Toelke Bows VS Black Widows and Centaur

[Edwarddgrey]

Hi folks,

Im out scenting the wind for a new bow. What would you folks personally recommend out of the above three (or others...). I want something really special.

All your opinions/experiences would be very useful!

Thanks all!

Edward.

[Jaydo]

hmm i like the centaur bows, but then again chekmate do a nice bow too

ive seen some toelke bows on here and they certainly do a nice bow,

Jaydo

[Chris]

Have a look at rose oak creations
http://www.roseoakcreations.com/

got one on order now.
You will find Brandon Stahl a very easy and nice person to deal with (in my top 3 for services and I am a fussy prick).

As molly would say “do yourself a favour and take a look”

vevn if you dont get one have a look at his work.

Chirs

[greybeard]

Hi Edward,

Are you looking for a general purpose bow or one for a specific task? May make the choice easier.

Daryl.

[kerrille]

I asked this same question a while ago .... theres so many great bows out there ,every time i looked on the net there was another one ,if it was possable i'd own a couple a hundred now .look at all the aussie bowmakers first.

...nev

[Tommo]

Hi Edward, I have not used a Toelke or Centaur so cannot comment on those, but do use my own PSA Black Widow regularly and have used three others. They are not cheap but great things never are. I have not felt the need to try anything else as I am that happy with it, there are several other bow styles they make that I would love to try (maybe after Powerball tonight).

I can recommend the PSA as a great hunting bow, as they were recommended to me, and after shooting and hunting with one, well I'm sold.
BW are a great company to deal with from my experience also. Anyway, have a look if you have not already done so.
http://www.blackwidowbows.com
Tommo

[bsrecurve]

i can speak for all 3 to an extent.
i own 2 centaurs and 1 whip. i also owned another whip before that which i got in a trade through tradgang, but later sold to fund the new whip which fit my drawlength better.
i have seen many widows up close, and shot one of their longbows (plx i think).
so here are my thoughts/experiences.
the centaur is the fastest, but only beats the whip by a little bit, and by comparison the widow is a bit slower than both. (and yes - these are chronoed comparisons).
all 3 are exceptional for workmanship, very hard to fault any of them.
the whip is by far the best all-round shooter - quietest bow i've shot, points beautifully and has a great grip.
in fact both the centaur and the whip are customized to your hand by a tracing you send the bowyer.
the widow is significantly more expensive than the other 2.
i believe centaurs have a waiting period of over 12 months, whilst the whip will probably get to you in less than 2 months, and the widow won't take very long either.
i see the whip and centaur as more custom in terms of the wood choices, and yes i know widow will do a number of custom options but they all look very similar to me, and lack the "uniqueness" of many other custom bows.
if i could only own one bow it would be the whip, just beating the centaur because it's so quiet and easy to shoot.
all have great customer service.
anyway - hope this helps....

[GOLDGT]

Edward i would say they are all top bows but i would try them all for yourself first and see which one feels and shoots best for you.

[perry]

Go for the Toelke Whip , great bows very accurate natural pointing and amazingly light and buzz free on release in the hand , could be the last deflex reflex you ever own . His turn around time from order is extremly quick to top it off . Centaur is very very nice also . I reckon Black Widow have a hide charging what they do if you compare them against the Whip or the Centaur .

regards Perry

[Edwarddgrey]

Guys....you are brilliant! Thanks to everyone who has put their two cents in...the comments have definately helped.

bsrecurve - Brilliant reply there, I cant imagine that many people own all three of these bows (and if they do....lucky devils!!).

Chris - Will definately check the roseoak bows out.

Kerrille - I have already bought two aussie bows so I supported the aussie market first...they are brilliant bows however I have an unquenchable desire to build my collection.

Greybeard - The bow is for target shooting although I wouldnt mind having the option at a later stage to try hunting as I have 600 acres of bush and it could be usefull keeping the bunnies down. I would be buying a 55-60# bow.

[jamie]

i own a roseoak and am super impressed with it and would definately recommend one ,check out there webpage ,my bow is the 3piece takedown with the antler limb bolts.as chris said brandon is great to deal with and you won't be disappointed with the quality.

[bsrecurve]

i can almost guarantee that if you get a whip you'll never look twice at another recurve again.
it gives away nothing in terms of performance to most curves, is far quieter than any curve i know of (and most longbows too), light to carry in the hand, amazing lack of handshock, no need to worry about limb twist (unlike a curve), dan's ability to match woods in bows is spectacular, very quick turn around time, very reasonable price.......etc etc.

if i ever get another bow (and i'm trying hard not to - i have enough) it'll be another whip hands down.

[Tommo]

i have seen many widows up close, and shot one of their longbows (plx i think).
the centaur is the fastest, but only beats the whip by a little bit, and by comparison the widow is a bit slower than both. (and yes - these are chronoed comparisons).

Any chance of the figures from these three bows with draw weight/length ,arrow weight and fps?

Just curious.

Cheers
Tommo

[bsrecurve]

yeah mate - i put a post up late last year which had figures for the toelke and the centaur, will see if i can find it and post a link. the widow figures were done by a yank i know which were good for comparison since it was tested at a 30" draw length, just like my centaur and toelke.

[Brumbies Country]

A local guy has a Black Widow longbow and it shoots and looks pretty well. I hadn't heard of them but I am impressed with the amount of support for the Toelke Whip here and I looked up their website. The handgrip (thumbgrip) looks to be a great inclusion re bowhand stability. Re the Toelke longbows the R/D whip looks impressive. Is it a continuous curve when strung?

Simon

[Tommo]

yeah mate - i put a post up late last year which had figures for the toelke and the centaur, will see if i can find it and post a link

Cool. Had a bit of a search but couldn't find the post.
cheers
Tommo

[bsrecurve]

Simon: it has the slightest hint of deflex when strung - wouldn't see it unless you looked up close.

Tommo - seems i was mistaken slightly.
i never did post up the figures for that whip, due to me short drawing it slightly and not hitting anchor (it stacked slightly at my drawlength, hence why i used it to fund a longer whip for my drawlength).
what i do remember is that it basically shot the same speed as the RER vortex at a very similar gr/lb arrow weight (10.8gr/lb from memory).
here's the link to that thread:

http://www.ozbow.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.p ... it=numbers

BTW: in my second post i am referring to the whip i traded on tradgang.



anyway - at the end of the day 5-10fps is nowhere near as important to me as pointability, quietness and forgivness in a bow. This is why the whip gets such a huge thumbs-up from me, and it is bloody quick anyway....

[Brumbies Country]

Simon: it has the slightest hint of deflex when strung - wouldn't see it unless you looked up close.

Thankyou. The reason I asked is that I shoot a bit of ABA and IFAA and the IFAA rules push the continuous curve. They sound like really nice bows to shoot.

Simon

[bsrecurve]

in the trad shoots i go to these days (not often at all unfortunately) i don't bother playing by the rules anymore (some of which i find a tad pedantic).
i still pay my fee and shoot the same round as everyone else, but i use my carbons and deflex/reflex bows, and don't bother with the scorecard.
i'm in it the pleasure of shooting with mates new and old, not scores and bragging rights (i'm not that good anyway ) .

each to his own......

[Tommo]

thanks for the link bsrecurve

[Axe]

My coupla bobs worth....

I could sit here and espouse the quality & performance of B/Widow & Border Bows (I do own some) & still not do them justice

A little while ago I purchased a Thunder Stick bow (56" Mag D/R longbow)...in simple terms, excellent workmanship,it's light, smooth, points well and quieter than any I have shot, it certainly delivers an arrow with no hand shock... at a basic bow price of $475 US + post to say it's a bargain is an understatement...for bamboo cores and few other extras mine cost me $600 US

I have owned top line & priced bows that would not hold a candle to the Thunder Stick in performance and in some cases workmanship, therefore I have no hesitation in recommending these bows and the gentleman that makes them, Jim Reynolds, to anyone that wants top quality CUSTOM bow at what I consider basement prices

This bow along with the possiblity of another will sit alongside my Widows/Border and be looked upon as their equal

http://www.thunderstickbows.com/

[Coach]

This

This bow along with the possiblity of another will sit alongside my Widows/Border and be looked upon as their equal

coming from you , is a big thing in my eyes , knowing how much you love your Widows They must be half decent then , and at a good price !