to be shot.  A Hill style longbow can be made to shoot three under, a bow I had tillered and designed for three under had the limbs at equal length and were tillered evenly and it did not require a very much higher than normal nocking point, but most of time three under shooters shooting standard Hills complain of the bows reactions and the inconsistent arrow flight. A hybrid tillered for three under is still most times better than a three under tillered Hill style. In the end how a bow is shot is dictated more by the grip and the tillering than the final limb shape.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by SteveMcD:
I have always shot "Hill" Style bows. IMO.. most traditional shooters today lean toward the Recurve or the Hybrid Longbow due to the similarity in handle design "feel" and move from the compound. With proper brace height and proper arrow, Hill style bows are fine. I have never had a problem with Hand Shock.

it's not at all about the handle.  AFL's (hill style longbows) and hybrid mild r/d longbows are very similar in looks when braced, and some of the newer AFL's, like mohawk sparrowhawks, can be had with straight, dished or locator handles, use the same riser dimensions, and very similar limb widths and thicknesses at the fades.

however, yes - AFL's *all* can have "shock" value if you don't use at least a 10gpp mass arrow weight and grip it in a manner that doesn't transmit any unused limb energy to your bowhand, bowarm, and teeth.  

[MikeNova]

I got one because I was being a little nostalgic thinking I might not be a ble to shoot it as well as my r/d longbows. After shooting it I sold my r/.d bows. Now I have a Jeffery longhunter a Shulz and a sunset hill on the way.

[SteveMcD]

Well.. I don't dispute the pro's and con's of Hill Style Bows. But I will always believe it depends on the shooter. I have always shot Howard Hill or Hill Style bows. So it must boil down to what you are use to, and how you set up your bow and matched arrows. There are many advocates of the Hill Style Longbow, just as there are those that prefer the Hybrids.

[bentpole]

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[Ben Maher]

Steve ... Us straight Limb fella's ...
we are just cool , more handsome and refuse to be Girly men .......
we are the kids who sat up the back of the bus .

   

[SteveMcD]

quote:Originally posted by Ben Maher:
Steve ... Us straight Limb fella's ...
we are just cool , more handsome and refuse to be Girly men .......
we are the kids who satt up the back of the bus .

       

[Gil Verwey]

I think at first guys overbowed themselves and shot light arrows to try to catch up in speed to a compound. Today with a 6 strand 450+ padded loop string and heavy arrow, they are sweet shooters. If you don't squeeze the grip like a vise, shoot a heavy arrow and use a skinny string there is very little hand shock. They are dead silent.

Also I did testing and when a Hill gets up to 13 grains per pound it is as fast as a fast recurve, has great momentum and kinetic energy with very little hand shock.

Having said all that you either love them or hate. I love them and always have. Now that I shoot a heavy arrow and skinny string I really love shooting them.

I had Ron maulding build me a Hill style longbow in the early 80s. It was 5 lamb tonkin bamboo 68" and 70# @ 28. I hunted that bow for 30 years and shot it in an indoor league against compound shooters back then.

I still like shooting my Hills and Hill style bows, but now I discovered Jack Harrison's longbows and now they are the ones I shoot and hunt with.

[bentpole]

I can shoot My Mohawks for Hours Folks.    

[David Mitchell]

I can shoot my Hills for hours with no loose fillings or sore body parts!  :D

I am really getting wore out from having all these loose body parts and sore fillings falling off.  These Hill style bows are just tearin' me up.  Time for a fiberglass/bamboo campfire, because if it has a bump and a thump it cannot be shot.  The objective of any bow is that it should never thump the hand and that any bow can be shot with a jammed out straight armed stubbed down bow arm and the arrow whisks away through the cosmotic ether like a computer game laser beam.  I would just go to a high powered rifle but there is the noise, that pukey burnt smell, and even worse than hand shock,,, terrible SHOULDER SHOCK.

[cahaba]

I shot my Steve Turray Classic this morning just like every morning. Had to beat the rain. If it rains two days in a row I will go to the barn and shoot. No handshock that I perceive.(They are mild in the hand) I like the fact that I dont have to use multiple string silencers to make it quiet.(They are quiet) Not braggin but I had several groups at 20 to 23 yrds. the size of an apple.(They are deadly) If I for one minute thought a Hill style bow was inferior at taking game I would not shoot it. To many game taken world wide to shoot that kinda bull.(no pun intended)

[Hud]

When in my early twenties, I walked into Hugh Rich's shop and picked up a Howard Hill Longbow, and asked if I could shoot it, he said, sure go ahead. After awhile he told me to get a hold of the bow, and keep the bowhand and release still upon release. I believe he was instructing me to heal the bow. Anyway, I listened, as he was willing to help and I knew he was good friends with Howard, and I figured he must know something about shooting a longbow.

Soon after that, I bought a 69", Hill longbow that was 72#, and shot it for a long time, and still have the bow. What I learned later from John Schulz, really helped and convinced me, that form matters.

If your interested in shooting one, read his book, or watch his video/DVD, or talk with one of several people that learned from Howard or John. I am sure there are others that learned it early, and some like my self that took awhile.

Yes, it is possible to get a poorly designed longbow, or recurve for that matter, but I would bet, getting some one-on-one instruction, or help would make a world of difference, if you don't have it down, and would like too.

No Ole Thumpers welcome here.