How Do You Choose and Order a Custom Longbow?

Updated

A custom longbow is a single-piece wooden bow built to your draw length and target weight, and you order one by choosing a bowyer, reviewing their bow models, submitting an order form with a deposit, and confirming the balance and delivery date before the bow ships. The approach below fits anyone buying a handcrafted longbow directly from a maker — for example, from Custom Bows by Wes Wallace in Beavercreek, Oregon — rather than a mass-produced bow off a retail shelf.

Longbow vs. Recurve: What Actually Differs

Both are traditional wooden bows, but they behave differently in the hand and in how they're built.

Feature Longbow Recurve
Limb shape Straight or gently curved limbs Limb tips curve back toward the archer
Typical feel Simpler, quieter, more traditional Often faster limb recovery, smoother draw on some designs
Build style Usually a single stave or laminated straight limb Laminated limbs with shaped curves
Who it suits Hunters and traditional shooters who want simplicity and a classic profile Shooters who want a specific draw feel or a more compact bow

If you want the simplest traditional experience and a bow that's easy to understand and maintain, a longbow is the natural choice. If you've shot recurves and prefer their draw characteristics, stay with a recurve — the same bowyer often makes both, so you can compare within one shop.

What to Specify When You Order

A custom longbow is built around you, so the numbers you provide matter more than the model name.

  • Draw length. Measure your actual draw length; the bowyer builds the bow to the required weight at that length. At Custom Bows by Wes Wallace, each bow is built to the required weight for your draw length, plus or minus one pound.
  • Target weight. State the poundage you want at your draw length, not a generic catalog number.
  • Shelf shooting. Confirm whether you want the bow built to shoot off the shelf. The Wallace shop builds every bow to shoot off the shelf, so if you plan to use a rest, ask about it before ordering.
  • Model and wood choices. Browse the maker's bow pages for pictures and descriptions, then note the model and any wood or finish preferences.

Write these down before you fill out any form — they're the details that determine whether the finished bow feels right.

The Ordering Process, Step by Step

  1. Browse the maker's bow pages. Look at pictures and descriptions of the available longbows and pick the model that matches your shooting style.
  2. Complete the order form. Fill it out with your specifications and send it in with your deposit.
  3. Or order by phone. If you need help, you can place the order over the phone using a credit card for the deposit.
  4. Wait for confirmation. After your form is processed, you receive a confirmation letter with your balance and the approximate delivery date.
  5. Pay as you go, if you like. Monthly payments toward the order are allowed, but the balance must be paid in full before the bow ships.

Verification: the confirmation letter is your checkpoint — check that the draw length, weight, and model listed match what you asked for, and that the delivery estimate fits your season or hunt dates.

Common snag: ordering close to a hunt and assuming the bow will arrive in time. The delivery date is approximate, so build in a buffer and confirm the timeline before you commit a deposit.

Warranty and Bowyer Experience to Check

Before committing, ask two questions: how long is the warranty, and who actually builds the bow?

  • Warranty. Custom Bows by Wes Wallace offers a two-year warranty on all bows against material and workmanship defects; coverage beyond that period depends on the condition of the bow. Ask any maker for their equivalent terms in writing.
  • Who builds it. At this shop, each bow is handcrafted one at a time by the bowyer himself, with his wife handling paperwork and shipping — a sign that "custom" means one maker, not a factory line.
  • Experience. Wes Wallace has been in woodworking since 1972, built his first bow in 1978 under bowyer Jim Brackenbury, worked full-time with him from 1988, and started his own company in 1991. His top-of-the-line recurve, the "Mentor," is named in Brackenbury's memory. A documented apprenticeship and decades of full-time bowyering are reasonable things to look for in any custom maker.

Comparing Custom Longbow Makers

Use the same dimensions for every maker you consider, and get answers in writing:

Dimension What to ask
Materials Which woods and laminations, and what finish?
Build time What's the current lead time, and is the delivery date approximate or firm?
Price and payment Total price, deposit amount, and whether installment payments are accepted
Customization Can weight be held to a tight tolerance (e.g., ±1 lb) at your draw length?
Warranty Length and what it covers
Contact Phone number, shop address, and how to reach the bowyer with questions

The Wallace shop publishes a phone number, (503) 632-7365, and a shop address in Beavercreek, OR, and states that its bows are top-quality products at a reasonable price — but it does not list prices online, so call to confirm current pricing and lead time rather than assuming either.

A Practical Example

Suppose you draw 28 inches and want a 50-pound longbow for Oregon blacktail deer season. You'd browse the longbow pages, note the model, fill out the order form specifying 28-inch draw length and 50 pounds at that length, and send it with the deposit. Your confirmation letter should show the balance and an approximate delivery date; you pay the remainder in full before shipping. When the bow arrives, verify the weight and that it's set up to shoot off the shelf, then test it well before opening day.

To start, call the shop or submit the order form with your specifications and deposit — and confirm price, lead time, and warranty terms on that call before any money changes hands.