I would like to know who owns a Rocky Mountain recurve and what lenght/poundage you have. I bought in the early 90s a 13" riser with 48" and 50" limbs respectively 60 and 63#, then last year I found an used 68# at my DL 62" . What a great bows they are,fast and quiet.

i have a left handed one.. 17 inch riser and it measures 55 inch from tip to tip, straight across the face of the bow, also 60lbs @ 27inch, brought mine in 1988,,, $500 new,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I sold mine which I bought new In the 90's I really regret it. best recurve I have ever owned 56"~66# @ 26 1/2" rosewood and purple heart riser.

I have a Sierra Blanca 52inch 50@28. I understand it is made very similar to the Rocky Mountain.

I have an original and one that Jess Stuart made for me. Both are really nice but I like Jess' bow better.

I am always looking for limbs for my original if anyone has some they do not want :)

To me they are the best recurves ever. I bought one around 1880, got the longbow itch, traded the Rocky Mountain, then bought a used one a couple of years ago. Every time I pick it up it's like an old friend, comfortable grip, lite weight and shoots like striped ape (61 @ 28") even with a heavy arrow. I've thought about selling it a couple of times, but haven't been able to force myself to do it. I shoot my longbows mostly.

I have an original by John Morris, Purple Heart and rosewood. It's 62", 54#@28. Sweet shooter. I too have thought about selling it a few times but then think" nah, it's irreplaceable".

pictures? Dave maybe you could loan it out to a friend in need. ;)

This bow at 68# is so smooth and quiet that it is almost unreal,pretty fast too with a 700 grains arrow.

Since the tips are some kind of Phenolic,I am been enough confident to use a skinny FF sting.

This is my little 48"- then I have a set of 50" limbs.

I have a 62" 72@30". I purchased it from a friend who had it made for him in the mid 80s. One of the better bows from that era. I really like the grip and balance of the bow.

Excuse the wrong date. It should have been 1990. That's what I get for typing without the desk lamp on.

I had a 58" LH that John Morrison built for me before he moved to Bozeman, it was 69#@29" LH, best shooting bow I ever owned. I sold it because @ 70 years of age I can no longer draw that much, and if I could get another one built at 50# or so I would in a heartbeat. I was really saddened when John quit the business, he was an artist with the recurve bow. Fast, Cedar shafts and snuffer 165's chrono graphed @ 202 fps consistently. And a no stack bow. John did not sign bows, he put the person that ordered its name on the riser.

Both the Morrisons are perfectionists. Now they make custom cowboy hats and those are some of the finest made also.

????

I have two originals, both are 56".

I had a 60 incher with 17 inch riser.I think the highly deflexed design is nice for its pointability and the stability is good.I like the grip alot as well.It strings up into a little bit shorter length than most other 60 inch recurves.That can be nice in tight spots.

Had one in the late eighties that I still regret moving along. One of my many unforgivable mistakes that I'm so good at. At the top of my list of bows that I'd love to have back.

I have an original with the long riser that is 62" and 55# @ 28". Won our State Championship Indoor 3D Shoot with it this last Spring. The Bow is awesome, and IMO rare. The Riser is all the same light sand-colored wood. It shoots as well, or better, than any recurve I own and shoot.

For a while there was someone making them again.

I had the 72 pounder referred to. Wasn't fast so I kept looking, they did shoot really well, and today that would be a higher priority.

I don't know anything about them, but there is at least one for sale on RMSGear.com

I have two originals, 62" and 60" with different riser and lImb combinations.

Jess Stuart is the guy making reproductions.... if anything his are even better! I built a number of RMR clones with carbon limbs but not for commercial sale.

Do a keyword search for Rocky Mountain Recurves and you will find lots of information.

which word ????? I cant ever get more than one

I have an original and have found it to be one of my most difficult bows to shoot consistently. I think that something about the grip just doesn't fit my hand quite right as I seem to torque the bow frequently. It is a fast shooting and hard hitting bow. Mine is a 60" bow (I think)and is 46 pounds.

One question that I do have: how is the riser measured? From bolt to bolt, over all length, or what? My riser measures a bit over 19" end to end.

I really would like to figure this bow out. Like stated by others, it is light, fast, and pretty. Am I the only guy out there that has trouble shooting this bow design?

I don't know how I missed this thread. I am always looking for any information on Rocky Mountain Recurves. I have been fascinated with them since back in the mid eighties, always want one but, could never afford one.

I guess it was only natural once I began building bows to build one very similar. With help from guys on here, like Foxbo, Scotsman, Prairie Drifter, and a few others I began building one very similar to the originals. They are not reproductions or exact copies but, close. To say they are better than the originals is probably blasphemy the Morris's were absolute masters of there craft. I love older classic bows and just wanted to bring back something similar. It is kind of the 57 Chevy, pre 64 Winchester model 70 type of thing.

I have 2 Rocky Mountain Recurves (RMRs) made by the Morrises and one Sierra Blanca bow made by Jess Stuart (Bowbaker).

-One RMR is 56” AMO, 50#@28”. It is an “original” version like the ones pictured above. -The other RMR is 52” AMO, 63#@28”. It is a “natural” version. The “natural” was a later production version made of Camo “actionwood” which I believe the Morrises either made themselves or had made to their specifications. My understanding is that all of their “original” versions had the limbs that taper down to a narrower riser (generally preferred) and all of the “natural” models had a thicker riser and limbs that didn’t taper down to it. My “natural” does have the narrower riser, because it was specially requested by the original owner.

-My Sierra Blanca is 52” AMO, 50#@28” with a narrow riser and a spare set of limbs that are 52” AMO, 53#@28”. Pound for pound, it is faster and quieter than my RMRs and every bit as accurate. Jess is still making bows and really stands behind his product. All RMRs were 3 piece take downs. The Morrises seemed to specialize in shorter bows, and when combined with a narrow riser, their bows were quite handy and extremely accurate for their size. Most RMRs seem to be in heavier draw weights, but they are “smooth drawing” bows that feel about 5 pounds lighter than their actual draw weight. They are getting pretty scarce and difficult to find. I have literature from RMR that states they generally made “a couple of bows a week.” I figure they probably made 10 bows per month, or 120 bows per year. Can anyone tell me how many years they were in business? Knowing this would allow us to come up with a pretty accurate estimate of the total number of RMRs out there. Thanks - John

Cacciatore, In response to your ????, Here is a link to the Morris' new business:

http://www.rockymountainhatcompany.com/

Sad news,

I just came across this obituary for John Morris Sr. Looks like we've lost another icon of traditional bowhunting. My condolences go out to the Morris Family. - John

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bozemandailychronicle/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=181676540

Sorry I just noticed I called them Morrisons instead of Morris. Sorry. I hate hearing that about John. I never met the man but he seemed really down to earth on the phone.

Sorry to hear that, I only talked with him on the phone many years ago.

When I picked up my first RMR John Sr. was working out of his basement in his cabin on the Missouri River breaks in montana. This was way before internet and google maps werent even a dream.

After miles of wrong turns we (wife, I and two little kids) found the cabin. We looked at each other with a 'what now' expressions because there were horses on the cabin front pirch...... I wasnt a horse person by any means so carefully threaded myself between the cayuses and knockd on the door. No answer. Knock louder. No answer. Then from behind the cabin I hear a faint 'who's there? '

John comes out, covered in sawdust and welcomes us tomthe shop where he's just in the process of gettig a bow in the oven. He was extremely hospitable and took lots of time showing us around.

We became friends and years later, when physical problems caused him to shut down the bow shop he took the time to tell me the details of his lamination schedule and processes. Great guy.

Here is one of my RMR clones. Birdseae Bubinga and Kingwood. 020 carbon on belly side of limbs. Shoots nice as it looks.

Here is one of my RMR clones. Birdseye Bubinga and Kingwood riser. Limbs are Birdseye Bubinga with carbon uni on the belly. Shoots nice as it looks.

Hmmm, not sure where the double post came from. Here's another angle.

Scotsman thank you for sharing that story, it is a great one. We often forget how things were before the internet. By the way that is a great looking bow bet it shoots as well as it looks.

Funny, often debt is mostly in one's own mind. A modest/honest person knows who made the difference in their lives and doesn't forget. Everyone owes something to a wide range of people. I wouldn't have called those bows, Scotsman, copies or whatever. Only a few details that look like RMRs to me.

I think two areas of improvement for mine would be the grip and the speed, not a fast bow compared to contemporary Widows or GN Ghost. Speed isn't everything but at 29 inches and 72 pounds it should be part of the picture.

Tim, thanks for the comment. My bows use the same limb scantlings and riser angles as John's originals. I do tweak the scantlings when adding carbon but overall taper remains the same.

Another overlooked aspect of John's engineering were his interchangeable riser and limb lengths. The shorter risers have increasingly steep mounting bases so whichever length of limb you used the draw weight would remain the same. You could use, say, his #2 limb in 50#. Mounting on 15", 17" or 19 risers would yield lengths of 56, 58 or 60 inches but draw weight would always be 50#.

I have his original brochure illustrating the various riser and limb lengths but am on the road so cant post a photo. I'll try to remember to post it in a couple of weeks.

I am very sad for John Morris passing, prayers for family and friends. Fish Cat, Thanks for the head up.

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