Hi guys
A friend of mine is finally taking the training wheels of his bow after taking years of harassment and abuse during our friendship.
Having shot nothing but traditional from the time I picked up a bow around 6 or 7 years old I should probably be able to provide a better recommendation.
Unfortunately, I am a creature of habit and loyal without cause.
Every time I think of venturing away from my aging 70#Tomahawk I am hit by overwhelming guilt for even looking at the pretty bow next door.
Too many good memories has really prevented me from becoming knowledgeable about some of the great bowyers offering products today.
Hes become proficient with a inexpensive bow and now is in the market for a bow to hang on to.
I wouldn't ask you to put all your eggs in one basket as the "best"..... that seems objective and unfair.
But a top five pick of what you would buy today if you were in the market would be appreciated.
Thanks for the input

Can he narrow it down some? Recurve..R&D longbow...ASL...Really the best thing for him to do would get to a big shoot or maybe drive over to Kalamazoo to the big show coming up shortly and get his hands on a bunch of different bows and see what fits him really good and he like the looks of.

I should have clarified, specifically a r/d longbow.

My favorites are probably different from the next guys...everybody is going to have their  own personals. Mine would be Centaur..Leon Stewart...Toelke...Java Man..Northern Mist........ There really are alot of great bows out there...Really, get him to actually get hands on with some before he buys.

R/D LB, my first choice is Wes Wallace, I have 2. He has a wide selection of woods and he can get others within reason. My other choice would be Black Widow although they are a few hundred dollars more. I have shot both side by side and both preform well. My 2nd Wallace I got a couple years ago now. It has all the features offered except checkering the grip. It was still under a grand.

Loving my Robertson Howler with longbow limbs

I'm not much help.  All the D/R longbows I have are no longer made.  KOTA makes a good bow.  Centaur are well put together.  Toelke has a loyal following.  But getting to a big shoot or show and putting hands on is the best way.

I love my Robertson Primal Styk takedown (pictured). Before that I had a Great Northern Critter Gitter and that is a great bow as well. Others I have shot and really liked would be the stuff from Northern Mist and Black Widow. All are fantastic bows and my best advice is for your friend to shoot a bunch of different models to see what he personally likes best.  Good luck in his search.


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Centaur, and northern mist are excellent bows

In my humble opinion, Toelke Pika, Javaman Elkheart, Black Widow PL, Big Jim's Thunderchild, Treadway Black Swamp. Five of the best out there.

My Kanati has been my favorite

I've not shot a bunch of longbows but of the ones I have the Centar and BW stood out. For cheaper the Old Mt Masa gets good reviews, I keep looking at them.

Toelke Whip

Caribow ... Abe makes awesome bows,  Centaur really hard shooters

Don't forget to look at the classifieds, always great deals on fine bows

JT traditional archery. Zeus, or Apollo 2

Lot's of great choices, I have always been partial to Robertson. I have a Primal Styk that I love and I had a Vision that was awesome.

My 2 favorite would be - Robertson Howler, Cari-Bow Wolverine. Like others have said, best advice is to try and get your hands on different ones if possible.

A cari-bow Peregrine would be my choice. Occasionally Abe has some in stock ready to sell. Otherwise the wait time is about a year. I've bought some of the top of the line bows through the years that eventually I sold. My go to bow for the last few years has been my Peregrine one piece that has killed quite a few animals and a 3 piece Dan Toelke Lynx that he no longer makes . I only take it on trips where I have to fly because it's easier to fly with. I've sold most of the rest.

Widow PL, Poison Dart, Liberty Chief , Toelke Whip, Centaur

I've owned or shot most recurves over the last 35 years, my top 5 are in no particular order Black Widow, Tall Tines, Schafer, Robertson and Blacktail. I have some experience with longbows and not much with Hybrids (R/D"longbow")