She made it here just before the end of the Illinois archery season, but I was still hard at it (had a mid-130's buck within 125 yards for the better part of two hours the second-to-last day of the season; one time he approached to within 51 yards, but nine sets of female eyeballs protected him... but that's another story for another time.) Throw in five days of absence for the ATA show and my agonizing wait was finally over. I eagerly tore at the metal staplessecuring my long-awaited prize andunwrapped her from her cardboard confines.
Therehavebeen a few other bows that I have found simply awe-inspiring at first sight as Ieasedthem free from their containers because of the level of craftsmanship heaped upon them (My first Guardian comes to mind instantly... flaunting its beveled edges along its riser amid other intricate touches. In fact, I chose the 2008 version of that bow to accompany my 82nd on its journey from Eugene, Or., to ensure she wouldn't be lonely in the Fed Ex truck.
) This bow took it to a whole new level.
As I looked upon my new 82nd for the first time, I was struck by her graceful lines. She seemed somehow classy... almost elegant, yet at the same time she looked as if she were restraining an unbridled power within her just beneath the surface. My soul stirred, recalling a primeval urge dating centuries back. Power... Kings of old aspired to it, countries were divided because of it, and blood was spilled in its pursuit. Ah, yes... blood will be spilled again. This bow will see to it.
Allowing your eye to follow thosegraceful lines brings you tothe source for all that unbridled power --quite possibly the finest-looking cams that have adorned any of my bows. For all their beauty though, they have one purpose in mind: to spit forth an arrow withunmitigated energy. My 82nd lit up the Custom Chrono Heavy Duty Pro Shop Meter to the tune of 337 fps before leaving the factory-- at a 29" draw. Yep, that's a mere 3 fps shy of 350 fps when corrected to IBO specs. For comparison's sake, my new Guardian which I opened a few minutes later tripped the lights at 311 fps at the same setting.
But for all her speed, for all her power... she's a sheer delight to behold. Her touch is soft and warm, belying what she's capable of. Bowtech calls that softness "Invelvet", and its a modern-day miracle that will surely be the downfall of many a North American large game animal -- covering up the not-so-subtle "tinks" and other such noises made by careless hunters bumping their treestands.
Her beauty shows through not only in her graceful lines, but her crisp and vibrant patterns which are transferred flawlessly by Waterdog Surface Technologies, a Bowtech subsidiary which dips all its bows. Waterdog also does the dipping for the Stealth stabilizer adorning this bow, providing a perfect marriage for not only function but appearance as well.
A bow so aesthetically pleasing wouldn't stand to have its visage marred by exposed limb-bolt threads, and the rubber bushing hiding the bolt is an especially nice touch. It shows no excessive compression when the limbs are bottomed, and is just thick enough to do its job when backed out to minimum weights.
The grip provides just the right amount of material to firmly seat itself onto your thumb pad, minimizing excessive hand torque. The slightly rounded back helps to keep the shooter from "levering" the bow from side to side, and is fitted with beautifully layered wood sideplates. Bowtech's shelf trough remains a carryover to this model, again allowing the Berger holes to be lowered closer to the shelf to lessen vertical torque as well.
The newly designed limb pockets follow the same graceful theme, caressing the limbs firmly with a look all their own.
I set her at 64 lbs and escaped outside, eager as a kid on Christmas to play with his new toy. I eased her back and felt her gently fall into the valley, and pulled hard against that now-familiar rock-solid Bowtech wall. The 36" axle-to-axle platform felt especially stable after watching the industry shift to shorter and shorter offerings. I appreciated the nice string angle afforded by the longer bow as it fell just beside the tip of my nose when anchoring.
Ten yards away from my new bag target, I attempted to take my elbow straight back until the bow unexectantly went off... I strained to listen for the bow's noise but couldn't tell you how loud it was -- not because there wasn't any, but because the arrow hit the bag a millisecond later than my release; the noise of the bow going off and the arrow thumping the bag was so close I almost couldn't discern which was which. My feelings of love at first sight were replaced with an even stronger feeling: Love at first shot.
I think I'm in love! (Or, the 82nd Airborne has landed!)
