short bows

[M]

#6145

Just wondering how many of you use shorter bows to hunt with.I use a 1972 Bear Super Magnum 48 and love it. I seem to shoot it well and dont seem to experience a lot of problems other people warn me about or I am to dumb to know the difference. My bow is 55#@28″ and I draw about 29 1/2″ I use carbon express heritage 150 arrows with a 150gr Zephyr head.If I am not alone please share your setups and experiences with these ultimate hunting bows.

[Jesse Minish]

#48515

I have a Cascade Night Hawk Mag. It is 52″ and 70# @ 28″ I draw about 29″. Cedar arrows and Eclipse heads.

[M]

#49159

I have not heard of that bow is it custom? Is it your main hunting bow? Any luck with it this year? I have killed 1 doe and a squirrel so far this fall have mot seen a decent buck yet. I live in Ohio and our season runs to the end of January.

[David Petersen]

#49231

I started bowhunting in the early 1960s with a Ben Pearsson Bobcat. Can’t recall the length but it was 48-52″ — very short and I did just fine shooting competition with it also. A few years ago I bought a vintage Bear KM Blackbear (the cheap version) and really enjoyed it too but it was lighter draw so I only hunted turkey with it (sold it to a Ute Indian girl, which was cool). Most of the wood bows I’ve built are around 58″ but do stack tremendously. I now own two near-twin Shrew Classic Hunters, 53# and 55# at 28″, both 54″ long, one a take-down. While these bows weren’t literally made in Heaven (in fact, in Gregg Coffey’s shop), they sure seem to be. With short bows that shoot this beautifully with no stack, I can’t imagine why anyone hunts with a long longbow unless you’re building your own. Several issues back, TBM ran an article by Fred Asbell extolling the virtues of short bows. dave

[M]

#49315

I will look for that article, thanks for the info. I dont know why someone would want to use a long bow either so much nicer to hunt with a short bow. I hear about stacking not really sure what it is. I keep hearing about stacking and people tell me I should be experiencing it but if I am it doesnt seem to bother me. bottom line I seem to shoot it well and I am having fun.

[Jesse Minish]

#49409

M wrote: I have not heard of that bow is it custom? Is it your main hunting bow? Any luck with it this year? I have killed 1 doe and a squirrel so far this fall have mot seen a decent buck yet. I live in Ohio and our season runs to the end of January.

Yes it is a custom bow made by Cascade Archery. I have only shot a few grouse so far this year with it but I am hoping to get a mulie this week:D.

[Patrick]

#50379

Dang it you guys! Now you’ve got me hankerin’ for a short longbow. Reminds me of jumbo shrimp. 😆

[Daniel]

#50496

Now, who mentioned shrimp????????? I absolutely LOVE shrimps !!!!! That’s right, we are talking about short bows, sorry 😀

I have this awesome 52″ flatbow from Quartermoon longbows and it shoots great, love it in the blind and in tree stands !!

SB

[M]

#51412

Good luck with you mulie. Not sure how we got on shrimp but yes they are tasty. Are you using any type of efoc setup with your short bows? what is it? I love the Ashby broadheads but not the price do you know of a good alternative to at least use as a trial before I plunk down that much cash?

[David Petersen]

#52919

SB — Is this an all-wood longbow at 52″ or does it have glass? What’s your draw length? What about stacking? dave

[William Warren]

#53032

The shortest hickory flat bow I have built was 60″ Unfortunately it eventually crysalled on me. I think it was due to the peice of wood more than anything else. It was shagbark hickory and was very figured. Real snakey looking. It was pretty fast and it did have some stacking but it was not too bad.
My Bear Grizzly qualifies as a short bow and is a great shooter. Just got one of those Volcanos by Greatree which is 52″. Could not resist the price. I set it up and shot it all day today. It is very smooth and accurate for an inexpensive bow. I got good arrow flight on my first try! Took it to the woods this evening for squirrel and deer. Did not see any deer today.
Speaking of Shrimp, had me some fresh NC Shrimp on Thursday night. Good Stuff, short bows and shrimp!

[Daniel]

#53637

There we go again, talkin’ bout shrimps…….they cost a fortune up here in the sub arctic, probably due to all the shipping costs added to them but I sure love them shrimps 😆

Yes Dave, this little gem of a flat bow has glass and gorgeous snake skins on the front. What is so precious about this little flatbow is that the red wood that is on its belly was hand picked and owned by Jay Massey, the bow means alot to me. My draw length is 28 inches and stacking is non existent. If you wnat to see pics, just let me know and I’ll post on a few of the bow.

63#@28″ and so so nice to shoot. I remember shooting with it at this year’s Alberta Traditional Archery Jamboree immediately after getting it from Bert and the moment I started shooting, a number of people were pretty impressed with it.

SB

[William Warren]

#53812

SB,
I know you were addressing Dave but please do post some pics. I’ve enjoyed reading about Jay Massey over the years in TradBow and other publications and would love to see it too.
Duncan

[Daniel]

#53869

Not a problem Duncan, I just finished downloading my pictures and will post them in a couple of minutes….alright, the first picture is the snake skins. My bows name is “Shoot the Bull”.

The second is the red wood I was talking about, this is really nice wood and coming from Jay Massey, well, it really is special,

And finally, here are close-ups of both limbs with Bert signatures.

[Treetopflier]

#53895

SB — (guess that could also be Sitting Bear, or Sleeping Bear, or … 😆 ) Thanks for the pics. Gorgeous bow. Pretty unusual to see such a deep centercut handle on a flatbow. Must bring you a lot of joy. snuffy (no relation to Snuffornot, as I wouldn’t want to embarrass him).

[ButchMo]

#54075

I shoot a Bear K-Mag. 50lb@28 shoots great. David, On your selfbows. It sounds as if they’re a little whip tillered. Try leaving the limb tips stiff. Keep them narrow & kind of thick.

Butch

[William Warren]

#54204

Snuffy,
You won’t embarrass me, Snuffy is a great handle.:D

Standing Bear,
thanks for sharing those pics, that is a beautiful bow and with the redwood from Jay Massey, that makes it truly a special bow. I’ve not seen one with redwood before.
Duncan

[Patrick]

#56908

StandingBear wrote: The second is the red wood I was talking about, this is really nice wood and coming from Jay Massey, well, it really is special…

SB

THAT is an awesome bow on so many levels.

[Chris Shelton]

#56989

David Petersen wrote: Most of the wood bows I’ve built are around 58″ but do stack tremendously.

What is stacking? I used to be under the impression that a lengthy guy like me couldnt shoot one. But now with the change in anchor last year, I have a short draw? I used to draw like 28.5, now I am somewhere in the 26.5 range, I used to put the feathers in the corner of my mouth, now I use my finger in the corner. I suppose that is a 2 inch difference.

Shrimp? What about crabs!!! I am a maryland guy and we know crabs, dad and I just caught a bushel last month, o my gosh they were awesome, probably the average size was 6 inches, some were 8:shock:. legal is like 5.25? But we only caught like 6 that were close!!
Chris

[M]

#58232

Maryland crabs are great. Have been down Easton, St. Michaels way a number of years back. Great seafood dinners down there. I have a 29 1/5 inch draw and shoot a Bear Super Magnum 48 and dont experience stacking unless I am too dumb to Know the difference. I love to hunt with these short bows. Anybody else have anything to share?

[LadyHawk]

#13329

My longbow is 56″ and my recurve is 52″. I love the short bows. I have a short draw so the shorter limbs work better for me.

[LucasK]

#45444

Anyone have any pictures of Niel Tarbell’s supper shoort bows from the late 50’s to the early 60’s. I think some of these bows were made close to 40 inches! I would love to see some…
Lucas

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#48893

Since every thing in the Modern History book of Bowhunting has been successfully hunted with 66″ to 72″ longbows, I feel that my 62″ “modern” Black Widow longbow is plenty short.
Having said that, one of my good friends has 2 Shrews, and I couldn’t help ordering a 56″ classic hunter. So, when I get it, in 14 years, er, I mean 14 months :-), I’ll give you my unbiased assessment 🙂

[traddad]

#49830

I have a 56″ Super Shrew LB that is 56# at 26″. Shoots awsome without stacking and is super quiet…Have nice photo in the pic section with a Speedgoat from Montana….Good Luck all! and Merry Christmas!

[Author]

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