Middle Earth Ranger Forum

okay, not that new... this little thing is actually a present from last Christmas. But this year has been so insane that yesterday was my first time out tromping with it since spring.
It's a wonderfully nobbly little thing of yew: sold as ~50 pounds, but it feels closer to 40-45.
First time out I had my "Middle-earth" arrows and quiver and immediately snapped off my roving head again.

This time I just grabbed a few of my old 3-rivers target arrows, and they seemed quite happy off it!
I was pretty darn rusty, but after a dozen arrows or so started finding my mark again... fun!

Come on...

You can't stop there...

How long is it?

Where did you get it from?

I prefer shorter bows. I have a horsebow, but, I think a yew bow fits in a little better.

That’s lovely! Nice looking stave...glad you got to get out and play with it!

OH WOW. WOW WOW WOW. LOOK AT THAT!

Yew, I presume? Yes, more details please! Who was the maker, for one?

that looks beautiful

I have to echo Greg's comments on the stave, it looks very characterful!

... and finally got some pictures!

Harper - the maker is user trinity_2025 on eBay. Surprisingly affordable!
As much as I drooled over pictures from ravenbeak et al, I didn't feel right asking for something so big last Christmas.
But the Trinity seller had a cheaper model we could afford.

The size is around 6' tip to tip when it's strung, but it's pretty svelte.
My mental image of "yew bow" is still those giant nobbly warbows I could never pull - so this lovely thing looks almost like a twig in comparison.
I do love that it has that characteristic "wobbly follow the growth rings" look: The tips were a bit of a miscommunication. I'd asked for the regular horn tips to be replaced with antler if possible.
For reasons I don't understand/didn't hear in fullness the maker said he had to use plates instead of tips if he was using antler.
... had I known that, I probably would have just asked to stick with horn, but enh. I still love it.

Wow! That is just fantastic! I went ahead and looked them up, and I have to say I am FLOORED with how affordable their bows are! I’ve never even heard of a comparable yew bow being sold for less than about 7 or 8 hundred - but mostly upwards of a grand! I may very well have to put one on my “to-buy” list. I trust you will keep us up to date with the longevity and functionality of it?

Manv... if I break it, rest assured you guys will know.
Certainly so far I cautiously recommend them.

Here it is compared to some other bows: a (c.1990's) fiberglass recurve, the cheap knockoff horsebow I've used for ages, and a Victorian-style English longbow.

Thoughts:

The yew bow is just a couple inches shorter in each limb than the longbow, but it feels much shorter in the hand than that. Walking through the woods, it feels much closer to the horsebow in "handleability" if that makes any sense. You know - winding through brush, climbing over fallen branches, that kind of thing.

It's nominally a bit under 50 lbs... by feel I'd say *probably* ~45? Maybe a bit more? Certainly it's not as stiff as the 50# fiberglass recurve, but it's heavier than my horsebow.
Also the 45-50# spine 3 Rivers arrows I still had work *beautifully* off it.

Thanks for the info.

It looks great! Makes me want to get a new bow haha.