THE WAMBAW Model X5, X12

Shakespeare Wambaw Model X5, X12

 by Larry Vienneau

There are several Shakespeare hunting bows named after famous hunting regions and national forests. THE WAMBAW is named after Wambaw Creek Wilderness in South Carolina. The word Wambaw may be derived from an extinct Native American dialect combined with an African language.

Wambaw Model X5 (1974?), X12 1975.

• AMO 58”
• Brace Height: 8-9 inch
• Riser pistol grip style- X12 has five-piece wood lamination, X5 one piece of exotic hardwood.
• Tips - X12 wood overlay, X5 no overlays 
• Riser window 5 inch
• Limbs:  1 3/4 inch in Black Glass
• Weights: 40lb, 45lb, 50lb, 55lb
• X 12 Stabilizer insert, X5 no insert
• Arrow speed for X12: 12 shots average, 410-grain arrow 45lb bow-173.62 FPS

My 45# Wambaw X12

Wambaw X5

There is very little information online about this bow since Archeryarchives.com closed.

There are two models listed in the 1975 catalog, the X5 and the X12. I have gathered some information from chat rooms, blogs, and auction sites. I own a 1975 catalog and found the X12 listed in the catalog. It is unclear if the X5 was released in 1974. The X5 model was not included in the 1974 catalog. The X5 has a similar shape, but there is no laminate, no stabilizer insert, no tip overlay, and no stabilizer insert. According to the 1975 catalog, the X12 isn't the first design. The X5 has the new Buck logo and Shakespeare Archery Equipment logo and a sticker found on 1970s bows. I believe the X5 was a 1974 bow. From the decals the X-5 shows it was produced in 1974 yet appears in no catalog or advertising. This is around the time Shakespeare Archery was in turmoil. Perhaps this inconsistency reflects this?

my Left Hand Wambaw X12 with Lewis Kent's Right Hand Wambaw X5

nock comparison between an X5 and X12

I had never actually held an X5 until Lewis Kent won his bow. I have only seen two at auctions and one of them my friend Lewis Kent won. I photographed his right-hand bow with his left-hand bow to compare the differences between these two models. The nocks on the models are quite different. The X5 has no tip overlays but X12 does, and X12 has a string grove.

X5 can't be a mid-1960s bow because the marking is from the 1970s

 I had first thought that the X5 was a mid-1960s model that had been resurrected. But now, looking at Lewie's bow it is obvious that the X5 is from the same period,  it is from 1974 and one of the last of the Shakespeare bows.

Serial number shows this X5 is 1974 and the X12 is 1975

The really interesting thing is that these X5 and X12 bows even have different serial numbers. The X5 ends with a "T" which is the letter found on a Sierra X18. The X12 ends with a "C". The only way to date the X5 is by serial number which dates Lewis Kent's bow as a 1974 product. The X5 is an oddball, it is a rare bow, it does not appear in any catalogs and if it is one of the last of the Shakespeare bows, why the heck did they number it X5??? The Purist X4 and Graduate X6 are both 1974-75 bows, perhaps there is sequential significance, but why the different number X12? Why not X8? 
Virtually every reference to this bow is a positive review, most call it “a greatly underrated bow” I can’t find any advertising material on the bow either. It is a bit fancier than another Shakespeare of the same period. It has multiple laminate woods in the riser, and it has wood overlay tips similar to The Necedah. In auctions, it can go from $50 - $200 for RH and even higher for LH but the value depends on the condition of the bow. Like many recurve bows it may have suffered the same fate as most recurves – the introduction of the compound bow. Recurves quickly fell out of fashion, or, in the case of Shakespeare Archery, the manufacturers went out of business. Shakespeare closed its archery division in 1975.  Personally, I was very surprised by this bow. I paid more than I wanted to for my bow but the lefty bows are hard to come by so I bit the bullet. Since there wasn’t much information on the bow, I thought it might not be worth what I paid….I was wrong. I tested it against my #45 Bear Kodiak Magnum. The #45 Wambaw is just as smooth and accurate. It is becoming one of my favorite bows.

The moral of the story is. Don’t trust the hype- Bears are great bows but you can buy an equally fine shooting bow by Shakespeare for half the price. 
It was true in the 1960s-70 and it is still true in the 21^st century.

© Copyright, Larry Vienneau Jr.

All rights reserved.