ABOUT US
The History of Great Northern Bow Co.
Great Northern Bowhunting Company was born during the summer of 1982. A burning desire to create these sleek hunting weapons soon became reality as Jerry and Rick were brought together quite by accident and with no initial plan to become part of the resurgence of real bowhunting. As soon as the first few yet unnamed bows were created it became apparent that these two bowhunters had a new purpose in life.
In these times before instructional videos, "how to" books, and magazines... all was learned by trial and error. Eventually there emerged a new style of sleek, simply designed, functional hunting bow. This sleekness, combined with unequaled craftsmanship and performance has made Great Northern one of the most sought after bows on the market today.
Each and every bow is carefully handcrafted one at a time. All of the core woods used are cut, milled and air dried by Great Northern. The laminations are cut and custom ground for each bow using only the very best of woods. Great Northern offers you your choice of woods, from traditional Osage, Hickory, or Elm to exotic veneers with bamboo core. Keep in mind as you browse thru these pages that any bow's performance is 95% by design of bow.
The bows are very carefully laid up using the best epoxies and adhesives. They are then heat cured and slowly cooled to room temperature. From this "bow blank" the finished longbow or recurve is hand crafted to meet the customer's specifications. The bows are then sanded and finished with a tough epoxy finish in either a flat "hunter" finish or gloss finish. The finish used is far superior to that on most bows. It is harder, tougher, and yet more flexible against chipping and cracking in any weather.
The innovative designs of these two bowyers also bring you the Jack Knife series of folding bows, the only hinged bow on the market today. And to compliment these bows, Great Northern has created the Professional Bow Quiver, the perfect companion when quick arrow accessibility and convenience is needed, again considered by most as being the best bow quiver on the market.
After 35 plus years of living out his dream of building custom bows and hunting equipment Jerry retired. He sold the company to his oldest son, Bob Brumm who had owned Great Northern Quiver Company for several years.
Now in 2020 we have purchased the bow business from Bob, who has taken the business to a higher level with the resurgence of traditional archery. Great Northern Bow Co. is now separate from the quiver company that Eric McKee now operates.
Our Family
Personally, our family has known the Brumm family for many years, sharing in their love of traditional archery. We are honored to be carrying on this legacy and hope to make them proud by continuing the legacy of the bows designed by Jerry and Rick almost 40 years ago.
Our family enjoys all types of archery and has an appreciation for all archery. Our kids have been shooting since they were old enough to hold a bow. We look forward to pouring our love for archery into Great Northern Bow Co..
The Reitsma Family
Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Genesis 27:3