Howard Hill or Black Widow LB

[ozparker]

Hi all, I was hoping someone may be able to give me some advice on choosing a new bow. I have been shooting a howard hill style LB for one year now. it is a beautifully made bow, very stable and light. However I find the grip very uncomfortable and also find the bow difficult to shoot accurately, especially if ive been away from it for a couple of weeks. I am thinking of buying a Black Widow LB because the grip looks more comfortable and I think it may be easier to shoot accurately. My concern is that it may not be high quality, as the waranty is only one year for workmanship and materials, and that it wont be stable to shoot. My primary purpose is hunting, my shooting style is based on HH from his books, draw weight is 53#. I would appreciate any advice from you guys over the pond, as its hard to come by over here in England. Regards, Oz Parker

[Stalker58]

WIDOW !!!!!!!!!!!!

[ozparker]

Thanks Stalker58, any reason?

[bayoulongbowman]

Black Widow....I will take the Widow...but you will pay alot more too...most archers go through that HH stage...some never leave... its like Baskin & Robbins ice cream 31 flavors ...lol so what is ur flavor of the month???  

[SpankyNeal]

The new BW is not a longbow it's a hybrid. No worries about BW quality - top notch and excellent customer service. Some people will argue all day as to whether the hybrid is as inherently stable and accurate as an R/D or Hill style bow but it all boils down to how well the bow fits the shooter! I will stick by my recommendation from the stickbow site - Liberty "English" by Allen Boice - top quality - great people - beautiful bows!!!

[Stalker58]

Well I'm not a longbow shooter.I shoot recurves better.
I Still try out some longbows,and for me the widow shoots better,because the grip is more like a recurve.I also found the widow smoother drawing.

[Big'n]

I am a recurve shooter but I own a BW Longbow that I've been playing with. It is awesome....smooth, fast,and accurate. I've also shot an HH longbow and the hand shock was unbelievable. I don't know a whole lot about longbows but the BW shoots like a recurve. I shoot a high wrist so once I learned to sit the heel of my hand down on the longbow it shot where I looked. I don't know what else you could expect of a bow.   DAVE

[Kingwouldbe]

Go with the widow, the HH kicks like a mule, if you don't keep your mouth shut your fillings will fall out.
The widow, smother, faster, better quality, and better resale.
Just my two cents

[nontypical]

Last yr. at a 3-D shoot I got a chance to shoot both and what was said is 100%.HH kicked like a mule and the widow was smooth.Whats nice is BW has a test drive plan.Give it a try!!
PETE

[R H Clark]

I have to agree that the Hill bows I've tried really hurt compaired to my PL.I wouldn't worry about the qualty of a Widow.  Do the test drive if you possibly can.

[McDave]

Widow makes several grades of bow.  I've found that the "V" grade, which has ironwood in the riser and bamboo in the limbs is enough smoother and more efficient that it's worth the extra $$, for my money, anyway.

[Alex.B]

many longbows classified (wrongly if you ask me) as "Howard Hill type", which are bows generally 66"-70", D-shape or 1/2 moon, short riser, etc.. shoot a thousand times better than a Howard Hill, and do not kick like a mule.
do some research. not all "HH types" are equal, the same for the shooter behind the "HH type"    

[Alex.B]

since you're in the UK,check out
www.tiralarc.ch

[Kingstaken]

I have a HH Half Breed with a smaller dished handle that shoots really nice. No shock issues at all yet I've shoot some Big 5 that really hurt, I mean really hurt. I thought I got a concussion.
I also have a Tim Miegs LB thats a HH style, but shoots much better with no hand shock as compared to lets say a HH Big 5 which is similar.

The Widow will give you more bang for the #'s and shoot were ya point.

Let me see if this metaphore works:

Shooting a HH is like being married, you get it at a young age (or in our case as a beginner shooter) for the intial romance never getting it before, but as some have, you may want to get rid of it if you don't get the right one but are afraid due to being scorned by others.
It's only a bow, dump it if it's not working for you.
Lucky for me. I have gotten it right two times, HH and wife.

The Blackwidow is like being single, always a pleasure to shoot.

[Alex.B]

 funny Kingstaken

[John McCreary]

If someone says that a Hill bow will "rattle your teeth" odds are they are not shooting a quaility Howard Hill bow or more likely they are not shooting it properly. That is the gist of the situation, Hill bows require a different shooting style. You hold the bow with your bow hand rotated out almost as if you are holding it on the side of the riser as opposed to the more conventional grip style that most bows are built for. Black Widows, like many others, are built to fit the shooter. A Howard Hill bow is built to a specific shooting style. One in which the shooter must adapt to. Widows are generally fast, smooth, easy to shoot and above all VERY good quaility. Comparitivly  A Howard Hill bow will be smooth and reliable. If it is one of Craig Akin's and the Howard Hill bow company's bows, they are of equal superior quaility as Widows but they are never going to be the fastest. Shooting a Hill is much like using a split cane bamboo flyrod, it requires a mind set willing to adapt to the individual characteristics of the tool in order to fully appreciate it. Not everyone is willing or able to do so.

John

[SpikeMaster]

I have a Howard Hill Wesley Special and absolutely  love it. I hardly ever feel any handshock in it at all. Every now and then depending on how I hold or release it I might feel a subtle little bump in my bow hand. You guys that think they "kick like a mule" are either shooting not very well made Hill imitation bows not the ones made by Howard Hill Archery, if they are true Howard Hill bows then the brace height must have been way off, or you're just overly sensitive girly men.

I've shot a couple of Black Widow recurves which shot really nice. I've never shot one of their longbows but I don't doubt that they shoot nice, but what would you expect from a straight limbed recurve?

[SpikeMaster]

You beat me to it John and said it better than I did!! You are absolutley right. Craig's bows are as well made as any bow out there. In my opinion he's one of the best bowyers building bows right now.