Picked up a bow familiar to a Gary Sentman competition longbow. was wondering if anyone might know the history of it and what kind of wood was used.

Thanks SD

Quite frankly, I'd ask either Gary himself or Lee Robinson, who sold Gary's bows, back in the day. I may be wrong, but that may not have been made by Gary Sentman, but by the Little brothers who, for a time, made longbows under the Sentman name. I need to contact Gary soon to ask if he'll make me one of his new "Cur Dog" models, lol. Good luck, tell Gary I said hi and I'll write him soon, God and Christ Bless

The bow came to me from Gallatin Gateway, Montana by Bozeman if that helps. Also if I were to reshape the grip to a more of a locator style would it ruin the value of the bow? As is the grip comes to a point on the palm of the hand and is not very comfortable.

"the grip comes to a point on the palm of the hand and is not very comfortable" There is actually a reason for that if you can adapt to it. The grip being that narrow on the palm side actually makes it much more difficult to torque the bow.

I don't know about the limbs but the handle sure looks like bubinga to me, I've made several bows with it.

Kent is right on. These bows were made by the little brothers in montana years ago under the sentman name when Gary lived in Eureka montana. They only built them for a short time though. This bow bubinga riser with red elm limbs.

Gary goes by Moosejaw on here. You might want to drop him a line.

I shot the bow today and the grip is growing on me the bow shoots solid and flat

juneauhunt, I was sitting about sixty feet from Gary Sentman in the early 70's when he drew a 172+ pound longbow to beat Hill's record. The most impressive thing was he pulled the arrow off the shelf at half or more draw and had to start over. Archery Hall of Famer, Clayton Shenk was there overseeing the feat. Say what you want but it impressed me. I think I still have the photo from the program back then.

I sent a email to Moosejaw so far no response. What happened to the little brothers? what was the name of their company?

Again, you might want to contact Gary himself, SDbravo1, or at least Lee Robinson, to find out about the Littles. Gary told me a little about the history of the Little brothers making Sentman longbows, but it'd be best to hear it straight from Ol' Moosejaw's mouth himself. God and Christ Bless

SDbravo1, try the handle Cur Dog and see if you can e-mail him.

What Rdodge said, Gary changed his handle from Moosejaw to Cur Dog.

No Word From Moosejaw Yet.

SDbravo1 I apologize for not answering my email. With the hunting season on and firewood to get put up for the winter I have been very busy. I just remembered today that I haven't been on Leatherwall for some time. I just posted a thread on one of my personal Cur Dog knives. Some of you may find it interesting.

The bow mentioned was made by the Little family out of Eureka, MT. I personally taught James how to make bows 15 to 20 years ago. He purchased my forms and some of my machinery and had a desire to make bows. I don't know how many he made in those years as we lost contact with each other.

This bow has a bubinga riser and I believe bamboo core which was my standard in those years. The Competition was one of my better long bows and if you own one it will be hard to find a more durable, accurate, stable bow under adverse conditions.

I will try to check my email on Leatherwall more often since there are still a few out there that still remember me and my adventures that I wrote about for several years. Cur dog Gary

"The bow came to me from Gallatin Gateway, Montana by Bozeman if that helps. Also if I were to reshape the grip to a more of a locator style would it ruin the value of the bow? As is the grip comes to a point on the palm of the hand and is not very comfortable."

SDBravo1-Over the years I conformed my grip to compliment the shooter. But my objective was always to minimize variables and promote consistency in performance. A grip that is wide on the belly side allows the shooter to move in and out or left and right of the grip without noticing any muscle memory in the grip. Any variable in the grip will relate to a variable in arrow placement. If one shoots a vertical bow with the thumb and index finger in contact with the grip only the wide grip on the belly side is not a problem. However, I feel if one shoots a lot of different variable angles gripping the bow following the lifeline of the hand or thumb muscle promotes better field accuracy for fast shooting, thus the sharper point on the belly side. I feel this is why Howard Hill shot this same type of grip. Cur Dog Gary Sentman

"juneauhunt, I was sitting about sixty feet from Gary Sentman in the early 70's when he drew a 172+ pound longbow to beat Hill's record. The most impressive thing was he pulled the arrow off the shelf at half or more draw and had to start over. Archery Hall of Famer, Clayton Shenk was there overseeing the feat. Say what you want but it impressed me. I think I still have the photo from the program back then."

George - Good to hear you are still out there slinging arrows. As John Schulz often said "Lets set the record straight". The bow I drew 28 1/4" was 176#'s draw. A composite bow of straight grain Hickory and a blue print of Howard Hill's Timbo bow made by John Schulz in 1975 who was employed by Howard Hill archery company at that time. The feat took place in Forksville, PN in front of what I understood was over 2000 archers at this event. There was at least 4 certified judges that witnessed the draw and also verified the pull weight of the bow. This had to be done in those years to register in the Guineses Book of World Records. As for drawing the arrow back and letting down, I was using a Microflyt #12 with a Bjorn nock. In those years the Bjorn nock was considered one of the strongest. Nevertheless at full draw the tork or something happened and the nock split in half. I immediately let down to the roar and applause of the crowd. However I was not to let it be said that I did not reach full draw so I withdrew another arrow from my quiver and drew the bow again to my ear officially drawing 28 1/4" witnessed by all 4 judges. I might also add that on my second draw I held the draw for several seconds for all to be sure that I accomplished the feat. Also the world record bow that I had just drawn was not shuffled off quickly and never heard of again. For all those that wanted to come up on stage to handle the bow and attempt to draw it themselves were more than welcome to try since this whole event was promoted and sponsored by Howard Hill Archery Company. Also for the record I did not shoot this world record bow. I was informed by John Schulz that due to the heavy core thickness and pull weight of this bow it would be like dry firing the bow and the potential to blow up would be quite possible. I did, however, shoot an exact clone to this bow of 150# draw weight on stage that night popping a balloon. Thank you George for bringing this event up. I always like to keep the record straight. Cur Dog Gary Sentman

"Again, you might want to contact Gary himself, SDbravo1, or at least Lee Robinson, to find out about the Littles. Gary told me a little about the history of the Little brothers making Sentman longbows, but it'd be best to hear it straight from Ol' Moosejaw's mouth himself. God and Christ Bless"

Kent - It's been some time since I've heard from you. I thought I was long forgotten and have not been on Leatherwall for some time. I just took a notion today to go on Leatherwall and here you are on one of the threads. I don't make many bows these days but might consider some day making you one if you want. Keep in touch. Cur dog Gary

After maybe 5-10 years of zero archery I went up to Albuquerque Bow Hunter range and shot my favorite: Sentman Carbon Deluxe (inscribe "Blackbird")...#68120 60/28/66.5" Love that grip! Amazed that I could still hit the pie-plate (sometimes) @ 30 yds. Lots of practice ahead (goal is to not look like a fool). Maybe I'll see other Sentmans at Texas Longbow Championship upcoming.

JK It's nice to be remembered. I'm glad you like your Sentman bow. I'm living in Trout Creek, MT these days where I have a small shooting range on 5 acres with my wife, Marian. We both enjoy shooting 2 to 3 times a week. If you run into other archers at the Texas Longbow shoot say Hello for me. Tell them I'd love to hear from them and hear about their adventures. If I make a bow these days it's very rare and generally only as a hobby. Moosejaw Gary Sentman. [email protected].

Kent, you mean like this one! ;)

Good to see you posting Gary, a couple weeks to go for the rock shoot should be a hoot again!

Have a good one

SDBravo1, hope the bow does you well looks good.

Have a good one

Once I got use to the grip design I really started liking it, still need to make some wood arrows to match.

SD1, far as the arrows go..... I know a "guy"! Lol

Have a good one

I have a bow built by one of your pupil's Ed...

It is based on your Strikeforce design. It is my favourite longbow at 66" inches long. Thanks must go to your unique design and Ed's craftsmanship. He call's it the Black moose.

Alex1987 - Yes Edward is a true craftsman and makes a very fine bow. Moosejaw

Gary, assuming my rotator cuff muscles allow I'll look forward to shooting #68120 60/28/66.5" in Texas Champs... it'll be noticed...good way to make new connections. Did you christen it "Blackbird" or was that somebody's pet name? Any idea of when/for-who ? JK

JK - I'm not familiar with the bow or the name on the bow. However I've made so many I just can't remember them all. As for your rotator cuff, keep your bow arm shoulder low and good luck at the Texas long bow shoot. Moosejaw Gary

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