Customer Reviews

Rough and Ready English Style Longbow - 45-50 lb. at 28 in.

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hello,

After purchasing my first hickory bow from www.woodbows.com, I decided to get a "heavier" hunting version of the bow.

These bows are advertised to be "rough and ready", but believe me the quality is still fabulous compared to the finished bow that I already have.

I am going to follow the advise of the builder and seal my bow with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to keep it in good shape.

I am very impressed with the quality of this product that comes complete with instructions, bow stringer and bow string.

It is an incredible product that is the best value of all of the long bows that I seen on the net!

Best,

Chris

I first had my doubts as to buying this bow, but I decided to give it a shot. I first didn't hear anything from the seller after paying for the bow, so i waited until the ship date posted on Amazon. The bow was shipped that very day via expedited shipping. I received the bow 2 days later. The bow was ready to be strung and and shot. But being rough and ready, I wanted to make it look nice. It took a little bit of sanding with 80 grit sandpaper and then with 150 then with 400 and it came out nice. I then stained it and the bow looks like a $500+ bow. The bow comes with linen backing, but I still added a fiberglass backing with some special epoxy I like to use. I left the linen the same color and it gives the bow a beautiful contrast. I then sealed and water proofed the belly of the bow with clear gloss finish. Lightly sanded the bow with 400 grit sandpaper and polished the back and belly of the bow. One thing about the bow is that the string is not too good but it only takes a little bit more work (like 15 mins) to make a new string. I used Dacron B-50 for the string and used red and black double strand flemish twist on it. I also added some otter furs to the string and leather tip protectors. The bow comes with black electrical tape for the handle but the bow is still marked where the center and handle goes. So to finish it up, I added a leather grip stitched with leather strips and the bow now looks beatiful. My friends always ask me where I got the bow and are amazed when i tell them from where and what it's made of. I have not chronographed it yet, but it looks like it almost shoots as fast as my friend's Black Widow recurve.

The only thing I can say that I didn't like about this bow is that it took about 1 1/2" set after the limbs being exercised. Which is not bad at all considering it's red oak. But after adding the glass. It didn't go any further.

This bow takes a little more work to finish, but once it's done. It looks beautiful and shoots great.

Easily about 45-53 or so pounds. Used a flu-flu arrow with it, and it still, even wwith displaced velocity and kinetic force, shredded any prey. Use a scorpio broadhead tip. Very Accurate too.

This is an amazing bow -- I bought it for my honey, and he was so impressed. I can hardly draw this (whimpy girl) but he loves it! It is a great replica of old longbows the Celts used, and just what I was looking for.

This bow is absolutely gorgeous, everyone that has seen it is in awe for quite a bit just looking at the craftsmanship, you can see where the maker actually measured the size and weight of the bow and wrote it down.

My only complaint is the handle, it looks cheap, but it gets the job done, and well at that. So Its personal preference and I couldn't take away a star....

Over-all I was very very pleased with the bow and even if I don't use it every day it makes an amazing wall piece and conversation starter.... and on the plus, the next guy to break in is getting greeted with a 6ft long bow aiming at them, not a glock .40... Should make for a fun police report. hahah!

I had been greatly anticipating the arrival of this bow, and I have been more than satisfied with what I received. Having started out with re-curves when I was younger, and then moving to compound bows as an adult, I never thought about going back to the primitive long bow. That is until I visited the Agincourt battlefield in France last summer. As soon as I got back to my base in Germany, I started hunting for a traditional long bow. I had seen beautiful, expensive bows in Pro Bass stores, but I decided to give Amazon a try. First of all, I received this order in record time via APO AE mail. I wasn't even sure they would ship here, and I was extremely happy with the speed of delivery. This bow stands almost as tall as am, but it is very comfortable to carry and shoot. It does come in "rough" condition, but it is nothing that some sand paper and finishing skills can't handle. I have not decided what product I will finish this bow off with, and it is great to have options. I purchased some beautiful tradition cedar arrows from another web site (they cost more than the bow), and I've taken the bow out into the woods twice. I followed the maker's recommendation by starting out at 5 yards, and moving back in 5 yard increments. I would recommend starting out at 10 years and move back in 5 yard increments. This bow performed excellent with a 50 lb draw at 28". I was nailing the target with decent groups at 30 yards in no time. It is such a simple bow to shoot, and I believe that 50 lbs is probably sufficient for most men. I may decide to purchase another long bow in the future, but I already know that this will be my favorite because it will be customized by me. I do have two questions for previous buyers. Where can I get additional strings, and how well will boiled linseed oil work for a finish? Will it darken the wood a bit, and will it weatherproof the wood?

most men i know including myself practice between 15 and 30 yards with the recurve/longbow
if you keep the bow sealed with tung oil,lemon oil or even linseed oil but that takes forever to dry i use tung oil always have always will and only string thebow when u are useing it were it does not worp the limbs it should last a life time if there are no flaws in the wood that would give way after couple hundred shots
put wax on ur string if it has any burs on it u need more bees wax
my uncle had the same recurve bow for over 20 years and finally one day he strung it up pulled it back and it broke so yes they will wear out over time
the arrows are all your taste normally a 30 inch cedar arrow is used u pick if u want the broadhead tips or the practice tips the wooden arrows dont have screw on tips like the metal ones do so you must buy both types but make sure they match (the practice and hunting arrows) were ur shots will be close to the same even with differnt arrrows
always use the same type arrows were u can define ur skill and u dont have to worry about what arrow flys this way or that way i would start off with a 12 pack or 24 pack of cedar arrows and if u get the big pack only shoot 6 or 12 at a time were u dont wear them all out at once
and remeber a good idea is to put ur string in another place then ur bow were some novice doesnt mess with it try to string it and brake ur bow dry fire it or leave it strung there are some real bright people out there i keep my wooden bows laying flat on the floor in one of my xtra bedrooms were it is out of the way out of the light and not leaning agaist something to be knocked over or worped i hope this helps

This is a great bow, it shipped to me rapidly. I use mine for target practice, and it's very accurate. It comes unstained and unfinished, so you have plenty of room to be creative. The handle is wrapped in black tape, and you can make your own out of the material of your choice. I chose Kiwi leather shoestring, it's quick and cheap and makes a fine looking handle for the bow. It can also be stained to any color you choose, and you can add your own designs with a stencil if you choose. Of course it can also be used as-is, but the great thing about this bow is that it can also be a fun project. With a little creativity this $90 bow can look like a $ 300 bow easily.

This bow is described well in the title. It is rough and ready. It is fully functional, but unfinished. If you want to sand it a little bit and put a varnish on it you can do that, or just treat it with wood oil (like I did) which is more traditional. I have still to make a leather handle. It comes with electrical tape wrapped around it for a handle. It's kind of tacky, but hey, it's a very good price and I was already planning on making my own handle for it.

Mine arrived today. It shoots very well, and is just basically a great bow. I think it could use a little sanding the wood is rough, also the hand grip is marked out with eletrical tape. I want to maybe stain the bow a nice expresso color and add a red leather hand grip over the eletrical tape.