I just went to Cabelas and test drove a couple of bows. The parker EZ draw, and the Parker UL31. Now I could talk about how nice the ez draw was but the bow I went to shoot and was both interested and excited about was the UL31. I am now however at a loss! When I shot it it was by far the loudest bow I had ever shot and the literally felt like a ruler rapped my hands.

My question is this. The guy who set it up just kind of winged it. I could see right away the knock was significantly off. Just how much can a knock off by 12 to 3/4 of an inch affect the hand shock experianced in shooting?? I am 6"4 and built solid and this thing rang my arm. Can anyone tell me if this is the expected affect or is the bow really that rough?

My goal is to determine if I need to drive to another city to get a fair test drive (in ND there aren't many bow shops near by). I

nock point wont effect the "jump" much . a simms enhanser 2000 would take alot of that out . the parker ul31 is IMO for short draw archers , being 6'2" , I doubt you fit in that catigory

That bow can be "tamed" with a good set of Limbsavers, a stabilizer and a few other things. It's very small light bow that will "jump" in your hand, especially at higher poundage and longer draw length's. In it's time it was a great little bow, and still is really if your willing to tame it. On the other hand, their are lot's of other bows that won't require as much work.

While you were at Cabelas if they had one you should have tried a Reflex bow. Pretty good value for the money.

Or a Diamond! The wife and her brother both had Parker UL's and they do kick but they were quiet.

I would go back and shot a Parker Phoenix 36. It is a decent sized bow for tree stand use as well as still being forgiving to a taller and longer draw archer such as yourself. Plus they are the only bow I have shot or hear that was on the same noise level as the Mathews Switchback which is almost none at all.

The Parkey 34 is also a nice bow, with more brace and speed than the the 36 if I remember correctly but with your height I might lean towards the longer ATA bow. Quiet is a good description but there are lots of quiet bows out there right now. The new Jennings bow are quiet and low shock too, at least the one I shot was and it was a bare string bow. I don't think it was as fast as the Parkers but I don't think the Jennings was really lacking in the department either.

I was never a fan of the ultralight's draw cycle, really felt it role over, the Phoenix cam was much nicer.

I would have to agree with others here have stated... that the hand shock in the Parker UL31 can be tamed significantly with the right vibration dampening accessories... I currently own 2 Parker UL31's ...one camo for hunting and one I use for 3D Archery Competitions.. as seen below

I as you noticed a pretty harsh hand shock when I shot the bare bow , But I was very impressed with the bows accuracy and performance and the bow met the criteria I was looking for in a bow at the time ... being only 5'4 with a 26 inch draw and shooting 50-60lbs the bow seems to fit me like a glove... I knew that once I outfitted the bow with all the vibration dampening goodies I could tame the hand shock and noise... and it worked ...I have had folks comment on the quietness of the bow... and the bow has performed wonderfully for 3D archery and for bowhunting..... I have tried many different stabilizers on the UL31's from Doinkers to Vibracheck etc... and found the Carbon Impact 3 Carbon Rod 10.5 inch stabilizer to work the best for vibration dampening and quieting the bow for 3D and I sometimes use the 24 inch 4 rod stabilizer ..depending on what class I am competeing in for 3D comp.and I used the carbon Impact 10.5 carbon rod stabilizer for bowhunting last year on my Phoenix 34 and was very successful with it.
If you are focused on purchaseing a Parker bow looking for a VERY QUIET smooth shooting bow check out the Parker Phoeinix 34... it is the quietest bow I have hunted with so far

My thoughts as well. I had owned a Parker UL31 a few years back. It was probably the lightest adult bow on the market at the time. That, coupled with the energy it was putting out made it exhibit more "jump" or recoil than the Fred Bear Epic Extreme my budding was shooting next to me. Noise level was not something that I noticed to be significantly different than other bows on the range at the time.

Also, if the bow is not set up at least close to perfect (a subjective phrase) then less energy will be imparted to the arrow thus allowing the energy to disperse into the bow in the form of both recoil and noise.

Hope this helps.

I shhot a Parker Phoenix 32 and it was purchased at Bass Pro as a complete package, sight, quiver, arrows, and WB. The bow is whisper quiet, and accurate enough to make you shoot 1 arrow into each circle on the target. Its factory supression with the addition of a stabilizer is all I did.