Seeing the Black Hunter longbows an reading their reviews I am interested in trying one. So many vendors who should I steer away from?

Black Hunter bows were originally designed by Junxing Archery in China and sold through vendors such as Obert, SinoArt, Mandarin Duck, Linkboy Archery, Twig Archery, Hitman Archery, Big Jims and others. They are available as recurves or reflex/deflex (hybrid) longbows. It seems now that some other vendors have created a similar design and I don't know if they are all made by Junxing.

Black Hunter bows have a laminated 15" riser that is very similar to Dymondwood. Some knock-offs have a different riser material and do not appear to be as strong.

The original Black Hunter, and the one currently shown on the Junxing website, have limbs that are dedicated right or left hand. There are others selling a similar model, with an identical riser, with limbs that have square butts and are not dedicated right or left. Most refer to the original as Mk1 and the newer version as Mk2.

Some of the vendors - Twig Archery, Big Jims and Hitman are American. They may charge a bit more but they look over each bow weigh it and may add some accessories before they ship it and offer a guarantee.

Most of the other vendors are Chinese companies. You can find the bows for sale on Aliexpress.com. Some of them sell bows on Amazon which is a benefit because if anything is wrong with the bow you can return it. Buying from China carries it's own risks. Generally the price is lower if you buy from China (although the price on Amazon is close) but it takes a couple to a few weeks to receive the bow and if there are issues the best you can hope for is a partial refund because return shipping to China is cost prohibitive.

I have been particularly impressed with the bow, both Mk1 and Mk2. I have been shooting the longbow model and find it has an excellent grip, is smooth drawing and quite a decent performer. I have a recurve but haven't been able to shoot it yet. There are many YouTube videos you can check. Some folks seem to have more knowledge about the bow than others.

I've bought one BH to see what is all the fuss about and before anything else I made a short list with what I want: - I want the 1st model, with the limb ends following the riser geometry - I want bamboo RD limbs And I just went through the list. I found a seller who was also selling the limbs separately on amazon.ca. I bought the full bow with #50 limbs and bought another pair of #40 limbs to check the fit and finish. The extra pair of limbs fit perfect and the limbs were both bamboo core. I can add here the seller but I doubt it is the same for US. Decide what you want and filter down

I have ordered many types of China made bows from many dealers. I can tell you, in my experience, that all those dealers have shown great interest in customer service. The problem comes about when you have to deal with a problem with a dealer that is all the way over there in China. USA dealers are usually far better able to handle your needs. BigJims, Twig, Lancaster, 3Rivers are all excellent, plus they will inspect the bow before shipping to you. Lately Mandarin Duck (one of the original makers of these bows) and some other China based dealers have started USA facilities. Mandarin Duck can be ordered direct from their website and have free delivery within a week, and they are known for good customer service. I would fight the temptation to purchase the super-cheap versions of these bows as you don't always know what you are going to get. The risers always seem to be fine but Limb quality from knock-off makers is sometimes not good.

Nice summary from Phil Magistro!

I have one of each model & extra limbs, can't beat them for "bang for your buck" AKA "whoosh for your wonga".

Got mine direct from China to UK, 2 different sellers, took 10 days to get here. No problems with either bow or their strings! Both are Mk1's with bamboo limb lams.

Bought an original BH from Amazon, had the bow in 2 days, spent 125.00 got a bow that at minimum shoots as well as any other bow I have owned, and I have owned plenty. Simply the best bargain in archery and you get a bow that seems to be made extremely well. I can't see spending any more on a bow when I get three of them for under 400.

Did the same as CritterGitter62 and second that review

I got a 40# BH longbow from Twig. The only change I've made that I like is changing to an 8 strand Whisper string. I shot some this afternoon with it and it's a good shooting bow. I like it.

Broke down and bought a 45lb Black Hunter longbow with the orange riser. The same riser as Phil bought. I shot one the other day and was really impressed. I honestly do not how they can sell them for $100.

Purchased black hunter hybrid from amazon, 10# heavier than my hunting bows for strength training. Works great for that but the grip is the only other thing I like. Its loud and shocky. Changed stock string for a D97 and helped a little, very little. ymmv

Congratulations! Share some photos when you get it.

I just bought another pair of limbs, I'll never need a better bow.

I also bought the original longbow version. Has the black and gray riser. I bought mine from Amazon with free shipping. Ordered it in 35#@28". Got it in four days and was very impressed with fit and finish. Made a 10 strand b55 string for it and tried it out. It's really hard to understand how a bow of this quality can be produced and sold for such a small price. The 800 spine arrows I used to shoot in other bows in the same draw weight kept impacting way right in this little bow indicating a weak spine. I actually had to go up to a 700 spine arrow to get things a little better aligned. It shoots fast and hard despite being lighter draw weight. I liked it so much I went ahead and ordered a second bow in 40#@28" and a set of 45# limbs. The 40# bow came in four days but the 45# limbs came from China and took a couple weeks. Fit and finish on the second bow is just as good as the first. I really can't find anything bad to say about these bows. To me they look good, handle good, and shoot really good. And if for some reason someone decides to get rid of it then it'll not be very hard. They have alot going for them.

I got my Black Hunter from Twig Archery. I have been extremely satisfied with the bow and Twig was a pleasure to deal with.

Got mine from the classifieds

I bought one to be a rehab now, and one of the limbs folded up on it the first night or two it was strung. I know my experience is the exception but my experience is that they are junk.

I can understand why you feel that way but I'm not sure it's fair to say that they are junk just because you got one that was. I've heard some folks tell of problems with limbs or limb tips but in everything I could find or read or watch the problems are a small number compared to the positive comments.

I hope they made it right for you.

Great bow. Smooth as glass. No hand shock. Quiet and accurate. Buy a Lane Holcomb string and it gets smoother and even quiter.

Guess I’m kinda the odd man here. Bought one , wasn’t impressed so moved it along. Ok bow but nothing stood out about it , other than price. I sold it locally and got almost what I paid for it.

I bought one from flea bay. Came in 7lbs heavier than advertised. Filed a claim they never answered. They forfeited the bow and it answered every single thing I needed to know.

That's why I bought my Galaxy Ember (same bow) from Lancaster Archery. An American dealer with a good reputation who will stand behind their merchandise. I have two risers and three sets of limbs and find their feel in hand as good as any I ever had and they perform right up there with my other "higher end" bows.

There definitely is a good reason for buying from Lancaster, Big Jim, Twig or Hit Man.

Bought the one we have here from Twig and have nothing bad to say about it.

Lancaster is hard to beat

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