THE SHAKESPEARE TIOGA X21

THE SHAKESPEARE WONDERBOW TIOGA X21

by Larry Vienneau

 

1968-69 Shakespeare Catalog

1970 Ad

All Shakespeare Hunting “X” bows are named after a majestic national wilderness area and hunting region. The Shakespeare Tioga x21 was named after the great deer hunting region in Pennsylvania known as the Tioga State Forest. The name Tioga is an Native American word meaning the meeting of two rivers (Tioga River and Pine Creek), and it is the name of a tribe of Seneca people who once occupied the area. The Tioga State Forest was named after this tribe of Indians
In 1967-1968 Shakespeare purchased Root Archery; Ernie Root‘s designs and technical skill had been the staple of Shakespeare Archery since their collaborations in the early 1960s. The Tioga is another perfect example of the Root/ Shakespeare design. The Tioga was designed as a “Dual Duty” bow, for both hunting and target use. Its 60 inch long limbs combined with the unusual 2 inch wide limbs create a bow with a smooth and powerful cast with a flat trajectory, perfect for hunting and target shooting. In fact the bow was field tested in the Tioga area. The Tioga bow was a mid-priced bow, first offered as in entry level bow with performance equal or superior to the more expensive bow of that era. Its riser is made from the now threatened Ocotea Porosa or Imbuya wood, also known as Brazilian Walnut. It also has distinctive Imbuya tip overlays. The pistol style of riser is very similar to the Sierra, the Manitou, the Mancos, the Pecos, and the Later Necedah models, the Super Necedah, the Wambaw and the Cascade. All of these bows were designed under the supervision of Ernie Root and Owen Jeffery (formerly of Bear Archery).   These two brilliant bowyers were crucial in the innovative riser and limb designs. During this period Shakespeare created groundbreaking design utilizing 2 – 21/2 wide limbs call Broad Bows, which create a smooth draw even at short bow lengths. The Tioga was a hybrid with wide limbs and longer length making it a very fine shooting bow.

Lewis Kent's beautiful 45 lb Tioga X-21

Tioga X21, 1968- at least 1970, 60 inches

• Full working recurve limbs
• Weight 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 pounds
• Glass; Dark brown, or mustard
• Handle Imbuya wood
• Semi-pistol grip
• Sight window 3 inches
• Brace height 8 1/2 inches
• Limbs 2 inch
• Imbuya tip overlays
• arrow speed 184.28 FPS ( 12 shots, 410 gr arrow, avg.) 

Tioga with dark brown glass

    There isn’t a lot of information available about the Tioga. Most references to it are found in auctions or briefly in archery online chat rooms. I was fortunate to have a 1968-69 Shakespeare catalog which features detailed description. I also have a couple Ads but they don’t offer any new information. The Tioga was sold separately and in a Hunting set that included the #45 bow, 6 target and six broadhead arrows, bow quiver, shooting glove, arm guard, arm guard, target, instruction booklet and bow stringer all for $100. 

The bow is scare but does show up occasionally in auction righties more often than lefties. My friend Lewis Kent snatched up a beautiful bow and has let me drool all over it. Yup,..jealous!! It is a right handed bow and I am lefty but that won’t stop me from trying shooting it (love being ambidextrous). When Lewis pulled it out of the bow I was very eager to see it and was struck by the slender tip overlays. Most Shakespeare nock tips are very substantial, a carry-over of the Root influence. However this bows tips were very long and slim, I measured a Necedah across the shoulder of the nock and found it was 8/10 of an inch and the Tioga was ½ an inch, a significant difference. I looked over all of my Shakespeare bows and discovered that the Tioga was the thinnest.   

Tioga had a very slender nock

The few Tioga photos I found online failed to show how beautiful this bow is. Lewis's bow has the mustard brown glass, the wood is a very rich dark variety of Imbuya, and the overlays are a lighter Imbuya. Lewis's bow also has the original “Hunters” rest, which is a cleaver rest that elevates the arrow slightly above the self. I have seen many photos but having the actual bow rest to examine make all the difference. 

1968-69 Shakespeare Catalog

This is a very well designed bow. The slim tips are elegantly designed, the riser is classic Root/Shakespeare outline, and the wide 2 inch, 60 inch long limbs with slender tips are capable of pushing an arrow in a flat flight path. Though this bow was offered at a medium price, its quality was easily on par with more expensive bows. It is an uncommon model for some unknown reason, perhaps it wasn’t produced in the high numbers of a Super Necedah, or maybe Tioga owners know a good thing and don’t want the let them go.  I look forward to owning a Tioga.
Update: November 9 2013
I finally have my Tioga! Lefty X21 Tioga bows are pretty hard to find. I posted in several online forums that I was looking for one. One day I received an email from someone with one. They sent excellent photos and I was hooked. I shot the bow the other day and was very impressed with it's performance. It's arrow speed is 184.28, The Tioga is an excellent shooter!!!

My 1968 Tioga X21, a sweet shooting bow!!!

 

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.