Windauer’s clients gravitate toward exotic woods from Central America and Africa, and from there they can choose their features. Windauer started working for Schafer when he was in high school, and bought the business when Schafer passed away more than 21 years ago. Schafer (who perfected his bow design in 1977) named his business after the first silvertip grizzly he shot back in 1974. “My trademark has been innovation as far as different bow designs, both in how they shoot and how they take down,” he says.Ĭolumbia Falls, MT | ĭave Windauer builds around 80 bows per year using a technique he inherited from his mentor, Paul Schafer. Clients can choose from a list of exotic woods that includes black and white ebony, and the native mountain juniper he collects himself. Robertson’s most popular models tend to change with new innovations, but “The Wolfer” (a two-piece, take-down recurve) is a current bestseller. “Bowhunting and archery to me was something that was challenging, and there was the romance of it and the history.”

“When the compound bow came out and got popular, I wanted to go the exact opposite way and started building bows that are all wood construction,” he says. “tribal flare” design to facilitate two wood types and a colorful handle radius.ĭick Robertson guesses that he’s turned out around 5,000 bows since he started in 1978, originally making them for his own use. A 60-inch Fatal Styk Z recurve three-piece take-down bow, featuring a handle with a

Custom recurve bow