what is it about a hill style bow that draws you to it ?

For me I love how they feel and shoot. Very stable but light weight, super quiet, and the just shoot where I look. Also I like the grip. But like all bows they are not for everyone.

Feel right in my hands, and can hit with them under pressure

All I have basically ever shot. Flirted with a reflex/deflect LB and a recurve years ago, but I shoot my Meigs Bamboo LB better. Going on 35 years. I thing they are much more forgiving especially when ramped up trying to get a quick shot at a deer.

I've tried shooting them, they sure are lite. I don't think they have the beauty of a nice recurve though. Like they say, to each their own

Used to share the same sentiment towards recurves as you do. Thought longbows were ugly. Things can change over time and I now feel there's no bow as beautiful as a strung Hill style longbow. That being said, I still enjoy shooting my recurves.

Years ago someone here on the Wall said that you owe it to yourself to own at least one longbow. I totally agree.

Graceful, beautiful and a joy to carry and shoot.

I enjoy Hill style, ASL bows because they are simple in design and just that much closer to the original longbows of old.

When I shoot my ASL bows, I use POC wood arrows and they fly so nicely - really brings a smile to my face... very traditional.

JW

Simplistic at it's core, and no need for a stringer. When I first started to put down the compound I was drawn to recurve bows, and still have one, but 95% of the time I have my Freeman in my hand. AND! There is no way someone can call this bow ugly. One of the first posts I remember reading was on this same topic and someone said that longbows were the tomato stake of archery. Maybe, but I have never had a recurve as silent as the longbow either.

-Bones

I didn't mean that I think they are ugly, they just aren't my cup of tea. I see a lot of people shooting them and was just wondering what the draw was. I have both recurves and longbows, like them both. I don't think any bow is ugly.....except a compound lol.

Dry bones, that bow is gorgeous! Hats off to Freeman!

Never shot one but it’s on my list of things to do

I shoot them because they are easy to make, easy to set up, easy to get quiet, easy to shoot, and plenty fast enough for what I need.

2x fdp

I love the looks of them but compared to my recurve they rattle the fillings in my teeth. Lol

I always liked the looks of an ASL. I Like the quiver of arrows on my back. A glove and arm guard was all else needed. I gave it an honest try but never could get good enough. Maybe I expected to much? Just never could get consistency after 20 yards.

Better get one. A man has got to know. - lbg

What Thumper said. I will add I like the looks of the straight limb bow. And I like the way the draw feels. It seems more conductive to fast shooting to me.

I hear many ppl claim they are the most forgiving bow of improper form but others claim they can’t shoot them accurately seems like a oxymoron

Like I said earlier I have never shot one so I can’t say which is correct

Someday I will own or at least try one for myself.

I convinced myself a long time ago that everything I heard about the Hill style longbow was true, and I'd never own one. That was 15 years ago. When I finally got one, I realized that everything I had heard about them wasn’t true. I like the smooth draw of bamboo. I like that deck of cards style grip. It’s fun to shoot. Not as finicky as a fast recurve. Seems to make up fot some of my form problems. There’s only one thing I have to remember; don’t Hold the grip real tight. The only bow I like just a little better is a ‘55 Bear Polar. Not a longbow and not a recurve.

I started my bow hunting back in the 60’s with a Bear Grizzly. About a dozen years or so later I saw a small advertisement tucked in the back of Bowhunter magazine for the Howard Hill longbow. Simply out of intrigue, having seen the Howard Hill movie shorts when I was a kid, I ordered a 65# Hill longbow and a dozen arrows. From the moment took it out of the box I was hooked by the simplicity and beauty of that bow, and quickly built my strength to handle the weight(and string it!), and soon learned to shoot it well. I also became a a fan of Howard Hill, collecting bows and other equipment. As mentioned, they are very forgiving, and in time become an extension of your body. That bow was my go-to for about 15 years, until an arm injury forced to back off the draw weight. While I have owned numerous recurves and longbow variants, There are few that shot as effortlessly and as accurately as I shoot the Hill style bow. My current favorite, a Hill Legend Stick.

I sure enjoy watching the gracefulness and admire the people that shoot them well. The light wieght of the bow stirs up my tendonitis or I'd shoot one.

Shot recurves, r/d, and even the even dreaded compound, however it wasn’t until I picked up a Howard Hill Wesley that I truly felt like I had no worries. I ended up with JD berry as a secondary and I can honestly say they are the only two I will ever need. I haven’t sworn off the fun of shooting other bows, but I will never hunt with anything other than an asl. I love how they shoot. Feel and shoot. They definitely rattle you a bit, but beaver balls have fixed that and now they are as smooth as silk and quiet as a church mouse.

I don't get the rattling you part.

If a bow , any bow, is causing an undo amount of handshock it's incorrectly set up.

They just feel right.

Nostalgia, in the woods late fall. Simple and forgiving.

If you take the time to properly learn how to shoot a hill style bow there’s a good chance you’ll be listing all your other bows with curvature in the limbs for sale. There’s many ways to skin a cat with other styles of bows but the hill style is a different animal. Once you get the handling figured out, you’re in for a real treat. There is something special about these bows no doubt.

A couple of months ago someone posted this video on TAS. Explains the "why?" better than words

https://vimeo.com/antonioferrari/la-via-di-mezzo

X2 Justin (newell38)

Deno

HH said they were easier to shoot than recurves

Good vid Draven. I would spend all day on that range.

I like how quiet, light and simple they are. I've never been bothered by "handshock" although I do notice a slight thump on release. I have a 40lb, HH Tembo, string follow bow, that has to be my favorite bow of all time. I got it as my "old man bow" but am shooting it more than any other right now. I plan to hunt with my HH Cheetah (about 10 pounds heavier, straight limb) next fall. I don't score as well on paper with the Hills as I do with my recurves or r/d longbows, but for 3d and for just enjoying my shooting more I'll take a Hill style.

I’m a late longbow guy. Recurves have been my choice but last year that changed and I shoot the longbows better for sure. No idea why but I just do. I love the curves of the recurve but the longbow has become my go to bow for accuracy reasons. If ya haven’t tried a longbow I’d strongly give one a chance and see if it fits you better like me.

Because I can , Because I want to, I love long bows whether Hill Style or others, It’s a traditional mindset thing.

Educational Moment: Gentlemen, there are few things more beautiful in form or function than a Hill style classic D shaped longbow......schools out.

and I shoot a Hill Style bow

I had one once. A Hill that I shot for 4 years. Best bow I ever got rid of. Never looked back.

Hill style, my favorite.

1. Heel of the hand down low on the handle feels so right and so stable to me.

2. The ASL and heavy wood arrows are a match made in heaven. All other traditional combos/materials just didn't "feel" right.

3.The super quiet (thmpf). My bows/arrows are tuned in a such a manner that anytime I shoot with others I get 'wow that bow is quiet comments.' I have never had a deer flinch at any of my shots.

4. Swing draw pointability in hunting situations. That goes for good and awkward body alignment shots. The bow can be canted to any degree while bending and stooping, kneeling or twisting.

5. Just love the organic feel. Solid full palm grip on the handle. Deep grip on the string. 68 inches of perfection with 700 grains total arrow weight and I feel CERTAIN.

OK,Must then all Howard Hill longbows be shot with a cant? or are some ordered with a deeper cut shelf for more perpendicular shooting? Always wanted to shoot one but was talked out of it many times by ones that have. Was never confident in shooting a canted bow but admire ones that can. 1968 Super Kodiak

I have found my Freeman does not HAVE to be shot any certain way, but can be shot to whatever style a person is so inclined. I have played with a few various type shots from the canted deep heel of the hand to a straight up and down 3 under gap. IF you stay true to form and do not collapse anywhere, they shoot perfectly well. I never did appreciate the feel or shot, off the heel of my hand and have always (compound, recurve,longbow) preferred to shoot off the webbing of the thumb and index finger. It just works better for me. The "Hill" style bow still shoots just as good that way, as long as you are consistent.

-Bones

Only own one, 68" that pulls around 49-50# at 28"... Elk River, made by bowyer from WV...

Well, most certainly, I would feel the need for that wedge of leather under the grip wrap as seen on a scant few HH style bows. What is that wedge of leather called?

Super Kodiak that wedge of leather is simply the arrow shelf. It's just an addition to increase the width. There is no particular name for it.

No bow, selfbow, Hill Style bow, or recurve HAS to be shot witha cant.

I have been shooting a Northern Mist Whisper since archery season ended and I love it. I have a slight cant but not much. I can can't it almost horizontal and still hit good out to 15 yards. Im loving it and am itching to shoot a non forward handle ASL. loving the longbow but still learning.

I have been shooting a Northern Mist Whisper since archery season ended and I love it. I have a slight cant but not much. I can can't it almost horizontal and still hit good out to 15 yards. Im loving it and am itching to shoot a non forward handle ASL. loving the longbow but still learning.

Wel...Thats what I was thinking but ya see So many people that do. Darn near all of them holding Hill bows, are canting them.

I have never felt handshock in 65 years of shooting longbows since I was 8. I think it is because I always crook my canted bow arm and don’t straightarm it. I never even heard of handshock, gap shooting, split vision, or instinctive until I found this site several years ago. No one around here shoots traditional. Just me. My father, grandfather, and their friends bow hunted, but that was when archery was pre-compound. They are all gone.

I have 6 hill bows but I admit I shoot my recurve a bit better.

Two of my several Howard Hill bows. A 50’s vintage, 50# and a recent Legend Stick, 52#. Both great shooters. Same arrow, same cast, same smooth draw........and same POA.

I pretty much adopted the John Shulz shooting style some decades ago and haven’t deviated since....whether longbow,, recurve , or hybrid. Seemed to make sense at the time and has worked quite well for me.

Someone described HH style bow as graceful. I like that description. It is somehow as graceful as a petite, lithe dancer effortlessly gliding through a routine.

Also, exceedingly light in the hand. ME: Honey, have you seen where I laid my longbow? WIFE: Isn't that your longbow in your left hand?? Ahhh...seen my car keys?!!

The super quiet pulse in your hand on release. One of life's little pleasures.

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