Besides shooting the 66" Howatt Eldorado Palomar I also tried a Westbow Jupiter 66" target bow I had picked up and finally got around to getting a string for. It is a beautiful shooter.

I would sure like to learn a bit more about Westbow's. I have three and they're great bows.

A closer view of the riser...the other Westbow's I have are not laminated.

Westbow's have amazing tips. I have outfitted my other two with low stretch strings. I will leave a B-50 on this one.

Westbow's did not have a lot of embellishment...the name is usually written on and there is sometimes a Westbow decal.

Once I got the brace dialled in I was impressed with the groups I was getting, especially for the the second round of shots after the bow quieted down and was consistent.

Last picture of the riser from the face.

Thanks for looking...Peter

Another very good looking 66" there!

Peter, there definitely is a connection to Bob Lee there. Don't know exactly what it is as Bob did not want to talk about it when asked. but on one Westbow that I had it had a decal with an address of Houston Tx-very similar to Wing bows and of course those tips are on all the early Wings.

This one looks like a Red Wing Hunter in handle shape, and also a very early Swift Wing that I have.

How many pounds?

I agree Kelly. I found some materials from Westbow that I will post later that establishes them in Houston.

Here is my 56" Jupiter.

peter, those are solid looking bows. Well made of good materials. Thats why they preform so well.

I had a rosewood Westbow in a lighter weight once; heck of a bow. I think that one wound up somewhere in Canada, LOL...

Nice bows Peter. I like that 56” Jupiter! Lance

Kelly...the 66" Jupiter is 45#. My 56" Jupiter is 51#.

The one Kerry had that now lives with me is a "Special Hunter". It is 60" and 45#.

Here's some correspondence from Wesley Ratcliffe, owner and bowyer at Westbow. I did a little snooping on Google Maps with the address and he was pretty close to where Bob Lee was set up.

I also have a picture of a 1959 catalogue...I wanted to buy it but it was pretty expensive.

Interesting that Bob Lee did not speak much about him.

Here's a letter with the business address...wish they were clearer but I pulled them off an eBay listing.

Here is the catalogue...it has a different address.

Here is my 3rd West Bow. It is a Special Hunter. 60" and 45#.

Like all of the other West Bows it has big hooks...like a Wing.

Kerry informs me that it was no slouch when he shot it in one of his flight tests.

All rosewood riser..

You can see the "Special Hunter West Bow" decal in the last picture.

Here are the specs. Lost a little in the refinish.

Every model I have has the specs ending with the letter F.

Nice bows, I have never heard of them before.

Last picture is of the tips...they are a bit longer and tapered but still with lots of laminations. I am using a BCY-X string made by Barry Hughes (stilldub)

And to all who posted I agree with you that they are real performers! tradmt's comment about the smooth draw is my experience.

Here is a picture of a 21 metre shot while I was roving. Two arrows from the same stance.

I was really surprised a 56" bow was that stable.

I just picked up,a hunter model in a trade here. I haven't had a chance to shoot it much yet, but I Robin Hooded the second arrow I shot from it. It does appear to be a fast recurve.

I sent that Hunter to Lowcountry, it was a 56" model. The only reason I traded that bow is because I could not get along with the grip. Fast and smooth though, and I'm a fan of deep hooks.

Peter, if you ever want to rid yourself of that 56 incher you know where I am eh... Ha! Lance

That 60” one sure looks like a Browning Safari II, or I should say it’s the other way around. Absolutely a beautiful bow.

Peter, something happened between Bob Lee/Wing and Wes Ratcliff/Wesbow. Think there was a connection, then split of some sort that was not amicable. Just too many similarities of bow styles. That’s why Bob would not talk about relationship.

Any dates on that literature? Me thinks Wesbow was before Wing.

Kelly, I remember a post from several years back ...on this forum I think...it was one of Wes Ratcliff's children, a daughter as I recall. They grew up thinking that their dad basically invented, or perhaps reinvented, the recurve bow. So maybe he really was the first to tinker with those big hooks?

I also remember reading an interview with Bob Lee, and the question came up about his very earliest days making bows, in the garage in Houston. I was struck by the way he answered, which was to basically say "WE didn't really know what WE were doing; kind of made it up as WE went along." That's my emphasis on the use of "WE"-- and I remember it well, because I always wondered who he meant by that reference in the plural. Maybe he and Wes were collaborating at that time? Just a possibility.

Yes...Kerry is right..there was one post from his son or daughter.

Judging from the letters and literature it seemed like the company was well established, then poof, they're gone.

That would have been normal in 1975 with the advent of the wheel bows but in the very early 60's the market was growing and the West Bow was a good product.

I will send the letters to Kerry...he has a knack for improving the quality of a document.

Here's an interesting comparison that echoes what Kelly stated.

Here's my 56" Westbow. Compare it to the next picture of a Wing.

And here's a picture of a White Wing from the same era..

Here is a 56" Westbow Hunter compared to a 56" Browning Wasp. Westbow light with large hooks, Browning dark. Westbow 46#, Browning 46#. Westbow drew 1.5# heavier than Browning at 27" and was faster by 4 fps. I still have the Wasp. This was a lot of fun, 2 bows of different designs but same AMO and both have a reputation for being fast.

Here is a 56" Westbow Hunter compared to a 56" Browning Wasp. Westbow light with large hooks, Browning dark. Westbow 46#, Browning 46#. Westbow drew 1.5# heavier than Browning at 27" and was faster by 4 fps. I still have the Wasp. This was a lot of fun, 2 bows of different designs but same AMO and both have a reputation for being fast.

Yes, here's what Wes Ratcliffe's son Dennis posted in an old thread here:

"Thanks for all the kind words about my father. He died in 2001. (His bow making was included in the eulogy I gave at his funeral.)

As I understand it, most of the bows were made between 1958 and about 1961. Wes Ratcliffe even appeared on live TV to explain the recurve style. (My mother and brother and me had to go to another home at the end of the block to see it because we did not have a TV at the time.)

I do not know about Win or Bob Lee, but I do know that Bear was the biggest name in bow making at that time. My impression/recollection is that West Bow introduced the recurve style to archery.

In the late 1950's long bows were the standard. i remember my father explaining to me that his recurve design eliminated the "kick" that was characteristic of the Bear long bows. The West Bow recurve was designed to induce ever-increasing acceleration of the arrow, making for better accuracy and comfort. The palm-shapped grip was developed for the same reason, and my father explained to me that his bows were designed to balance in the yoke between the thumb and index finger.

I am still trying to collect more history from some of the family members that were involved in West Bow. I will post more if I find anything interesting.

- Skate50 "

That White Wing and the 66” Jupiter are a dead ringer for each other, profile wise.

I believe the “we” was Wes and Bob and believe they had a falling out and parted ways. What Company the “we” had I don’t t know but history says Wing prospered and West Bow did not.

I need to do some research in my old issues of ARCHERY magazine in the 1950’s to see when Wings or West Bow first ads appear.

The letters have 1959 and 1960 on them...I sent them to Kerry.

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