Just read Bill Howland of Brack bows is done as of April 15 .....

That's sad. Just read it.

He had like a 2 year wait didn't he...that will kill some business right there.

I wonder why he is quitting...probably just tired of it and not much money in it is my guess.

I've owned one of his Quest recurves and had an opportunity to shoot his famous NonTypical longbow. They sure look good and perform well and have heard also that he has a backlog. I hope his health is OK and he's just taking a break from work.

It may not be the only factor but I suspect the resurgence of Bear Archery has impacted a lot of custom bowyers-as well as the Economy in general.Too bad cause Bill is one of the good guys.

Sad indeed I would think being a bowyer is tough to make a living at.

Based on the visit I had with him, Bill is a great guy with a TON of knowledge about what makes a bow work. I had dreams of getting one of his K2's one day; he seemed very excited about that design and the stir it was going to create. Hope he's okay!

I think the cheap Samick and other similar bows has hurt the custom bowyer...in addition to resurgence of Bear traditional bows. Used to be most traditional guys would buy Bear, Browning, Pearson, Red Wing, etc...or go with a custom bowyer. Now it seems that cheap and easy is the goal for a whole wave of new bowshooters....they want the cheapest they can get to shoot the fastest it can shoot without really learning about the soul of our sport. Just my two cents of course...but I find it hard to believe that a Samick can have the same soul or feel as one of the aforementioned bows with history, a tie to the land, from someone that is also a traditional bowhunter.

Sad to see it get to this....but in 10 years or less I dont think you will be able to find very many compounds as the crossgun overtakes them as the weapon of choice for the instant gratification with little to no effort crowd........and maybe some of the FAD FOLLOWERS will either learn the true meaning of traditional archery and bowhunting or move on to the next fancy thing they see in a movie.

keep em sharp,

ron herman

cheap and easy to buy isn't anything new. Bears and pearsons were pretty cheap back in the day , very easy to get and very popular. Custom bows were never top of the heap in the old days. Since stickbows made a comeback in the late 80's till the present custom has been what everyone went for, for the prestige. Now guys are finding out what the old timers knew, that pretty with a long wait isn't always better. Sad to see Bill shut down tho.

hope he is ok also ,, that being said the damon howatt & bear bows hanging in my basement don't even come close to the customs I've had & have, cheap & easy is todays world, but when the newbies are done with them and move on to custom [top bowyers} bows ,, they'll understand, and of course there wasn't near as many custom bowyers back in the day as there are now ,, yep it's a different world for sure ,, but that will weed out the wannabees from the ones that will stick with Traditional Archery & appreciate the quality of a one on one custom built by a true craftsman ....

The bottom line is that trying to be a full-time custom bowyer is a tough gig.

Most guys in the business only do it on a part-time basis for the fun of it... or they do it after they've retired from another job or occupation (with a pension for a steady income).

Bill probably just got burnt out trying to make a full-time living at it.

I've often considered cutting back to a hobby basis myself, so I can relate to Bill's decision. There are easier ways in the world to make a better income.

I doubt he stopped doing it because of the competition.

It's true that there is a lot of competition these days, but there's also a lot of business to go around. There's not any one company that has a monopoly on the tradition bow market. Not even Bear. :^)

Besides that, Bill always seemed to have plenty of business for himself. His waiting list has been 2 years long for the past decade, so he's probably not closing due to lack of work. It's probably just opposite... he probably had too much work.

Believe it or not, after all the expenses and taxes are paid, there's really not much profit in building traditional bows. Not even if you can build them good enough to charge $1,000 to $1,500.

And whether they realize it or not, the custom bowyers that are selling bows for less than $600 are essentially doing it for free (assuming that they're operating a tax paying business).

There's a lot of work and liability in a profession that offers a fairly meager profit (and in some cases... no profit). There are certainly much more profitable business models out there.

On top of that, the standards of today's custom bows are very high, and so are the customers' expectations. That really adds a lot of stress to the equation.

I don't mean to intentionally offend anyone, and I probably shouldn't even make this statement because it certainly isn't the case every time, but traditional bowhunters in general tend to be very frugal and very picky at the same time. That's a tough market to cater too...lol

It seems to be our nature, which I think is generally a good thing.

However, that combination of customer traits is difficult to make a decent living from.

Whatever Bill's reason was for closing, I wish the best for him. I hope nothing bad happened and that he only has good things in his future.

Sad to hear. I did have a chance to shoot one of his recurves years back. I would be guessing his reasons for not making bows and most has been said. I know from reading that a lot of the customs go over seas. But they can not totally support the makers. Another thing I see in threads, a lot of us are OLD. Waiting for a custom a year or two may mean we might not be able to shoot it.

Cheap bows hurt custom markets or even Bear? You really think they are that good to affect customs then shoot them.LOL

Since Bracken bury died this new guy I herd built a great bow but maybe he doen't share the same drive as what Brackenburry had when the buisness started. You don't see many around or did you ever really or forsale theres a few unlike other customs.

I doubt any bower gets into it for the money is my thinking its a labor of love.

You might be surprized to hear some guys that are a long wait but then they decide when they will turn out a bow and how many orders are really capabal to handle in their small operations.

Its a shame but these times have been changing all along its just some have blidders on.

Think about the guys that gave up in the past couple years. Sad.

Dan Toelke ,, one month turn around ,, and about as good as is gets ,, just sayin ...

Inexpensive bows are good for the sport and for custom bowyers.

Do you honestly think a beginner is going to lay out over $1000 and wait over 2 years for their first bow? Heck no.

I started with a cheap bow ($20). I had a few Martins and Bears, then eventually progressed to customs, including three Brackenburys, one of which Bill made for me. I still have a bit of SC mud on it from my annual hog hunt two weeks ago. I shoot it better than anything I ever touched. It all started with a cheap bow.

I have no idea why Bill is closing shop and speculating is not always constructive. I hope all is well and he reopens someday.

My Brack Quest has one of if not the best grip I have ever held. I wish the best for Bill.

Recurve Crafter, I agree with you 100%. I am not crafting bows, just watching this business for 30 years, and I feel that's deadly on, what you have just said.

Joe vt, that is one fine bow!

Chad Holm is another one , short wait time great prices & fabulous bows ....

I totally agree with Brandon. People look at the price and assume it's all profit for the bowyer, never thinking of the investment in machinery, learning the craft and the time it takes putting out a quality product. I've seen the same in wedding photography. People think the photographer makes all profit but the reality is that running a business, insurances, taxes and $20k in equipment is tough to pay off when, after spending time shooting and editing photos the photographer ends up making less than minimum wage.

I can see where bow building is a perfect business for someone that retires early and want a "second" career. Or if the business is big enough to churn out lots of bows so that you can literally make it up in volume.

There has been a few bowyers that have come and go and own several. Bill built me his Peerless and it is probably one of the top shooting bows that I have own. His personal attention to my specs where right on and he added a thumb rest that met my grip, the first one he added on to his bow. Bill spent the time to build his bows to his customer specs and details. God Bless and Good Hunting Bill.

Bowyers have never made much money. I remember guys in the 19 80 saying " no bow is worth $300! I'd never pay that for a bow!" Later, it was $500, then 600, etc. Yet the guys wear themselves out, damage their lungs with fiberglass dust,pay for their own health insurance, and and retire without a pension. And they have to spend many weekends a year working a booth at shoots etc. (Not having fun shooting with friends like the rest of us!) No wonder so many have to keep a real job so their family has some security! Ask a custom bowyer you know well how many bows he builds a month, year, whatever. Do the math - it's not a for - profit business!

I hate to see ANY craftsman close up. However, we have no idea what the reason was. Could be he's just tired of it. Sometimes it gets to the point where it isn't fun anymore.....at all.

I tied in the neighborhood of 3,000 dozen flies a year for a number of years. Had orders to be filled months out. One day I walked in and sat down at the vice and it wasn't fun anymore. I finished up what had to deliver and hung it up.

Same issues as with custom bows, less expensive imported flies, clientele with attitudes very similar to what Brandon described, and so on. But that had -0- to do with me quitting.

Those other factors have always been there, and will always be there in any industry.

Its sad to lose a line of such fine shooting instruments started by an inspiring man and carried on for so many years by his friends. It is even more to lose a legacy of a fine human being and his family of friend's that carried on the name and the craft. I hope Bill just wants to stop making Bracks and enjoy his life and not HAVE to quit for some reason. God Bless.

I would imagine he is just retiring, nobody with a 2 year backlog is being put out of business by Samick.

"Now guys are finding out what the old timers knew, that pretty with a long wait isn't always better. Sad to see Bill shut down tho."

All the commercial bows I have owned are dogs compared to the customs, and I don't even like the new "pretty" bows. I'd pay not to get all the messed up wood. For one thing, with a slightly long draw length, all the rack bows suck, but they don't have much zip at the short end, either. Things have improved and people are willing to take care of a bow today while in the past companies like Bear were selling walking sticks. That has helped a lot, customers now have high expectations. I haven't shot a Kodiak in a long time, but I have a few of the other bows, they sure messed up the Royal Safari, and sold it for more than it cost to buy the custom. The stranded stock in that model is still trying to leave shops at prices that are on par with deluxe custom editions by Zack, or Byron. Obviously everyone around here is experienced, but I do at times wonder whether the product equivalence stuff comes down to people who don't think custom is worth it and therefore never found out.

Maybe, because of his back log he decided to close doors for a moment to catch up and rethink his business handlings.

Bowlim, if all the commercial bows you have owned were dogs compared to customs I'd be curious to know what commercial bows you've owned. Objective tests prove that commercial bows hold their own against any custom bow in performance. If you're talking about looks, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe there are many beautiful custom bows just as there are many beautiful production bows.

This is sad news. I do hope he is OK, as this seems quite unexpected.

Good article in the Spokane paper a few months ago:

http://www.spokesman.com/outdoors/stories/2014/sep/04/spokanes- bill-howland-is-bowyer-par-excellence/

Sorry that did not work, but search Bill Howland and Spokane Spokesman Review for the piece.

Kinda sad

I know that the beautiful, exotic woods that a lot of us demand and love is awfully hard on the bowyers lungs/respiratory health.

It's not just like that in the bow business. It's in a lot of business's these days. Americans want it cheap and fast. Period.

People tend to think they know a lot more than they do. Cheap bows are good for bowyers and do not affect their sales. If anything, they enhance business for custom bowyers down the road after a person can decide they want to stay in the sport. Really short-sighted to blame other bow companies.

Low margins are what hits most independent bowyers, and particularly now. There are more bowyers as of this date then there have ever been in modern archery. A little left brain analyzing will show that is true, and competition makes the market tougher to compete, and that is what drags down profit margins.

Bill has his own reasons, and it's not for anyone else to say what he does or doesn't do. I wish him the very best and hope he is healthy and able to enjoy his life in the future.

For beauty the custom bows wipe out the stock bows.I've only owned a few customs.If you include the older trad bows Bear,Shakespeare,Howatt,Root,Wing ,et. they match most of the customs.I had a Chekmate and Harrelson that wereexceptional,superior...magic.Unfortunately,I've had others of the same make that were very good but not special.Some of the Howatts were in their own way also extraordinary.I don't think that the stock bows give you the chance to hit the highs that some individual customs provide.Brackenburys are out of my reach but i can mourn their passing.Just like the Quinns and Assenheimers have passed on to the classifieds.

get a kick out of the lumping of howatt bows into the production bow catagory. for over 40 years they were built one bow at a time, by order, and the grips were custom fit to the customers drawing or examples they shipped us. we didn't do the unlimited custom woods, but we used the best woods for archery that were available. we did make some pretty eye candy too. i used to have phone conversations with bill when we were still at yakima. he's a good guy. in or out of business i just wish him well. he's earned respect from the bowyer community.

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