as mentioned...i was looking through classifieds here and the other site and saw quite a few VERY NICE used longbows from top builders....Robertson, Great Northern, Northern Mist, Mohawk, Leon Stewart, Wes Wallace, etc.
and as far as "custom bows not shooting good enough for the cost"....haha...I remember when I first started traditional and got my very first recurve..Jeffery Royal Hunter. Not the prettiest or the fastest but she was all mine. I told my wife and my friends...I will never need another bow and would never pay the money they are asking for Black Widows or some of the others. THis was early 1991 I think....BW was around $600 then I think...hahaha.
My how my thinking has changed the past 24 years. LOL