Buffalo Stick Longbow Review

Buffalo Stick Longbow Review by Pete Ward
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The Buffalo stick from Rodney Wright is a short bow with some real eye appeal and good shooting characteristics. It draws like butter on a hot day and is as shock free as they come. The bow I am reviewing is a 52″ 44# at 28″ that weighs just a bit over 12 ounces. A good sized apple will weigh more in your pack. The Buffalo Stick may not be for everyone but it certainly is a bow that the hunter in thick bush, blinds, or closed in treestands will love. If you carry a bow stalking all day you will appreciate the light weight by mid day. I do.

One question I enjoy hearing when I take the bow to the range is “I thought that was a kid’s bow”.  This is usually followed by my passing it to the speaker and letting him try it out. The normal reaction is a positive one followed by many questions about who makes it, and how to get one,” and “are you going to hunt with it?” Yes I am fully intending to spend a lot of time hunting with this little gem.

 I do a lot of Stalking and frequently wade through thick chest high grass, and thick willows. This is where a short longbow really shines. When the shots are sudden and moving into a better position is not an option, short bows are the perfect choice. In Pop up blinds they are perfect. The clearance we get with a short bow allows us to shoot from just about anywhere in the blind and at angles a longer model just does not allow. Limb tip clearance is rarely an issue with a short bow, but with long bows it becomes increasingly more difficult.

 Rodney’s workmanship is as usual flawless. Glue lines are tight and the finish is as good as it gets. I have never seen a hint of inferior workmanship on any of Rodney’s bows. One important consideration when ordering a short bow is to make sure it is compatible with your draw length. Rodney has the following guide line for maximum draw length and bow length.
Bow length | Max draw length
50”           |       26”  
52”           |       27” 
54”           |       28”
56”           |       29”    
This is important to follow or stacking will be an issue if you are drawing the bow too far.
 
 Often I get asked about finger pinch and short bows. Because I shoot 3 under I never have problems. For the split finger shooter it is just fact that as the bow gets shorter pinch will increase, it has to. How much it bothers you is a personal matter, and how tough your hands are also comes into it. Normally these bows are not shot for hundreds of arrows, they are shot for recreation and practice, and hunting. While hunting we don’t shoot many arrows and a bit of pinch for you split shooters shouldn’t be a big concern. The normal tuning and practice shooting to become familiar with the bow is not going to hurt you on a 3D round. The slight inconvenience is what we pay for the ability to hunt in tight places where the 60″+ bows are next to impossible to shoot. If you are concerned, you may want to avoid the shortest models that I like so much and order a 56″.
 
Yesterday I had the opportunity to finally shoot outside and took the Buffalo Stick to our outdoor range for a 3D shoot in the snow. This was the first time I had the chance to really get acquainted with the little bow and I know that it will be a great little bush bow. It didn’t take many shots before I was shooting where I was looking, and thoroughly enjoying the day and the little bow. It will not be my 3D competition bow, but it will see a lot of practice on the course getting it and me ready for hunting season. The buffalo stick is a hunting bow that I intend to take with me a lot this season.

To sum up this review I feel the Buffalo stick is a very good special purpose bow. By this I mean the bow is built to hunt in thick cover, tight places and blinds. In these places I know the little bow is a shooter, and it will be with me on many hunts this fall. The buffalo stick has a “nifty factor” that I took to the minute I saw it. It is a pleasant bow for me to shoot, shock and noise free, and easy shoot good with. I like it a lot and it will be roaming the Alberta woods with me.

 During the 3D season I will have it with me at the shoots for anyone interested to try it out. If you are in the Edmonton area drop me a line and we can meet and test drive the Buffalo Stick.

Bow Spec for this review:
52” Buffalo Stick
Highly Deflex / Reflex Longbow
Limbs  Red Elm and actionboo.
Handle Pali  {comes from India}
tip overlay Phenolic 
44#@28”    52”
Recomended Brace 6 1/2”

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