What's With the SKY HIGH Prices??

[Alexander Traditional]

Originally posted by curlis:
Check out Legends bows from California. Great bows, exceptional people to deal with. You will thank yourself!

He has a good looking bow on the sponsors classifieds,and it's not expensive. Bubinga and Zebra and it's only $600.

[mountain lion]

What's with the high prices on everything! I have an 870 that I've shot tons of doves and ducks with, do I want a high dollar shotgun, heck ya!! But I can't afford one, no, but I will save up and get one because I want one. I have two young children and a stay at home wife so things are tight!!!! It took a while but I worked and saved up and got me a new Blackwidow kbx, is it any better than the cheaper bows, maybe, maybe not. But it's what I want and prefer, I also have a custom longbow that I paid $715 for. I am lucky  enough to be friends with the bowyer and he let me watch him along the way of the building of the bow. And when I seen what goes in to making these wonderful works of art I felt like I should have needed to give him more. He recently told me that he has to go up on his prices because the prices on the woods are going up as well, is that the bowyers fault, no but they can't give these bows away. You shoot what you want, if you want a expensive custom bow then save up and get it, even if it takes a year. You will appreciate it more when you finally get it.

[reddogge]

Nala, I've been retired for 6 years and work a part time job that pays for my gas money and mad money so I'm not rolling in dough so to speak.  I met Kirk this year, did a little shooting with him and he makes a fine bow. Unfortunately I didn't get to shoot his bow that day.

I always wanted a Wes Wallace Mentor but couldn't afford a new one but one fell into my lap a couple of months ago in the form of a trade for a rifle with a friend who had the bow made a year ago for him.

So don't lament not being able to buy top shelf new. Most of us can't either but we make do.

[LimbLover]

I used to think like this until I started building self bows and realized how LONG it actually takes to make a bow and how much work and precision it requires. I could never afford a bow over $500 with a young family.

Fortunately for me, I shoot longbows and there are a ton of options in that range.

Also, most bowyers are willing to work with you on payment if you call them. I've never encountered one that wasn't.

[Dan Bonner]

I bet most custom bowyers that sell bows for north of $1000 bring home no more money than you. They love what they do but it ain't a get rich quick kinda business. Your best bet would be to find a local bowyer who has a day job and will build a custom rig for you for $500-$600. Look up Roland Jenkins in Huntsville.

Bonner

[George Vernon]

You might want to take a look at the bow testing reports from folks like Pete Ward and Blacky Swartz.

I've done this several times over the years and I'm always surprised.

Regardless of the type of traditional bow, just write down speed and cost.

I'm not trying to say speed is the key or only performance variable, just the one easiest to measure.

What will you find is there is very little correlation between price and speed.

The ACS bows are right at the top at around 200fps when shooting arrows weighing 9 grains per pound of peak bow weight.

There are a whole bunch shooting in the 180-195 range.  And a small group in the 170's.

For folks who shoot instinctive I don't think a difference in arrow speed of 25-30 fps is going to be noticeable in terms of point of impact.

You will see bows from Predator($700) shooting in the low 190's ahead of Widows.  Do you want to pay an additional $600 to get the 5-7fps advantage of the ACS?

So I'd recommend you set your budget and whether new or used, get the bow you shoot best.  If there is a close call between a few, let aesthetics or other issues come in.

[McDave]

Sky high prices for the absolute top end has been the reality for many items, forever I guess. You could always get a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari for 10 or 20 times the price of a good automobile, and I suppose before that you could always pay 10 or 20 times the price of a good horse for a "great" horse, if you wanted to and had the money.

I think our compound brethren anticipated this trend before we did.  I'll bet you could have sunk $2,000 into a compound bow with all the high end bells and whistles attached 10 years ago, long before anybody tried to break the $1,000 mark with a traditional bow.  

$700 hunting jackets and backpacks?  They're out there. $600 handheld GPS units and other fancy gadgets?  They're out there too.  I even buy underwear on sale at an outlet that originally sold for $50 a pair or more (or were at least priced that high anyway, whether anybody actually bought a pair for that price or not, I don't know).  

The good thing is that all the stuff is still available at more reasonable prices too.  Sometimes paying twice the price means you get 5-10% more in quality; sometimes, all you get is a different name and look.

[reddogge]

Let's not forget to thank the owner for the Classifieds either. They are a blessing to most of us. Thanks Terry.

[RC]

I`ve bought a few new bows. I always end up trading them for something used.....RC

[Jdubya]

Dont give up hope, I finally got my "dream bow" on **** last month, she was a little beat up and in desperate need of some TLC, but I saved $500.00 buying her used...

[BWD]

My latest bow was funded by me selling two bows. Didn't get what I thought either was worth, but got enough to get what I wanted.
And, the boss lady didn't say a word.

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Custom bow prices are dirt cheap compared to custom rifles, or double rifles, or even a custom stock.

[Cold Weather]

I just visited Bob Lee Archery.  They tell me that they have about 30 hrs hands on with a bow.  Then you got cost of materials, and the upkeep of the shop.

really I don't have a problem with the prices of custom bows.

one can save-its not really that much money.

[heydeerman]

The last custom bow I bought was a Black Widow. Sold it for almost half what I paid for it. I bought a Firefly from Braveheart 4 years ago and still have it. All my other bows I have bought used except one that I won. Used bows are better values.

[wandering monk]

I started making my own gear a long time ago...I ws a carpenter w/ three kids...and for me it ws the only way I could get into what I desired...

I worked pt at sporting goods stores, archery shops and fly fishing shops from age 16 into my 40's just to get the goodies I couldnt afford...

when you think of the amount of work in a nice traditional bow( usually 30-40 hours minimum), they are really quite reasonble...@15 bucks an hour plus materials...its easy to get way over 6-700 easily...most bowyers are in it for the love...not to get wealthy...at least I never met one that was...

save, get a pt job...if its something you really want there is a way...

[tomsm44]

I haven't ever owned a custom bow, but I have shot a few, and my experience has been that there is very little performance difference between a "factory" bow and a "custom" bow.  I currently shoot an early 60s model 53# Red Wing Hunter.  A good friend of mine shoots a early 2000s (03-06 roughly) Bob Lee 52# TD Recurve.  We have shot together quite a bit and while I'm sure a chrono might give his a little of an edge, there is no noticable difference in speed between the two.  No major difference in noise either.  The difference is that mine was built on an assembly line and looks just like all the other ones that were built along with it and his was built by hand exactly the way he wanted it.  A used RWH can be bought for a little over $100 last time I looked at them on various auction sites while his was around $1100.  I build custom knives and understand the amount of work that goes into a handmade item, so I believe his is worth every penny he paid for the work that went in to it, but I realize that it isn't necessary to hunt with.  Find a cheap used plain jane bow that shoots good to hunt with, then start saving for what you really want.  Right now I've got my eyes set on an Acadian Woods TD LB and will gladly pay the $1200 it costs if I am ever able to afford it.  I keep hoping a custom bowyer will be interested in working out a trade, or at least a discount, for a knife, but so far no takers.  :(  

Matt

[Bladepeek]

As I'm typing this, I'm looking at several pages in a magazine describing a $300 bottle of Vodka, an $850 bottle of tequila, a $30,000 (no, there is no mistake in the number of zeros) bottle of single malt scotch that will be sold for $3,700 for a 2-shot taste at Mastro's Steak House   in Beverly Hills (not a sponsor here   .

I think it is the same with cars, fly rods, bows, guns .....

There are the mass produced and marketed items that are probably good value for the $, but not a lot of fun. Then we have the good quality stuff that is priced according to the amount and quality of time and materials that go into the product. 6 months of work by a shade tree mechanic is usually not worth as much as a week of work by someone who really knows his trade and has the artistic talent to make his product exceptional.

I know what I can afford and am willing to save for months or years if necessary if I want something really out of the ordinary. Or, I find something that is good but within my budget and live happily with it.

Then we have the $30,000 scotch!

See - something for everybody  

[giff]

Originally posted by tomsm44:
I haven't ever owned a custom bow, but I have shot a few, and my experience has been that there is very little performance difference between a "factory" bow and a "custom" bow.

There's really not much of a price difference either though. A new bear recurve starts at $450. Nice custom bows can be found for $525. The reason for owning a custom bow isn't all about performance. A custom bow that you know was handmade just for you can be a prized possession. The finish is almost always better, and they just seem to shoot better, even if not technically better performing.

[tomsm44]

I agree Giff.  That's the point I was trying to make.  Not sure if I made that clear.  I was just giving an extreme example of a $100 older used bow vs a $1000+ custom rig that I was able to personally compare and that give similar performance.  When I went trad, $200 for an entry level Bear or Martin was more than I could afford, not to mention $450 for a top end Bear.  I got lucky during my search for a used bow and had my Red Wing Hunter given to me by an older man who doesn't hunt anymore and doesn't have a son interested in it, and who refused any kind of payment.      

Matt

[Bladepeek]

Now there's the ultimate value per dollar!

I got a Cooper .22LR rifle the same way and I prize it more than all my others. Unfortunately, my friend gave it to me as he was dying of cancer. Would much rather have had him keep it and let me shoot it once in a while