Though I've always preferred slightly longer recurve a (60"and up), there were a few times this season where I felt like a compact bow would have been just the ticket. I've shot K-mags and owned a 52" T-bird, but have no experience with others. I'm considering several in the 52"to 54" range, including the Shakespeare's, Brownings, Pearson Mach-ones, Red Wings Hunters and the two already mentioned. Any opinions , insights or stories appreciated. ps: We don't need to belabor the "short bows are inaccurate stuff". I've been at it long enough to understand and accept their challenges. I also don't have a long draw length (27.75"). Just wanna compare apples to apples here. Thanks guys.

54" Browning Safari, look for one with small tips (Serial number usually starts with a 6)

Thanks Todd. The only Browning I've owned was an Explorer2 that was 56". Really nice shooter. Also: I promise not to tell the other Bear guys about your pick;)

I'm right behind Nick on the Safari I, 54". In my opinion it's the best short bow made. The Nomad I (also Browning), 54", is very nice as well. Both are smooth as can be and shoot great.

Very happy with the Shakespeare 54" Super Necedah. Really smooth.

Probably,the vintage short bow,that was my favorite,but i never even shot it,I just Held it and took a few measurments.It was Ishis bow.

My favorite short bow to shoot,was not vintage,but still the best i ever shot.It was a Sheepeater.

Damon Howatt HI- SPEED 58"

I love how the older super mag and mag felt in the hand unfortunately with a high wrist I draw 29 and 1/2 and it kills me fingers.

one of my favorite short bows is the Browning Cobra, and I believe that it's 50" AMO. Wish I still had one.

73K-Mag, 52". Love the grip and no stack at my 28" draw. Frank

My 1969 Ben Pearson BPH-52, 44#@28".

Here is a third vote for the Browning Safari I. I have a LH one that is 41#@28" and it is a pleasure to shoot.

I have a 40# '64 K Mag, a 44# 52" Browning Nomad (not sure of age, maybe pre-70's), and a 48# 54" Shakespeare Super Necedah (pre-70's bow). They all seem to have about the same speed performance (with comparable GPP arrow). The Necedah and Nomad are quieter-shooting than my K-Mag. I like the Necedah the best, mainly because the grip has a super small diameter throat and just fits my hand better than the other two. It is the X-30 model, has a solid zebrawood riser with I-beam in the riser window/handle. It's limbs stay wide further from the fades than the other two bows.

Really liked my 52" Red Wing hunter stoked arrows. Dead in hand. 45 on up good little bows aside from all my Bears. Great shooting bows Safari II also hada 60" 43 @ 28 loved that bow even though it was longer than some of my shortys.

I've tried a few different ones but I would need to also go with the Safari and Cobra as the best shooters for me.

I have a short draw length, 25.5. So my experience with short bows is a little different than some others. All my bows are 58 inches or shorter. I love my 71 k-mag. It is just fun to shoot. I also shoot a 54 inch Black Widow PCH. While I love the k-mag the widow shoots faster and with more authority than the mag. As a result, I tend to depend upon it more than the mag for hunting. I have been longing to try the Browning bows. But haven't had the opportunity yet. Good luck.

My favorite is 1974 54" Howatt Hi-Speed. Dan

My favorite, which I still shoot and draw 30" with ..is a 1962 Damon Howatt Hi Speed..Ne Plus Ulta Yakima made recurve.

Not sure what one calls 'vintage' but the Curtis Byrd made Texas Commanche static short recurve is also a great bow if you like 'em shorter..but they are hard to find these days..Jim

Don't shoot short bows often, but it's hard to beat a K-Mag in a turkey blind.

The very FIRST real hunting bow I bought was a Grayling Kodiak Magnum..and 2 dozen MicroFlite fiberglas arrows, 12 with Bear razorheads affixed.Bubinga riser and grey glas backed and faced..Bought the Bear bow case with the fuzzy yellow liner also.. I had looked long and hard at the Browning Nomad bows but decided on the Bear.

Many years later, I found an old Browning Nomad for my son as his first hunting bow..:)

I saved my money and sent off for the Bear thru the mail..I was 13 years old and it was 55#AMO@28"..I could draw and shoot it well..Farm bow ya know..:)Wasn't my first bow but first real hunting bow..:)

Shot a dozen or so whitetail bucks with that short 52" recurve from homemade treestands on the Potomac River near White's Ferry.. ..Sold it before I went on my senior trip..

They are neat shorter bows but for a fellow who likes to shoot a lot and draws 30"..the string angle was a bit critical for my own best consistency as I grew taller and had a longer wingspan..:)..Jim

Browning Nomad 1.Great little bow and a heck of a shooter.

Browning Cobra 1 @#45 then the Browning Nomad dogleg.

I've owned them all and shot them all a lot. That is with the exception of the Wing. The early Kodiak Mags are the smoothest to me and I enjoy shooting them more.

God bless, Steve

i have a browning wasp 56" 50lbs at 28" only problem i draw 30" so it stacks for me so it will be on the market this winter. other than that its a great bow. ron

Does a 56inch grizzly count as a short bow? If so , then it's my only shorty I own and I like it a whole lot.

I have come to enjoy shooting these. May not be vintage but, are patterned from the originals which were.

[IMG]http://i825.photobucket.com/albums/zz171/jess_stuart/101_6688-1.jpg[/IMG]

Dang it lets that try again.

Well,,,,, mine would be a Trux "Snub Nose" it's a copy of one of the "Herters" not sure what one??? it is 42" no stacking to 29" I can sit flat on the ground and shoot this thing with canting of course! my next would be my Ben pearson spoiler JeffW

I have a texas recurve comanchee static tip bow it awesome the is one in the classifieds on tradgang $350 53 or 55# @28" it would be the ticket

Mine is 70# I have a texas recurve comanchee static tip bow it awesome the is one in the classifieds on tradgang $350 53 or 55# @28" it would be the ticket mine is 70#@27" both 52"

Trent, I have no interest in a 55# class Texas Recurve static..Maybe your heavier one..:)What material did Curtis use in yours for the riser and underlay-overlays?..Mine was mesquite and osage..Jim

he said VINTAGE!

I have two Ben Pearson Equalizers. 50" and nice!

Looks like a lot of votes for the Browning Nomad. I'll have to keep an eye out for one. There is a super clean 54" Necedah on ebay right now that I really like the looks of. Thanks for the input guys.

Indian Archery made a cool 48" recurve. Way too short for me but I had one anyway...

52" Browning Nomad stalker. Draws nicely to 30" I can't imagine how fast it would be with a Rick Barbee String, but I'm going to find out soon.

Browning Explorer I 56"55"@28",best short Bow that I have ever shot,have a safariII 60"49#,smooth and a great shooter,also a cobra II 50# that is also very nice.Browning's were just simply the best factory Bow's ever made.

anybody have any experience with the Browning backpacker? I dont even know if it qualifies as a short bow. Have nt seen one lately but saw one on the big auction site a while back and it slipped away.

50" Browning Cobra...my turkey bow.

My first bow was a 52 inch 50/55# Bear Black Panther Hunter. I took my first buck with that bow and a couple doe. Shot great with 50/55 cedars and 5 1/4 inch banana feathers.

Harleywriter,

I do have a Backpacker. Never shot it though so can't tell you how it compares. Need to do that.

56" Groves Spitfire.

The Browning Backpacker was made in a 54" length also.

Indian Industries made a 52" Hunter, and a 48" Mowhawk.

York made a 54" Thunderbolt that was stackless to 30".

Every manufacturer had a short bow (56" or less) by the mid 1960's. Shakespeare Sierra 52", and Super Necedah 54"...also Cascade 50".

Browning Nomad Stalker 52", Nomad I 54", Safari I 54", Cobra I..50".

Herter's had a 52" Perfection Magnum.

Pearson had bows of 48" and 52".

Cravotta Brothers Blackhawk had a 52" model.

Wing had a 52" Red Wing Hunter and 52" Thunderbird. Later (AMF) the Thunderbird came in a 54" in addition to the 62"...in the Slimline series.

American Archery had a 54" Hunter model.

Darton also had a 52" hunting model.

Lots to look for since I only named some of the available models; there were many more.

Am I correct that Mr. Bear started all of it with the Kodiak Magnum and then the Super Magnum?

I know there have been short bows since the beginning, but as far as popularizing them, seems to me it Bear with those two bows.

I have a Super Magnum 48 and a couple of Kodiak Magnums but have never shot them more than a little bit at a time.

Hard to lay down my 58-inch Schafer but ambition is to get every bow I own set up and shooting well even if they demand their own batch of arrows, although I dont think they will.

Harleywriter, The Kodiak Magnum is the one that started it in 1961. The Super Mag didn't come along until the 1967 1/2 catalog. I never could shoot the 48" Super Mag well so didn't go out of my way to keep any of them. The Kodiak Magnum was the king of that era; by 1973 Bear was making 40,000+ of them each year.

55" shakespeare necedah. 50# @28

Yes...forgot the 55" Necedah. It was made in that length in 1964 and 1965..the first two years of production. In 1966 it went to 58". One of my all time favorite hunting bows.

That is what I was thinking George. Even with my fascination with the Browning backpacker -- I really am mostly a Bear fan -- the takedowns of today almost make it a moot point.

My Schafer, for example, breaks down in to a very manageable package if I were to haul my ashes back in farn enough to need to do that.

Still, the Backpacker would break down even more....food for thought.

On the other hand, where I would pack into I would be hunting along the way, so that, too, is a moot point.

George, you mentioned "the Browning Backpacker was made in a 54 inch also..." what was the other length? 52 inches?

And, BTW, anybody know the difference between a Backpacker and a Backpacker 1?

Bill, that Groves is a awesome looking bow.

My 1972 54" Howatt Hi-speed. Smooth to 29" draw and great fun to shoot. No complaints about my '67 Kmag either. Both exceeded my expectations. I like the Howatt a smidge more.

I think the Super 48 Magnum is one of the better made bows that short. I think Bear start to play around with making them at the end of 1965 and had them in the 1966 catalog. I like my 1966

Shakespeare Cascade X29

Until recent, mine was a 48" 48 lb Pearson Ambusher, had to put it out of service due to a vertical crack in the top limb.

I'll add my 56" Groves Spitfire MagI. Quite a few deer have fallen to the little "Spitfire".

I agree with the two Groves fans. I've got a 56" overdraw Groves that is simply a delight to shoot.

I believe Herter's made bows all the way down to 46 inches in the perfection and Sitka models. I am on the lookout for an original Tarbell Interceptor in 44 inch length

If you would classify a KT44 and a Herters 46" perfection as vintage, in addition to my black widow XH 54" (overdraw) then, their my favourite vintage short bows.......out of the three, I cannot favour one over the others...IMHO all three are awesome.............

browning nomad is a very sweet shooting bow mine is 54 inches long 46 lbs.and i draw 26 inches fits me perfectly and is very snappy and dead in the hand love it

Another vote for the Browning Nomad 1. At 54" it is an awesome tree stand bow.

52" Wing Thunderbird with phenolic riser.

The Shakespeare Cascade X-29.

I love the 52 inch Red Wing Hunter.Great grip,very smooth and stable with its highly deflexed riser.The Shedua riser is also attractive.

Bear, kodiak magnum

When it comes to short bows I like the Bear Super Magnum 48. It came out NEW in the 1966 Bear Archery catalog, and sold for $89.95 My favorite would be the 1973 and 1974 model with the red accent stripe, or the 1975 and 1976 with the blue accent stripe.

I’ll second the 55” Shakespear Necedah, 54” Browning Safari I, 54” Damon Howatt Hi-speed, and 52” Wings, RWH, T-birds, Slim Line RW Pros and Vantage Pros.

But my all time favorite short bows are the 52” Cascade Goldenhawk and Nighthawk Magnums from Steve Gore.

Here is a Cascade Nighthawk Magnum.

Here is my very first Cascade Goldenhawk Magnum, 67# @ 28". I drew 29" at the time. Purchased it in early 1980's, one of the first of these models, red actionwood handle with yew lams under clear glass. Wish I still owned it and would love to find it again for old times sake.

Currently own 4 of these 52" bows in lower bow weights, both Goldenhawk and Nighthawk Magnums. They were also available in 48" length but I never had one. Both of these bows were designed by Denny Behn-original owner/bowyer of Bighorn Bows with Fred Asbell.

52" Browning Nomad stalker super smooth and can be had for very little $$$. Super Necedah is 54" also very smooth and maybe cost you a little more than the Browning but still very inexpensive. My favorite though, would be to step up to 56" and get a Browning Wasp.

Incidentally, Denny Behn was a protégé of Kiko Tovar, the quintessential short bow archer(Bear 48" Kodiak Super Mags and later his own KT-44' bows). Denny shot the 48" Bear Super Mag and the Bear Kodiak had a great influence in Bighorn Bows. Bighorn made a 52" Takedown that was a wonderful shooter, just not very many made and most all were very heavy bow weights.

Here is Kiko with one of his KT-44's

For beauty, the Super Necedah

I might suggest that a ILF bow can be had that is short. 13" handle with short limbs makes a 54" bow.

Thank you for this thread. Through all the friendly badgering on LW you seasoned guys give a better and more "real" review than magazines and fake sponsored bought shows. I'm considering a shorty. Great timing. nybubba

LOL right on time, I didn't realize this post started in 2012!

Somehow missed this Thread back then, but for me and my 30" draw, it's my 56" grayling bear grizzly.

The Shakespeare Cascade X-29.

The Drake Hunter-Flight is my favorite short bow. It’s clearly inferior to my new Bear TD, but at 56”, the Bear is 2” longer than the Drake. I’m close to 100% positive the Drake will take a back seat to the Bear, but I have to get out and put arrows through the Bear before declaring it the greatest bow of all time. The Drake is a finicky bow. It’s hard to shoot well, but once you get it shooting, it’s a great bow for close to the ground hunting!

Joe

Love my 1969 Bear Super Mag

Marsha

Started out with the Bear Super magnum.Sorry i sold it.The Super Necadah is my favorite backyard bow.Most of my recurves now are 60 to 70 inches:but those shorties were my first loves.They're great to shoot.

I need to get a short bow. Nice pictures.

I've never tried one,but I'd like to try a Rodney Wright Stalker.....fits half the bill,very short,not vintage..I like my Red Wing Hunter!

Shakespare Supet Necedha 54". Mine is 55lb and launches a fast arrow. Comfortable handle too.

Shrew Classic Hunter II, 54" amd 56"

Shrew Lil' Favorite II 54"and 56"

My 56" Hoots recurve!

A special scripture reading I had Lee Hoots write on for me when he made my bow.

The 58" Diablo,58" Hi speed and 54 Hi speed are also a few of my favorites.

Marc Moriez at Chek-Mate made some great short bows; some of them were finished off by Steve Gorr and became Cascades, but I think of them as basically being Marc's designs and builds. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this...

Kodiak magnum

I know you said vintage but the Bear Cheyenne at 55 inch is a great shooter.

Bear Kodiak Magnum for me.

The Kodiak Magnum has always been my favorite but this 1964 model is the best. This is the smoothest fastest Kmag I’ve ever owned and it has the best grip.

Here’s one for Ron LaClair.... 52” Shrew Stalker,...not sure of the bowyer. I’m thinking maybe John McCullough? Marked...200505 Diamond wood riser and looks like Actionwood limbs. This is the “Smoothest” little bow I personally have shot. A couple pics........Lloyd

Another pic

Again.....

Was a 48lb 1962 Kodiak Magnum. Climbed up into a lot of oak and sycamore trees, pulling that bow with a rope, as well as climbed through a whole bunch of barbed wire fences, down washed out ravines and waded through tumbleweed, briers and dew berries with that short bow. With its interesting dark fine grained Brazilian rosewood and fantastic design, it was the best looking short bow ever made....bar none. Got a few compliments on it back then, including from my instructor who shot those Wilson Widows, as it was truly a fine looking short bow and a real work of art. No other year of that model bow was ever as good looking as the 1962's. Kinda like those '59 Impalas or '66 GTO's. Other years models were just copies of something good.

Now it's a 45lb 52-inch Head Ski Red Wing Hunter. That bow hasn't been off the rack enoughh to provide as menay memories as that'62 K Mag was, but it's just fun to shoot, and it actually shoots better than I can remember that K Mag shooting, which was pretty dawn good with woodies or aluminums.

Saw several '62 K Mags up for auction, and sale, but have enough fantastic bows on my rack to get me by. Wonder if I keep my feet clean enough if there will be a '62 K Mag up there in that mansion? Kinda doubt it.

Last one,....maybe the (excellant) leather grip will tell the story !!

Better pic of leather grip ....

Frisky has it nailed the Drakes hunter flights have it all over all classics. I shot many and still have a few short bows around with too many to mention.

48 mag I loved. Nikita's as well the Browning's all great choices. Like anything learn to shoot a bow. The tips on Drakes are narrow so you need to be careful on string up's.

My dad's 1969 K-Mag

My '64 Root Brush Master is 55" and a fun little bow to shoot!

A 52" 45# Blackhawk Avenger

Back TTT.

Sample size of exactly One, but that silly little Thunderbird is a hoot and a half!

Drake Hunterflight 54” circa 1964 40#

I love the way my 1962 Kodiak Magnums shoot also! Just not quite as stable, comfortable or fast as the Drake Hunterflight…

Herters perfection Sitka 46". Can't shoot one well...but still right up there with the all Phenolic Bear 48" Magnum as my favorite shorty's!

I one owned a 54" Howatt High-Speed which shot very well. I shoot all longer bows nowadays but that one was sweet.

Best short bow I've carried and shot was a 1960 54" Howatt Diablo. Smooth, quiet and fast. Good looking, too.

My favorite is my 1976 bear kodiak magnum 50@28 .

Another vote for the Super Necedah's! Also have several 54" Howatt Hi-Speeds that are great bows. I've always liked the Howatt's but these recently acquired Shakespeare's are great bows! An almost matched pair. #40 and 45. And Peco was right, hard to beat the looks of that Zebrawood!

couple more pics

Not a bad one in the bunch.

last one

Loyde, the Shrew Stalker was made by John McCullough, then made by Gregg Coffey as the Lil' Favorite. It has now been brought back by my current bowyer Henry Bodnik as the "Lil' Favorite II" with a improved design. (see the pictures I posted above)

Shortest I play with is my 56" Browning Wasp. Snappy little bow but hard on the fingers with my draw length.

NONE! Arrowchucker

Wing Thunderbird, 52" model Browning Nomad, 52" Shakespeare Super Necedah, 54"

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here