So I’m in the market for a longbow, looking at a widow PL or Toelke Whip. I’ve found a carbon PL right at my specs but the thought of carbon limbs a longbow makes me cringe. That said I know that a crazy amount of precision goes into this “primitive” weapon. And even the wooden longbow is glass backed. But I’m just having a hard time getting passed the idea of carbon. What’s everyone else’s thoughts?
Is your hang-up the idea of carbon, or the look of it?
If it is the look, you can always paint over it, put on a real snakeskin or a limbsations-type snakeskin or wood grain sticker. Some bowyers will do wood veneers over carbon.
If it is the idea of carbon being "modern," I would say that most "trad" bows really are quite modern tools. Fiberglass is a modern material, as is the glue that is needed to adhere the laminations of a bow. Fiberglass bows weren't a thing until the 1950's; for reference the 30/06 had been around for almost half a century by that point. It is quite a stretch to consider a fiberglass laminated bow as "traditional" considering the gigantic chain of modern factories and materials necessary to get that bow into your hand.
There is a reason Nels Grumley quit Bear archery. In the Traditional Bowyers Bible, some of the authors talk about fiberglass bows like "trad" guys talk about wheel-bows. They have a point.
You just gotta pick what is OK for you. Even with modern materials, the shooting process is the same. I like my self-bows, but my ILF set-up sure is nice. I shoot them the exact same way, but the ILF is an optimum system. I took an ILF recurve on my elk hunt this year. Self-bow success is certainly more satisfying, however.
If you don't want that carbon PL, can you hook me up? I've wanted one for a while
