Bow Owner Feedback

Thomas, For the benefit of your future customers, I wanted to share my thoughts on my new Hwarang traditional Korean bow in 57.5lb @31" that I received two days ago. The Gold Tip carbon shafts and bits that I ordered locally, to go with the bow, have not arrived as yet but I borrowed a ceder arrow and shot the bow yesterday. These bows do represent a considerable investment but I would like to assure anyone who is considering purchasing one that it is money well spent. The bow is an absolute joy to shoot. It is extremely smooth and does not stack. For those interested in using one for hunting, it shoots very quiet and will require no string silencers (which only rob FPS). Now for the best part, and this may be more of a personal thing but the bow simply shoots exactly where I aim it. It appears to be very forgiving. This is not something I was expecting as the bow is only 48" long and does not have an arrow shelf at all. I was anticipating having to put in hundreds of hours of practice to be able to "do everything right" and achieve consistent, accurate results but I was able to nail a 3" circle at 20 meters every time, not one stray arrow! I am not a great archer and have not been able to produce these results with any of my previous 58" western style recurve bows. I can only explain this phenomenon by the forgiving nature of the little Hwarang bow. Arrow speed is good. I do not have a chronograph but I am sure this bow is sending the identical arrow faster than my 58" Samick 60lb @28" take down recurve. I would also like to thank you Thomas for your helpfulness and honesty through purchasing this bow. I was a bit apprehensive about purchasing a bow from Korea through a fellow in the USA, over the internet and I live in Australia. The bow and time for delivery is exactly as you said it would be. Ty Johnson ===================== Dear Mr. Duvernay: I was delighted with the smoothness of the Korean Bow. You can pull this thing back forever without stacking. And I still cannot believe that such a physically light bow has absolutely no handshock! As someone who appreciates archery in all its forms, I am proud to have such a pretty and functional representative of Asian bowcraft. The bamboo arrows are also beautiful and enhance the performance of the bow. I am personally grateful that there is someone like you to help extend my vista and enjoyment of archery. Thank you, Tom!! Sincerely, Eric L. Singman, M.D.,Ph.D. Pennsylvania ====================== I described my Korean bow to my shooting partner this way, it is not just a short fiberglass recurve bow-it is completely different kind of bow. Watch the limbs as they go parallel to your arm, Dan VanPetten Lee's Summit, MO ====================== I have been in love with my Ben Pearson Colt, until I purchased and shot my Korean recurve. The balance, lightness, ease of draw and flat out arrow speed have kept me from even looking at another bow. I can't wait to take it to test in the field this fall to hunt and harvest. Just for grins, I let each of my sons (12, 9, 8) try the bow at a 3D shoot. Each son was able to draw and fire (hitting the target) at 20 yards. Amazing due to the fact that the draw weight is 55 pounds. I love it. Tom Sanford South Hadley, MA ====================== I just shot the bow; I think I'm in love. It feels great. Chris Tong Menlo Park, CA ====================== I had the opportunity to shoot my bow through a chronograph last Friday. I was quite pleased with the results. Pulling 29" with the Korean Bamboo arrows, the bow averaged 211 fps. Just plain amazing. Richard Grossman ====================== Thomas, Yes the bow is here!! And what a bow it is. I took it down to the local archery shop to get some target arrows. The owner is wonderful. However, some of the "compound-bow men" that hangout there are not. The peanut gallery made some "little bow (boy)" comments. Especially after I informed them it had a 70# draw. Then they doubted I was strong enough to string it. (Not a problem.) Next they implied I could not draw the bow fully. (Again not a problem.) Finally, they said it was not a 70# draw - something less. The owner put it on the scale and pulled the bow. It measured 70#'s. After some re-education of the peanut gallery by the owner (he waxed poetic for a moment about the attributes of the Asian bow), I and my bow were welcomed into the "local archery fraternity". Another victory for Korean culture and martial arts. When I got home with my target arrows I had to try out the "little bow". After I shot the first arrow, I said, "Wow!". With the second arrow I really pulled back. However I missed my target. The arrow traveled 50 feet beyond the target and split a 1/2 inch cedar plank in two (my fence). Wow again. Thanks for all your help, Tavo De Leon PS - When my martial arts master (a grandmaster in Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido and Hwarangdo) drew the bow back for the first time, he said "Good bow. 70# draw, I think." ====================== I own both a korean FRP bow and a horsebow. I love both bows, but I am quite
sure the FRP bow is a superior bow in all aspects. I bought my horsebow
about 3 years ago and have shot it extensively in many situations. It has
NO stack out to 33". The FRP bow does all that the horsebow does, but
better. It is more beautiful (gorgeous) and it is FAST! I shoot 28.25"
carbon arrows and pulling 56 lbs, it shoots over 215fps.
Matt Graesch ====================== This is a great bow! I shot perhaps 100 arrows last nignt and probably twice
that number this morning and I'm really impressed with smoothness of the draw
and speed of the arrows. This bow really makes carbon target arrows sizzle, and it
has plenty of muscle to cast my heaviest wood hunting arrows with 160 gr. broadheads
on a flat trajectory. As a hunting bow, I'm sure this bow is more than
adequate for any North American game. With luck I may be able to hunt moose
and elk with it this Fall.
I've been shooting bows off and on since I was five years old and for
almost 60 years now I've collected and crafted bows. For the past three or four years
I've built bamboo backed Osage or Hickory bows which I thought were pretty good bows.
They were light in the hand, smooth to the draw with no hand shock and
they are fast for a longbow. However, since I've been shooting Korean bows, I've been reluctant
to make any new bows except for my grandchildren. It would be impossible, in my opinion,
to duplicate the qualities of the Korean bow. What I find amazing is that they
are not more popular. Bar none the traditional Korean recurve bow is a better bow
than any of the popular "Brands" laminated bows on the market today.

John Burton
====================== Hi Thomas, Just a note to let you know that the 65# Korean bow that I purchased from you earlier this year
is still performing great. I am totally impressed with these bows. I shot a 27" 1816 Easton
arrow with a 100 Gr. point through a chronograph with this bow and it sizzled a 219 Ft/Sec.
Great bow! Regards, John Burton

=====================

Hi Thomas, It was a long wait (post office is rather busy during Christmas), but I finally received the bow. I must say, it was well worth the wait. You wanted to hear how I like it, so here it goes. I know I'm gonna sound a bit like a fan boy (also, english is foreign language for me), but please, bear with me :)

First of all, the look. Hwarang is absolutely beautiful. While it is not a key attribute one would require from a bow, it is nevertheless quite pleasing if it looks as good as it shoots. In case of Hwarang, the look is amazing. I especially like the birch bark covering ( I guess thats the correct name? ). This gives it much "spirit" of the traditional hornbow. The only dissonance to the great look is the grip. It look very "off" from the rest of the bow. But it lays good in hand and you don't see it while shooting, so its not a big deal :) Especially since it can be replaced, although I don't think I'll be doing such thing until I really have to. I don't think I have the skill and knowledge that could even compare to those of its makers to make such "improvements". All in all, the look is beautiful.

Second thing is performance and accuracy. I'm not a very experienced archer or a good one, so I can't say much about this topic. I have been shooting with Kaya for the last 2 years, and got some habits from it. Therefore I'm very happy that the switch was very smooth and painless. The release is very smooth, with no kicking. There is no stacking to talk about when drawing, although the draw is more difficult, 55 pounds is more than 35... I have to build up a little, after 10 shots my back and arms were getting weary :). I wasn't aware of this bow power, until the second arrow blow right through the target. I'm using round straw mat, about 6 cm thick. Now I need a new target, the old one is in shreds right now :). And a new arrow, that one hit the concrete wall behind the target and is not usable any more. But still I managed to put 7 of the arrows around 10 cm from the targets center from 15 meters, and that something for me. And I have the feeling that if I practice some more and work on my form, this bow can reward me with great accuracy.

This was kind of long rant, so to sum up, I love it. I'm very green if it comes to archery, but I must say that the Hwarangs reputation is well eaned. This bow is worth every penny, and I have instantly grown a huge respect for the Korean Bowmakers, who can create thing of such beauty and efficiency. Thank You very much for allowing me to share such experience, and for all Your troubles with sending this bow through half of the world!

Best wishes

Thomas Popowski