Mahaska Longbows ...

[Bob B.]

any opinions on them, especially a mild R/D with locator grip say 66 inches long?

Anyone have experience with these bows?  Any comparison to say a Critter Gitter or a Mohawk?

Bob.

[jonsimoneau]

I never owned any of the longbows...but I have owned 2 of his recurves.  The recurves are kind of a 1950's style.  I shot them when I was in college.  At the time...they were very affordable to me, and I shot them pretty well. I regret selling the ones I had.  Kent is a really good guy, and I feel he builds a respectable bow for a very affordable price.

[katie]

I have shot a few of his longbows.  They seem to be very nice bows!  I just like a shorter bow.  The man that owned the bows I shot loved them!

[rick7]

i had one about 4 years ago. it was a shooter but was just to much poundage for me. if it was around 50 pounds i would still have it. overall a very good bow. just my opinion

[FerretWYO]

I have shot both his longbow and his flat bow. I really liked the longbow. The grip was nice and it shoots well.

[ron w]

I currently have 2 of the Mahaska Longbows, both 66". One is 46# @ 28" the other is 54# @ 29". Both bows shoot as well as most and better than some. I picked these up from Trad Gang members on the classifieds at very good prices. When ever my shooting needs some work, a good anchor, a clean release, and a good follow thru I grab the 46#'er and work on those things. You don't see them for sale to often on the classifieds.....that should tell you something. Both bows are almost silent with just wool puffs.  Hope that helps.....ron w

[Bob B.]

Thanks Ron,

I appreciate yoru post.  Do you ahve any pics of your Mahaska's?

Bob.

[30coupe]

I have a 62" that is 55# @ 28". It is quiet and shoots well, but it is kind of a thumper (hand shock). Kent's bows are all designed for B50 dacron only, unless he has made a change of late. Since mine is an old one (no warranty issues), I made up an 8 strand D97, padded the loops to 16 strands with B50, then added yarn serving. The hand shock totally disappeared, but all the good qualities of the bow remained. I don't shoot it often, though, because I tend to like shorter bows.

The quality of his bows is high. They are not screaming fast. Mine was shocky, but that may not be the case with all of them. Your tolerance for hand shock may be different too, but it hurt my elbow to shoot it very much.

[30coupe]

Here are some shots of mine. The last one shows the skinny string with yarn end serving.

 

 

 

[Bob B.]

30coupe,

What is your bow made of?  Nice looking man, thanks.

Did the skinny string effect sound or speed besides hand shock?

[ron w]

I don't have any pics, but both of mine look just like 30coupe's. The only think that I don't like....and it means nothing, is the tips. They are just kind of blocky, they don't flow well into the bow. That being said, it has no effect on the performance of the bows. I may go on an Elk hunt this year and the 54# 'er may go as my back up, you never know it may go as first string...lol!

[30coupe]

The lams are red elm. I think the riser is cocobolo, but I'm not sure. I got it used several years ago. As far as the sound, it was quiet before and it still is. I really didn't notice much of a change. I don't have a chrono, so any perceived speed change would have been just that. It seems slightly faster, but I don't think the change was enough to require any change in my setup. I doubt the gain was significant.

It is a good, solid bow. As you can see from my signature, I'm not short on bows. I am short (5'9"), so I tend to like the shorter bows. At 62" this one is about max for me. I can push-pull string it handily. Anything longer is a struggle.

[Bob B.]

30coupe and Ron,

Thanks for your info.  I appreciate it greatly.

Bob.

[ron w]

No problem....they are just good hard working bows that you can depend on. Not priced to bad either.

[BRITTMAN]

I had the bowyer build me a recurve about 7-8 years ago . It was a very nice bow but it did have some jump on the shot . I still liked the bow alot though and I thought the bowyer was great to work with . I wound up trading it for a longbow but it was not because of the bow I just like to trade sometimes .

[cbCrow]

I never seen one in person much less shot one, but after visiting his site I know that one day I will own one with that arroyo. That stuff is beautiful!

[bigiron]

the one i shot to compare with my savanah was not one i would own. the bow would try to hit me in the head with the top limb every time i shot it, weird, never had a longbow act like that before.

[Jerry Gille]

I owned a 64" Mahaska longbow several years ago.  It was a nice bow but I ended up trading it.  It had a little more handshock than I was used to.  It was a bit "blocky" for my taste too.  Not a real fast bow but a very well made bow, especially for the price - which I believe was like $290 new at the time.  Kent was really good to work with too.

Now you asked about the Mahaska in comparison to 2 other bows - one being a Great Northern.  I own two Great Northerns, one being the critter gitter you referenced.  The Great Northern is a step above that Mahaska I owned.  It's better in performance, craftsmanship, finish work,,,you name it.  Of course I consider Great Northerns to be the best longbows made so I'm a little biased.  But in my opinion it's hard to compare the Mahaska to the Great Northern because the Great Northern is is a way different class.

Again, not trying to take anything away from Kent's bows.  They are fine, fine bows in my opinion.  But if cash were not an option, I'd take the Great Northern hands down.

Good luck.