Looking at ordering a Howard hill longbow need suggestions

[Cy14561]

Thinking of ordering a hill longbow but have never shot one I hear so many good things and they look awesome. Right now I'm shooting a big Jim buffalo 64" 54# at 28. I love it but want to try a hill. Is there a difference in the models as far as performance or smoothness. Or is it just a difference in materials. Wich model do u guys suggest, looking for about a 64" but looking for suggestions also looking for one around 48 to 53lbs at my draw length that is 26.5  there's so many options looking for suggestions from you guys thanks

[JRY309]

For me personally I would think about a 66" Hill.I have a couple of Hill's and draw 27" and wouldn't get one shorter then 66".A 66" and 68" Hill's are my favorite lengths with my draw length.A Hill is not designed to be a short bow.A deep core and long narrow limbs needs to be alittle longer then a R/D bow for a good smooth draw.A good rule for a Hill is take 60" plus your draw 6.5"(26.5") for a 66.5" Hill.That is not a big difference in speed or performance between the models.My personal favorite is my Hill Half Breed,I love the look of yew with the bamboo inner core.I feel a bamboo core is the smoothest for the Hill bow design.Email or call Craig and ask him about your concerns,he answered any question I had about Hill bows.They can become addictive!You should try one for yourself if you could,some guys love them and some don't care for them.

[far rider]

A 66" would fit you well. The Wesley is ultra smooth, but there are many who think the extra lams of bamboo don't really help until you get into the 70# or greater range. For lighter weights, the Tembo with it's three lams of bamboo seem to be very popular, and provide plenty of both performance and smoothness. It is the foundation of my next custom order.

All of my Hills are bamboo combination bows, and I have not shot the all Osage, or all Locust bows. I do have an all Yew bow, which shoots well, but in my opinion isn't as smooth as the bamboo cored bows. My favorite is my custom Wesley, but I like the quickness of my Halfbreed, and the beauty of my Cheetah. Hard to beat the Juniper lams.

Several guys on the Hill Bug thread really like the string follow bows of the Tembo 3 bamboo lam variety. I spoke to Craig the other day and he was explaining that the string follow is max smoothness, where back set is max speed. He offers 3 different grip styles from straight to locator. Mine are all slight dish, which is a comfortable compromise for me.

His prices are all set on the number of lams, so the Tembo is the least expensive, and does all the same work. All the rest of his product line is 4 lams of varying woods, and then peaks with the 5 lam Wesley.

I shouldn't be speaking just of Craig's Hills. There are a LOT of very fine "Hill" style longbows out there, I can only offer opinion on the Howard Hill Archery line though.

There is plenty of help on here for the Hill style bows, as they definitely have a cult following, me included.

Northern Mist, JD Berry and Howard Hill Archery offer a reverse handle. For your draw of 26.5" a 64" reverse with a straight grip would be super smooth and extra forgiving. If you are thinking about going to a Hill style, some will disagree, but you will be ahead of the learning curve by paying very close attetion to what John Schulz says in Hitten' 'em like Howard Hill. You can find it in 4 sections on the Utube. Recently I gave a young man a Kramer built 51@27" Hill Razorback that was 66" long. We were shocked how good it shoots. Arrow speed, gentle on hand, smooth draw, and accuracy, this bow has it all. I was asked how many Hill longbows one should have. The answer is, one, that fits you perfectly, all the rest are just for decoration.

[nineworlds9]

HHA bows are great, I own one myself but don't rule out 7Lakes or Bama.  Both of those fellas make super nice bows at an affordable pr

[nineworlds9]

HHA bows are great, I own one myself but don't rule out 7Lakes or Bama.  Both of those fellas make super nice bows at an affordable price.  Nate at Bama will hook you up with a lovely Tribute, built how you want.  JD Berry also a good suggestion.  The one main advantage of HHA is short wait time.  7Lakes is one of the few who can currently build a narrow limbed bow close to the specs Howard liked toward the end of his days.  Concerning fancy vs. functional when choosing an HHA model, for fancy try a Cheetah or one of the other boo/wood combos.  For functional and smooth try a Tembo.  If you have extra money to burn, a Wesley or Big5.

[Ric O'Shay]

J.D. Berry makes a fine bow. By comparison, his Vixen is most like the Hill Big 5. Both bows are great shooters, so I'd say shop around. Try shooting different make bows. See what fits you the best.

The R/D bows are a much different animal than the straight end Hill style bows. Some folks like them (that would be me) and others don't. I've got both styles and like them both. But, when I go to the woods to hunt, it seems that my straight limbed bow is what goes with me.

[Bud B.]

7 Lakes Carolina Night (I own one)

Two Tracks Echo

Shrew Hill

JD Berry

Northern Mist (I own one - Shelton)

Howard Hill Archery (I own two - Big 5 and a Centennial)

Miller

Bama

Dave Johnson (Eastern Cedar limbs. I own one. My quietest)

And there are others I just can't recall at this typing.

There are so many makers of the Hill style it's nice for the longbow shooter to have so many to choose from.

[Brianlocal3]

Cy,
As far as specifically HHA bows go, the Wesely was my favorite. But if you are wanting to go 64" I can say without hesitation that James at JD berry can make it happen.  He can tailor the limbs to match up to your DL to provide smoothness and optimum performance. I personally love my reverse habdle bows from JD berry and my Northstar model is only 62" but as smooth as any 68" bow I have ever shot, PLUS with you comming from a Buffalo and being use to its performance I'd highly suggest James Northstar or Morningstar.  My straightlimbed bows from James keep up with all of the  Mild r/d bows I have shot or owned.  

This way you can have the feel and look of the American semi-longbow but still maintain the performance (or close to it) that your use to

Just my 2 cents

[SCATTERSHOT]

As others have said, go with the 66" bow, either a Tembo or a Redman. Don't get caught up with a lot of fancy addons, just get the basic bow with a straight grip. If you find you don'r care for the straight grip, you can convert it to dish or locator fairly easily. Don't overbow yourself, either.

JMHO

Good luck!

[centaur]

I have a 64" Redman, a 66" Cheetah, and a 68" Wesley, and I draw 28 inches. Any of the three work, but the 64 inch feels a little short for my draw. I don't see much difference in performance with any of the bows. Right now, I am hunting with the Cheetah, and it is my current favorite; I like the straight grip as opposed to the locator on the Wesley or the dish on the Redman, but I can switch between the bows and they all shoot great if I do my part.

Some folks complain about hand shock with these bows, but I have never seen it as a problem. Heavy arrows and a firm grip seem to nullify any hand shock, at least for me. And, no bow is quieter if they are tuned correctly.

Talk to Craig; he will get you moving in the right direction. And, as stated above, Hill bows are addictive. There is just something about a simple D shape bow that appeals to many of us.

[Sam McMichael]

I have several Hills, 2 Wesley Specials, 2 Cheetahs, and a Big Five. My favorite is one of the Wesleys since it was custom ordered, but since an injury has caused me to drop in poundage I now shoot the Cheetah. It is as nice as the Wesley and has become my go to bow until I can pull 65# again comfortably. (That does not lessen the Big Five, either.) All mine are 68" long, and I really prefer this length because of its smoothness of draw. I like both the straight and the dished grips, with no real preference. I   pull less than 28", which coincidentally causes my bows to prefer lighter spine weights at the stated draw weight. For example, my 55# Cheetah prefers 55-60# spine, and I only shoot wood arrows. They just seem to fit a Hill bow.

I do suggest a firm grip down on the heel of the hand. This lends itself to better control and eliminates hand shock, at least for me, especially with heavy arrows.

[jsweka]

Lots of good advice here on makes and models and shooting them.  I also love this style of longbow and build my own.

However, there seem to be two types of traditional archers - those who love Hill style bows and those who hate them.

Since you've never even shot one before, I'd recommend buying a used one off the classifieds before ordering a new custom one.    If you do find you like this type of longbow you can always re-sell the used one for probably the same price you bought it for and then get yourself a custom bow made specifically for you.  If you don't like it, again, you can sell it for the same price you paid and you're not out anything other than maybe shipping cost.