First of all, let me just say thanks x10 to Mr. Gregg Coffey of Java Man Archery for donating his time and materials to the wonderful cause that is the Tradgang St. Jude's Auction. Also a big thanks to Craig Warren for donating his Bow-bolt takedown system to the bow build, one of the slickest systems around and an absolute cinch to use! To me the big bonus on the Bow-bolt is the extra mass it adds when combined with phenolic to what would otherwise be a very light weight bow. It was an honor to be able to bid on a bow for the auction and actually win it, AND humbling to know that while my money was going to helping the kids up in Michigan Gregg Coffey was going to work hard to build ME a dream bow without earning a cent from me. This thing we have going here on Tradgang is very special to say the least. Very special.
Over the past two years I have discovered some definite favorites among the many bows and bowyers I have tried. You all have read my write ups. I am not merely a performance junkie, I expect the TOTAL package when I plunk down $ for a bow, new or used. My favorite bows are those that achieve speed, quietness, and ease of shooting while also showing top shelf attention to detail and rock solid construction, where you can see that the bowyer takes pride in their work and does it for the love of it.
Anyway, I had big plans to have Jim Neaves build me another Centaur this month. I had traded away the bow I had him build last fall (crazy! I already miss that one haha) and sold the used Dark Matter 56" I reviewed a couple months ago because I wanted a new zero compromises bow that incorporated the Dark Matter riser and the woods and look I always wanted.
St. Jude's came along and I donated several items and just like everyone else I browsed the listings and threw in a few bids here and there on items to get things rolling. That's when I spied Gregg's listing for a Custom Java Man Bow of the winning bidder's choice. I thought to myself "hmmmmm", but was largely resolved to go with the new Centaur as I had already found a spot on the waiting list to buy via back channels. The auction got going and I left the idea and focused on selling a few bows to continue raising money for the Centaur.
That's when the idea crept back up in my head and I got to thinking. Jim's bows were a known quantity for me. I had already owned three thus far. Obviously they are among the very best in the trad world. I knew I would always be a customer of Jim's. Gregg on the other hand...I had tried and loved two used bows that he built under the Shrew name that I picked up on the classifieds over the last couple years. From those bows I knew his craftsmanship was totally ace. I knew he built bows that performed. He was on my radar for sure, and I considered either a new or used Java Man for well over a year. I even chatted with him several times over the course of a year regarding the two used Shrew bows I had sampled and also inquired about his stock bows on one occasion and asked about his lead time on a custom build. Each time we spoke via email he was very pleasant to talk to, very very forthright and gracious with my questions and didn't ever not once act like I was wasting his time. Time went on, I browsed the online classifieds often, and I had not seen any lefty Java Mans being offered used, well ever. Fast forward to St. Jude's and I suddenly realized I was being presented with an opportunity: here I had the chance to finally try one of the bows Gregg was building under his own name, get a brand new one built EXACTLY how I wanted with basically NO wait time on top of it!...AND, the BEST part--have the money go to a cause like St. Jude's. The Centaur could wait. Time to bid! I got very excited because I realized that this would be a major shot of novocaine for my bow habit..this bow would be built fully loaded AND have a special meaning to me and have it's own little story. A keeper from the get go. Built in mojo from day one.
The result of Gregg and Craig's generosity and my winning bid is a left-hand 2014 Java Man Elkheart 2pc 'Bow-bolt' hybrid longbow, 56" and 52@29. The riser is phenolic and Bocote, the veneers are called "Royal" Ebony (very similar to Macassar.) Now let me tell you how cool Gregg is...he actually allowed me to 'remotely' hand pick the actual sheet of wood my veneers came from via email/photographs. And I'm not just talking a sheet of wood he had in stock either. See, we had been discussing different ebonys and he indicated what he had available, and me dreaming about a unique bow said "well Gregg, that all sounds great but what else can we do?? "Show me the money!!" Haha..well I get an email with a picture of a sheet of ebony that just looks CRAZY and I was like "ooohhh yeah buddy!" and I reply back "WTH is that???!!! Lets DO it!!" I get a quick reply "Sweet. I'll buy it now!" THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!! To raise it another notch, Gregg even let me pick which specific veneer strips from the sheet with different figure and color for the back and belly I wanted on the bow. How COOL is that! The riser and tip overlays are water buffalo horn with such a cool rough 'organic' look to them. Makes the bow look 'alive'.
As I have well shown, Gregg communicated with me through the whole thing. He is very plugged in and easily accessible via phone, email, or text which made the whole experience just so much fun. We discussed the build step by step: we discussed which model I might like to try, he explained the differences between several models, he helped me make my wood/material choices, we bounced ideas back and forth about how the bow should look, and not once did I feel pressured or have anything but a 100% customer service experience. There are keeper bows and keeper bowyers. Gregg is one such.
I ended up deciding on an Elkheart because I wanted a bow that will be extremely versatile and useful in just about any hunting situation I could possibly encounter. I have always favored longer bows and at first I was contemplating a 58 or 60" Falcon because of the larger riser and longer length, however after thinking it through and discussing it with Gregg it became more and more clear that the Elkheart would be absolutely tops for stalking the thick pine and oak scrub of North Florida as well as the dark and gloomy Cypress swamps where the piggies like to hide. The 56" version would flatter my 29ish draw and be very compact. The phenolic and Bow-bolt riser would add mass to stabilize the shorty for precise shooting at hunting distances.
I didn't just want a full phenolic riser, I wanted something with a little flair, so I decided on incorporating some Bocote (one of my favorite woods) so that the sight window and belly side of the bow would 'pop' and constrast the darkness of the Royal Ebony on the limbs. I put the darker more 'blotchy' pieces of ebony on the back of the limbs to mimic light and shadow for a little 'camo' and the more figured and striped pieces that I picked out on the belly so that I had something neat to look at :D
The grip had to be beaver tail of course :D The stuff is a bear to work from what I have heard from most bowyers, and Gregg was more than happy to get some installed to give my hands traction in the September and October sweating that is par for the course in Florida early in the season.
So how is the bow? Well, I got it in my hands on Monday. Gregg texted me and said "tracking said it's at your PO set to go out for delivery, let me know when you get it in your hands!" I was off that day so I was able to intercept the post man. Got the box inside and opened it up. Bow was packed in a nice fleece bow sock twisted up to protect the two pieces and the string was still held in place so that all I had to do was put the bow together and brace it and I'd be good to start shooting. Well, got her unwrapped, and OHHH man, what a beauty! I had already seen pics that Gregg sent me prior to shipping...but you all know pics are not the same as holding it in your hands hahaha. I promptly texted Gregg back "YOU DONE GOOOOOD!!!" Hehe. The bow was absolutely everything I hoped it would be. I texted Gregg my initial thoughts and many hearty thank you's.
Fit and finish is excellent. The 'look' Gregg and I came up with is to me just about as good as it gets. The light color of the Bocote on the riser just pops as a nice contrast to the darkness of the limbs and the horn overlays add character and texture. The bow looks menacing to me. Every bit a hunter. Finish and attention to detail is even better than the older used bows I had enjoyed using so much if that is even possible. And it is 100% up there with the other top shelf offerings out there. I am extremely impressed with how tight and perfectly the materials in the riser are joined. There are so many layers and the phenolic, Bocote, Uniweft and other materials just all flow together beautifully. One detail that is something I am a stickler for is sharp edges on wood where it was been cut to a fade/ thin edge. Gregg does this perfectly and there is no ragged edge where the wood from the grip build up transitions to the limb, just a nice super crisp edge. Same on the tip overlays. To me details like this are the mark of a top shelf bowyer.
The grip is absolutely phenomenal. It has the exact palm swell and contour I had my fingers crossed that it would have. I volunteered some measurements on my bow hand and told Gregg my glove size and said I can send a tracing of my hand if you really need it- I'm worried the grip will be too small. Gregg very casually and knowingly said "don't worry, I'll make it a little larger than normal and I bet you will like it" or some such. A cool cat he is. He worked some magic because it was one of the few grips I have tried that I can just take the bow and gently close my hand around the grip 100% naturally and the bow just sits there perfectly ready to go. I don't have to mess with positioning my palm or anything. I tried shooting with a firm grip, a light grip, all fingers, three fingers, whatever, it all worked.
The bow came with a black D10 8-strand string that I believe is of Gregg's making. Silencers were not included to allow the new owner, me, to choose whether or what to use.
The bow strung up easily and just looked badass, all dark and curvy. Draw feel is smooth, effortless power. I really like that while string tension at brace is high, it doesn't have that excessive early draw weight feel that some radical bows have. It's just comfortable. A steady smooth pull all the way to anchor...wow who would think..like a hotrod longbow
I 'reoriented' my brain to these high shots and tweaked a few more tuning adjustments and soon I was approaching outstanding arrow flight and multiple double lung and heart shots on my silhouette bag and I was less than a dozen shots in. Niiiice. Easy tuning and easy shooting is what you want.
All those pleasant experiences aside, the bows physical weight is just spot on. The mass weight reminds me very much of the 56" 1pc Dark Matter Centaur I have been comparing it to in my mind. This Elkheart achieves that nice heft via the phenolic and Bow-bolt combo. It is light enough for all day carry, yet has enough mass that you don't feel like you're holding this twitchy thing that you're going to have to worry about moving around on you during your shot. Super grip, slight deflex to the riser, smooth draw, centralized mass in the hand. Just like the little DM Centaur, what I like to call 'the perfect "short" bow recipe'. A dash of Ron LaClair, a dash and a dollop of Greg Coffey, a sprinkle of Craig Warren, and a drop of Northwoods mojo and you got a pinnacle trad hunting tool my friends.
This bow is officially my number one hunting weapon. I wanted to personalize the bow so I did something uncharacteristic and had him put my name on it and "St. Jude's 2014" AND something else special, one of my favorite quotes from Friedrich Nietzsche that I feel helps me relate to the kids and will help remind me how this bow came to be. Check it out in the pics.
Check out Mr. Coffey's fine work...
Topic: 2014 St. Jude's Java Man Elkheart (umm, pic heavy) (Read 1822 times)
