The Root Warrior- “ROOT BY SHAKESPEARE “

The Root Warrior

“ROOT BY SHAKESPEARE “

THE ROOT ARCHERY DIVISION OF THE 

SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

by Larry Vienneau

 

a 1964 example of a Root Warrior Recurve

William Shakespeare Jr. invented a patent for his fishing reel and began producing fishing equipment in the late 1800s. During the 20th century, Shakespeare became a major producer of sporting equipment. In 1959 Shakespeare Corporation acquired Parabow, the Ohio-based Parallel Plastics Company, a maker of archery equipment that later was organized into Shakespeare's Archery subsidiary.  In early 1959 Shakespeare began a collaboration with a gifted bow maker Ernie Root and they introduced their first fiberglass and wood laminated bows, Model 100 - 600.                See post: http://shakespearearchery.blogspot.com/2013/08/early-shakespeare-bows-model-100-model.html

With Mr. Root's vision and expertise, Shakespeare created outstanding and affordable bows. During the 1960s, Ernie Root also maintained his own line of archery equipment. Root Archery started as a family business in suburban Chicago. After outgrowing a couple of small spaces it moves out of the city, eventually settling in Big Rapids, MI. Most people assumed that Shakespeare acquired Root Archery in the late 1960s. Ernie Root’s Son Lawrence Root has been adding to the knowledge and now it seems that it was more of a mutually beneficial merger rather than an acquisition.  Root Archery had been a supplier to Shakespeare for several years. Around the late 60's he sold a number of his designs to Shakespeare, who trimmed them down and renamed them. For example, The Root Warrior became the Necedah in 1964 as a 55” bow, and The Brush Master became the Kaibab, and the Field Master became the Ocala. The first bows of this type bore the name "ROOT BY SHAKESPEARE ". In truth Shakespeare should have labeled all of their bows~ “SHAKESPEARE BY ROOT” since Ernie Root was the driving creative and technical force behind the Archery division. Around 1968-69 Shakespeare bought the Root factories and production facilities, and it was known as “The Root Archery Division of the Shakespeare Company”. The “Root” name was dropped completely at the end of 1969, but Ernie Roots' design influence would continue, and Mr. Root became consultant and manager production. Shakespeare Archery Division moved to Columbia, SC in 1972-73 a move Mr. Root opposed. Ernie Root remained in Big Rapids, and he continued to build bows. Shakespeare faltered due to the poor management and their unwillingness to embrace the compound bow. Shakespeare closed its Archery division in 1976.  

Joe Zoppa's Root Warrior

The 58” Root Warrior was first introduced in 1964, the same year that Shakespeare introduced 55” The Necedah. The two bows are indistinguishable right down to the red feather rest. The Necedah eventually became a 58” bow in 1965.  The 1968 “Root by Shakespeare” Warrior at 58” and the 1968 Shakespeare Necedah 58” were very similar bows with different woods and AMO. In fact, the Root Warrior’s profile can be found in many of the Shakespeare Bows. 

Root Warrior 1964-70.” Root by Shakespeare” Warrior x100, 1968

• 58” AMO
• Weights 35- 60 lbs.
• Dark Brown Fiberglass
• Riser wood: Imbuya Wood
• Sight window:  5 1/2 inches center shot.
• Brace height: 8 inches
•  1 3/4(before 1968) and 2-inch-wide limb
• Imbuya and maple overlay
• Red feather arrow rest, calf hair, or leather strike plate
• arrow speed 12 shots avg. 410-grain arrow- 180.46 FPS

My left hand 45# Warrior Root by Shakespeare X100

My Warrior needed work on the riser. During its lifetime it may have been placed unprotected into the back of a pickup and taken down a rough road. Ironically the limbs and tip overlays were in excellent condition. The limbs were perfectly straight.

Since the Root Warrior, The Necedah, and Super Necedah share so many traits and lineage, I think comparing these bows is necessary.

Arrow speed- 12 shot average with 410 gr arrow

45 lb. Root Warrior x100 58" --180.45 FPS

38 lb. Super Necedah X30 ----169.11 FPS

52 lb. Super Necedah X30---- 182.90 FPS 
50 lb. Super Necedah x32------184.09 FPS

55 lb. Necedah 55” X26-------- 187.74 FPS

45 lb. Necedah 58"X26--------- 184.66 FPS

This summer I did a performance comparison of all of my 27 hunting bows. I shot Bear, Hoyt, Ben Pearson, Wing, Root, Samick recurve, and Shakespeare bows as well as four horse bows, two homemade sinew-backed bows, and three homemade longbows

The Necedah bow did very well, the 55” 55 lb. Necedah X26 finished 4^th overall and the 58” 45lb. Necedah X26 finished 6^th. I only tested my 52lb. Super Necedah x30 and it finished 14^th, in the middle of the pack. My Warrior arrived in September and I only shot one 300-round  with it, it finished in the top 1/3 of shooters so I can’t compare the score yet but my gut feeling is it will shoot more consistently than the Super Necedah because of the longer limbs.

I had the chance to shoot the 45 lb. 58” Necedah X26 with the 45 lb. 58” Warrior on a 3D target course. After a day of shooting I think I have a near tie with the advantage going to the Warrior (I didn’t lose one arrow). The bow is a very smooth shooter, with very little hand shock and very little noise, unlike my Super Necedah X30 which is a loud bow.  I think it outshot my Necedah on several of the longer 35-40 yard shots due to its center shot construction. 

Root by Shakespeare Warrior x100 at the range

The Warrior is another fine example of the beauty and expertise of Ernie Root's design. Ernie Root was a tournament champion; his bows met a high standard of performance. Many Bear and Hoyt enthusiasts might be shocked to learn that Shakespeare and Root bows finished with 6 of the top 10 finishes in my “competition” and 3 of the top 5. After two more 300 rounds with the Warrior, I will have to rewrite the article. With a few tweaks to the tuning, I am confident this bow could surpass the Necedah.

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.

The Root BRUSH MASTER Recurve

Ernie Root’s Brush Master Recurve

by Larry Vienneau

Ernie Root was one of the preeminent bowyers of the golden age of archery, his ability was appreciated by other famous bowyers with whom he often collaborated such as Harry Drake, Phil Grable, Owen Jeffery, and of course Fred Bear.  Ernie Root is famous for his collaboration with Shakespeare Archery, but few people know that Root also made bows for Browning, Colt Industries, and Anderson Archery. Root also made bows for several department stores, such as JC Penny, and even for the US Military (many show up in German online auctions). Root created divisions within his company to oversee production and distribution. Archery Research oversaw the Golden Eagle production.   In 1967 Bob Bitner shot the first perfect 300 score at the US Open in Las Vegas with a Root Golden Eagle.  In fact, it can be argued that Ernie Root was responsible for the birth of several archery manufacturers such as Shakespeare, Proline, and Dalton to name a few. In 1976 Own Jeffery bought out all of the molds and equipment and continues the tradition in the Jeffery Archery line. Ernie Root had endless energy.  He actually had time to continue his own line of archery equipment while he was overseeing production at Shakespeare and other companies. Ernie was a busy man.

1959 Ad showing the typical look of a 1950s Root bow

Like many bows of the late 1950 and early 1960s, the older Root Bows had a longbow-style grip and a slim riser. Around the early '60s Root Bows started to resemble what we now see in one-piece recurves, They had contoured grips, exotic woods, and a more sculptural quality in the higher-end models.

Root Brush Master was a beautiful multi-use bow. It could be used as a target bow and as a hunting weapon. Ernie Root’s designs are very obvious when you look at the profile of Shakespeare bow. For example, the Brush Master design was used for the Shakespeare Kaibab X27 and even the Shakespeare Ocala X17.

'66 Brush Master and '67 Kaibab ADs

 

Kaibab, Ocala vs. Brush Master

"The Brush Master is exactly what its name implies - a master of brush hunting" -1968 Root Catalog

The “Stabilized handle section” is one of the many qualities of this powerful weapon designed by Ernie Root. This hunting bow was a full power working recurve with a 3 ½ inch full view center shot sight window. This was one of the first true center shot bows. The wide riser dissipates stress at full draw. The tapered limbs designed by Root assure a smooth even draw. Selected imported hardwoods were sculpted to a perfect fit grip for comfort and efficiency in shooting. Root loved new technology. He was one of the first to experiment with multi-material laminations. The 1968 Brush Master incorporated a phenolic I-beam (resin) with exotic hardwoods.

Root Brush Master 1958-68?

• Length 58”
• Weight 30# - #60
• Brace height 8” 
• Limbs 2 inch
• Riser: multi-hardwood lamination. 1968 Phenolic resin with hardwood
• 3 ½ center shot window
• Feather rest leather plate
• Fiberglass: early woven, after 1963 parallel
• laminated tip overlays
• arrow speed 184.84 FPS ( 12 shots, 410 gr arrow, avg.)

My 1969 Root Brush Master

I bought a beautiful 1969 Brush Master in an auction. The auction photos showed a bow in fine condition. When I received it the condition was even better than I expected. After a little cleaning, new string, and replacing the rest and missing strike plate; I was ready to shoot. It was a very pleasant experience. My bow is 44 pounds but it shoots at the speed of a heavier bow. There is NO hand shock and it is a very steady shooter. Obviously, the “Stabilized Handle Section” work exceeding well. From the first few shots I saw good groups which got better the longer I shot the bow, the resin I-beam adds weight to the riser which also added to the stability. I was also impressed with the arrow speed. I felt it was faster than heavier bows. I have tested the bow with 12 shots with a 410-grain arrow and it averaged 184.84, very impressive!  It IS faster than many of my heaver bow

Fred Bear and Ernie Root were friends and Bear had great respect for Root’s ability as a bowyer, yet contemporary collectors consistently prefer the more plentiful Bear bows over the much rarer Root bows. In fact, if you look at the availability of Bear bows versus other scarcer bow makers, Bear bows are abundant, and it seems that name recognition alone is fueling the buying. After shooting this bow I just can’t figure out why Root Bows don’t have a stronger following.  This bow is incredibly beautiful and it is a joy to shoot. 

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.