Hand-made Traditional Horsebows
Our bows are made in Hungary by Kassai Lajos. A master archer and horseman, Mr. Kassai has designed bows based upon years of painstaking research into the Scythian, Hun, Avar, Magyar, and Mongol historic styles. Mr. Kassai references archeological digs in his country and elsewhere, historic texts, paintings, illuminations, and Magyar verbal histories before he reproduces a bow style. His search for historical documentation is ongoing. New bow designs and improvements on current bow styles are made with an eye toward historical accuracy achieved via modern technologies.
I ( Falcon) chose these bows for our product line for two main reasons:
- First, they are extremely well made, durable, beautiful and fairly priced.
- Second, they are a pure joy to shoot! Over the last several years I have been teaching archery, every time I put one of these bows in someone’s hand, woman or man, a look of rapture comes over their face. Sometimes it is difficult to get the person to let go of the bow once they have finished shooting. Some have even accused me of enchanting the bows…. Honestly, they sell themselves. I am innocent of anything except helping put them out in the world.
We carry several models and a variety of color combinations. We usually have a selection in stock; call for available model, color and weight choices. If we don’t have what you want in stock we can usually get it in a few weeks.
The Hunter:
Optimized as a hunting “brush bow,” this model delivers excellent performance from 26 to 28 inches. It does start to stack upon passing 28 inches. This bow is for the archer with a short draw length or the hunter who wants a shorter bow to slip through the underbrush. The strung height is 49.5 inches with a 48 inch string; the belly is 1.6 inches wide. Made from 40# to 65#.
$380 USD
The Mongol:
A contribution of the Mongols to ancient archery was the “string bridge”. This is much like a guitar bridge located at the corner of the syhas. It holds the string in place when at rest and allows the tips of the bow to bend forward beyond the line defined by the string. This gives an extra “snap” to the arrow and a slightly different feel to the bow. Measuring 57 inches tall both unstrung and strung with a 55 inch string. Weighs 1 lb. 11 oz. They do not start to stack until 32 inches. Archers over 6 feet tall prefer this bow's feel over the Magyar Sport. Available from 35# to 70#.
$420
The Hun:
Asymmetrical, the upper limb is 4.5 inches longer than the lower! No, it does not make the bow unbalanced or throw the arrow funny. But it does make it the best bow for horseback archery When strung the syhas rest so far forward that the string has to be held in place. This is accomplished with a fin along the back of sihas that the loops of the string lay on either side of. The bow throws an arrow at a velocity equal to a long bow of half again its draw weight. I know that does not sound right. I did not believe it at first, but I have come to enjoy the looks on experienced archers' faces as they watch the trajectory of the Hun's arrows. This is a precision instrument and is not forgiving. It gives you amazing efficiency but the design is limited to under 45#. It is 62 inches tall strung and unstrung. It has a 59 inch string. It does not start stacking until 36 inches of draw. The bow weights 2 lb 6oz. It is only made in weights from 27# to 45#.
$480
The Pony:
Intended as a children's bow this flat bow draws nicely all the way to 28 inches. It is built as one solid piece of fiberglass from tip to tip. This is a different and less costly construction method than the horsebows with their syhas and complex curves. The belly of the Pony is wrapped in leather, giving it a very nice look. The handle is also leather and built up to an arrow rest.
The Pony comes in three weights:
# Green 23# at 26" / 25# at 28"
# Red 30# at 26" / 35# at 28"
# Black 38# at 26" / 45# at 28"When strung it is 53 inches long, unstrung 56 inches.
$130
The Colt:
This is a first rate children's bow. It draws nicely up to 24 inches, over that it is not very efficient. This bow has no syhas so it is a simple recurve. With its high quality re-creation of ancient beauty and unusual sturdiness it is popular with adults that play a "paint ball" like game with specialized arrows. It weighs 1 lb. 2 oz. and it is 48 inches tall strung and 50 inches unstrung. It is rugged enough to be over drawn to 28 inches but does not perform well over 24 inches. Available from 15# to 36# (measured at 20 inches).
$175
