HH BUG GOT ME - Part Two!

[K2]

Love my #31 Black Mamba.  Glad my wife let me keep it with the Schafer Silvertip coming today.  Ken

[flyguysc]

You be one lucky married man  

[Ari_Bonn]

My new Two Tracks Echo (custom) that just came in today.

70" 50# @ 28 (48.5# at my draw of 27)

String follow, Walnut limb core, myrtle riser, brown glass front and back, tip wedge, 450+ string.  

Super happy with it reminds me of an ancient forrest. Also extremely smooth and ghostly quiet.

   https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/20233110_1359598440755239_2992131568394459979_o.jpg?oh=493748663b0d9b773317609ddd7b14b5&oe=59FB0D44

   https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/20280373_1359598437421906_1310250268378305789_o.jpg?oh=7938ef396ed4abae99e5642f8be93897&oe=59FF46DA

    https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/20248181_1359598434088573_407219739809218404_o.jpg?oh=159666053d652be0c9727cc4c3a8dc4c&oe=59EF1D84

[nineworlds9]

Chuck builds a sweet stick no doubt about it!

I got the new McBroom forward handle stringfollow in today. It is great.  Workmanship not all that far off from Ekin, JD Berry, Turay, and for quite a deal of a price comparatively.  I think Brian will be one of the top guys before too long.  Thing shoots superb, a really really fun ASL to shoot.  

Stay tuned for pics...

[jeffg]

Chuck those reverse handle string follows are great shooters. Love the NM Ramer I got this spring.
 

[nineworlds9]

The forward handle Hills are so danged fun to shoot!

I see your Ramer, and raise you a McBroom!

 

more pics tomorrow!

[nineworlds9]

More pics of the McBroom.  I call this the FUN bow, cause out of all my bows it makes me feel the most like a kid just screwing around taking shots.  It's just a pleasure to shoot plain and simple.  

   
   

   
   
   

[jeffg]

That's the way the Ramer is. Steve builds all the misses and bad characteristics of an ASL out of his bows!

[ron w]

Surprise came in the mail today, my new Howard Hill longbow !!! I ordered a Ruffed Grouse, antler overlays, 2 piece and dual shelf. Also has a silver bear inlay in the cocobolo riser. It came out real nice. I ordered 45 @ 29 but it came 45 @ 28.......still fells real good and shoots great. They said 7-8 weeks and they were right on time. My wife is out of town with the camera so you will have to wait for the photos. Going stumping in the morning.....it only seems right...lol

[flyguysc]

Hope it's not raining. New bow sound nice.

[Learner]

Sounds great, Ron!

Is the red elm on the outer lams? And clear glass?   I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures!

I'm waiting for my Half Breed to be finished.  I ordered it June 13th, so the time is getting close.  Yew outer lams under clear glass, bamboo inners, gaboon ebony riser and limb tips, black elk wrap,and large takedown grip.

When I get that one, I will be sending back my Big 5 to have the split cowhide wrap changed to moose, and have Craig autograph it and refinish it.

Best wishes,
Frank

[ron w]

Yep, red elm under clear glass, nice grain to it.

The question was slightly dished like Schulz or straight.  I answered very slightly dished.  Dished can come in a number varieties.  The location of the deepest part of the dish can be in the middle or up a ways.  Considering the variety of grip shapes posted recently.  The grip shape is the launch base for the bow, I sometimes wonder what affects it can have.  I took the general lines off of 1956 Bear, gave it a deeper grab to match the longbow, a slightly straighter lower base  of the grip section to a bow that had been tillered with a straight grip.  I felt the need to adjust the limb timing a little after the grip change, the bow went from about 55 pounds to about 54 pounds, but the bow felt more neutral after the sand paper tuning.    It use to be more common for longbow shooters to adjust the grips on their bows, I wonder how often it happens these days.

[evgb127]

Well I finally got bit.  My new Tembo arrived over the weekend.  When I ordered it I said I wanted an all brown bow and Craig said he had some nice walnut in stock.  It is prettier than I imagined:  

 

 

Now the fun of tuning begins...

[David Mitchell]

Great color.  As always, looks like Craig did an excellent job.  

[flyguysc]

Nice looking rig. Hope it shoots well for you.

[Learner]

Beautiful, Evan!

As far as tuning: if you're shooting wood arrows, IMO, there shouldn't be too much tuning involved when shooting a Hill style ASL.

I picked up one of those "spine test kits", and found that from 41# up to 57#, my HH Big 5 shoots pretty much the same.  That is to say, deviation in the flight of the arrows was FAR more due to my technique, than it was to the arrow spine!      :eek:    

Same for nocking point placement.  After a lot of experimentation, I found that an arrow showing "nock up" or "nock down" on impact was again almost totally due to my (defective) technique, than it was to nocking point placement.      

So now I set my nocks at 1/2" up, and don't mess any more with them.  Since my shafts are 11/32" in diameter. that puts the bottom edge of my arrow at slightly over 1/8" up from level with the shelf.

My technique is slowly improving.  As I get better at keeping the direction of pulling force in perfect alignment with the arrow point (both vertically and horizontally), my arrows fly flatter and with a straighter trajectory.  (I'm referring here to keeping the force of my bow grip, the string, my wrist, my arm, and my right elbow all perfectly aligned with each other and with the arrow point.)

FWIW: my Big 5 is 45# @ 27".  Currently I'm shooting 50-55# spine, 11/32" POC arrows, cut to 28.5" BOP.  My draw is 27".

Best wishes,
Frank

[shick]

Evan, that is 'classic looking' bow.  Great wood combination.   Good luck with her.
Shick

Frank, as many years as I have been shooting longbows and trying perfect things, I still need to spend time with the basics one piece at a time. Of course, you know that "Upon release, with both hands do nothing.", does not mean a sloppy or weak release.  It is the key for good arrow flight, certain longbows require slight differences in the initial set up. Craig Ekin recommends a slightly higher brace and nocking point than John Schulz did.  that is due to the slight differences in design and tiller.  Any individual person/arrow/bow will have its own exact just right thing, but I have never seen that exact right thing require any extreme changes.  John said once that the shooter needs to have themselves tuned before they start blaming the equipment.  When people come to me for arrows for a Hill style bow, I set up the bow right in the middle of the makers suggestion range, a wood arrow  with 125 grain heads with 3/4" to an inch of of extra bop and right at the marked poundage, adjusted to draw lengths.  I have not seen once that when the shooters problems were fixed and they were shooting consistent that the arrow chosen did not work good enough. It is getting to that shooting consistency where things are learned about draw lengths, release strengths or weakness, bow hand moving during the shot or just general offline tensions affecting the shot. Then a tweak of going up 5 pounds of spine or down 5 pounds of spine are tested, to see if that perfects the arrow flight a little better.  Simple stuff and nothing dramatic, but it works every time.

[Linwood Hines]

Now you're talking!  Great advice Pavan!  Thanks - I'm still working on my basics, and consistency after all of these yaers