[Horsebow] Which horse bow?

kerael

New member
I'm new to archery and am looking to buy an horsebow as my first bow, so something sub ?100. I've used a Samick SKB before, and I've found a firm called Falgella Dei that do some expensive bows and some cheep ones. Does anyone have any experience with either manufacturer or know of any others I could look into?
 

ChakaZulu

New member
Not sub ?100 but the kaya Korean bow from Quicks for ?120 is worth a long look, as is the grozer old Scythian online (not sure who does them).
You going to be using it on horseback?
 

kerael

New member
I like the look of the basic hun bow on The Longbow Shop and ?80 is reasonable, the Kaya also looks good, but it is more expensive. What difference does it make to the draw and how the bow shoots if it has stiff Siyahs or working tips? That seems to be the main difference between the various bows I've been looking at
 

blakey

Active member
I'm new to archery and am looking to buy an horsebow as my first bow, so something sub ?100. I've used a Samick SKB before, and I've found a firm called Falgella Dei that do some expensive bows and some cheep ones. Does anyone have any experience with either manufacturer or know of any others I could look into?
I love my SKB so much I'm watching on Ebay to bid for another one. Mine is a very smooth shooting bow. I know others on this forum have a different experience, but mine with Flagella is very poor quality workmanship and finish. But tis cheap, and you get what you pay for. Your query about the siyahs is an intersting one. The SKB as you would know doesn't have them. I've been doing some experiments with reducing tip mass to gain limb speed on longbows, and presume the same would apply to horsebows. Siyahs being relatively massive and heavy might slow the bow down, or not? Don't know if anyone else has an opinion about that? Cheers
 

Si2

New member
I love my SKB so much I'm watching on Ebay to bid for another one.
Me too!
I have a 35lb and I'd like a 45lb.

It's all I shoot - it's all I've got!
It's clean, fast, light, durable, cheap and fun.

The only thing is you end up putting more butts out and away because you've nothing to set-up or take apart. While the rest of the club dismantles their bows you get to put your bow down and lug about bosses!:)

Si
 

ChakaZulu

New member
What difference does it make to the draw and how the bow shoots if it has stiff Siyahs or working tips? That seems to be the main difference between the various bows I've been looking at
The theory behind stiff siyahs (static recurves) is that the string angle remains low, which means that you get a 'gears' type effect as you draw and that effect stays more because of the stiff siyahs. The bow should therefore 'stack' less. Stacking, in case you don't know, is when the draw weight increases rapidly towards the end of the draw. For example, a bow might have a draw weight of 28lbs at 26", 30lbs at 27", 35lbs at 28" and 42lbs at 29". This is stacking, as opposed to increasing at a fairly steady rate. Most bows stack to some extent but stiff siyahs shoud keep it low.

What this means is that a bow of a given draw weight will not be gaining weight late in the draw. This in turn means that it must be gaining that weight early in the draw and therefore the total energy stored in the bow at full draw is higher (you've been pulling hard the whole way).

In theory, more energy in the bow means more energy into the arrow, and therefore more speed for a given arrow mass.

Unfortunately stiff siyahs are often massive and heavy. This means that they don't travel very fast. The energy transferred into the arrow is limited by the speed the arrow will travel at, and that will be limited by the speed of the limbs.

What you get instead is a relatively slow arrow and the excess energy just jars your arm ('handshock').

What you really want in a static recurve is siyahs that are rigid but light. Let me know if you find one...
 

kerael

New member
Thanks, that was a pretty comprehensive explanation. And in answer to an earlier question I would like to use it from horseback at some point, but thats in the vauge 'it will happen one day' future. For the foreseeable future I'll be using it from standing
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
I have a Kaya KTB and absolutely love it. I tried out a number of different asiatic style recurves and for me I found the Kaya the most smooth in that price bracket. Before I bought my Kaya I was shooting a 24lb training recurve but I went straight to a 35lb Kaya with no problems.

I could wax lyrical about impressive cast of this little bow and how easy it is to carry around a field course. It is quick and easy to string, no fiddling about with taking it apart and I like the way it looks. It has taken me a little while to get the hang of the best bow hand position, draw style and nocking point, but then this process is necessary whenever one is changing to a new style of bow. I had never shot off my hand before. The Kaya is sensitive to poor form so it is a good teacher! I suspect that this is the case with all of the asiatics.

I think that you should go and try different horsebows, because you will be using your horsebow bow a lot and in the end you might feel that the extra ?20 or so is worth it.

Let us know how you get on ...
 

ChakaZulu

New member
The kaya is certainly the fastest horsebow per pound of draw weight that I've come across. It is sensitive to bad form, and to anything but very good form. In my experience this is indeed true to some extent of all bows but more so for the kaya precisely because it is so short, so very light (really amazingly light in the hand) and so fast. Length and weight act as stabilisers to some extent, although they also slow the cast.

Definitely try a variety of bows, static and working recurved. In my experience (which runs to maybe 8-10 bows), statics are slower (unless you find one with lightweight siyahs) but more accurate and forgiving.

My personal preference among 'budget' working recurves is the Grozer Old Scythian, which is not as fast or light as the kaya but is more forgiving. I prefer that balance, you may not.
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
I have a Grozer Bio composite Scythian bow arriving on Monday. I am beside myself with excitement. These bows are not easy to get hold of and I managed to track one down at the draw weight that I wanted. Had to pay a load of import tax, VAT and handling fees etc but I am sure it will be worth it.
 

Dorset Lass

New member
Ironman
Oh and by the way ChakaZulu I saw the piece on horseback archery on the BBC Sport this morning - I thought your bit was very good. I am sure it will generate a lot of interest. Well done!
 

kerael

New member
Ok thanks, has anyone bought from The Longbow Shop? And do you know if there is any way of trying out their bows before I buy? I'm in Liverpool, and the contact address listed is on the Wirral, just accross the Mersey
 
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