I put up a post recently about how good the new Jeffery longbows were. Found out they are built off the longhunter form. For many years Jeffery archery made these bows for Mr. Quillian. They are good shooters.

Mike, Not too many except the old timers know who Owen Jeffries or Dan Quillian are( were) or their contribution to archery and bow design..

So many talented traditional archers and bow makers and designers never sought nor made the glossy pages of archery memorabilia..but their contributions and work are not forgotten by all..Jim

I have had several of DQ Longhunter's,great shooting bows!I remember many years ago visiting my brother down in GA.We drove over to DQ Archery Traditions shop and I shot my fisrt tradtional bow there other then my fiberglass bow when I was younger.That started it all for me,bought a Canebrake and came home and sold my wheel bow within two weeks.I have never looked back and have been happy shooting trad ever since.

I've got two longhunters and a canebrake. It's good to know I could get a new one. Thanks.

Have owned both a longhunter and a canebrake....great bows.....wishI still had my canebrake. My wife still shoots one. If I could find one around 60# for a reasonable price I would never let it go again. Regards.

Bamboo Longhunter was my first bow,68" 65#@28.When my nephews got into archery they of course bought the latest compounds.I shot their bows a few times and said these things weigh more than my black powder rifle.I saw a small advertisement in the back of an archery magazine for Archery Traditions in Atlanta,GA.I called and talked to some guy named Dan Quillian 30 odd years ago and bought a bow.It's still the bow I shoot today.I'll be taking it to the Star shoot in Roanoke,VA this weekend then on to Comptons.I was at NCTAC last week walking down the road to shoot the course when someone called out asking if that was a Longhunter I was carrying.He had to come over and give her a pull,said "Nothing fancy,gets the job done."

i never shot the longhunter, but shot a canebreak for years. spent alot of time and money geting "better" bows. ain't really found one.

Shot a 64" Longhunter for 22 years, only reason I aint now is the old shoulders can't handle her 80#s anymore. Been dropped, slung, slid off a truck going 30mph down a gravel road, and she never missed a beat. Most durable bombproof longbow made IMO, and that's what Dan had in mind with the design. I miss seeing him and visiting the shop. Too bad it's a all wheelie show now !!

Tip

I recently got one in the shop that is 70#. Did Dan ever have one that was under 60?

Yep, I got a 55#er now !

The longhunter is an all business looking, solid, dependable bow. Can't go wrong with one.

Don't know about his bows but his SuperCedars were awesome. Had a dozen and they wouldn't break or bend. The straightest woodys I've ever seen. Mr. Quillian was a perfectionist so I imagine his bows were top notch. Frank

First traditional bow I bought was a 68",69# bamboo longhunter.A little heavy to start with but a great shooter.

The "Superceders" were actually made by Don Stokes. They are barrell tapered shafts of either yellow poplar or mulberry. Don still posts over on tradgang and he still had some as of a year of so ago.

great bow. my "go to" hunting bow is a Dan Quillian bamboo longhunter.

Lostnation Larry, I owned a 50# Quillian Longhunter a while back, but it wasn't a Bamboo Longhunter...I think he made a regular Longhunter which many called a "Red Elm Longhunter". I think I wound up giving it to HUMPY to help rehabilitate a shoulder injury he had.

Prior to that, I owned a Bamboo Longhunter, 70#@28", 68", black glass belly and back. Looked kinda crappy when I got it but I wound up making my own leather grip for it and cleaning the gunk off it, and it looked pretty spiffy. I think I will always remember that one as being the SMOOTHEST drawing bows I have ever set my hands on. Extremely quiet, too. Not quite as fast as my Sentmans but it had pretty good zip to it.

Dan seemed to do pretty well with the Longhunter!

My old 70# Bamboo Longhunter

NattyBumppo, unless I am mistaken, the bow he has in that pic is called the "Kinkoho" so named because of the bear he shot

Kent Alan,you're correct.

I think that hunt was after he had his foot amputated as well, NattyBumppo. Pretty amazing

Still have one of his catalogs from the early 90's, my first new bow purchase was down to a quillian or wapiti, went with the wapiti wich was pass'd down to my son several years ago.....time sure does fly by when ur havin fun flingin arrrs.

In my experience, the longhunters tended to be marked as heavier in weight than they actually were. The canebrakes have been spot on.

Kent Alan,I read a story of that particular hunt.I can't recall all details but he had a hole in his foot that he would run a q-tip through with antiseptic.He was in a lot of pain stalking that bear.

Yep he lost his foot after the hunt and he and Owen made his new foot. He liked it better than the one the Dr's gave him.

I had a 68" Bamboo Longhunter that I foolishly traded away one day when tempted by a really good offer. I have missed that bow ever since and wish I could have gotten it back, but the guy wouldn't trade it back to me.

I would love to get my hands on a Bamboo Longhunter.

I have a 70# in my used bow list. I will be at Cloverdale this week end but if it doesn't sell then call me.

mine is a 49@28 68" bamboo....and no, it isn't for sale.

I had one 54 lbs. Should have my butt kicked for trading it.RC

I read on another traditonal archery forum that Jeffery Archery has just reintroduced the "Longhunter" longbow, in addition to their "Timberline" longbow. The thread had a photo of some of the new Longhunters.

I was told that my Archery Traditions Bamboo Custom longbow was built by Dan Quillian. Once I customized the grip to fit my hand better, it has been my go-to bow for years. I have a couple Hills in the stable that I shoot now and then but the Archery Traditions is the one I enjoy shooting the most.

Uncle Lijiah that is true I got one I really like it. Mine is 64" 51 lbs. draws smooth as silk to my 28 1/2 inch draw. Very accurate. Stich Dan designed the bow but Jeffey made it in their shop in Cola. SC till about 93-94. Dan and Owen were close friends.

Egad, I must be an old timer. I remember when the longhunter was the "new addition" teamed with the gull longbow...

Purchased my first new traditional longbow from Dan around 15 years ago. Any bow I'd ever owned prior to that was acquired from friends or a trade that had come my way. I bought one of his kit bows when he was selling them on ebay. Dan wanted to make sure that the product he was selling me fit. It took 2 weeks by email and personal telephone conversations before he was satisfied that he'd educated me well enough to purchase one of his bows. That old longbow was 68" 55#@28 with red elm limbs and cherry riser and brought me back full circle to traditional archery. Since then I've owned 3 of his longhunters and a patriot. But as the story goes I was looking for the perfect bow and sold or traded them off. Greener pastures? Those Longhunters weren't going to win no first place in a beauty contest because they didn't have all the bells and whistles. But if you were looking for a performer, IMO you couldn't find a bow hands down for the money.

Bowferd, those Longhunters wouldn't win first place in a beauty contest but they sure won a lot of first places in archery tournaments. ;o) As I recall, the Longhunter was considered to be the top dog in longbow tournament shooting until the more radical r/d 21st Century longbows arrived on the scene. Clint

[IMG]http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b161/DWB123/Longhunter2.jpg[/IMG] New Longhunter. Hope this works.

Dan could be "ruff and gruff".....but, nothing was cooler than talking to him about archery. I've got two, and they're not for sale. They're right beside my Bill Stewart bows.

Clint, I couldn't agree more. Those old Longhunters are still one of the best bows I've had the pleasure of owning. I was also fortunate enough to communicate with Dan personally and I'll be forever grateful for that experience. A few years later I had the opportunity to talk with Don Stokes who was a good friend and if I remember correctly, business associate of Dans. Don as mentioned in one of the above posts was directy involved in the manufacture and marketing of the barrell tapered "Superceders". They were made from Magnolia/Yellow Poplar and are still one of the strongest and straightest wood arrows I've ever worked with. I talked with Don many times and he taught me more about wood arrow selection than anyone. I've still got 4 dozen of those "Superceders" tuned to different bows I shoot and horded 8 dz of the shafts which are still untouched. Hoping to find one of Dan's old Canebrakes and a Bamboo Longhunter in the 50-55# range. I just can't handle the 60# and above range anymore. If you ever see or hear of one I'd sure appreciate you keeping me in mind. Fred

I have looked for one of Dan's bow for about 6 months now. Looking for a 45# to 52# and have not found a one. People love them and hang onto them. Many are in racks and not being used but, People still will not let them go.

SOMEDAY I will find one.

I believe the Red Elm Longhunter was made by Martin at one time.

The new longhunter by Jeffery's Archey!

You guys might, all be, at a higher level, correct? I believe that Dan designed it, built it, and brung it to tiller at a higher level. OCTJMHO. If you find a 55# or below, all I ask is that you on5act me. Fred

Owen and Dan with a longhunter circa 1990.

I know, very old post. Can Anyone Recommend the best brace height for the Jeffery/ Quillian longhunter. I’m thinking 7-7 1-2” Anyone go 8” or more?

I dug it out from a long storage to shoot it and The string isn’t too good.

I bought mine from Owen in 1995 he shot it and signed it.

I have the Quillian Gull 72 inch Bamboo longbow real nice bow. Hard to find the Gull. Great bow............

I shot mine at 7.5"

How does it compare to other 50s style longbows

What is a '50's style longbow? Do you mean a straight end Hill style bow?

I think Jim Taylor made some of the Longhunters, I had one of them.

I had one years ago. It was made by Owen Jeffery and was the Bamboo Longhunter. Great bow, mild deflex/reflex and Dan touted it as the bow he chose for hunting. I talked to Dan on the phone one day after I acquired that bow. What a character he was and a delight to listen to. That was when he told me to put a low stretch string on that bow if you want it to really sing. :)

Yes, he also had a Red Elm Hunter longbow of the same design. It's not a straight-limb bow if that is what you're calling a "1950's style".

Thanks for the reply. No I’m sorry to confuse straight limb LB with the RD limbs of the longhunter

I was just trying to strike up a conversation on 66-72” longbows. What was everyone’s favorite. Straight limb or RD

George do you think one of the lower strand “skinny” strings is ok on the longhunter?

Dan was a pioneer of skinny strings. He shot 9 strand 450 plus strings on all his bows.

jay, see what fdp said. Dan used skinny, 450+ strings on his bows at the time. They work just fine. I would pad the loops just for more filler there.

Thank you sir

On a side note and on a whim this AM

Just bought a used 21st century “Edge” 66” 64# @28” on Big Jim’s used bow site Nice bow for $225

"21st century “Edge” 66” 64# @28” that's a heck of a bow.

so I will bring this thread up one more time...it's a "timeless" bow I guess. :) I just got a 68" 50# Bamboo Longhunter and it nearly jumped out of my hand on the first shot? I shoot a fairly loose/open grip that works great on my more DR longbows, but the Longhunter didn't like that combined with the light arrows (I guess)> Maybe I need to make a skinny string for it? I know I had a Red Elm model back in the 90's and really liked it.

That was the very first longbow I ever shot. It belonged to an old friend of mine named Wayne White. He had a small archery range and shop in his basement. Not a fancy looking bow, but a no nonsense shooter.

hey Ed...this is one I just got from Hutch. I don't remember my old one being hard to handle...

Put a 450+ string on it. I bet that will tame it some.

I made one for my Savannah today and it really helped quiet it down. I will make one for the Longhunter tomorrow.

Ferrell turned me on to 450+ years ago and it's been my favorite string material ever since. How many strands are you going to use?

I had the longhunter and the canebrake. They are good shooting bows.

I may be the one that started Bob off using 450+. I use 6 strands or 8 strands. It was a double served 6 strand that I made today.

Wayne White. I believe I elk hunted with him and Howard Hill a long time ago. Hadn't heard that name in a while

Never shot a Longhunter but I have a 39# @ 26" Canebrake that I've had for about 25 years. It is a beautiful bow that is both quiet and fast.

I used to go by Dan’s shop occasionally when I was in forestry school at UGA. I shot several Longhunters and liked them, but I decided to go with a Patriot takedown. I wish now I had bought one of each. I don’t think he offered the canebrake at the time (1990-91), but I could be mistaken.

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