woodland archery / rudder bows

[douglasb]

hi,
          i am new to this site , just had a question for you guys  what do you all think of woodland archery or rudder bows  i got one of thier penobscot kit bows.

[El Destructo]

The Latin Language has an Old Creedo......Caveat Emptor.....Let The Buyer Beware......Nuff Said.......

[sailordad]

rudder bows, alot of folks on here will bash them
i have done a fair amount of business with  Jim
was always happy with what i got

my wife bought me a b/i 3 piece takedown kit from them for x-mas
i will say this about Jims products "THEY HAVE GONE DOWN HILL IN A HAND BASKET"
ive never bad mouthed him in the past,hell i ALWAYS stood up for him on this site
but that ends as of my most recent (or the wifes actually) purchase from them
the boo backing strips that are SUPPOSED to be planned down and ready for use
i will have to figure out a way to plan them down and make them thin enough for use
the ipe slats that came with it are of uneven thicknes(one compared to the other)
they also have sander marks in the in spots that are so friggen deep i dont know if they are even gonna be usable once i get them
sanded smooth and to the same thickness

so my advice from now to any who asks is gonna be this
"STAY AWAY FROM HIS PRODUCT,UNLESS YOU LIKE SPENDING HARD EARNED CASH FOR AND WORKING WITH INFERIOR PRODUCTS)

im not one that likes to send this stuff back,solely because as  his customer i am responsibe for return shipping costs(see his warranty policy on this )
not to mention its up to him once he gets it back to decide wether or not its to be warranteed or not
so like i said,its my first bad ordeal with him and it will be my last
you would think i the economic times we are living in that people selling products would want them to be to the best of their abilities and not SUB PAR
its poor product that turns more people off of being a return customer,especially under these economic times
 like Mike said   "CAVEAT EMPTOR"    NUFF SAID 

[douglasb]

my daughter ordered a penobscot double bow for me for christmas from woodland archery. when we got it ,  it didnt look like what we had ordered .i e-mailed jeremy bays the owner  and asked him why it didnt look like the one we thought we were getting that we paid $150.00 for, he said  because its not the same he makes a different type the one i got he said was made by jim boswell at rudder bows, i freaked out on him and said we wanted our money back and he has been jerkin us around ever since saying that since there are no defects in workmanship i am not intitled to a refund , forget the fact its not what we ordered.

[JW_Halverson]

Everyone knows that the unhappy customer is the only one you hear from, the happy customers just go their merry way.  In this forum, however, people tend to speak up and praise dealers and fellow traders when things go right.  Having said that, it seems in prior posts involving Rudderbows there is a level of dissatisfaction that is unsettling. 

[medicinewheel]

Rudderbows... not again... 

[El Destructo]

Frank....Not just Rudderbows...now He has someone else selling His wares under a different Name....Woodland Archery...go there and look at the pictures of the Bows and Kits...look like the same Bows to me....JMO

[Scowler]

I've never ordered any bowmaking materials from Jim Boswell (Rudderbows).  However, I have ordered several finished bows from them in the past.  I'm not a bowyer so I can't debate the pros/cons of bow construction but the bows I purchased seem well made, shoot well, and have last for quite awhile.  I don't know anything about Woodland Archery.  I have never purchased any bow making or arrow making materials from Rudderbows so I can't say anything about that.     

[medicinewheel]

Frank....Not just Rudderbows...now He has someone else selling His wares under a different Name....Woodland Archery...go there and look at the pictures of the Bows and Kits...look like the same Bows to me....JMO

To me, too.
He'd been here under different names, too, wasn't he?

[El Destructo]

Yep....He has...

[osage outlaw]

I have never done business with him, but I've seen his ads and checked out his site.  I won't ever buy anything from him.  I have heard enough from unsatisfied customers to make up my mind.  Seems like a crapshoot on if his products are any good or not.  And anyone that has to change his name on bow making forums to try to sell their products can't be trusted in my opinion.

[Tim B]

With all the people here on this site giving their wisdom and experiences I would rather make an attempt no matter how much or little experience you may have working with wood to make my own bow and see what happens. The absolute worst thing that will happen is you will have a bow that fails and learn from your mistakes and gain a wealth of knowledge from your try at it and all who post here to help you. I've never bought anything from a vendor for a self bow or laminate but have had many good people here on this site help me out with a lot of the problems I have ran into. Its a lot of fun to boot even if they don't stay in one piece. Just watch out for the flying pieces when they blow!

[El Destructo]

                                                                    ............. .............

[1776J]

If you want to run the risk of having to deal with someone who will rip you off, go right ahead....
it's not about "bashing", its about bad experiences with the fellow..... sadly.
 

[Dane]

Might as well chime in. The guy ripped me off as well, not for a lot of money, but still. It was an order of Tonkin cane that was less than advertised. If I were you, I'd stay clear of him. Companies like that should really go out of business, especially ones preying on a very, very honest group of folks, which I have found bow makers to be.

I do hope Jim is reading this, the little dirtbag. Something tells me he does read things pertaining to his company.

Dane