There is no better way to experience the authenticity of archery and hunting than by using a traditional longbow. Many archers are shifting to traditional longbows from the modern compound bows to have the purest archery experience. Archers use longbows for various purposes, from recreational and target shooting to bow hunting.
Archers claim that traditional longbows are simple to use and make them feel closer to the history of this thrilling sport. Because of their authenticity, many archers believe it is almost a mystical archery experience, even though it can be somewhat challenging.
Are you planning to get a traditional longbow soon? You must know that the best tool for your fellow archer might be the best one for you. There are many things to consider while choosing a longbow for archery or hunting. It is dependent on your goals and experience. So, make sure you make the right choice when buying a new traditional longbow.
Here is a comprehensive guide that will tell you everything you need to know about longbows, along with product reviews of some of the best longbows on the market in 2024.
Table of Contents
What is Traditional archery?
Traditional archery is more complicated because it doesn’t use modern equipment. Contemporary compound bows have advanced accessories and features that make archery and hunting more accessible. But in the case of traditional archery with longbows, you are on your own with your skills and experience.
However, you may think you can do archery with any piece of wood just because you have the skill. So, ensure you know about the immense hard work, expertise, and years of experience making good traditional archery equipment.
Handcrafted traditional longbows and wooden recurves might not have advanced features like high speed and adjustability. However, they still offer a unique archery experience. Many archers consider it better than the accessorized modern compound bows.
Top 10 Best Longbow to Buy in 2024
Let’s discuss our top collection of the best longbows for 2024. But if you are a beginner or want to make a perfect decision, we highly recommend reading the best longbow-buying guide first and other informative material that we have covered after these product reviews. However, if you are in a hurry, you can simply check these product reviews and get your hands on one of the best longbows for yourself in 2024!
1- Bear Montana - Best Longbow of 2024 (Editor’s Pick)
Bear Montana is a longbow designed with a balanced modernity and tradition. Its slightly reflexed bow design facilitates hand shock-free, smooth, and accurate shooting. This hunting equipment's traditional comforting feel is through its “shoot off the shell” leather grip.
The most peculiar feature of this archery equipment is its premium-quality wood and craftsmanship. Its elegant design and sturdy, solid material make the Bear Montana an ideal choice for compound archers.
Another amazing feature of this longbow is its flexibility for right- and left-handed shooters. The 64-inch long AMO of the bow makes every experience, from hunting to gaming, powerful, fast, accurate, and vibration-free. In other words, Bear Montana is a great choice for everyone.
Features:
Hand-shock free shooting
Long length bow
Flexibility for all shooters
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Bear Montana Longbow
2- SAS Gravity Hunting Longbow
The SAS Gravity hunting longbow is one of the approved modern equipment that is reliable for traditional hunting and arching. The Southland Archery Supply manufactures handcrafted Gravity hunting equipment with fine hardwoods to impact a powerful and accurate shot.
Along with its built-in durability and aesthetics, this longbow is reliable due to its 64 inches long hunting longbow. Another astonishing speciality of this hunting bow is its solid and durable feel, even with its lightweight reinforced limb tips. Moreover, it offers greater stability and speed through maple core and high-speed black glass.
It is also suitable for both left- and right-handed shooters. It comes in 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50-pound draw weights. More than 40-pound weights can elevate any game to a remarkable level. However, you need to keep in mind that sometimes the actual draw weight seems more than the specified one.
Features
- 64 inches long longbow
- Lightweight
- Premium quality wood
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
SAS Gravity Hunting Longbow
3- AF Archery
The AF Archery longbow is a great choice for you if you want to experience traditional hunting. This superb hunting longbow comes at an affordable price. Irrespective of whether a beginner or veteran archer is looking for a traditional option, it’s perfect to enjoy hunting in 2024.
The presence of fiberglass-overlaid limbs and laminated wood risers make this archery more powerful, stable, and durable. It also offers smooth shooting through its 62-inch-long archery, but this is comparatively less smooth than the aforementioned Bear Montana and SAS longbow.
Moreover, it comes in 7 different draw-weight configurations to fulfill the needs of beginners, women, and experts. AF archery has a modern deflex design with a smooth, vibration-free, powerful shooting experience.
Features
- Traditional design
- Different weight configuration choices
- 62 inches AMO length
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
AF Archery
4- Martin Savannah Stealth
Savannah Stealth by Martin Archery is the best-selling hunting equipment in the present-day market. This brand has an excellent history in manufacturing durable archery gear. Its outstanding quality, fine craftsmanship, and design make this bow a pinnacle of hunting and shooting.
The framework of this hunting longbow is highly sophisticated. Its tip is covered by black fiberglass, while double lamination protects the core. Also, the 64-inch AMO length is a plus point in its shooting stability.
As far as performance is concerned, Martin Savannah's stealth can fulfill the expectations of a high-end longbow. Its reflexed design ensures smooth and accurate shooting with no hand shock by storing energy during weight draw. This longbow has draw weight configurations of 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, or 65 pounds. All configurations are suitable for turning the game up.
Features
- High-quality material
- Includes flemish string, arrow rest, and bow sock
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Martin Archery Savannah Stealth Longbow
5- SAS Pioneer
Another amazing longbow is the SAS Pioneer, which is in high demand due to its shooting comfort and smooth performance. If you’re looking for something not to break the bank, this is undoubtedly one of the great longbows for hunting. The built-in material of Cassia Siamea and Makore Wood make it a sturdy and aesthetic longbow.
Due to having 68 inches AMO length, the SAS Pioneer is among the longest longbows. The intricate feature of this archery is its locator-style grip that ensures usage accommodation for hands of every size. Its draw weights configurations (35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 lbs) are ideal for both beginners and small-framed users.
Its solid and stable shooting feel makes the shooting experience smooth as well as accurate. SAS Pioneer is ideal to use for both hunting and target shooting. In a nutshell, this is an unbeatable deal for traditional hunting and archery at a budget-friendly rate.
Features
- High-quality woodwork
- 68 inches AMO length
- Comfortable grip
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
SAS Pioneer
6- Ragim Raven
Ragim Raven is also an impressive longbow in the 2024 list for traditional hunting or archery experience. This archery has an edge over others due to its affordable tag, material quality, and shooting performance. It ensures smooth, accurate, and easy shooting in the fields, target hunting, as well as in recreational purposes.
The key source of stability and durability in this longbow is laminated fiberglass. Its convenient gripping and thick handle provides limb protection from twisting or any other damage. The Ragim Raven shooter comes in different draw weight configurations (20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 65 pounds).
The 66-inch-long AMO makes Ragim Raven a great longbow for smooth shooting by both left- and right-hand shooters. Moreover, its lightweight and appropriate length make it ideal for small-framed users, such as beginners or women.
Features
- Made of high-quality wood
- 66 inches AMO length
- Thick handle and easy grip
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Ragim Raven
7- OMP Mountain Man Sierra
The OMP Mountain Man Sierra is a longbow included in the best longbows 2024 due to its remarkable performance. This longbow is a spectacular masterpiece of craft and design. It ensures additional durability and stability, built from walnut, maple, and purple heart wood, along with featured multi-laminated limbs.
Despite its smooth hunting and shooting experience, this longbow is not a suitable choice for beginners due to its exclusive price tag. However, if you want to have a collection of traditional archery, In that case, this is a perfect addition to a veteran hunting collection.
The amazing feature is the presence of an arrow shelf within a multi-laminated handle for accurate and comfortable hunting and shooting. It also offers flexibility through 5 different draw weight options. Furthermore, the 68-inch, 68-inch-long OMP Mountain Sierra is ideal for left- and right-handed shooters.
Features
- Comes with a high-quality Dacron string
- Fast Flight String Compatible
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
OMP Sierra 68
8- SinoArt Sparrow
Don’t rush for high price tags when you can have a SinoArt Sparrow longbow. It’s worth checking archery, enabling you to experience traditional hunting or archery for less than $100. From short-framed teens and women to compound shooters, it can steal the show by its quality performance.
The Sinoart Sparrow longbow is available in a one-piece reflexed design that gives it an aesthetic appeal. The draw weight options of 30 and 35 pounds make this archery ideal for young and women shooters.
However, the length of this longbow, that is, 54 inches, is comparatively shorter than others in the list. You may experience some handshock near the end of the draw weight. In short, the 5-star rating and affordability make it a great pick for short-framed users.
Features
- Includes arrow rest and bowstring
- Smooth release shooting
- High-quality material
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
SinoArt Sparrow
9- SAS Scorpion
SAS Scorpion is included in the list of best longbows for 2024 due to its sturdy frame, edgy look, and hunting features. It would not be wrong to say that this new archery is gaining popularity in traditional hunting and shooting. If none of the above bows appeal to you, try it.
This elegant framework with round edges, reinforced limb tips, and satin finishing uses four natural kinds of wood. The flexibility and composability of use for left- and right-handed shooters make it accessible for every user. It offers a draw weight configuration from 25 to 60 pounds with 5-pound increments each.
Moreover, the 68-inch-long AMO makes the SAS Scorpion longbow smooth, handshock-free, and sturdy. Apart from this, a shelf pad also comes with it to protect beginners during precise and targeted shooting and hunting adventures.
Features
- Includes a stringer tool
- Fast Flight compatible
- 1-year warranty
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
SAS Scorpion
10- Mandarin Duck Black Hunter
The last longbow that we shortlisted for traditional hunting or archery experience is the Mandarin Duck Black Hunter. It is a multipurpose bamboo core bow suitable for high-end performance in target shooting, 3d, bow hunting, and field archery. Moreover, the deflex riser design of this longbow makes it easy to carry, lightweight, and smooth equipment for leveling up the game.
Another potential benefit of this longbow is its minimal price tag and fine-looking material. The 60-inch AMO length makes it suitable to be handled by all users without causing any effect on shooting accuracy.
The Mandarin Duck Black Hunter bow comes in a draw weight configuration of 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 pounds, but only for right-handed shooters. Its smooth shooting and zero hand shock enhance its evaluability for confident, fast, and accurate traditional hunting.
Features
- Bamboo core bow
- 60 inches AMO length
- Includes wooden riser, 2x limbs, spanner, string, and arrow rest.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Mandarin Duck Black Hunter
Now, this section is for those who are beginners or want to make the best-informed decision of buying the best longbow for traditional archery and hunting in 2024.
Pros and Cons of Traditional Hunting with a Longbow
Archers have always enjoyed and preferred the thrill of doing traditional hunting with a longbow. While doing archery or hunting with the traditional longbows, you will feel a different kind of involvement and challenge in the sport. This thrill is unmatched by the modern hunting experience.
Moreover, using a traditional archery tool will make you feel close to history and your ancestors. The thrill of conventional archery and hunting doubles when you know you use the same tool your ancestors used. But this doesn’t mean that traditional hunting with a longbow doesn’t have any cons or disadvantages. Let’s talk about some pros and cons of conventional hunting with a longbow that will give you a clearer idea.
Advantages of Traditional Hunting with a Longbow
- It is pretty simple. You just have to carry an extra string.
- Authentic and reliable
- Portable
Disadvantages of Traditional Hunting with a Longbow
- Instinctive shooting with no sight to aim at
- Shorter game range (20 yards or less)
- Requires skill, practice, and muscle memory
Types of Longbows
If you are an archer, you might know the basic structure of a traditional longbow. It is just a large wooden bow that is usually as tall as the archer. Other prominent features of a longbow include narrow limbs and a D-shaped cross-section. But years of advancements and evolution have changed this tradition of archery and hunting tools. Now, you get various longbows that vary in their construction materials, designs, and styles.
Even though there are many different types of longbows, you must know three main variants. Most of the longbows available in the market fall under these three main categories. Some other longbow types you will come across while browsing the market include the Hungarian and Mongolian longbows, but they fall more into the category of recurves. So, ensure you know these three variants to choose your ideal model.
English Longbow
While browsing the market, you will most likely encounter this type of longbow. It is around 6 ft/1.8m tall, with a deep core and a narrow limb. Some of the war bow-weight models can be taller than that, too, featuring a height of 1.9 m. The traditional English longbow was made of various materials, including elm or ash. But at present, the most commonly used material to manufacture the English longbow is yew.
Many archers prefer this type of longbow as it enables you to shoot the arrow off-hand. This is the traditional hunting way that our ancestors practiced, making it much more enjoyable. Archers and hunters of medieval times used the English longbow for hunting and warfare as it featured higher draw weights. Nowadays, these longbows are manufactured with reduced poundage.
Hill Style American Longbow
The classic flatbow revolutionized into the Hill-style American longbow. It has wider limbs and a flat cross-section, with more taper towards the limb tips. Contrary to the English longbow, the flatbow lets you shoot the arrow from a shelf because of its small cut-away. They can be made with a wide variety of timber.
Many native American tribes used the flatbows for hunting and warfare in ancient times because of their timber construction. Not only that, but numerous pre-gunpowder societies, including ancient Europeans, Finno-Ugric nations, and Inuit tribes, used the flatbows.
Developed in the 1930s, Howard Hill promoted and used the American longbow. He was regarded as the World’s most excellent archer. This type of longbow has a unique rectangular cross-sectional shape that, according to science, is the most efficient one for a bow limb. It also has a straighter and shorter limbs and is wider. The unique shape of this longbow makes it much more stable and robust. Modern versions of American longbows and flatbows have an advanced construction with a fiberglass lamination.
The Reflex/Deflex Longbow
This type of longbow, also known as the hybrid type, features a modern flatbow style. It has a deflexed riser and reflexed limbs. The primary purpose of such an advanced construction is to reduce the hand shock and maximize the bow’s energy efficiency. Although it is similar to the recurve bow in its performance, it has properties similar to those of the longbow. It is much lighter and more aesthetic.
If you want to get a reflex/deflex longbow, consider the degrees of reflex. This longbow type has varying reflexes; some might be stronger than others.
Difference Between One-Piece and Take-Down Longbows
Because of their compact dimensions, American longbows come in two variations. Most feature an undetachable limb and are called one-piece longbows. Take-down variations are also popular.
You must keep in mind that there are no significant benefits of one longbow over the other. The only benefit you get if you choose a take-down longbow is that it can fit in a shorter case after you disassemble it and has changeable limbs.
Different Specifications of the Longbows
Every archer must know about traditional longbows' specifications and special terms. Even if you are a professional archer with years of experience, you will be okay with briefly refreshing your knowledge of longbow specs. So, let’s not waste more of your time and get straight to the longbow specifications that every archer must know about.
AMO Length
AMO, the Archery Manufacturers Organization, has set standard rules for manufacturing longbows, including the length of the bow. If you have had the chance to get a longbow before, you might know that manufacturers refer to the AMO length when they mention the bow’s height in inches. This length is calculated as the length of the bow plus three inches. So, if you have a 60-inch bow, you will need a 63-inch string.
Some manufacturers mention AMO length when selling the strings instead of the actual length. So, make sure that you keep the measuring unit in mind when getting a replacement string for your tool. Also, you must know that not all bows need a string that is exactly three inches less than the printed bow length. The English longbows and some other longbows are measured by their un-strung length.
If you are just a beginner, you should know that the longer longbows are usually more stable and offer smoother shots than the short ones. They are much more forgiving and will enable you to avoid weaker shots by reducing the risk of reaching a false anchor point.
Other Factors to Consider While Buying Longbow
Here are some more factors to consider when you go to buy a longbow in 2024:
Longbow Recommended Brace Height
The distance between the deepest part of the bow grip and the string is called brace height. It is an essential factor in tuning longbows. Manufacturers set the brace height in compound bows, but this is not true with longbows or traditional bows. Archers can twist and untwist the bowstring to adjust the brace height.
Reducing the length of the bowstring will increase the brace height. However, to minimize the bowstring, you must install a longer or untwist one. If you have a Flemish-style bowstring, you should untwist it.
If your longbow has a shorter brace height, it will shoot arrows faster. However, in this case, you must prepare yourself for the longbow's quietness and forgiveness. A more extended brace height gives you lower speed but more stability, accuracy, and less noise. You don’t get as much speed and accuracy with a shorter brace height. The only advantage of this type of brace height is high speed, but it risks damaging the bow.
Therefore, you must have the ideal brace height for the individual models as recommended by the manufacturers. But it is more complex. When choosing the brace height for your longbow, you must consider your preference, shooting style, and comfort. If there is no recommended brace height for your bowstring, you can start with 7 inches. You can increase and decrease it from here to adjust it to your liking and preference.
Longbow Draw Weight
When fully drawn, the amount of force the bow stores is termed the longbow draw weight. You must apply more force if your longbow has a higher draw weight. Compound bows can hold the full string using very little force once fully drawn. This happens because they store most of the energy in their limbs.
So, if you have not used a traditional longbow before, you must know that you will have to hold the same weight with the fingers you used to draw the bow. Therefore, if you choose the traditional longbow with the same draw weight as your compound bow, you might struggle to hold it with the same force. This surely affects your shooting accuracy and experience.
Price of the Longbow
Another important factor to consider is the price of the longbow. Many manufacturers and types of longbows have varying features, so prices vary significantly. They might also vary from season to season. You must choose a reliable longbow and not compromise on quality just to get a cheaper product. This will surely negatively affect your archery experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all we can say is no compound bow can compare to the exceptional experience of a traditional longbow, which is why most archers are shifting to more traditional methods and tools. Even though it might feel a little challenging and complex at first, it is still a great option for anyone who wants to experience the most authentic archery our ancestors did.
However, the type of archery experience you will have depends on the longbow you choose. So, make sure that you consider the longbow's specifications and your requirements and skills to get the best longbow for yourself.
Let us know in the comments which of these ten longbows you will buy in 2024. Also, share your reviews if you have used any of these longbows. Goodbye!
