# Fedora custom Bows closed



## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

Website is still up. Which means nothing, yes I know. 

How does a custom bow manufacturer go under when archery is so popular? 

Must take a special kind of stupid.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

4 Fletch said:


> Website is still up. Which means nothing, yes I know.
> 
> How does a custom bow manufacturer go under when archery is so popular?
> 
> Must take a special kind of stupid.


How does Cheverolet almost go under when cars are so popular ?


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

Mike Fedora sold out a while back, he never went under. According Concept, the newer "Fedora" bows is done. The writing was on the wall!


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

4 Fletch said:


> How does a custom bow manufacturer go under when archery is so popular?
> .


There are too many bowyers competing for a small market, even during a period of spiked interest. There seem to be hundreds of small bowyers, with new folks popping up all the time. On the target side there are only few, dominated by large companies: Hoyt, Samick, Win Win. How many times do we see post with someone asking what we think of some bowyer that 90% of us have never heard of. I take that as an opportunity to hit their website. I often wonder how people decide which small bowyer to go to. Fedora will be missed, but I expect that there will be more to follow, and more new to take their place. It is a craftman's field, you can't always expect that it will pass on to the next generation or survive a sale by the original bowyer.


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## Arrowwood (Nov 16, 2010)

from the facebook page:

"No Bowyer. The part owner of this company made a plan to rip off their premier master bowyer that was doing a super job at re-designing the fedora line and managing the company. 2 days before thanksgiving Lavern told Michael he was to work for the company at least 1 more year. ON THANKSGIVING DAY he fired michael without cause and without paying him enough to survive, over $85,000 is owed to Michael from the owner that has owned Delta industries, a $14 million a year business. He also canceled Michaels car and hotel room, forcing Michael on the streets with no money. Michaels family is 10,000 miles away without means to live. Please support Michael in these times"


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Mike Fedora JR ?


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

I know it was not MIKE FEDORA SR.....................................I'm curious as to the whole story, I don't do Facebook.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Bowsage said:


> I know it was not MIKE FEDORA SR.....................................I'm curious as to the whole story, I don't do Facebook.


I know it was not senior........ I was just curious of who the Michael that he is speaking of is


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

I hope the guy who posted that knows "for sure" what he's talking about. Looks like the potential for a libel suit to me.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

4 Fletch said:


> How does a custom bow manufacturer go under when archery is so popular?
> 
> Must take a special kind of stupid.


Not necessarily...

Increase in overhead, failure in marketing, fatigue of the CEO, mis-management of funds, superior offerings by mass-producers or similar scale producers,
or the fickle trends of the consumers niche market.

It's tough to be in business!
Especially with partners.
rc


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

concept said:


> Well it is official. Fedora custom bows is closed and not sure if they will reopen Since 1957 Fedora Bows has built quality bows and it looks likes it is over.
> What a shame. one of the People hired by the majority owner screwed up things . what a mess. to bad for all involved.


How do you know it is official?
That post on FB was from a "visitor".


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

JParanee said:


> I know it was not senior........ I was just curious of who the Michael that he is speaking of is


I know Jr. was around.


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## Ol' Bowhunter (Mar 7, 2014)

If I had to guess, I'll bet it was Jr. or one of his parents that posted the info on Facebook (not the new owner of the company). 

There was some discussion on AT a while back about Jr. working for the new owner, and of coarse none of that was mentioned on the company website due to Jr.'s shady past.

The new owner finally figured out that Jr. is a first-class weasel, so he probably decided to cut Jr. loose before he gives the new company a bad reputation... or steals from them.

If the new owner fired Jr. and left him stranded with no money or transportation like the facebook post states, I say good deal. 

That's just what that skid-mark deserves.

He screwed over so many people in the archery community about 15 years ago that he deserves any misfortune or hardship that comes his way now.

Karma can be a real b!tch. It's just too bad it takes so long sometimes...lol

I highly doubt that the new owner of the company will be closing up shop, and I'm sure they'll do just fine without Jr. (even if Jr. doesn't think so and makes a big show out of it).

Hopefully the loser will crawl back to whatever rock that he's been hiding under for the past 15 years and just stay there.


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

bull


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

Starting to think concept is JR.
Wouldn't be the 1st time for one of his alters.


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

SteveB said:


> Starting to think concept is JR.
> Wouldn't be the 1st time for one of his alters.


Don't know, but he always offers the "IT'S OFFICIAL" line for Fedora.


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

Bull was for the post of him being thrown out on the street. He was given 5000 and another 1000 and has an open ended ticket to get back to
China. Yes his car was a lease and was taken from him. Yes the company quit paying for his room
Along with what was paid up front when he came , he is not broke or out on the street


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

The rumor we closed is unfounded Laverne is out .


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

concept said:


> The rumor we closed is unfounded Laverne is out .


Is the identity of Laverne common knowledge? And what about Shirley?


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## MattoPhotog (Sep 2, 2015)

BarneySlayer said:


> Is the identity of Laverne common knowledge? And what about Shirley?



I had to snort laugh when I read this!


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## Arrowwood (Nov 16, 2010)

Laverne Woock, supposedly one of the new owners who Michael said fired him.

The website's gone now.


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

... and who started that rumor?


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

not sure I did not start this thread some one knows my info and posted this. some of what is said about the firing is almost correct a lot is not


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

concept said:


> Well it is official. Fedora custom bows is closed .....
> What a shame. one of the People hired by the majority owner screwed up things . what a mess. to bad for all involved.


Interesting... you may want to change your info.


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Jim Casto Jr said:


> Interesting... you may want to change your info.


And also consider how somebody would get your info, and who that could be. It's something the rest of us might wonder.


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Odd since they paid for a full page color add in the PBS magazine for the third quarter.


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

JParanee said:


> How does Cheverolet almost go under when cars are so popular ?


A special kind of stupid. 

I know guys who used to drive Chev exclusively, even worked at the now closed plant, who started buying other makes a few years ago. Quality just ain't there.


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

concept said:


> Well it is official. Fedora custom bows is closed and not sure if they will reopen Since 1957 Fedora Bows has built quality bows and it looks likes it is over.
> What a shame. one of the People hired by the majority owner screwed up things . what a mess. to bad for all involved.


"Since 1957 Fedora Bows" ...... " looks like it is over" is misleading. Mike Fedora stopped making bows last winter.

What I would like to know is where all of his equipment has ended up .


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## tradarules (Dec 18, 2015)

interesting how you people can talk about things you know nothing about. ol,bowhunter, who are you to blast someone when you never knew the facts about them? you insult and badmouth people and you have no fact whatsoever of what you say in public, hiding behind your screen, make yourself know and bring your facts to court or keep your mouth shut.
as for concept, anyone can tell me how he knows what was paid to Michael or what happened a day after this went down? I can tell you concept is the minority share holder of fedora's Paul Mykut and is a compulsive liar. 
As for the rest of you, Michael was not responsible for any wrong doing! There was a contract in place which Lavern defaulted on only. the rest is up to a judge very soon. A judge has signed the injunction already meaning Lavern is at fault.
I know Michael has set up fedoras for state of the art production of some of the finest bows this world has seen. 
Concept should be more careful what he says as it is recorded and shall be court evidence against him. 
Otherwise, this forum should focus on positive things to help archers and not be blasting innocent people.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

It's a shame people don't use their real names on the Internet 

This would be simpler


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## Trimf (May 15, 2015)

Or calling people compulsive liars on public forums ??

LOL.


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

tradarules said:


> interesting how you people can talk about things you know nothing about. ol,bowhunter, who are you to blast someone when you never knew the facts about them? you insult and badmouth people and you have no fact whatsoever of what you say in public, hiding behind your screen, make yourself know and bring your facts to court or keep your mouth shut.
> as for concept, anyone can tell me how he knows what was paid to Michael or what happened a day after this went down? I can tell you concept is the minority share holder of fedora's Paul Mykut and is a compulsive liar.
> As for the rest of you, Michael was not responsible for any wrong doing! There was a contract in place which Lavern defaulted on only. the rest is up to a judge very soon. A judge has signed the injunction already meaning Lavern is at fault.
> I know Michael has set up fedoras for state of the art production of some of the finest bows this world has seen.
> ...


So where is this set up , I would like to swing by?


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## Ol' Bowhunter (Mar 7, 2014)

Welcome to the site Jr. (aka tradarules) 

Seems ironic of you to accuse others of hiding behind their screen...lol



You are indeed responsible for a lot of wrong doing! 

A quick internet search will reveal that you're a scam artist and a thief.

Seems a little hypocritical to take a former employer to court when you've scammed so many customers in the past.

But I bet you probably won't mention any of that to the judge... will you. 



Here are some links that will give a little insight into your lack of honesty and character...

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=80758&category=88#944364

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=83809&category=88#986478



Here's a really interesting one that exposes you as using an alias (David Kampka) to start a company called DNM Archery in an attempt to hide from your former Big East customers that you stole money from...

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=80890&category=88#942542



Here's another from your DNM Archery days...

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=100132&category=88#1205756


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## tradarules (Dec 18, 2015)

you still don't reveal your identity, and the references you make are nothing more than hearsay and gossip from idiots like you stupid enough to listen to gossip and pass them off as facts. again, you do not add anything positive to a thread nor to you stay on topic. How brain dead can you be as if what you accuse Mike Jr. of doing is illegal, why was he never arrested? I'm sure you know the Attorney General was involved in his case back then, which you are the only moron bringing up, and he was cleared of any charge against him as he did nothing wrong. so if you know so much, come forward and be know so you can present your case in court, I dare you. you should have more than a gossip thread to back up your claims, coward. Try doing something positive for trad archery instead of making false claims and bad mouthing people.


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

"try doing something positive for trad archery"............ maybe you will do that in your next post, right now it is 0 for 2.


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

Do something positive? Now, that’s funny. Lets see… we have, you’re a gossip, stupid, idiot, brain dead, coward and making false claims all is the same post. Yet… you want everyone else to be positive? Gee Whiz!


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

I didn't realize how much politics went into making bows.

... Am I doing it wrong?


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

kegan said:


> I didn't realize how much politics went into making bows.
> 
> ... Am I doing it wrong?


A fair question indeed... Hmm... well, you have... 

1. an awesome reputation 
2. so do your bows 
3. lifetime warranty, which is rare AFAIK 
4. you post helpful info on the Trad forum of AT

Oh, wait a minute! You've got NO DRAMA. 
No, not that drama. 

I mean no name calling, no accusations, no threats, no tantrums... yeah, maybe you are doing it wrong. :embara:


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

I'm still laughing about any Fedora design being considered one of the best bows made. They have always seemed kind of generic. 

Grant


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## tpcowfish (Aug 11, 2008)

kegan said:


> I didn't realize how much politics went into making bows.
> 
> ... Am I doing it wrong?


Lol. Best post yet


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## woodyt (Jun 27, 2015)

Too bad but I did hear some things about the new owners back in July


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

kegan said:


> I didn't realize how much politics went into making bows.
> 
> ... Am I doing it wrong?


I'd say you're doing it right.

Angst is not worth your time


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## Ol' Bowhunter (Mar 7, 2014)

You're doing it the right way Kegan.

Just keep up the great work!

If Jr. had half the integrity that you have, he might have been something.

Instead, he turned out to be a turd in the punch bowl.


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## tradarules (Dec 18, 2015)

ol'bowhunter, do you even know Jr? sounds like you just listen to hearsay and hate people. I can tell you he has 1000 times the integrity than you have


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## Ol' Bowhunter (Mar 7, 2014)

With a reputation like that, I don't need to know him/you. 

When that many people claim to have been scammed and stole from by an individual, there's usually some truth behind it.

I don't know Bill Cosby either, but I sure as hell wouldn't let him make me a drink...lol


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

Does anybody know if there will be another bow made with Mike Sr.'s old equipment?............by the way Grant, I have seen atleast a hundred bows that Sr. made , no two alike, furthermore a generic look has nothing to do with how a bow shoots. And doesn't everybody claim "their" bow is the best


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## tradarules (Dec 18, 2015)

There is a difference between a reputation and nonsense gossip. you can not prove one case where Jr. was dishonest. Hype on the forums was not true. people that know him will tell you he is a very honest and decent person. so get off it


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## Bowsage (Apr 29, 2008)

Since you're in the know, could you answer my question?


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## tradarules (Dec 18, 2015)

Sr's equipment? Lavern and Paul (aka concept) bought Sr's equipment. bows were made from it. the location of that equipment is unknown now. 
There is no reason for us all to not to get along. rather than accuse someone, insult some, how about ask them if said info is true or false. we are all brothers in the bow. lets promote archery not bickering. and before you call me a hypocrite, I was on defense and spoke truth I can prove. I don't like seeing good people slandered and those that deserve it do not deserve it in open forum.


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## Ol' Bowhunter (Mar 7, 2014)

Jr... an honest and decent person... nope, I'm not buying it. Anyone that does is probably related to him... or just naive. 

When you have that many people complaining about being ripped off by him, that's not just internet hype...lol 

You can spin it any way you want, but anyone with a little common sense can read over some of those LW posts and quickly figure out that Jr. is bad news.

There's a common denominator with all the drama and it's Jr.

Honest and decent people with integrity don't have that much drama surrounding them for no reason. 

And if he thinks all of the controversy that he was involved in back in the early 2000's has passed... he's wrong. 

Word travels fast these days and once Big East customers get word that he's making bows again in the States, they'll be all over him. 

He just needs to go back to China and stay in hiding.

He shouldn't be making and selling bows to the archery community... ever.

We don't need jokers like him in the mix.

This is probably going to be my last post on the topic. I've already wasted enough time on it. 

I'll let you have the final rebuttal about how Jr. is such of an honorable and upstanding person...lol



One final thought on the current status of Fedora Bow Company...

This whole deal with the company being sold and relocated... then new owners hiring and firing Jr... and now possibly closing up shop... or not... it's just weird. So much drama!

Mike Sr. should have just burnt all of his bow forms, sold off his material inventory, and dissolved the company. All of this drama is a disgrace to what the man has spent the past 50+ years building.


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

tradarules said:


> you still don't reveal your identity,


And neither have you.
Want some credibility then identify yourself.
That simple.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

4 Fletch said:


> Oh, wait a minute! You've got NO DRAMA.
> No, not that drama.


Does he shoot traditional? Maybe we can get him a bow. Who knows, he might like it!


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## NCBuckNBass (Mar 5, 2005)

Wow! And I thought KS caused a lot of bow drama.


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## benofthehood (May 18, 2011)

Ol' Bowhunter said:


> I don't know Bill Cosby either, but I sure as hell wouldn't let him make me a drink...lol


Nicely played ... Stealing that .


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

Well, it's official. Fedora has restored to selling/listing bows on eBay.


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## dan in mi (Dec 17, 2009)

They had an ad in TBM's current issue. I know about the timing for the mag so it seems a little off, but you don't have to pay until about time it goes out so this may be the last.


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## Jim Casto Jr (Aug 20, 2002)

I've just been informed that those bows on eBay are old stock purchased from Mike Sr., and are being sold by another company.

Apparently my assumptions were not correct. My sincere apology to the current owners of Fedora Archery.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Mike Sr is a good guy. So is Jason.
I understand that "Concept" is some how linked to Fedora bows. So far as Mike Jr, I had problems with him when he was on his own. I was ripped off by him for a bow when he left.
I understand I was not alone. I will never see that bow or the money so Mike Jr remains the only guy in traditional archery to have ripped me off.
I was hopeful that the new owners could make a go of it as they were to be tweaking Mike Sr's designs. I always liked the Fedora bows, but will not be shooting one for a while until I see what happens with the company.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

grantmac said:


> I'm still laughing about any Fedora design being considered one of the best bows made. They have always seemed kind of generic.
> 
> Grant


There may be prettier ones, there may be ones that shoot better. In 15 years of letting people see and shoot this bow, I haven't had anybody tell me they had seen or shot one better.




















I think this bow pretty much qualities Mike Fedora Jr. as being a master bowyer. As far as some getting ripped off is concerned, it is true it did happen. Mike was still producing bows when someone posted up some bs and caused him to loose some customers. The Attorney General did get involved and Mike was put on lockdown. *Not allowed to contact any customer or do any further business.* He was later cleared of any wrong doing by the Attorney General which is why he never went to jail.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

That is a nice looking bow 

Would love to see better pics of it


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

These are the best I can get with my phone. It took a little over a year to get it made, at a cost of $2000. He made approximately ten of these interloc designs. No two used the same woods.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Thx 

It's a handsome rig


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Several archers have tried shot her. Most say she shoots as good as she looks. Got shoulder issues now, so I got to just look at her. Hell to get old.


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

thirdhandman said:


> He was later cleared of any wrong doing by the Attorney General which is why he never went to jail.


Being not charged by the AT and being innocent are 2 different things.
I'm sure he has done a drive by with an alter on this thread - which means he is still up to the same ol same ol.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Steve: There is a lot of hate on AT from crossbows to broadheads. For some reason people feel better when they try to knock someone down by making up some bs. My post started as a result of this post. 

Originally Posted by grantmac 
I'm still laughing about any Fedora design being considered one of the best bows made. They have always seemed kind of generic. 

Grant
This is typical of what I'm referring to.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Here is her specs.


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## rustycase (Oct 27, 2015)

Well thanks for posting the pictures... now I understand what all the fuss is over, and the $'s involved ! rc


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

It is by far the most expensive recurve I have seen. For the money, I haven't seen anything close. Unlike a compound, recurves hold their value. I have turned down $2000 for it a couple times.


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

that is some pretty spectacular wood bling.


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

No question - JR can build an outstanding bow when inclined.

Problem has always been his business skills and ethics, and denial of the trail of bad dealings he has left.
Always plays the victim.

I just hate that he gets confused with the original Fedora's Archery (Mike Sr and son Jason) with a near 50 sterling rep of bow product and character.


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

I want to thank all the people at the ATA show and our German distributor for the order of 22 bows


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

concept said:


> I want to thank all the people at the ATA show and our German distributor for the order of 22 bows


Congratulations. BTW, are we talking about Fedora under new ownership, or somebody else, and if so, who?


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## rembrandt (Jan 17, 2004)

thirdhandman said:


> There may be prettier ones, there may be ones that shoot better. In 15 years of letting people see and shoot this bow, I haven't had anybody tell me they had seen or shot one better.
> 
> View attachment 3468585
> View attachment 3468601
> ...


that is beautiful work but I would think thats a tad overkill so to speak......All those inlays and the work involved could be put to better use I would think.....course I'm no authority on what people desire in a riser but that looks like something you would hang on the wall or put in a safe......


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## GEREP (May 6, 2003)

Huh...I always thought Fedora made hats.

KPC


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## Pleco (Oct 14, 2009)

I met the new Owners and Mike Fedora Jr. At ETAR last Year. Jr. Was working for the new owners l.There was a weird vibe too at Their table. Maybe too much change and too soon. the bows didn't look like classic Fedoras. It's ashame.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

So long as Mike Jr is involved I will avoid them. Having been ripped off by him when he had Big East, I still remain bitter. He builds a real nice bow, but I just never got the one I paid for....


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## Captainkirk (Sep 18, 2014)

Bill 2311 said:


> So long as Mike Jr is involved I will avoid them. Having been ripped off by him when he had Big East, I still remain bitter. He builds a real nice bow, but I just never got the one I paid for....


So...how does that work? Did he file for bankruptcy protection? You can't just take somebody's money and not deliver a product. Even so, there's a possibility you could file in small claims against him personally.


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

Mike is no longer employed by Fedora custom bows. Laverne had a call from him in China, so I guess he has gone back to the land of China. Mike SR. IS STILL WITH THE COMPANY


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## Pleco (Oct 14, 2009)

I think They moved the Company from Richland PA to Utah?


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

When you buy a new Fedora bow you also get a water and sun uv resistant bow sock and stringer also you can buy a sickle take down recurve or an extreme take down long bow which will accept either of the limbs on the same riser. buy a long bow and get recurve limbs for 500 or buy recurve and get longbow limbs for 475 . get 2 bows at 25% less cost over purchase of 2 bows


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## concept (Aug 27, 2003)

concept said:


> Mike is no longer employed by Fedora custom bows. Laverne had a call from him in China, so I guess he has gone back to the land of China. Mike SR. IS STILL WITH THE COMPANY


I was told he may still be in the U.S.A BECAUSE HE HAS AN INTERNATIONAL PHONE WITH A CHINA NUMBER AND AN U.S cell phone WITH A PA LOCAL 717 AREA CODE


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

Concept. Check your messages.


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## concept1 (Jul 2, 2016)

That was back in November we continued after the dust settled and have been building bows ever since. Just recently we changed the name to Saint George Custom Bows. Mostly because of all the negative things said about us
WE BUILD QUALITY BOWS AT A FAIR PRICE. SEE US AT THE KALAMAZOO TRADITIONAL SHOW JAN 25,26,27


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