I have had a chaparral archery "kaibab" for years now. The bow was given to me by a friend. It is marked,62" amo, 51# @ 27". The bow has always been a touch too heavy for me at my old longer draw length (my draw length has shortened recently). So I never gave it much time. But now i am curious about the bow, being I know absolutely nothing about chaparral archery. Can anyone tell me a little history about the company? Bowyer, etc. I have looked it up before , but couldn't find much info. I have been considering have the draw weight brought down a bit. But would love to know a little history on the bow.

The Bowyer made both a longbow and recurve.I always like the looks of the grip on those bows.I have never had one.I have read that archers liked how they shot on posts from the past.

I also read that Bowyer Fazio of Soveriegn Archery helped design either the longbow or recurve?Or possibly both?

Thats all I got on Chaparral Archery

All I can tell you is that the bowyer was from Texas. I have owned 2 and wish I still had them. Very efficient little bows. Fit and finish was excellent.

My knowledge is the same as bowhunt, I used to look at Chaparral web site not thinking they would ever shut down, also talked to John Fazio , he helped , them and Horn archery also, and John Fazio. Is gone, hard to look back at what has been. To many great people and bowyers gone.

The actual bowyer was Bruce Baughn who moved to Tucson from Albuquerque. John Fazio helped design the longbow. I have one from the first small production run. Great bow. Both Bruce and John were undoubtedly influence by Harold Groves, also of Albuquerque. Search LW for more.

I have a Chaparral Kaibab. Very good bow. I have my original invoice that came with it somewhere. I remember the bowyer Bruce had some health issues and had to hang it up. This was around 2005 maybe?

I wish I had mine back

Me too, hope I can find another someday.

My buddy Big Steve the white rhino has one that he cannot shoot anymore. He has been talking about selling it, it is 50lbs at 30", near perfect condition. We are trying to come up with a price for it? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much for all the info. The bow I have is pretty plain Jane as far as looks go. Dymondwood riser and clear glass with all bamboo limbs. But the bow flat out smokes an arrow. I am considering getting the weight reduced so I can actually shoot it.

Chaparral Kaibab was made by a bowyer (Jeff Massie) in Texas I am sure. He made great longbows. For a few years he operated a hog hunt in Texas. Apparently he was an electrician by trade and decided to quit making bows and go back to being an electrician. I had one of the Kaibabs and also went to one of his hog hunts. Very nice guy. I hit a javelina at dusk which ran into a thick patch of prickly pear. I decided I wasn't going into that patch in the dark. He returned with me that night with a spear, moved into the patch, and came out a minute later with my javelina. Tough guy.

Bruce made the kaibab and John Fazio put the limb tips on each bow and applied the finish. John Fazio made the forms and designed the kaibab and his friend Bruce made them. I had a few chaparrals and they were very nice Bows. You look at their limb tips and look at a ballistik or a sonorans limb tips and you can tell it’s John’s work. I miss talking to Fazio. Those bowyers in the Southwest seemed like a tight knit group. Is Bruce still around?

Justin: Bruce and John both passed a few years ago.

Bruce Baughn protected nuke transport until he retired and moved to Tucson. He also managed a bow shop part time, was very helpful to rookies.

Fazio ran some lion hunts, had a beautiful string of hounds.

Several Fazio longbow collector/shooters in my area...they've tried to buy my Chaparral but fuggetaboutit...the limbs look identical. My grip is dymondwood (sorta orange), limbs are brown glass and (maybe...don't recall) boo. We joked about how this was the least cosmetic, toughest version..tough, matte epoxy finish...

Fazio worked for Harold Groves for a while....I think Chapparal Kaibab was designed for Groves-style serious production (vs "custom" a'la Fazio).

I knew John had passed. I used to spend hours on the phone with him and I had a carbon Sonoran on order when he passed. I never met him in person but I considered him a buddy. I didn’t know Bruce had passed. I’m sorry to hear that. His wife’s name was helga if I remember correctly and she was also part of the business? So sad to see all of these talented bowyers get sick or pass on. Bill matlock was another super talented bowyer from the Southwest that can’t make Bows anymore due to health issues.

I had one too and should not have sold it. Great bow!

I had one of their Alpine recurves. It had a lot of performance but I was never able to get it as quiet as I liked so I eventually sold it.

I regret it because at the time I was still getting back in to trad bows and would likely have been able to get better results if I knew more about bow tuning.

I was thinking about a Kaibab but then the company stopped building bows so no luck there.

Yep Bruce Baughn. Jeffrey Massie owned Massie Archery over in Gonzales Texas. I used to go by there periodically when I was still a factory rep.. Jeff's longbow of fame was the Longhorn.

And, who shall be around to tell of the Legends once they have all gone...?? We weep for the wind that once was, the mists of the long ago and the brave sunsets of our youth...

Found this thread by search, interested to see if any other Kaibab shooters on here? I've already mentioned on another thread, I've been away from stikbows aprox 10-11 years, mainly on account of a vision change hurt my shooting, and work in 2011 so demanding. But I tried to pick it back up about 3 years ago after retiring, but my shooting was awful! Got a compound 3 years ago, enjoy it, took a deer with it in 2019, but missed my stikbow so bad, hunting, roving & squirrel hunting with it, making arrows, everything about it just always fit me. An Old retired man & Stikbows just go together! But few weeks ago, I determined to overcome my problem, or get rid my bows! I started with my Bear Kodiak Hunter and first was to beat my snap shooting habit, which with good vision was an asset! But I'm well down the road now was doing well with the recurve, and then finally tried my Kaibab. I love it, and here's why! The Bear rated at 45#, is probably near 50# @ my 29.5" draw. I had the Kaibab made in 2004, my first and only longbow, 64" 53#@ my then 30" draw. I've compared both, and chronoed both with the same arrows, which both shoot well! The Bear with a 550gr arrow shoots 167fps and the Kaibab, with my draw now at 29.5", I figure 51-52# shoots the same arrow @ 165fps. But I'm 62, and the draw of the LB is so much easier, and smoother, and gonna be easier on my elbow & shoulder, which do bother me! I'm shooting the Kaibab very well so far, and believe it's won out for hunting this fall! It's a natural instinctive bow, the arrow resting almost right on my hand! I never got to take a deer with it, YET!, but its a killer on squirrels! Wondering if there's any other Kaibab shooters around?

Me, No, But stay with it and enjoy the ride , Take Care

I got this Kaibab two years ago from the swap thread. LH 64" 42# @ 27". It's everything Bearcurve and others say it is. Hope to take it out first time this season. Added an EFA 4 arrow quiver to it.

Good looking bow, Krag

Yap, that's it! You sure got the ultimate quiver on it. Mines got the GN adjustable and I put a leather grip on it. Fine bows!

I had a 55# 'er several years go. It was a great little bow. Sold it to a friend who had taken a shine to it. Miss it now.

I spoke to Bruce about 5 years ago. He was a cowboy at the time and loving it. Is it true that he is dead?

Ooh, I like the looks of that! I was hoping someone would post pics, don't think I've ever seen one.

I'm gonna try to take some pics of mine and learn to post them soon I hope. All I had ever shot my entire life was 56" to 60" recurve. Then about 20 years ago I started wanting to try a D Longbow, Hill bow. About same time, early 2000"s I started seeing the hybrids come along, so in 2004, I had the Kaibab made, the perfect compromise I thought. People mention forgiving bows? The Kaibab is my definition of one, for me anyway! What it came down to for me was, the ultimate hunting bow! I remember a Lotta talk about them back then. Some compared it very much to a Toelke Whip?

Mine looks exactly like Krag's. Matte epoxy. Prototype for anticipated production. Fancy wood riser was an option but that wasn't the point...it's a shooter, intended for hunting. I preferred it to my Matlock, which was more purty .

Mine looks exactly like Krag's. Matte epoxy. Prototype for anticipated production. Fancy wood riser was an option but that wasn't the point...it's a shooter, intended for hunting. I preferred it to my Matlock, which was more purty .

And like History tell us , All good bows come to an end, or the bowyers do, I was never able to acquire one, then they quit or ?

When this bow came up on the swap thread I had no idea what it was but the specs were right and having owned only recurves I wanted to try a LB. With in a couple hours we had a deal and it was while waiting for it to arrive that I found out what I had. There wasn't a lot about it but what was out there was all just like this thread. And finding out about John Fazio's involvement in it was a plus. Lucky and thankful to have it!

Here's a few more pictures including the tips a poster above had commented on.

Krag, your bow is prettier than mine! I love the overlays on the tips, and the handle color is great. Mine has the brown glass also, and the short stubby lower tip is a plus, just a rubber tip protector in the woods has kept mine scratch free. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd went the extra $ for the deluxe, clear glass, the works, but I was a recurve man then,, no idea what I was getting into.. Mine even has the black & red string like yours, and 1 more extra in the pack from them unused, same color. I ever get able to post pics, I'll bring this back up.

The glass color was a bonus as I was wanting a brown bow someday. My lower tip also now wears a protector and I added a bike inner tube section over the grip. I figured that was probably the original string and replaced it with a BCY 652 so I could make a backup for it also. I read somewhere they came with 8125 strings but don't if that can be verified. Let me know if you can use the string for another backup.

Good luck with it this season.

I appreciate the offer and if i was to need it I will. I don't know what type of strings they where, but I still have the original. I ordered 2 of the same type from them in Red&Black, probably near 2009?+- a year. Looking forward to hunting, hope you the best in yours also! Maybe we can both post some kills this year on this thread I hope!

I'm shooting 452x...600# full length heavy points, bronze insert..26" dl. Need to adjust beaverball silencers...52#...just shot it after a 2 year recurve obsession.

JK, say yours is one first? What year was that? I first looked at them early 2003, went all summer, kept thinking, "not for me, recurve all I need". Then in Dec 03, I come in from work on Sat, cool misty rainy afternoon, went on quick turkey hunt just above house. Came around a little point, had a perfect scenario for a 20 yd shot on a big Gobbler, but I wasn't ready. He knew something moved but didn't know what, kinda fast walked off. It just started ticking in me, a good ground hunter with a longbow & arrow ready would've got him, and it was true! I just set my mind, I'm getting one, and I already knew which one. Ordered on Monday, it's written on it 3/04 and my name.

Wonder how many were made. There's no numbering or dates on them unless you have it added when ordered like yours. Oh and the 8125 string was stated in their ads in TBM just dug one out to verify.

Is there any advantage to the BCY 652? All I know about strings is Good Ol Dacron then Fastflight. No clue how many made.

No. As I posted in the recent string material and color thread I use 652 because it is the same formula as the original Fast Flight that I had on hand for many years so got a spool of 652 when it was running out. I don't experiment with different string materials. There was nothing wrong with the string the Kaibab came with only reason I replaced it was to have a backup the same as the one on the bow.

I am the original owner of Krag's bow pictured on this thread. It's a beauty but..it was always a noisy bow for me. The bow from the indent of the grip to the lower limb tip is notably longer than the upper limb and I thought that might result in a less than good tiller, hence the noise. But sounds like the bow has found a good home.

As I recall Bruce offered (leatherwall? ) maybe a dozen first come first served, actionwood grip either Matte epoxy or some sort of gloss. JohnR might be right about tiller/noise ... will see how that relates to arrow weight.

Had about 6 of those bows over the years. They were some great shooters wish I didn’t sell them. Miss my first one Bruce made

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here