After a short absence due to other commitments I'm back. So, I thought I would change things up a bit and head to South Africa. A place called East London. Where one Mr. Warrick Harvey of Harvey Archery resides. In my opinion the finest bowyers on the continent of Africa and beyond. For those of you out there that don't know of this man, I think you all should check him out. Warrick makes fantastic bows from his Crowned Eagle to the Raptor of which I have 2 Crowned Eagles at home and a custom Raptor on order. This man has access to the most amazing burl woods and limb veneers in the world. Really folks check these out!
If you are looking for a custom bow like nothing else, he is your man. For those of you who have ever watched Naked and Afraid. He has appeared in the latest season. For those of you who don't. It's a TVreality show where two people are dropped in a survival situation for 21 days. You guessed it naked with very little else. Warrick brought a bow he made and used it to get food. Which helped him and his partner survive the 21 days. Hats off to you Warrick. That must have been gruelling.
Anyway, I'm going to review the Crowned Eagle I received from him recently. In the last couple of weeks actually. Firstly it took a week to get here to Ireland by FedEx. Good time frame and it was a very reasonable shipping cost. Considering the state of the world at the moment. He sent photos of the build along the way. The box arrived and I opened it. Very well packaged - 100%. When I managed to get the bow out of the packaging. Which took a while might I add. My jaw dropped.
In a good way. This bow was better looking in the flesh than in the pictures. Really stunning thing as you will see in the pictures. Buckeye burl riser with g10 I beam for a bit of weight.Spattledbamboolimbswithblack and white ebony limb veneers. As the great Homer Simpson would say "Mmmmm drooling". The crowned Eagle is 49# at 28 inches. I asked for 50# but 1lb out is brilliant. Right on the button. Can't ask for more on that. Now to the shooting part of things…
For those of you with longer arms than most of us, this bow will draw comfortably out to 31 inches. That's the way he builds them. As he says himself, it's due to his longer draw. Even the shorter 56-inch goshawk. The Crowned Eagle I have here shoots well above its weight due to the shape of the limbs. It can fairly chuck a 500gr arrow with 5-inch helical fletching. As one of the lads in Laois Archy who shall remain nameless found out when he shot it. I think it's still flying and will be in South Africa soon.
So Warrick you better watch out for it! I want my arrow back. Haha… Seriously, people, his bows are AWESOME! If you are in the mood for a custom bow and want something like no other, check out Warrick Harvey. A truly great bowyer. I will be bringing the bows to the shoots for anyone who wants to see them and try them out. You won't be able to miss these. Hope you enjoyed this. Signing off now, until next time - NICK.
