Colorado sunset over the Rocky Mountains

Colorado · Est. 1960

Bows built by hand
since 1960.

A return to wood, string, and instinct. The shop opens soon.

The Maker

Sixty-five years at the bench.

J.K. "Keith" Chastain founded Wapiti in 1960. He has been making bows ever since — shaping limbs, tuning risers, sending each one out under his own name.

Wapiti is entering its next chapter under new stewardship. Keith's standards carry forward. The name carries forward. The work continues from the same bench, by hands he taught.

Quiet, careful, made one at a time.

A Manifesto, Briefly

Thirty thousand years of practice. Still the best teacher.

Traditional archery is a stick, a string, and a person who has learned to be honest with both. No cams. No sights. No release aid. Nothing between the shot and the shooter.

What you give up is reach. What you gain is harder to package: a quieter draw, a slower decision, a relationship with the animal that asks something of you.

If you shoot a compound, we are not here to argue with your equipment. It works. It works very well.

But some of you have started to wonder what was traded away to make it work that well. This is for you. Come back to the wood. The bows are waiting.

The Bows

Two lines. Built to last a lifetime.

Each bow is made to draw weight, length, and hand. Built to be shot for thirty years, not traded in next season.

Wapiti takedown recurve riser and limbs from multiple angles

Hand-signed Wapiti riser showing figured wood grain

Close-up of Wapiti riser bolt and limb detail

Pair of Wapiti risers with hand-written specifications

Recurves

Coming soon

Wapiti recurves are not surpassed in smoothness of draw and arrow speed — two qualities that are difficult to combine in one bow. Crowned arrow shelf, designed to shoot off the shelf, cut to the riser centerline (never past, which is dangerous in a wood riser). The same limb design is also available in takedown form: a budget-friendly bolt-and-pin Big Bull, the two-bolt-per-limb TD (rigid, noiseless, time-tested), and the SL with a dovetail slide-lock system that assembles in about five seconds.

Models in the line

Wapiti SR — Wapiti Raghorn — Big Bull — Wapiti TD — Wapiti SL

Wapiti longbow riser with hand-written specifications

Close-up of Wapiti longbow limb detail and specs

Longbows

Coming soon

Light in hand, rugged, and exceptional for the bowhunter who wants a return to traditional archery. Standard reflex construction with straight, dished, or semi-pistol grips and leather wrap. The full longbow experience is also available with travel convenience: two-piece models (Spike, Yellowstone) and a three-piece Bugle for when length becomes a problem.

Models in the line

Wapiti Yellowstone — Wapiti Spike — Bugle three-piece

Keith Chastain at work in the Wapiti shop

The Heritage Series

A small run, from Keith's own shelves.

Bows from Keith's original inventory — refinished and tuned by hand by the new team, under his direction. Each one numbered. Each one signed.

When they are gone, they are gone. We expect the first release to be small.

Limited·Numbered·Finished by hand

The Shop Opens Soon

Be the first to know.

One note when the shop opens. One more when the Heritage Series releases. Nothing else.

Bows built by handsince 1960.