# Falco Vintage Force Carbon D-Longbow Arrived! (Pix)



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Well folks?...guess I should preface this with how I came about ordering this new bow months ago as follows...

One of my best local trad shooting buds (and AT member) fatzboys was asking me one morning (about 4 months back) what I thought was "The Top D-Longbow" out there.....and without hesitation?...I told him I thought the Fox Triple Crown was the longbow to have and that I would love to order one someday but they are pricey an that I had even called Don King and spec'ed one out and the way I'd like it?...$1,100 and 6 months turn time..so I'd have to save however Jimmy Blackmon loves his as does Larry Yein and if shooters like that love'em?...besides...they look fantastic...a few weeks later?...I get a call from him...Hey Bill!...Guess What!...I Got me a Fox 3C!...a beautiful 35# cocobolo model he bought from Dewayne Martin and an hour later he was over and I was shooting it and turned greener than a leprachuan...man what a sweet shooting beauty...also the first one string bow I'd ever shot that was of less than 40#s...fatzboys saw my envy...and the next day?....he calls me..."Hey Bill!...There's a beauty of a longbow in the classifieds...66"/33#s for $200...a falco trophy carbon...and I bought it...not knowing how much bow I bought Steve Morley informs me they are great bows made right there in Estonia where he lives...and the bow was great but...the grip and riser were very minimalistic...like a notch above a hill bow on steroids with dang near a broomstick grip...but the craftsmenship was awesome and the grain of the curly birch was magnificent...so I start looking at other models offered by falco and researching falco...turns out they started out 25 years ago in a cross country ski manufacturing facility and low and behold?...one of their flagship models looked like a serious contender to the Fox 3C...with a full featured grip...and at 1/2 the price and turn time...so I took a shot and ordered one up...a...

*66"/32# Falco Vintage Force Carbon*

I agonized over picking out the woods but wanted to go dark with some tasteful accents and went with a...

Riser: Wenge (aka "African Rosewood") with Dark Cocobolo Accent stripe and Limb Tips

Limbs: Tonkin Bamboo Core/Single Carbon w/ Ebony Limb Lams

4 months and $535.00 USD later?...I just got this today...and while I 2nd guessed myself for months on my selection of "wenge" for the riser?...wondering how it would look and match up (or not) with the ebony limb lams?....OH....MY....GOD!...the wenge is so coarsely grained with natural pitting that not only does it look "Hauntingly Rustic" and provides a wonderful grip surface?...but matched with the cocobolo and stellar craftsmenship I'm simply blown away at how stunning this bow came out...I dunno...maybe just because it's mine and new to me?...but here...I'll let y'all decide... 














































and the deflex in the riser of this bow?...makes it ridiculously stable throughout the draw with fantastic point-ability...










and is so smooth it feels like the limbs have no backend.

I can't wait to shoot this last pony in my stable....but I will tomorrow when I get home from my morning surfboarding session! L8R, Bill.


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## wseward (Mar 7, 2013)

Sweet!!!


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Very nice Bill love the dark rich wood 

Happy shooting buddy


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## Arron (Nov 18, 2012)

That is some sweet looking woods there. Look forward to your shooting video.


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## MrSinister (Jan 23, 2003)

That is a work of art and not a bad price for all that it is.


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

wseward said:


> Sweet!!!





JParanee said:


> Very nice Bill love the dark rich wood
> 
> Happy shooting buddy





Arron said:


> That is some sweet looking woods there. Look forward to your shooting video.


Thanks very much everyone! I'm psych'ed! and yes...a video of this bow in action is definitely in order. 



MrSinister said:


> That is a work of art and not a bad price for all that it is.


Thanks MrSinister and yep...that's what I was thinking...the "Bang-For-Buck" factor is off the chain!


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## fatzboys (Dec 2, 2006)

That's one of the nicest bows I have seen in a long time.You did good Mr Jinks .Real good.Got a name for you too."Iceing" because your not going to top that.Good luck with it......


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

fatzboys said:


> That's one of the nicest bows I have seen in a long time.You did good Mr Jinks .Real good.Got a name for you too."Iceing" because your not going to top that.Good luck with it......


Thanks Kyle!...wanna come over sunday morning and take it for a test drive and tell me whatcha think?


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## BLACK WOLF (Aug 26, 2005)

That's some serious bow porn! :wink:

Gorgeous!

Ray :shade:


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Beautiful bow Jinkster, looks like it was well worth the wait. Looking forward to the review...:thumbs_up


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

That bow should feel real comfy. Add a few inches of length (for my long draw length) and make it left handed and I would go for it. I would also take the 32.


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## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

Glad you like it and look forward to you thoughts on how it shoots, think you will be *very* pleased


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## DrakeLineous (Jul 28, 2013)

Holy hell that looks sexy... :eek2:

And I assume you are the one giving lessons. If soo, good job! :clap: :thumb:


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Thanks Everybody! 

So...I was all excited this morning...my 15 year old daughter wanted to stay home and go surfing this morning with Dad...but bummer of a surf report thank to TS Dorian still hanging out...."Weak 1' Chop"...so no go on the surfing and onto plan B.....the...










*"Initial Bow Report":* Smooth, Silent and Spot-on! 

Still pinching myself at how well the tones and textures of these woods came together...










The cocobolo cap on ebony on boo looks absolutely midevil...










On 40# and under bows?...Falco will cut the riser to center....I requested such and very pleased I did...










First group shot at 12yds...fresh out of the box...absolutely nothing done to it...not even string silencers....28 1/2" long 5/16ths cedars with 70gr glue-on points for 380gr arrows shooting 11.875GPP and shot right to center...



















With the bow way too new to me and with me still all aglow with the extremely pleasing looks of the bow?...it's too soon/early for me to give a solid report yet...but once I get comfy and dialed in?...I'll do a vid and L8R, Bill. :cool2:


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## ozzypop (Sep 23, 2010)

A beauty jinks.


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice!


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## Arron (Nov 18, 2012)

More great pictures. What is on the limb tips??


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

That is giving me the longbow itch something fierce. I'd love to see what they do for the tips as well.

-Grant


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## CFGuy (Sep 14, 2012)

Dangit Jinks you're contagious! Gorgeous bow! You should be getting commissions off bow sales from all these bows you review. If I end up moving to Finland I might just end up with a Falco .


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Thanks everyone....out surfing a storm with my daughter right now....limb tips are cocobolo...ill post pix later..Bill.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Have fun in the waves Bill.

When you get back I'd love to see the full unbraced profile and a shot of the grip from the rear to see how it slopes.

-Grant


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

grantmac said:


> Have fun in the waves Bill.
> 
> *When you get back* I'd love to see the full unbraced profile and a shot of the grip from the rear to see how it slopes.
> 
> -Grant


Really? When he gets back I want to see a picture of ol' Jinkster hangin' ten!


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## Arron (Nov 18, 2012)

Bill hanging ten, with a little Beach Boys playing in the background. Then home to shoot the Falco, kowa bunga dude!

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

JINKSTER said:


> Thanks everyone....out surfing a storm with my daughter right now....limb tips are cocobolo...ill post pix later..Bill.


The US Open of surfing just finished here is beautiful Huntington Beach California. Maybe someday you will get out here for some surfing and shooting...and a trip to the original Disneyland.


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

grantmac said:


> Have fun in the waves Bill.
> 
> When you get back I'd love to see the full unbraced profile and a shot of the grip from the rear to see how it slopes.
> 
> -Grant


Grant...I'll get you those pix posted tomorrow...



Easykeeper said:


> Really? When he gets back I want to see a picture of ol' Jinkster hangin' ten!


I ain't hanging nothing!....ain't trying to crumple myself up...but it would be cool to squeeze out those last few droplets of adrenaline! :laugh:



Arron said:


> Bill hanging ten, with a little Beach Boys playing in the background. Then home to shoot the Falco, kowa bunga dude!
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk 2


Actually?...I was thinking how cool it would be to paddle out with a cheapy glass bow and then once up and riding?...nock one up and pop a beach ball on the shoreline! :laugh: and catch it on video...now that would be cool! 



Hank D Thoreau said:


> The US Open of surfing just finished here is beautiful Huntington Beach California. Maybe someday you will get out here for some surfing and shooting...and a trip to the original Disneyland.


Hank...back in the late 70's I was stationed at both Pendelton and MCAS El Toro/Santa Anna...I still love fond memories of Laguna beach...with regular practice deployments to 29Palms/Yuma...usta love to go up to Big Bear but better yet?...run my Honda XL250 in the Mojave and?...spend weekends at the Hot Springs in Apple Valley...que Jim Morrisons "L.A. Woman" :laugh:

and now?...I'm sorry I didn't get back to this thread sooner folks but my 15 year old daughter was stuck home with me bumming over the drizzly post TS Dorian weather and wanting to take her first crack at surfing with Dad when?...she came into my bedroom and suggested to me what I was already thinking but didn't think she'd go for as she said...

"Dad...let's just go!...we're going to be wet anyway so the heck with the rain!"

I told her well honey?...It's not just the rain....there aren't any waves....just a 1' post storm chop....(but followed with)...but ya know what?...that sounds like perfect water to me for some ones who's never been on a board before...this way you can get used to mounting, balancing and paddling around and just get used to handling a board for the first time and off we went.

The beach was all but deserted when we got there with a few bodies milling about a mile to our left and a mile to our right...outside of that?...we had the beach all to ourselves...so I showed her how to never try to crawl on top of the board from the side but how to "slide it under you mounting from the rear"...got her paddling around a bit and then showed her the "Duck Dive" and "Turn Turtle" moves used to get past the breakers...










and just when I had pretty much run out of lessons to share with her?...another young lady about her age showed with a board...which was her first time out as well...as she came out and asked if I was giving lessons! LOL!...everybody introduced themselves and my daughter and our new friend Mariah kinda hit it off right away...did what I could for them both on the ocean gone rainey pond....










and sent them off "Buddy System" paddling and balancing and practicing "setting up"...











my daughter loved it and had a great day....and now onto the limb tip pix requested...

backside...










frontside...










and man am I tired....but it's a good tired! LOL!

L8R, Bill. :cool2:


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## wseward (Mar 7, 2013)

"Tow in....schomo...in". Nice tips. For the "Double up" sessions...8'6" of well shaped form. "double up" tended to be 16' x 2. total 32+' faces easy. Cut backs...yes. Off the lips....maybe:


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Even I could stay on the board in that surf! Looks like fun though and I know what you mean about tired, swimming is great exercise.

Like the limb tips, that's a great looking bow...:thumbs_up


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Jinx,


If you were stationed in 29 Palms then you would know Joshua Tree. I have rock climbed at Joshua Tree since I was a teenager. J-Tree is still one of the top rock climbing areas in the world. Once, while there alone, I met a soldier from 29 Palms who called himself Rock. We climbed for a couple of days and then I took him back to the base. He showed me around the tank exhibit and the dorms. He was a really good guy and it was a pleasure to climb with him. There is a lot of trust involved when you have two folks connected together by a rope.

There was another time when my partner and I were climbing in this narrow rock corridor called the Hall of Horrors. Two A6 buzzed right over us about 30 feet off the ground (twice the height of the Joshua Trees). They were right on each others tails. They banked and flew around Ryan Mountain. It made me realize how frightening those things are to the local population of war torn countries. I had never seen anything that large flying that close to the ground.

Every once in awhile you would see marines doing rappel practice. Marines rappel differently than climber. They try to hit the ground as quickly as possible to avoid getting shot. Climbers are more cautious. We do not do the flying jumps unless were are really sure about the integrity of our anchors. Many climbing deaths come from anchors pulling out. Sometime we are force to rappel off very suspect anchors which can be a bit nerve racking.


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## airwolf (Jul 28, 2005)

nice story and bow Jinks, have fun on those little one foot choppers, they'll be plenty more of those around in the next couple months for ya


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Hank D Thoreau said:


> Jinx, If you were stationed in 29 Palms then you would know Joshua Tree. I have rock climbed at Joshua Tree...


I wasn't "stationed" in 29 Palms...it was just used as a "Destination Point"...(someplace to go too)...and I wasn't your stereotypical marine...I was an "Air-Winger"....assigned to VMA-214..."The BlackSheep Squadron"....(imagine that... :laugh: ).....our pilots flew A4 Skyhawks...our mission?...to be anywhere in the world within 24 hours and establish air superiority...which involved a lot of practice sessions that consisted of...

Sometimes getting shook out of the rack at 0300 hours to haul butt to the flightline (with all our gear) and see how quick we could load up all the support shops and their tool chests on wheels and have them latched to the floorboards of (2) C-130s and how quickly we could deploy and set-up shop to keep potentially wounded birds armed and flying...and we were good at what we did...world class...and like my archery?..we didn't practice until we got it right...we practiced until we couldn't get it wrong...a well oiled machine...oddly enough?...these "Rapid Deployment Practice Sessions" almost always happened on a Thurs. night/Friday morning...and most times we didn't know where the heck we were going until we got there....or?...if it was real or not...hence?...it was always "real"...like fighting a war during peace time and extremely high stress...only been to 29 Palms once...and only for a couple days...as the preferred spot was Yuma...why?...cause both places were hot as haites...and us marines loved our night life...and the Mexican border was only about 20 miles south of Yuma...then it was in to San Luis...and then out to "Boys Town"....where all the tequila and ladys of the evening were...and if we did a bang up job of the rapid deployment?...we'd be done by lunchtime Friday and off for 2 1/2 days of weekend leave! :darkbeer: :rockband: :dancing: 

And WhoooooooooooooDOGggggggggggY! :laugh:


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## wseward (Mar 7, 2013)

I have been VERY glad to see a couple of C-130s. The second one dropped a flare and then the cargo...spot on!

Thanx guys...for your service to our country!

How is that Falco shootin?


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

wseward said:


> I have been VERY glad to see a couple of C-130s. The second one dropped a flare and then the cargo...spot on!
> 
> Thanx guys...for your service to our country!
> 
> How is that Falco shootin?


A.T. member fatzboys called me minutes ago...he wants to come check it out and will be here in 20 minutes...this will only be my 2nd session with it so...really to soon to comment outside of saying that....

To me?...outside of the general design and lines...(of which just by sight I feel the falco force is stellar)....the two most important features on any longbow to me are 1.The Grip and 2. How the risers cut....(which will determine how forgiving it is to shoot and tune)...as far as the grip goes?...it feels like a bowyer sat here carving it out and shaping it to my hand...(but hands vary)....and the riser cut?...from first shots out of the box my 5/16ths cedars were striking to center...some refer to this as "Shoots where I look"...but I did spec that this riser be cut-to-center...so that could vary as well....all I got for now.


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