# I'm looking into getting a Hungarian recurve bow, any suggestions?



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

http://www.salukibow.com/

Saluki is one of the best, I have the turk and Ibex, they both shoot great, I posted a video a few days ago shooting Aerial targets with the turk, some of the Korean horn bows are quite affordable, if I can find the link I had I'll post.


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

steve morley said:


> http://www.salukibow.com/
> 
> Saluki is one of the best, I have the turk and Ibex, they both shoot great, I posted a video a few days ago shooting Aerial targets with the turk, some of the Korean horn bows are quite affordable, if I can find the link I had I'll post.


The man I met had nothing but good things to say about Saluki's bows and from looking online I've seen his name pop up frequently but even his cheapest bow is very far out of my budget sadly. How much do the Korean Horn bows cost? While I'm mainly looking at Hungarian bows I am open like I said.


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

http://www.koreanarchery.org/classic/kaya.html

Dong Yi model has a blend of carbon and horn in it for $390 shipped


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

steve morley said:


> http://www.koreanarchery.org/classic/kaya.html
> 
> Dong Yi model has a blend of carbon and horn in it for $390 shipped


Thats out of my budget but an interesting option, I was thinking $300 would really be the upper end in what I'd like to spend. Is there really that big of a difference between horn bows and bows made using other materials?

Also if anyone has any info on Grozer, Kassai, or Nomad I'd appreciate it, I'm trying to look at as many options as possible and get as many opinions as possible also.


----------



## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

What DW are you looking for? I've got a Hawarang Korean bow that I'm going to be relisting (buyer bailed) which is [email protected] around [email protected]
Neat little bow that really screams at the longer draws.

-Grant


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

I was thinking likely 45# since once I'm warmed up I can shoot my 40# comfortably, maybe a little higher, haven't decided yet. I draw to 28.


----------



## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Well do some research into the Hawarang bows and let me know if your interested. I'd be willing to do $300, with a case and sock.

-Grant


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

I will, thanks grant.

Bump for info on Grozer's and Kassai's and such, or alternatively anyone know a dedicated forum to traditional archery where I might be able to get more info?


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

http://www.traditional-archery.org/

Speak with Hilary Greenland (on facebook also) she is a world authority on this type of archery and can point you in right direction.


----------



## Todd the archer (Feb 7, 2003)

Here is another option: make one yourself from PVC pipe. It is no joke, while maybe not quite up to conventional bows it is not far behind. I have made several and their performance might surprise you. Plus you can not beat the cost around 2 to 3 dollars per bow. Here a picture of my hungarian style one.

















Todd the archer


----------



## Bongos (Nov 9, 2011)

I have the Saluki and by far, it's one of the nicest bows I've ever owned. The other horsebow I have is a Kassai, also nice but kinda big for a horsebow, both are very smooth in draw and feels like 45-48# even though they rate at 50#. Ofcourse Saluki rarely come up on the used market, new they cost $950 (over $1000 when shipping comes into play, wait time is 9 to 12 months depending on Lukas), Kassai average $350 or so... good luck, they are a lot of fun


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

Todd the archer said:


> Here is another option: make one yourself from PVC pipe. It is no joke, while maybe not quite up to conventional bows it is not far behind. I have made several and their performance might surprise you. Plus you can not beat the cost around 2 to 3 dollars per bow. Here a picture of my hungarian style one.
> Todd the archer


While a great suggestion Todd I honestly don't think I could actually build my own successfully, let alone even have the skills to build one that would fail. I've never built anything like a bow before.



Bongos said:


> I have the Saluki and by far, it's one of the nicest bows I've ever owned. The other horsebow I have is a Kassai, also nice but kinda big for a horsebow, both are very smooth in draw and feels like 45-48# even though they rate at 50#. Ofcourse Saluki rarely come up on the used market, new they cost $950 (over $1000 when shipping comes into play, wait time is 9 to 12 months depending on Lukas), Kassai average $350 or so... good luck, they are a lot of fun


Thats what I've read, though the price they carry means I'll likely never be able to afford one. What model Kassai do you have? How is its kick when firing? I keep reading a lot of very varied things about both Kassai's and Grozers, some claiming they have almost no hand shock to others saying they are bad enough to actually prevent them from shooting them very long. I've actually found a site selling both Kassai and Grozer bows for a lot less then $350 for a majority of the models. One I really like the look of, one of Grozer's bows, the Nomad G 5 Old Hungarian is on the site for $192, but sadly it along with most of the other bows in my price range I'm having trouble finding things online about good or bad.


----------



## scout4 (May 18, 2010)

Hey Toddthearcher, that is a cool looking bow! I've watched some videos on making pvc pipe bows. Neat stuff! tomorrowKing, I had a Grozer hungarian horse bow, It was a great shooter, not much handshock, and loved heavy ash arrows. They do take some getting use to! scout4


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

scout4 said:


> Hey Toddthearcher, that is a cool looking bow! I've watched some videos on making pvc pipe bows. Neat stuff! tomorrowKing, I had a Grozer hungarian horse bow, It was a great shooter, not much handshock, and loved heavy ash arrows. They do take some getting use to! scout4


What was its draw weight? Do you recall the model?


----------



## scout4 (May 18, 2010)

Tomorrow_King said:


> What was its draw weight? Do you recall the model?


Yes, it was Grozer's Hunnish horse bow. It had a shorter bottom limb. That I recall, it was 54" or 56" long and pulled 40#. At that time I was shooting 11/32" ashwood arrows spined at 45# x 29" with a 125grn point. scout4


----------



## rogbo (Jan 2, 2004)

Hey Todd, you ought to do a build along on how you make that PVC bow.


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

Hmm has anyone shot any of Grozer's biocomposite bows? I decided to see what I could get if I stretched my budget and I found his biocomposites, made of pressed sinew plate, horn and wood, I'd need to stretch my budget another hundred to afford one but they sound wonderful and likely as close to a true composite as I could afford, now to figure out if buying one would be a good idea to just go all out, or if I'd be better off starting with a cheaper fiberglass one since I've obviously never shot this style of bow before. Those Korean bows by the way are also sounding more and more attractive the more I read about them, I'm still not wild about their look but damn are they impressive when shot, shame the Kaya Dong Yi you linked to Steve doesn't seem to even be for sale, while listed on there I can't find anyone line that has one and the sites I've seen selling them show them as preorder and I've seen forum posts claiming it never made it into production. By the way thank you everyone who has responded!


----------



## zdogk9 (Dec 6, 2011)

I'm shooting a Kaya KTB, Three Rivers carries them, If I didn't have an SMG Korean bow on the way I'd be all over Grant's Hwarang. They are really, really fast, the look does grow on you. I've shot one, way better than my Kaya and he only wants about 20 more than it'd cost to get the Kaya.


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

zdogk9 said:


> I'm shooting a Kaya KTB, Three Rivers carries them, If I didn't have an SMG Korean bow on the way I'd be all over Grant's Hwarang. They are really, really fast, the look does grow on you. I've shot one, way better than my Kaya and he only wants about 20 more than it'd cost to get the Kaya.


I had actually asked him briefly for a little more info today and it looks like he found a buyer for it so I missed out. Google failed to shed light on the bow you mentioned, who makes your SMG bow?


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

http://www.koreanarchery.org/classic/hwarangbow.html


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

I've been reading a lot on Korean bows and one thing that keeps popping up is people mentioning they are very unforgiving bows to shoot. Are other styles any more forgiving or are they all pretty similar?


----------



## Pikkuhannu (Apr 3, 2009)

Tomorrow_King said:


> I've been reading a lot on Korean bows and one thing that keeps popping up is people mentioning they are very unforgiving bows to shoot. Are other styles any more forgiving or are they all pretty similar?


Korean bow is short, so it is unforgiving. Hungarian bows are longer and more forgiving.

I like Kaya KTB, very light and fast. Grozer Old Scythian is a joke, heavy and slow, almost same draw weight as Kaya, which is 55#@30" vs Scythian 55#@28". Kaya is fastest bow i have ever shoot. Will get Hwarang some day.

Kassai Bear is fast, heavy, kicks like a mule, but it is 80#@30". Don´t know how lighter draw weight works.

Kassai Buzzard Hunter is quite heavy and slow bow, i had 60#.

I would go for Korean or Grozer biocomposite. I had Grozer Turkish TRH, it is very fast bow, almost as Korean.


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

Pikkuhannu said:


> Kaya is fastest bow i have ever shoot. Will get Hwarang some day.


A Turkish 'horn' flight bow is able to shoot an arrow over 350fps


----------



## zdogk9 (Dec 6, 2011)

Tomorrow_King said:


> I had actually asked him briefly for a little more info today and it looks like he found a buyer for it so I missed out. Google failed to shed light on the bow you mentioned, who makes your SMG bow?


This will link through to the bows and a bunch of other neat stuff

http://www.archers.co.kr/main/index.php?


----------



## kjin2925 (May 1, 2012)

you can find KAYA and other asian bow at www.archerytorque.com


----------



## Bongos (Nov 9, 2011)

Tomorrow_King said:


> Thats what I've read, though the price they carry means I'll likely never be able to afford one. What model Kassai do you have? How is its kick when firing? I keep reading a lot of very varied things about both Kassai's and Grozers, some claiming they have almost no hand shock to others saying they are bad enough to actually prevent them from shooting them very long. I've actually found a site selling both Kassai and Grozer bows for a lot less then $350 for a majority of the models. One I really like the look of, one of Grozer's bows, the Nomad G 5 Old Hungarian is on the site for $192, but sadly it along with most of the other bows in my price range I'm having trouble finding things online about good or bad.


Sorry for the late reply;
I had the Maygar Sport, it was 59# and had no hand shock or kick, very smooth as it's long for a horse bow, it is a well made undestructable bow as it's mostly fiberglass outside of the reinforce wood saya. Dacron B50 is recommended for it as it's not design for fast flight type string (still zipps GT5575 like darts though).. my Saluki Dasmascus on the other hand is Fast Flight and have a little more hand shock (but it is also a much shorter bow than the Kassai). Either way, it's a great conversational peice when you go to the range and do better then some recurve and longbow guys.. lol


----------



## Tomorrow_King (May 12, 2012)

Bongos said:


> Sorry for the late reply;
> I had the Maygar Sport, it was 59# and had no hand shock or kick, very smooth as it's long for a horse bow, it is a well made undestructable bow as it's mostly fiberglass outside of the reinforce wood saya. Dacron B50 is recommended for it as it's not design for fast flight type string (still zipps GT5575 like darts though).. my Saluki Dasmascus on the other hand is Fast Flight and have a little more hand shock (but it is also a much shorter bow than the Kassai). Either way, it's a great conversational peice when you go to the range and do better then some recurve and longbow guys.. lol


No worries on the reply time and thanks for the info!  I still haven't decided. I'm still looking at the Nomad G 5 Old Hungarian and am also now looking at the Kassai Panther. The seller when I asked about them said the Panther is smoother and more accurate over all where as the Old Hungarian is more powerful and faster. I'd imagine smooth and accurate would probably be what would be best to learn on. Shame the Panther isn't as pretty as the Nomad, though the Panther is customizable which is pretty cool if I want to spend a little extra pimping it out. I'm watching the exchange rates between USD and Euro at the moment so I can order at the right time and try and get as good a deal as possible since shipping is going to be 100 euros unfortunately. Also trying to decide if I should order some handmade wooden arrows from the site I'm planning on buying from, they are around $120 for 20 which isn't to bad, a dollar each cheaper then what my current arrows cost and they look quite nice, just not to sure about durability or how they would hold up, would need to order them with the bow if I get them as the shipping is flat rate to the US up to 10kg so no matter how little I order it will always be expensive shipping. Another thing is I'm starting to also look at those Hwarang bows more as factoring in the shipping cost of the Hungarian bows it would be fairly close in final cost, which makes me wonder if I'd be better off just getting one of those, I emailed the guy who makes them and asked a ton of questions and they sound very fun, he claims they aren't very hard to shoot and that learning on one wouldn't be to big a struggle.


----------



## EthanJM (Jun 11, 2012)

I was thinking of getting the Kassai Bear myself, but someone on youtube had a 105# Bear, and claimed his arrow speed was no greater than a 66# modern hybrid bow. I was going to get an 80# myself, what kind of arrow speed can you get? I would be shooting 600 grain arrows. I just don't see the point in making a transition from my English longbow to a recurve bow unless the speed is much higher.


----------

