Made in USA bows?

[MichaelO]

Purchasing my first recurve to get into trad archery this spring.Looking for some suggestions on a made in USA bow. Prefer to keep my $ here even if it costs a little more.

 

[wytx]

Find a local bowyer and buy one of his or hers. Custom is not cheap but you're supporting true craftsmen. Many of them will have bows on the shelf you can try and maybe one or 2 for sale already made.

 

[Fowl intentions]

Where are you located MichaelO? There are a lot of Bowyers in the u.s. Lots in Montana, Toelke, Robertson, Hurst, etc. See if you can get to a traditional 3D shoot, meet some folks, shoot some bows, have fun. People look at the price of a traditional bow and think they are expensive, that's bullshit. They're hand made! And you're not buying a bunch of other crap like a 4' long stabilizer, a $200 sight, a $150 rest. Plus they are way lighter to carry around, like oz vs lbs.

And, the very last thing, wood has SOUL!!!

 

[oldgoat]

Toelke!

 

[MichaelO]

Located in Indiana. Not much archery club presence here that I can find. So what I’m finding that all the big names recommended for newbies like Samick, and pse’s are all imports ? Best bet for made in USA is a small bowyer?

 

[Wrench]

I have a stalker, tomahawk, toelke, Hatfield, Martin, bear....all American some one man shops, some huge shops.

I personally think you need hands on to see what you like. My toelke and tomahawk are the classic style longbow grips while the others are fancy....I shoot the plain boring grip best.

 

[Wrench]

Here's a really good buy on a nice American bow....however it's too heavy to learn on.

*Great Plains SR Swift T/D Recurve*

Great Plains SR Swift T/D recurve. Specs are 58”, 53# @ 28”. Rio Bravo model, with Bacote and Pau Ferro, with phenolic wave riser, bacote veneers. The bow is very smooth, quick, and quiet. Great grip. Bow is in great shape and has the name “Jake” on the lower limb. Not many o...

www.24hourcampfire.com

 

[Duc]

Bring some $$

Blacktail Bows 'In Stock' Inventory

This section of the Blacktail Bows website showcases the In Stock inventory bows available for immediate sale.

www.blacktailbows.com

 

[YankyMate]

How far away are you from 3 rivers archery? There are plenty of options that are made here in the USA without having to spend a pile of money. Bear and Martin come to mind.

 

[Newtosavage]

Honestly, find a clean used Bear Kodiak in the 40# range. Perfect bow to learn on and it won't break the bank.

Stickbow.com has classifieds. That's where I'd start looking first.

Once you have some experience with your first bow, you'll then have a lot more knowledge about which custom bow to buy. I've seen too many people run out and buy a custom for their first trad bow, only to learn after time that it's not what they really needed or wanted long-term. I have lost track of the number of custom trad bows that are not shot by their owners anymore. In most cases, they are the most expensive bow that person owns too, but they feel "stuck" with it because it was their first trad bow. 99% of the time, the issue is too much draw weight.

 

[Fowl intentions]

Check out the forum "Tradgang" a ton of great info on there.

 

[Phil4]

Great timing on your post! Head up to Kalamazoo 1/24-1/26 for the Traditional Archery Expo. More bows and bowyers in one place than you could possibly want. Also a huge selection of used bows on consignment. You can often talk directly to the guy who has the bow for sale, etc. I’m stuck in FL for work or I’d be going for sure.

It’s a great event and you can shoot tons of bows in a few hours.

The flyer is on great northern’s website not sure if this link will work.

Traditional Archery Expo | Great Northern Quivers

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[GregB]

Purchasing my first recurve to get into trad archery this spring.Looking for some suggestions on a made in USA bow. Prefer to keep my $ here even if it costs a little more.

Let me ask you this, do you prefer split finger or 3 under, how do you want the bow tillered, do you want a low medium or high grip, how do you like your riser cut, how long of a bow do you like?
If you are just getting into traditional archery you probably don't know what you do and don't like. I would get an inexpensive bow at a light poundage to start. Then you can work on form and figure out what you like in a bow. Then spend the money on a custom. I would suck to spend $1000 + out of the gate only to realize it's not customized to what works for you.

 

[Billy Goat]

If you buy a used bow the money is staying here. Just one way to think of it. I'd try several to find exactly what you are looking for. Takes some experimenting to figure that out sometimes.

 

[ODB]

Yeah, you gotta get your hands on some bows. Example: I bought a Robertson stykbow once - was soooo excited. I could not shoot that bow for squat...same goes for a Wes Wallace....maybe just me, but one bow do not fit all....

For the record my favorite bow is a Bill Kerner

 

[Kevin Dill]

I was once asked about my first traditional bow and how I got into traditional bowhunting. I told them I basically climbed the ladder and ran off the high diving board into deep water. I bought a good Black Widow in the low 50 pound range and began shooting that thing like my life depended on it. I killed a deer quickly and never looked back. A year later I had a completely custom Bob Thompson Zipper with 2 sets of limbs. Another year later I bought a Dick Robertson Prairie Falcon at 62 pounds.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I'd normally insist on buying something cheap to learn on , but you want made in USA so I'll give you my best recommendation.

Figure out your draw length at a good archery shop, then call Dan Toelke and ask if he recommends his Chinook or his Super Static recurve for that draw length. Order one that's no more than 40 lbs at said draw length. Get the Micarta riser, it will add some mass and make your learning experience better. You'll have a custom Made In USA bow within 6 weeks that will hold an easy 70-75% of retail value for years to come.

Toelke bows sell quick used, and rarely show up for sale used. That's a good combo.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

They also look amazing, and shoot fantastically.

 

[jorgensen.travis]

Located in Indiana. Not much archery club presence here that I can find. So what I’m finding that all the big names recommended for newbies like Samick, and pse’s are all imports ? Best bet for made in USA is a small bowyer?

Where are you at in Indiana?


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[MichaelO]

I live in Indianapolis. I put aside my distain for buying foreign products and followed the advice of some others I talked with and bought a cheap bow to start,an edge from 3 rivers archery. I can already see that this will be my new favorite obsession. Since every whitetail I’ve taken here has been inside of 30 yards I’m Already working hard to get good enough to make this my primary weapon for this deer and maybe my elk trip.

Thank you to all who replied. Coming from the world of compounds I didn’t realize that there where so many small bowyers making products here in the US. I will most likely be looking into adding one of these beautiful hand made bows to the collection next year.