Can someone please explain any advantage to a reverse handle bow?

I know everyone likes something new or a gimmick, but when I lQQk at one my first thought is your loosing about an 1" to 1.5" of cast by the fact the limb is on the outside of the handle. It's not that your gaining draw length as your draw and arrow length all remain the same. I just don't see no advantage except to be different. Did bow makers get bored or unable to come up with something new and different and figured "Lets give this a shot and see if we can get anyone to buy one"?

I've only had one bow with a reverse handle. For me the grip was more comfortable and it was harder to torque the bow. My bow was 62" or 64" long and 60#@28". It's been a long times ( mid-1990s ) since I owned it I can't remember what wood was used.

Reverse handles are neither new, nor a gimmick. The handle isn't actually reversed, it's just forward of the limbs. That would equate it to why would one shoot a Black Widow, or a Shrew...or any forward riser bow. Choices.

The ones Ive shot have been more forgiving and "Smoother" I like the Northern Mist ones a lot.

"Don't knock 'em til ya try 'em"..... and you should. They are not a recent design as George said, nor are they a gimmick! I would like to see more of the old masters such as Great Northern, Robertson and a couple of others come up with their talent and make their version. I'm actually surprised there's not more out there tho there seem to be a following lately.

Here is some from the '80s-'90s with top one from 2018. Bored bowyer's? I don't think so. Advantage for me is the carry, the flip of the wrist to get into drawing position quickly when stillhunting deer or bunny hunting, also flying pheasants..tho there's no birds around here anymore. The straight or slight locator grip suit me well for what I do.

Smoothness is by design. More forgiving, maybe so. Accuracy is always on the Archer though reverse handles lend themselves to quick point ability. And less likely to torque for those yet to learn how to grip a bow properly to begin with.

Here's a couple of sweetheart bows from Duane Jessop. He only makes forward handled bows and explains his reasons why...check it out. Top one is my sons. Bottom is mine. Made for us about 20 years ago. Fastest bows we own and incomparable to others in craftsmanship.

My Northern Mist Whisper has what I call a forward handle, fits me better and less torque with a smoother draw, if it fits you it’s hard to go back to a normal grip.

A forward handle gives more working limb and a higher brace tension in any design. It will improve the overall performance of the bow

Cause they work well and feel good in the hand.

OB. I agree with the higher brace tension, but how does it provide more working limb if the riser is straight, which it should be on an ASL. Same size riser in a standard handle would provide the same amount of working limb. However, that limb would be worked harder, i.e., bent farther/flexed more, for a given draw vis-a-vis a reverse handle bow.

OK Orion its simple if I understand your question. A limb only can bend so much before she starts to stack and loose stored energy. Using the long bow as an example. Basically your riser is on the belly side of the bow. So if your riser is 1&3/4" thick your brace height has to go another 1&3/4" more to give you say a 7.5" brace. When you draw the bow you've already lost the 1&3/4" plus the 7.5"of working limb. Move the riser forward you get back that 1&3/4" of working limb.

Bringing your string closer to the base of the limbs by that 1&3/4" Gives you more preload on the string and a higher brace tension. That higher brace tension delivers more energy to your arrow

I dunno...to me they look like somebody strung a longbow backwards

Good explanation, Todd..

Stickshooter, the fellow generally credited with first putting fiberglass on bows, Frank Eicholtz, also produced a very successful line of reverse handled bows from the late 1940s thru the 1960s. He called them "Oriental Handles." Forward handle-risers are much harder to torque.

Gents thanks for replies and explanations. I’ll probably have to give jd Berry a call.

LOL yeah I think they are strung backwards also. I don't care for them much. But the mechanics are spot on!

Well I think they're the cats meow and look cool to boot! I love 'em. I have plenty of other bows I love too....and I can shoot accurately any configuration of riser/grip ..big blocky high wrist recurves (don't like em,,don't fit my style) down to broomhandled selfbows..more my style.

Stick shooter,,, give James that call...you won't be disappointed with any of his models...he has brought back his famous Taipan. His newer improved version of it...how that can be..well, call him.

"Oriental handles" indeed. Very typical of Turkish bows, including the famous flight bows. Not so much the others, though.

For the guys who msg'd me asking who are the bowyer's of the bows I posted a pic above...as follows..

At top is a JD Berry Valor Elburg Jaguar (original model) Elburg Jaguar Magnum Elburg Cherokee Elburg Cherokee

The Elburgs are no longer being made... fantastic bows. Harry Elburg was not only one heck of a bowyer, he's the originator of the Grizzly and wolverine broadheads.

I talked with James about his new Taipan II.He said folks that have both the original and the new version like the new bow even more.Thinking hard about ordering one myself.Sounds like a great bow.

OB. I think we have a different definition of working limb. To me, the working limb length is any portion of the limb that extends beyond the riser fade outs. Though there is a little flexing toward the fade outs of a riser, the riser is usually regarded as stiff, and the limbs begin bending from the fade-outs toward the tips. Thus, placing the riser on one side or the other of the stack doesn't change the working limb length, though it does change how much those limbs are flexed at rest and throughout the draw.

"So if your riser is 1&3/4" thick your brace height has to go another 1&3/4" more to give you say a 7.5" brace." I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here, but, generally standard riser longbows are braced a lot lower than reverse risered longbows of the same length. For example, a 68-inch standard riser ASL would likely be braced abound 6 inches, give or take a little. A reverse handle longbow of the same length would be braced at about 7 inches, give or take a little.

That's why you get more early load with a reverse riser bow. It's braced higher. If it were braced the same as a standard riser bow, the preload would be very similar as well.

Similar, but not the same, because the reverse risered bow's limbs have to be made just a tad stiffer if they are to reach the same draw weight at a given draw length as a standard handle bow. Because the reverse risered bow's limbs aren't flexed as far to reach that 28 inches, they have to to be a tad heavier. The increased brace height contributes some of the "poundage", but the ever so slightly heavier limbs account for the rest.

Too, because the reverse handle has more preload, some folks find them smoother to draw because (all other things being equal) they don't build as much weight during the draw, and, because the limbs aren't bent as much, probably build it more evenly than a standard riser bow.

Sorry for the long winded pontificating. :>)

I love my reverse handle Ramer. No torque, easy to shoot well.

More than once (like on FB), I have had folks PM me to inform me that my bow is strung backwards.... ;0)

This is a bow I just got, $200. Great shooting bow...One of the best I've ever shot or owned. It's a Black Spitfire from Twig Archery.

This is a bow I just got, $200. Great shooting bow...One of the best I've ever shot or owned. It's a Black Spitfire from Twig Archery.

Sorry for double post

Great looking bow, TG.

Knobby, this bow is one of the best bows Ive shot in 40 plus years. I havnt shot a lot of bows with the limbs mounted on the belly but its very stable and smooth. I couldnt me more pleased if it cost 3_times the price.

KC that's reverse limb not handle %))

K. Cummings ... sorry if this is a silly comment, but, are those limbs on the right way round?

That Bear bow is quite a collector's item. I am on the lookout for one for myself. You are very, very lucky to find a treasure like that. I believe you are suppose to rotate the limbs periodically to extend limb life and maximize performance.

KC. I know you like a good laugh, but if you don't fess up, someone might actually start believing you on this one.

There's nothing reverse about the handle you picture, though the limbs are reversed. And, as i'm sure you know, the different weights related to bow lengths marked on the limb base pertain to different length risers.

Gotta watch this guy, Phil. :>)

KC is it possible you visited the BS summer camp my sons went to, because their bows all lQQked like that. LOL

When I explained to the young archery counselors they had the string's on the wrong side they laughed and thought I didn't know what I was talking about.

Apparently their senior archery merit badge counselor confessed to me he taught them this so the arrows would not fly as fast and away when they missed the target.

One needs to becareful what one preaches, sheeple are listening.

It appears to me that for a given design, a reverse grip bow would have less stress at the critical fade out area of the limb. Should add to bow longevity especially with the longer draws.jmho?

Why a reverse handle indeed? Look, the ancient Turkish archers were building backwards bows for centuries! And now modern copies!

Like Roger said. Extremely forgiving with virtually no handshock. Just look at where you want the arrow to hit, anchor, release and watch the arrow stick in that spot you are looking at.

Forgot to mention. Northern Mist Whisper.

How about Ernie Root's bows???????

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