Are hill style longbows effective at lighter draw weights such as R/D longbows? Example hill bow that 43-48lbs. I have a longer draw 30" so I'm sure I'll pick a little up w that. Just wondering do the hill style perform best at heavy draw weights such as 60lbs and up.

Matt, Call Craig Ekin at Howard Hill Archery in Hamilton and tell him your draw length..and your intended draw weight and see what he says.. Do you want 48#@30" draw?..

The HH bows work fine and are efficeint flat shooting longbows so long as the makers know a bit about you..

The HH bows don't work so well for the shorter draw length archers unless made speifically for that..

Your 30" draw shouldn't be a problem on a 68" NTN Howard Hill Tembo..or Redman..or other..

Ask what they have in the shop..They have started setting aside some great bows that are not destined for specific buyers..and may have some great bows at decent prices for you..Jim

They are fine at any weight. If you really draw 30" you will be best off with a 70" bow you can expect approx. 165fps with 48# @30" with 450g arrows.

When matched properly with a perfectly flying arrow, they are just as effective as any other bow. I'm not sure why one would think they would be inferior. I only pull 27" and wouldn't think twice about using a 50 pound Hill bow for any game in North America.

Stout..condidering your last name..you are a wimp..:)..:)

I agree with Red that a 70" bow would better match your draw length. But I think it would produce more like a 175 fps , and with 500 grain arrows. A long draw adds a lot.

I have seen a Hill bow rated as 36#@28" but drawn to about 25" by a woman. It performed just fine for her with light wooden arrows. My own 45# Tembo has performed well in the hands of a 10 year old boy. I draw it to near 30" and agree with George that it would be stout enough for most North American game. I would prefer a little more for the great bears.

I hope to get one in the mid 30s for my old age and expect it to do just fine with suitable arrows. - lbg

My HHA bows are all between 45-48#@29" draw and are fine for anything I would hunt (deer, hog, small game). I also found that at 29" draw the 70" Hills were more pleasant to shoot.

I shot a Hill bow in the 40# range was very impressed w it. I told the guy who owned it I thought Hill Bows had hand shock I felt very little and it screamed an arrow out. was impressed

My 2 cents Any draw over 30" in a H.H. design bow, I would keep the limb wood(s) to bamboo unless you do not mind stacking. To answer your Question, a lighter draw # in a hill style (D bow) would be adequatly effective; but compared to an R/D longbow not as fast. You also have to figure in, arrow weights.

Wesley

1st pic Redman 70" but the 66" Wesley was smother drawing to 32" even though the Wesley was 13# heavy of a draw.

[I hope to get one in the mid 30s for my old age and expect it to do just fine with suitable arrows. - lbg ] Quote

LBG I'm 73 years in Earth years and draw 50# @ 27" with my Wesley So barring an unfortunate happening I see no reason for me or you for that matter to drop below the weight you are now using.

All my HHA bows are 47 or 48#@28" and I draw 28" and they are 68". Draw smooth as silk. All my wood arrows that I make are 470 to 480 finished weight. You should not have a problem. I am thinking with a 30" draw you will need a 68" or a 70" for sure.

Over the last 30+ years I have backed off from 65-70# , down to currently 50-55#. With 10 gr/# arrow weight, penetration and my effective range(to 40 yards) for whitetails is unaffected. I don't see a whole lot of difference to r/d or recurve with the same drop in poundage.

Jim. Yes. I am an accurate and deadly wimp. 8^)

ThAnks for all the answers

You'll do fine with a lighter draw weight. Strange thing about bow woods though. I think the Redman is smoother than the Wesley, the Big 5, or the Tembo, and others, as mentioned above, feel the opposite. I also think the Crocodile, seems the least smooth of all. That's with all bows being the same draw weight, and drawn the same length.

Hill Bows will shoot and kill at 40 pounds most anything aside from dangerous stuff NA cont.

All this hype that your a real Man etc. if you shoot heavy poundage is Ego driven BS.

Shoot what you can and shoot well. Forget all the other stuff,,,besides,,,most of the guys that shoot heavy stuff are snappers anyway. They cannot hold the poundage at anchor and have to let go really fast.

Wondered how long it would take for someone to start acting stupid. Light bow guys always do this, n lay it off on heavy bow guys.

I always wondered why you see/hear so much about heavy draw weights (60#and up!) in Hill style bows. I've seen many in different classifieds at this range and few at a manageable 50-55#. I do not have one, but maybe someday....I draw 27.5in. and normally I shoot all of my lam. bows from 50-55#. I can't even imagine drawing 70 pounds! Why???? Am I wrong or isn't it unnecessary to pull so much weight. At risk of personal injury I might add. Is it status, or bragging rights? Or is it that Hill Bows and the like perform better at the high draw weights?

Wow, I did the same thing, my apologies people for acting just as badly.

I can't really answer your question, but my 90# HH rogue is much more crisp feeling than my 55# halfbreed. I am not sure if it is the added tension at brace height or what. That being said, I either would be deadly in North America. I definitely will say that my r/d longbows and recurves of similar poundage outperform the halfbreed in terms of cast and being shorter are able to be shot in tighter cover. It seems that the rogue has less of a performance difference when compared to r/d longbows of similar poundage. Very small sample size, but it may be the result of some impedence matching issues with heavier arrows. Not sure, just what I have noticed. Gil Verway actually has done some chrono testing with heavier longbows that had similar findings.

I always wondered why you see/hear so much about heavy draw weights (60#and up!) in Hill style bows. I've seen many in different classifieds at this range and few at a manageable 50-55#. I do not have one, but maybe someday....I draw 27.5in. and normally I shoot all of my lam. bows from 50-55#. I can't even imagine drawing 70 pounds! Why???? Am I wrong or isn't it unnecessary to pull so much weight. At risk of personal injury I might add. Is it status, or bragging rights? Or is it that Hill Bows and the like perform better at the high draw weights?----easternmarcher

When I started in archery back in the 60's. we all shot 40-50# recurves. When a few of us decided to try longbows, with the Hill being the most common, 60# was considered to be light, particularly with Howard Hill shooting 80-90# bows. Generally, longbow shooters seemed to be shooting at longer distances than was the norm with recurve shooters so we just accepted the heavier weights were desirable in a longbow for this purpose. . I bought a.65# Big 5. I couldn't string it when i first got it without a stringer and it took me months to get it to full draw. I did eventuslly master it, and shot it for 20+ years, IMO the heavier draw weight does cast a heavy arrow much nicer than the lighter weights, and as well, maybe better then any recurve i owned irregardless of draw weight. I eventually tore an arm muscle with the 65 pounder back in my mid 50's and backed off to 50-55#. I still own a half a dozen 65# bows from back then that I just can't part with.

When it comes to longbows(ASL,Duo-Flex) form is everything, if you have bad release, better off with a heavy bow. Good form with a good release, lighter longbows do very well. ...James

Take your typical 125-150g broad-headed wood arrow of 475-575g and shoot it out of a 50# bow, then take and shoot it out of a 75# bow. THAT IS WHY! no other reason other then that want and addiction. As to the original question, go long 70" or 72" and enjoy. Your long arrows are gonna be heavier then comparably spined shorter ones so your speed will be roughly 165fps w/ fast flight shooting 475-500g arrows. Most bows around 60# @26 do the same.

I killed two pigs and 6 deer this year from a hill style stringfollow bow drawn 48@27 with a 510 grain arrow. Bow poundage really boils down to one thing..good shot/bad shot.A critters ribs ain`t that tuff or at least the ones most of us hunt. If you ain`t getting penetration shoot them in softer spots like NOT in the shoulder.RC

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