Afraid I've turned my father into a Howatt fan (which wasn't hard to do). He just bought this beautiful HH 51493 from Sharp Stick Archery in Ontario. The seller (Mike) said that Larry was the bowyer and the bow came from a collector and it had never been shot (other than a few test arrows by Mike--who could resist?).

55# pull. My dad, who has been shooting a 2016 Martin HH, says this one "shoots like you wouldn't believe."

Would love to hear from Larry on the story of this bow. Is the purple heart unique, or were others made from this material? '85? '95? '05?

We built purpleheart bows for a while, then stopped because we could not get really good wood in enough quantity to keep building them. I built a lot of bows for people that requested I do all the work so I really do not know or remember that particular bow. I usually was asked to write "custom made for???" and sign those type of bows.

Unfortunately, the photo on the web site is too small for me to read the writing, so not sure if this was a custom job. I've asked my dad to send a better picture...

I suspect he would have told me if the signature indicated a custom job, though.

Thanks Larry. Beautiful work!

They were made in 95' and 96'. The early ones had a single accent stripe running through the riser. Here's a photo of the stripe, with comments Larry made in 2012:

Here's a photo of the stripe running through the riser of my 95' purpleheart Hunter. It has 5 laminations. The outer two are maple, the next two are purpleheart and then you have the brown center lamination, the widest layer. Does Larry or anyone else know what wood this brown center layer is? Just curious. I think the 95' Hunter is second only to the Dream Catcher in Howatt bow looks. Unless you go with the Brazilian rosewood models. Joe

From: larry hatfield

Date: 14-Jun-12

frisky, thats amazaque, it's a guibortia species like bubinga. bubinga is guibortia tamanii and amazaque is guibortia ehie. same strength and weight as bubinga. sometimes called "shedua" but is not the species sold by that trade name. there is no wood actually called "shedua" to my knowledge.

Some additional comments- After the 1st few hundred bows, a thin, maple stripe was added through the riser, as seen on your bow. I think this was done so narrower pieces of wood could be used. Larry will correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it looks nice. I still think these bows are among the nicest looking Howatts ever!

Joe

Very helpful, Joe--thanks!

That's a rather rare and beautiful beast from Larry and the guys, and has been on my "want" list for a while. When one with my specs comes along, I will jump on it.

Sharp looking Bow. Any more pictures? You don't see much Purpleheart bows. Really nice find. JF

Here's the link to the listing.

Or not...

http://www.sharpsticksarchery.com/_p/prd1/3417381505/product/howatt-hunter%3A-62%2255%23-%4028%22-%22rare-purpleheart%22

I have it's twin on my rack. Just pulled it down and checked the stripe for number of lines of wood.

I had one of those in fifty pounds and it was one of the best bows I ever shot.Good looking bow to. Mine cracked at the stabilizer hole and it was replaced with one in a different wood.I like purple heart a lot.

I'm seeing double. JF

I remember this beautiful bow from the ads in the mid-90's. I finally got one a few years later.

I'm thinking that was mine at one time maybe but if not had one exactly like it. That was a bow I should not have sold as well as kept all my Super D's among a few others. They are great bows the purple heart really stood out and very unique to say the least.

Here's mine.

I've heard about those, but never seen one until now.

Frisky, I was describing the brown wood with black striping in the comment you posted! Either I didn't see the true color of the bow because of picture quality or just made a mistake. Purple heart is a Peltogyne spp. Bought both of them off and on for years, so I think it was the picture.

I lucked into one two months ago that looks like it had never been used. Will post pictures later.

Larry- Yep. You made no mistake. You were just describing the brown wood I had asked about. I could have formatted the post better.

Joe

Another one to add...got it in a trade with that notorious bowhunter who goes by Codjigger

DDave

Congrats on the score Dave. There was another that just sold on Ebay this week. I put a token bid on it and was happy when someone needed it worse than me in the final hour. I have too much duplication already.

I was just shooting my purpleheart hunter last night. Smooth, stable and quiet. I think it is the best looking hunter with the possible exception of the early rosewood models.

Man that bow is beautiful.

Had a Purplehart Hunter for over a decade, it was my only bow for a long time. I don't regret selling it BUT if I could find one at 40 or 45 lbs I would really think about buying it.

There are two for sale at Archery Advantage in Little Rock AR. They are both 55#@28" and look to be in great shape.

The purple heart Hunters were the classiest of the later models in my opinion. That would be one I would add to my stash if one showed up in a lighter range...45'ish. Nice bows folks.

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