Once again, I'm so glad I found this channel. You, sir, are a wealth of information. I haven't shot a traditional bow of any flavor in over 20 years. But, I've been wanting to do it again. Now, I feel like I was just re-educated. (I was a certified bowhunter education instructor for the PA Game Commission for a few years and this channel so far has had better "curriculum" than we had. LOL) Well, I haven't made up my mind yet on a bow. But, I haven't been as excited to shoot since I was a teenager. Thank you.

Very, VERY good video. To make sure everyone is clear on the definitions and meaning of each bow before getting into the theory is super smart. Not enough people do/know this. Thank you. I really appreciate the enlightment on all these bows.

As a bowyer myself, I have to say, your friend makes some beautiful bows. Also as a fan of Howard Hill and his contributions to the world of archery and traditional archery, your video is very comprehensive! Thank you.

I have gotten a wealth of knowledge from you over the last little bit. It would be nice if you had a store where people could get the things you use. Anyways I just wanna say thanks. I really appreciate what you've done here

I almost turned off the video but then you said you don’t golf and redeemed yourself. 😅 thanks for the clear explanation. Good stuff.

Thank you for explaining in good useful detail what "ASL" means, and what is an ASL longbow. Well done.

One of your best video in my opinion.. thanks!

I just shot my Ramer that I got from Steve Turay yesterday and can attest to how smooth, quiet and forgiving it is to shoot. The combination of the reverse handle and string follow does wonders to move the end of the power stroke of the limbs behind your hand, making it very stable. It also resists torque for those times that I over expand and cast my bow arm out too far to the side which would be a more critical error with a standard handle longbow or recurve. It's also surprisingly quick and powerful and is more swift than some reflex-reflex longbows I've shot. It certainly drives my arrows deep into the bale. It's a work of excellence in both performance and aesthetics and I had five compound shooters remark how impressive it is. Mr. Turay is also a gentleman, knowledgeable on the craft and sport of traditional archery and a pleasure to do business with.

I really appreciate the work you put into these videos. I'm getting back into traditional archery and bowhunting after a long break, and your longbow videos are inspiring! The string follow/reverse handle longbow is one I would really like to try.

Thanks for bring us into your home and sharing your experience with us

Excellent tutorial Jason. I too am a big fan of this style bow. Just such a simple design with narrow limbs and thick cores - I love it. Some folks might be scared off because of the length (my ASL is 66 inches) but it is amazing how well they carry in the woods. And when you take what I call a hunting posture (bow canted), I find more than enough clearance from objects around me - even down on a knee or sitting. Yes Sir! Great hunting weapons they are! Looking forward to hearing of your adventures with your NM Classic.

Great video, loads of good information and the variations of ASL designs.

Another great video. The nice thing about finding a channel 5 years late you have a lot of content to catch up on! Just leaving a comment to boost the views.

Excellent video with a lot of good info. I have been shooting a Maulding longbow for 33 years. Scott

Brilliant video, sir. You are absolutely correct about the mistake that shooters make regarding the way they should grip the Hill-style longbow. I have seen some grip it the way they grip their recurves and then complain about the supposed handshock aftrwards. I always tell them, "you should grip it correctly. You don't drive a sports car the way you drive a pick-up truck. They are designed and built differently. There is a proper way to grip and shoot a Hill-style bow." Some try to correct themselves, but more just scoff at me and declare, "They are all the same. They are all bows. No need to be fussy on how to handle them. They just have an OUTDATED and INFERIOR design, etc." Sigh... people sometimes.

Hi Jason , I agree totally with how well made these bows are , I just shot my new Whisper for the first time this past weekend and must say , it is absolutely awesome , extremely quiet , and very smooth to draw and shoot. My bow is 68" 48# @ 31" draw. This bow is so light I hardly even know it's in my hand , and ZERO hand shock , this will be my go to hunting bow this coming season , I'll be doing business with Mr Turay again that's for sure , I'm thinking Ramer next .Great video ! Very well explained , Thanks for sharing .

Wow! Outstanding tutorial! Thank you Jason! Your teaching skills are second to none! .. Now, I really can’t wait for delivery of my new Howard Hill Legend Stick in a few more weeks.

Thanks for this and your other video - "How To Grip A Straight Grip Longbow". I always had a tight grip like you on my GP R/D Cazador, but met an ex-champion two weeks ago who suggested a more loose grip, like with a recurve. I do not feel comfortable at all with this opened/loose grip and Ill probably get back to my used shooting style. Thanks.

thank you very much this has answered a lot of questions

Love this video! Thank you for this great explanation. I have been shooting recurves for a long time and I have always been drawn to the Hill style bows and the longbows, like Falco Force Vintage. I'm thinking of saving for a hill style bow from Fairbow. I live in the Netherlands, so buying a bow from the States will be somewhat difficult.

Thanks man, great video, I learned some things.

Well done 👍🏻

Great information thanks.

Outstanding information. I gotta try one now. The Sprague is out now. I'm considering it or the Ramer.

amazing video!

Awesome video. Confirms many suspicions. Thank you!

thank you, a great video. Bin begeistert über die vielen Informationen

I have a reflex de-flex long bow but like the looks and shoot ability of the hill style better

Cool looking dresser

Howard Hill was the best of all time. There;s a reason he shot longbows

Love the looks of the northern mist bows. I tried to contact Steve, but his email wouldn’t send.

A very interesting and educational video! If you would not mind, I want to ask you what kind of pine cones on the furniture behind you?

Jason, Thank you for this video it is very informative. I shoot Longbow IBO 3d. Which model would you pic for absolute accuracy while maintaining decent trajectory out to 27 yards?

I started shooting a hybrid longbow over a year now, coming from the recurve I have fell in love with the longbow. My question is your thoughts on the Baraga longbow from northern mist. I’m going to order a custom bow.

Hi in the UK we call these AFB, American flat bow. The only bows we call long bows are the medieval style "D" section bows. It does get confusing when you see AFB or ASL referred to as longbows. I read somewhere that the AFB arose out of someone in the USA studying English longbows and Native American flat bows, and coming up with a bow that had the best features of both?

Kwanagraph? Thx for the interesting and informative vid.

The belly is also called the face it faces the archer. The otherside is the back of the bow. It faces away from the archer.

I'd really like to try a trad bow like these in the "hill style". I really don't want to spend $600 just to try it. I hope I see someone with one of these at a event that will let me fling a couple arrows down range. I'm a try before you buy kind of guy.

I’m sorry if I missed it , is the “owl”on there? My sight is very poor . Thanks

So, what does the Bear Montana classify as?

I've always known that longbows are more forgiving, which is why I shoot one. For hunting with such a long bow, do you have a lot of maneuverability problems when hunting on the ground? I don't climb up into the trees anymore to hunt. I'm sold on everything else about them.

Great video as usual. The grip description is inaccurate. Thanks again for all your information.

I'm currently compound only. Im going to order one from steve and give it my best effort. Im also a lefty with 29.5 in draw. Can't remember did you say your bow is 53lb @ 28"?

Steve Turay is the MAN!!!!

3 questions. 1. I find this idea of "cast" very interesting. I theoretically would think cast would come down solely to the arrow and not the design of the limb it's being fired from. You did say you're shooting heavier arrows. Heavier arrows have more mass and therefore more momentum(cast). That coupled with the drag of the arrow, like smaller fletchings, which steal less energy with the friction of them against the air maintaining momentum and not slowing down the arrow. Maybe there is something going on with the bend of the arrow storing energy from the shot and that helping it to maintain that cast in flight. I'd love to see some testing done in this regard. Do you find your arrows being berried deeper in the target? That should show if those arrows are hitting harder down range. I'm not sure I buy into the arrow hitting higher meaning there is more cast though as that arrow coupled with that bow's design could be giving those arrows a different angle of attack leaving the bow causing a larger arc to the shot giving higher hits at that distance. 2. When you showed how close that arrow is to your finger... Do you have any issue with broad head coming dangerously close to your finger or are your arrows longer to prevent that issue? 3. I guess I take issue with you saying that these bows are the ultimate hunting weapon. Let's not even get into firearms. I mean... aren't compound bows superior to these types of bows in almost every way? I myself, shoot a reflex deflex longbow, and love the challenge involved and the time invested in getting accurate with it. I, however, am not under the misconception that my bow isn't inferior to a modern compound in almost every aspect except maybe weight, dimensions, noise(possibly), cost(value), and complexity. I think with accuracy/distance, speed, impact(punch, cast), consistency, etc. a modern compound wins every time. Wouldn't you agree? or... Are you coming from the angle of excitement and thrill? I could completely understand if you're saying you have to get closer and such giving more tension to the moment and providing a greater excitement for your hunt. I'd agree with that.

Reverse handle backset? Where that one?

Catty wompusness is my new favorite term.

Thanks Jason! What watch is that?

I think the definition for an ASL is lacking here in that it differentiates it from other designs used in the American traditional archery scene but it doesn't differentiate it from earlier history designs. The ASL is an evolution from earlier English designs differentiated by having broader flatter limbs and an arrow shelf.

I use what I call these bows a Flatbow or true ASL bow for all models except the Reflex Deflex bows. I have a Bow that is an old all fiberglass dual side arrow rest bow with a set in handle design an Actionbow by Actionrod 8200 model at 36 pounds at 28 inch draw that at my draw length I get to 30-31 inch draw from them. I got from E-bay the bow received at home on 1-2-2021. The one big flaw is the bow is that fiberglass so it is going to be slower then the other bow types and being a non recurve will be 10 Feet Per Second slower then that so being Fiberglass the weight of bow sets the Feet Per Second, so is the not best combo. The cool thing is that there are few models of Flatbow that are made with the middle style handle set unless you get an older fiberglass bow for the job unlike some recurve bows that have the handles in the slightly ergonomic style with the limbs in the middle. Oh there is at least one model of lower priced Chinese bow limb made for ILF bow risers and some other more expensive models out there that are made in the flatbow styles.

The ASL definition has been corrupted over the years and is not what it was intended to be. The ASL, American Semi-Longbow, originally spoke of the profile of the bow, not the straightness of the limb. Most bows prior to them were a D cross section, deep from back to belly and narrow side to side...ala the English Longbow style. The ASL was a wider cross section, more rectangular and then thinner from back to belly. This allowed for pressures of the draw to be spread over that wider cross section and allow for bows that didn't break as easily, were smoother and faster. How this became a definition of only straight limbs is because the bowyers making the original ASL's didn't have the working knowledge to make them deflex/reflex, so until that time (later into the 40's and 50's) they were all straight limb by default. Once they did allow for that process, the same ASL's were able to be laminated into different profiles. That said, the ASL now has taken on the moniker as it applies to straight, reflexed or deflexed limbs...right or wrong, but it's good to know how it started. Pope and Young were talking about the rectangular cross sections back before 1920 but few back then used that profile as it was "too new". :) I enjoy your presentations, I've been in archery since seeing Disney's Robin Hood back in 1955. Still loving the longbow. Take care.

Interesting stuff and beautiful bows, but the differentiation between FPS and "cast" sounds like black magic. The only force imparted to the arrow by the bow is velocity, period. An arrow shot at greater velocity from one bow will remain at a greater relative velocity at any given point along its trajectory (the arrows being equal). Obviously, just like with firearms, the total kinetic energy of an arrow is a function of mass and velocity, but the only variable that the bow has anything whatsoever to do with is velocity. I suspect that the arrows you fire from your ASL are launched at a slightly higher angle and thus hit higher, unless your ASL is actually the faster bow.

All that hooey about cast vs speed is simply false. Arrows do not know or care what has propelled them. A properly tuned 500 grain arrow moving 180 fps out of a longbow is absolutely no different in any way shape or form to the same weight arrow moving out of a tuned recurve at 180 fps.

There is only one true longbow.

All of this is going to far. Just build your own bow. Nothing is more satisfying than a homemade selfbow