THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
08-22-2005, 09:02 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: CT, USA
Posts: 3,058
THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
could be ...but mostly pics....haven't had it long enough to do a "real" report.....OK Folks..here she is...ROSS CR337.
There's quite a few pics here, so if you are on dial-up, sorry
Also the camera is not so good..neither is it's operator at using it 
OK first up The whole bow both sides
Looks very much like a BowTech, no? Thats Realtree Hardwoods. Although the dip is nothing fancy (see the close ups) like Mathews uses with the Hardwoods, I kinda like the subtlety (mainly cos I hate Realtree). There are also no blotches, super light areasor crazy seams etc. Even the inside of the cutouts are well done!The limbs each have a seam that bisectsthe side of the limb nearly perfectly split in half! Quite a bit of care wastaken on this film dip
Closeup of the shelf area. That's a machined alum shelf, not rubber/plastic
While we are in the vicinity of the grip, here's a couple pics
As we all know, the grip is extremely crucial to good shooting. This grip is phenomenal. Small but meaty enough to feel in the hand. Best thing though is the way it is designed/machined: in combo with the sideplates it is*extremely* difficult to grab this thing incorrectly, a problem that plagues most companies (some way more than others). It is squared were it needs to be and rounded where it needs to be. If you get too much thumb into this grip it will be VERY apparent you are doing something incorrectly. Same with not getting the hand on the spine of the riser enough.
How about those limb pockets? These are dual locking pockets that have the tightest fit to riser I've seen. They are extrenely well machined and designed. I tried to get a detail picture of the (lack of) gap where pocket meets riser.
Tight, huh? It couldn't get any tighter without binding up.I did have a pic of how well the limbs fit in the pocket itself, but it was too blurry. Suffice to say, its extremely tight...tighter than most.
Ok..what's powering this baby? Looks to me like the single-cam design that Parker uses on it's Phoenix bows. But the module screws look to be in a different place compared to some pics I've seen of the Parker version. Ross may (or may not, not sure) have the same basic design with some improvements/changes?
I spent some time last year shooting a Phoenix. The Ross draws similar. Not quite as smooth as BowTech's freedom cam, but certainly not one of the more stout single cam designs. Very nice draw. Even at 80% (effective) letoff, there is no harsh buildup to peak, nor anydrastic dump into the valley. The wall is pretty good, but not nearly as hard as a draw stop style cam ala a Mathews Outback/LX or a BowTech: but it is not spongy either. It's quite similar to the Switchback in that respect. The Ross cam actually has a nice valley. It's a little wider than normal for a single,enough to where ifya creep a bit you know it without the string taking off away from you.Very comfy. The big difference between the Parker's design and this one is the lack of sensitivity. I purposefully shot this thing hard against the wall and creeping forward. If there was a big problem with nock travel(usually an issue to *some* extent on a modular single cam, and again some more than others), this is a good test to find out. The Ross,showed no impact change I could discern, which was not the case with the Phoenix or any other single cam bow that had some valley to it that I can remember. Very forgiving.
Now here is what I feel is the best feature that will be overlooked by most:
That would be pic of the stabilizer mounting hole (what most people would call the front, when technically it's the back of the bow)
Big deal? A little curve to it. Look some more
The above pic is from string side obviously with my hand up near the grip.
The whole riser curves outward toward the bow arm side at the stabilizer area up to the shelf. The sight window (which is cut way past center like a BowTech riser)fades back into the top riser section where it isinline with the lower area of therisernear the limb pocket. This is excellent design for two reasons:
1: Reduces Left-Right nock travel (not often discussed but more of an issue than horizontal nock travelfor accuracy/tuning) by making the shooting string track completely straight from idler to cam.
2) It is more ergonomic because it makes it much harder to torque the bow offlineas the gripping hand is not forcing as far towards the right (for a rh shooter).
Mathews accomplishes#1 by putting both limb pockets off center (withany of the bows thathave the "V-lock" pocket design)But it does nothing to help with #2 and in fact can make things worse as it's in essence putting the grip further *away* from the bow hand side (i.e. further to the right). Not a knock on Mathews, as at least they try to compensate with the pockets for having the string inline. Ross has taken a different (and better AFAIC) approach to solving the problem.
And it shows when shooting the bow. Lefts and rightsdon't stray nearly as far from center. The Ross also shot several different spined arrows to the same right left impact point. Even with varying diameters. Arrow flight out of the box was like a laser, even when just a cheap rest was slapped on, ahastily tied loopand both eyeballed. This is an extremely inherently accurate bow. I was crashing arrows from the first shot shooting instinctively, and later when sighting in the bow for the first time. Earlier the same day as I bought it, I was struggling (due to my lack of shooting in the past year) to shoot a 4" group at 20 yards with an extremelywell tuned bow with excellent quality arrows. Today I had one group in the 3" range (at 20 yrds), with the vast majority of 3 shots groups consisting of stacked arrows.
OK some more details: Out of the box, the Ross comes equipped with Sims Ultra Limbsavers, a Sims teflon cable slide, Sims string leeches, and Winners Choice string and cable. Brace height at the 65 pounds I have it set at (it's a 70 pound bow), is roughly 7.75". I have not measured the A2A.The cam/idler use sealed bearings along with teflonaxle spacers.I do not know what suggested retail is, but I did some research and have seen these bows ranging from $599 to $675 in price (perhaps the 34" version is less expensive). Considering the quality construction, attention to detail and the quality extras (Sims gear, WC string/cable) this is a bargain, compared to any bow I know of in the the same price range, and better than any of those selling for $50-$100 more in the shop I purchased from (which sells all the "big name" brands). TheC337 is extremely quiet, though not the quietest I've heard, and speed-wise I can tell she's no demon, nor is she too much of a slouch. This bow is all about accuracy and shootability, not blowin through the chrono.
I think Ross is going to be turning some heads for years to come if they keep building bows with this much attention to detail, and at the same time, the QC I've seen out of the current major manufacturers islacking in some way or downright poor comparitvely. I haven'tbought a bow this well crafted in recent years.
There's quite a few pics here, so if you are on dial-up, sorry
Also the camera is not so good..neither is it's operator at using it OK first up The whole bow both sides
Looks very much like a BowTech, no? Thats Realtree Hardwoods. Although the dip is nothing fancy (see the close ups) like Mathews uses with the Hardwoods, I kinda like the subtlety (mainly cos I hate Realtree
). There are also no blotches, super light areasor crazy seams etc. Even the inside of the cutouts are well done!The limbs each have a seam that bisectsthe side of the limb nearly perfectly split in half! Quite a bit of care wastaken on this film dipCloseup of the shelf area. That's a machined alum shelf, not rubber/plastic
While we are in the vicinity of the grip, here's a couple pics
As we all know, the grip is extremely crucial to good shooting. This grip is phenomenal. Small but meaty enough to feel in the hand. Best thing though is the way it is designed/machined: in combo with the sideplates it is*extremely* difficult to grab this thing incorrectly, a problem that plagues most companies (some way more than others). It is squared were it needs to be and rounded where it needs to be. If you get too much thumb into this grip it will be VERY apparent you are doing something incorrectly. Same with not getting the hand on the spine of the riser enough.
How about those limb pockets? These are dual locking pockets that have the tightest fit to riser I've seen. They are extrenely well machined and designed. I tried to get a detail picture of the (lack of) gap where pocket meets riser.
Tight, huh? It couldn't get any tighter without binding up.I did have a pic of how well the limbs fit in the pocket itself, but it was too blurry. Suffice to say, its extremely tight...tighter than most.
Ok..what's powering this baby? Looks to me like the single-cam design that Parker uses on it's Phoenix bows. But the module screws look to be in a different place compared to some pics I've seen of the Parker version. Ross may (or may not, not sure) have the same basic design with some improvements/changes?
I spent some time last year shooting a Phoenix. The Ross draws similar. Not quite as smooth as BowTech's freedom cam, but certainly not one of the more stout single cam designs. Very nice draw. Even at 80% (effective) letoff, there is no harsh buildup to peak, nor anydrastic dump into the valley. The wall is pretty good, but not nearly as hard as a draw stop style cam ala a Mathews Outback/LX or a BowTech: but it is not spongy either. It's quite similar to the Switchback in that respect. The Ross cam actually has a nice valley. It's a little wider than normal for a single,enough to where ifya creep a bit you know it without the string taking off away from you.Very comfy. The big difference between the Parker's design and this one is the lack of sensitivity. I purposefully shot this thing hard against the wall and creeping forward. If there was a big problem with nock travel(usually an issue to *some* extent on a modular single cam, and again some more than others), this is a good test to find out. The Ross,showed no impact change I could discern, which was not the case with the Phoenix or any other single cam bow that had some valley to it that I can remember. Very forgiving.
Now here is what I feel is the best feature that will be overlooked by most:
That would be pic of the stabilizer mounting hole (what most people would call the front, when technically it's the back of the bow)
Big deal? A little curve to it. Look some more
The above pic is from string side obviously with my hand up near the grip.
The whole riser curves outward toward the bow arm side at the stabilizer area up to the shelf. The sight window (which is cut way past center like a BowTech riser)fades back into the top riser section where it isinline with the lower area of therisernear the limb pocket. This is excellent design for two reasons:
1: Reduces Left-Right nock travel (not often discussed but more of an issue than horizontal nock travelfor accuracy/tuning) by making the shooting string track completely straight from idler to cam.
2) It is more ergonomic because it makes it much harder to torque the bow offlineas the gripping hand is not forcing as far towards the right (for a rh shooter).
Mathews accomplishes#1 by putting both limb pockets off center (withany of the bows thathave the "V-lock" pocket design)But it does nothing to help with #2 and in fact can make things worse as it's in essence putting the grip further *away* from the bow hand side (i.e. further to the right). Not a knock on Mathews, as at least they try to compensate with the pockets for having the string inline. Ross has taken a different (and better AFAIC) approach to solving the problem.
And it shows when shooting the bow. Lefts and rightsdon't stray nearly as far from center. The Ross also shot several different spined arrows to the same right left impact point. Even with varying diameters. Arrow flight out of the box was like a laser, even when just a cheap rest was slapped on, ahastily tied loopand both eyeballed. This is an extremely inherently accurate bow. I was crashing arrows from the first shot shooting instinctively, and later when sighting in the bow for the first time. Earlier the same day as I bought it, I was struggling (due to my lack of shooting in the past year) to shoot a 4" group at 20 yards with an extremelywell tuned bow with excellent quality arrows. Today I had one group in the 3" range (at 20 yrds), with the vast majority of 3 shots groups consisting of stacked arrows.
OK some more details: Out of the box, the Ross comes equipped with Sims Ultra Limbsavers, a Sims teflon cable slide, Sims string leeches, and Winners Choice string and cable. Brace height at the 65 pounds I have it set at (it's a 70 pound bow), is roughly 7.75". I have not measured the A2A.The cam/idler use sealed bearings along with teflonaxle spacers.I do not know what suggested retail is, but I did some research and have seen these bows ranging from $599 to $675 in price (perhaps the 34" version is less expensive). Considering the quality construction, attention to detail and the quality extras (Sims gear, WC string/cable) this is a bargain, compared to any bow I know of in the the same price range, and better than any of those selling for $50-$100 more in the shop I purchased from (which sells all the "big name" brands). TheC337 is extremely quiet, though not the quietest I've heard, and speed-wise I can tell she's no demon, nor is she too much of a slouch. This bow is all about accuracy and shootability, not blowin through the chrono.
I think Ross is going to be turning some heads for years to come if they keep building bows with this much attention to detail, and at the same time, the QC I've seen out of the current major manufacturers islacking in some way or downright poor comparitvely. I haven'tbought a bow this well crafted in recent years.
08-22-2005, 09:19 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: CT, USA
Posts: 3,058
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
ORIGINAL: BGfisher
Nice bow. I do have to agree that the guy shooting the pics could use a bit of instruction in it's use.
Nice bow. I do have to agree that the guy shooting the pics could use a bit of instruction in it's use.
08-23-2005, 12:32 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eastern PA USA
Posts: 1,398
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
Thanks a bunch, Jeff. I can see where you could have some fun with that bow. Good explanation of the features you mentioned in the other post. The forgiveness of the valley sounds like a very good thing to have.
08-23-2005, 04:29 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 2,413
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
Nice overview Jeff. I like seeing new manufacturers coming out with slight variations on what's out there. Although I must say I detest locking limb pockets. They add nothing to a bow's shootability, yet up the cost and unneccessarily complicate things. Too gimicky for me.
Is the draw stop the type that hits the limb, or is it one where the cam hits the cable?
Is the draw stop the type that hits the limb, or is it one where the cam hits the cable?
08-23-2005, 06:00 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: CT, USA
Posts: 3,058
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
ORIGINAL: Straightarrow
Nice overview Jeff. I like seeing new manufacturers coming out with slight variations on what's out there
Nice overview Jeff. I like seeing new manufacturers coming out with slight variations on what's out there
The difference in QC/Detail alone should make the big boys pretty damn ashamed
Although I must say I detest locking limb pockets. They add nothing to a bow's shootability, yet up the cost and unneccessarily complicate things. Too gimicky for me.
Is the draw stop the type that hits the limb, or is it one where the cam hits the cable?
08-23-2005, 06:25 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: WEST PALM FLORIDA
Posts: 2,890
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
Man Jeff that was'nt long or boring , compared to past reviews
These bows look nice , If I had'nt sworn off single cams I might even want to get one . The advantages of the quality strings , and slide ,and silencers usealy cost over $100 , that alone makes it quite a value .
These bows look nice , If I had'nt sworn off single cams I might even want to get one . The advantages of the quality strings , and slide ,and silencers usealy cost over $100 , that alone makes it quite a value .
08-23-2005, 06:59 AM
#8
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
No limb stop..bottoming out in the module track stops it.
Best feeling cam at full draw ever in my opinion. Just solid enough to get a good feeling to it without feeling like I was slamming into a brick wall.Nice report Jeff. I agree that the difference is in the details. I hope Ross makes a big splash in the market. The more high end companies out there to compete then the less expensive the prices usually get.
That offset riser trully is something.
08-23-2005, 07:35 AM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Kansas
Posts: 6,598
RE: THE LONG BORING BOW REPORT RETURNS?
Keep shooting it I'm sure you will Switchback. I shot them both side by side before I bought the Switchback. I'll see the owner of your bow this weekend and show him your review I know he will like that. Ross is a damn good bow, better than my diamond and my hoyt viper tech but would have to argue with you against the switchback.