howard hill archery

[ssumner1]

#6215

I have been looking at a longbow to purchase in the near future, and was wondering about the Howard Hill archery bows. Obviously I know who Howard Hill is, but I am not sure whom the people making the bows in his name are. Are they solid bows, or should I look elsewhere?

Thanks,
-Andrew

[Arne Moe]

#48949

Excellent bows if you want a Hill style bow (I have 6). Pretty fast service for a built to order bow and great customer service. Really fair price. Craig Ekin has been doing this for quite a while, don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Be advised that Hill bows are often reported to come in with a little higher draw weight than specified.

[ssumner1]

#48961

I actually have never owned a longbow. I only have one bow and it is a Fred Bear Grizzly. I love the bow, but I would really like to try out a long bow. It currently has been between either the Howard Hill, or the Shrew bows.

[Arne Moe]

#49554

If you can, it would be worth your while to get as many different ones as you can find to shoot. Check with friends, go to trad archery events, etc. Many longbows have a personality of their own and one may suit your likes better than another.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#49583

A HH and a Shrew are pretty different bows. Have you tried them?

[Arne Moe]

#49596

Hill bows are my bows of choice. I have shot a Shrew but only very briefly — it seemed very nice. Again, bow selection must be a personal decision but a “try before you buy” philosophy will save some heartache down the road.

[David Petersen]

#50718

Keep in mind that Hill-style “straight stick” longbows are generally considered more difficult to master than more modern longbow designs. And they tend to be fairly long, making them difficult to hunt with. Most Hill shooters I have know were experienced archers and bowhunters before they “graduated” to a Hill-style. They certainly can be great bows, but perhaps not the most rewarding way to “learn your chops.” Shrews are great bows but there’s currently a 14-month waiting period, unless you can find one used. There are lots of excellent deflex-reflex longbows around that would make a good compromise for you. IMHO

[Bounty Hunter]

#50773

David Petersen wrote: Keep in mind that Hill-style “straight stick” longbows are generally considered more difficult to master than more modern longbow designs. And they tend to be fairly long, making them difficult to hunt with. Most Hill shooters I have know were experienced archers and bowhunters before they “graduated” to a Hill-style. They certainly can be great bows, but perhaps not the most rewarding way to “learn your chops.” Shrews are great bows but there’s currently a 14-month waiting period, unless you can find one used. There are lots of excellent deflex-reflex longbows around that would make a good compromise for you. IMHO

I have to totally agree with Dave, if you are moving from a recurve to a longbow you don’t want to make that big of a jump. I have a White Wolf that is a great bow as it combines what I love about recurves with what I love about longbows. Very easy to move from one to the other without changing your style/technique a lot. In fact I should the WW far better than I shoot my recurves now.

[Vintage Archer]

#50954

If you were going from a recurve to a hill style bow there might be a learning or adjustment period .I found that there is only a slight learning curve between switching between a Hill style and a Reflex/deflex but not that much to be concerned about .

I personally feel that a straight limb bow is easier to shoot and more stable than r/d bows. I also feel they (HILL) are more sluggish (less speed) than r/d. Under 20 yds I have found that I shoot the Hill bow better than a r/d . It is kind of like comparing a straight limb selfbow to a laminated r/d bow .There defiantly is a difference. I have made and shot a lot of self bows probably why I like Hill bows. That being said I have shot for the last 5 years a take down r/d long bow:D
After reading what I just wrote I am sure I just added to the confusion. 😀 But we are not here to make your decision just add more food for thought? All I can say is an archer “can never have enough bows”

[ssumner1]

#53305

My brother is purchasing a r/d take-down. I will try it out most definitely. I love a challenge and I also love the way the Hill style looks. My biggest fear is being able to move around with a Hill during hunting. I think that any small game hunting would be easy to do when considering moving around, but when I am in a stand or on the ground and find my self in a tight spot, a Hill seems like it will be difficult to get into position quickly and especially quietly.

Thanks guys for all the comments and sorry for the delayed responses to all the great feedback.8)

Edit* I do not know anyone personally that hunts with traditional gear besides myself. My brother has started wanting to get into it, but like I said he is purchasing the r/d longbow soon. I have not been able to try any type of longbow before.

[Dan Sweeney]

#54575

I hunt with a 66″ longbow with no trouble. Stands, brush blings, tight woods. They are pretty maneuverable and tend to hang on brush/briers/limbs/sticks/clothing/gear/etc less than a recurve. At least, it seems that way to me. But, different folks like different things. In cold weather, I use a recurve not for brush clearance, but for brace height clearance since my 5.5″ in brace on a selfbow doesn’t suit too well with lots of sleeves.

[ssumner1]

#57828

I honestly am worried about the hunting aspect with this bow Dan, but I truly think I will purchase one in the near future. I currently am having an issue with deciding on which model I would very much like to have. I like the Wesley Special with its 5 Boo lams, but I really love the look of the juniper lamination on the Cheetah bow. The yew bows also look wonderful, but I want performance. It is the most important factor for me. What do you guys think?

[Author]

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