Thank you all who have reached out offering kind words of encouragement or consolation. It means the world to me and I cannot express how much it’s been appreciated. We’re trying to help get my mother reestablished now and it’s a challenging process. This has slowed many of the new projects down, and currently, the focus has been on finish quality over experimentation. We deeply appreciate your understanding as we get through this.
Moving into spring, it seems best to address the differences and options between the Tribute and Royal Huntsman since simplifying the lineup. It can certainly be confusing given how much was changed over the last two years. So to address a few of the more frequently asked questions, the Tribute is built using the Spirit riser and the limb shape of the early Imperial blended with the Original. This made for a stable, quick bow that’s not as sensitive and easier to shoot while only losing a small bit of arrow speed. If you have an Original, Spirit, or Native the Tribute is the replacement for these models and will behave similarly to each.
The Royal Huntsman, on the other hand, uses the Imperial riser and a modified version of the Original limb profile. The Huntsman is essentially a one-piece version of the old Delta takedown I’d built years ago, modified with the updates that I’ve since incorporated into each build. This is the best shooting longbow I’ve ever designed. The large riser is very stable and the limbs are faster and less sensitive than previous models. If you have an Imperial or Delta, the Royal Huntsman is a replacement for these models.
The Tribute and the Royal Huntsman shoot very similarly. The Tribute is slightly slower than the Huntsman (~5 fps), all things equal, and will have more recoil in the hand. The Tribute is only available with a lower wrist grip due to the smaller riser. At 62″ both bows can be set up to be just as quiet, and both will produce about the same noise with a bare string and no bow quiver. The Tribute is designed to offer the maximum value to our customers, trading customization for reliability. The Royal Huntsman is slightly more refined and is the best shooter I can offer. For the remainder of this year, I will be working to better address the custom options desired in the Royal Huntsman.
For the Royal Huntsman, more material and layout options are in the works. There are several new kinds of wood that we’re hoping to source for next year now that we’ve rebuilt our drying boxes. Many have also reached out about the dymalux and carbon core options, and those will return this summer for sale. We’re currently working through pricing and establishing what we have available as well as what will fit into our budget to see where we can go from here. This will set up a new custom options list for the Royal Huntsman, although the standard options and pricing will remain the same.
