By R. Blacky Schwarz

Manufacturer:
Grizzly Bows LLC
43460 Minnesota Creek Road, Paonia, Colorado 81428
www.grizzlybows.com

Price:
US$695 (bow as pictured)

Mike “Grizz” Viguera, the bowyer and owner of Grizzly Bows LLC, is a retired industrial electrician who has been building longbows for nine years. Mike is now 58 and has been involved in archery and bow hunting for most of his life. He has managed to harvest eight different species of North American big game with his Grizzly longbow and is looking forward to many more years of bow hunting excitement. Besides the three-piece take-down longbow reviewed here, he also builds a reflex-deflex one-piece longbow, for those who prefer a sleeker-looking bow. Mike’s four kids support his passion, so I guess he can count on them when help is needed – either in the shop or in the woods to retrieve downed game.

Bow specs:
Model: Three-piece T/D longbow
Length: 62 inches NTN
Draw weight: 53 pounds at 28 inches
Brace height: The recommended brace height ranges from 63/4 to 71/4 inches
Physical weight: 30 ounces (complete bow)

Test Results:
Draw weight: 53 pounds at 28 inches
Stored energy: 45,37 foot-pounds
Stored energy per pound of draw weight: 0,86 foot-pounds per pound
Arrow weight: 476 grains
Arrow speed: 186 fps with mechanical release
Kinetic energy: 36,58 foot-pounds
Dynamic efficiency: 80,6 per cent (kinetic energy/stored energy)
Arrow speed: 181 fps with finger release

Riser:
Length: 151/4 inches from end to end
Shape: Slightly deflexed
Sight window: 27/8 inches in height.
Centre cut: Cut to centre
Material: For strength and warp resistance, Mike used a block of brown actionwood to shape the riser for the three-piece T/D longbow. The sight window cut-out and the shelf are nicely radiused from front to back. This keeps the contact areas between riser and arrow shaft as small as possible in order to counteract torque-induced release flaws. Since actionwood is a rather plain-looking material, two vertically inserted accent stripes of white and maroon glass are added to touch up the appearance of the riser. The medium-low pistol-type grip of the supplied bow can be custom shaped to your liking by sending in a tracing of your bow hand.
Grip: Medium-low pistol-type grip.
Take-down system: The limbs mount onto the riser with steel bolts that fit into threaded steel bushings. Black anodised aluminium bezels and black synthetic washers distribute the lock-down pressure over a greater surface area to prevent cracking of the glass laminations. A steel pin inserted into the riser and a blind hole in the limb butt are used for limb alignment.

Limbs:
Shape: Reflexed limbs with a rectangular cross-section and rounded-off edges.
Limb width: The limbs measure 13/8 inches at the fade-outs and taper down to five eighths of an inch just below the string groove.
Material: ActionBoo, a material made from vertically-stacked bamboo strips, is the material of choice for cutting and grinding the limb core. Black walnut wood is used for the limb wedge and the limb laminations that sandwich the honey-coloured ActionBoo core on the back and belly side. Clear glass as outer laminations enable the natural brown color of the walnut wood with the typical dark brown, almost black, grain structure to shine through for enhancement of the bow’s optical appearance. The limb tips are reinforced with multi-layered overlays from maroon and white glass and a top layer of the brown actionwood that is also used in the riser. Overlays of white and maroon glass layers on the limb butts match the tip overlays and the accent stripes in the riser.

Finish:
Several coats of Van Dee, a two-part epoxy finish, are applied to the bow for full-weather protection.

Supplied string:
The three-piece T/D longbow comes standard with a Flemish twist string, made from 16 strands of Fast Flight material. Most other high-performance string materials can also be used.

Ordering options:
The three-piece T/D longbow is available in right-hand and left-hand models. Bow lengths can be ordered in 62, 64 and 66 inches, with draw weights ranging from 40 to 70 pounds. Options, like different actionwoods or exotic woods in the riser, different tip overlays, custom grips, etc. are available. Please check the website or call the bowyer for a full list of options.

Testing parameters:
A force-draw curve was obtained from the reviewed bow, using a digital force gauge with a resolution of 0,1 pounds. Measured bow weight was rounded to the next half pound. The different arrow speeds were achieved with the bow shot from a shooting machine with a mechanical release and with finger release, using a “Crick-It” clicker and a deerskin glove. The string was pulled to 28 inches ATA – that is 261/4 inches from the string to the deepest point of the grip.
The three arrows for the speed testing had a weight of nine grains per pound of measured (not stated) draw weight. A modified 16-strand Flemish spliced Fast-Flight string with heavily padded loops and without any attachments (silencers, etc.) was used. Speed measurements were taken three feet in front of the back of the bow with two chronographs set up in a tandem configuration. Each arrow was shot a minimum of three times and the average achieved speed was rounded to the next whole digit.

Updated: Monday, March 14, 2011 9:58 AM