Hi all,

Well I was hoping those of you who have one of these bows will tell me what you like about it. Give me all the great details, what it looks like, how it shoots, what you like about it, the works. I have added it to my list of recurves to look at. Also, if you have any pictures could you e-mail them or post em? Thanks so much.

PMC - LBR (Chad) the moderator here happens to sell Chek-Mates through www.recurves.com I bought mine locally through a fella named Greg Sovde who owns G&M archery in MN. www.gmarchery.com Look at his inventory list to get an idea of pricing and materials. I hope Chad doesn't mind if I give you these references. (do you chad?) www.archerybymail.com has some good reference material for chek-mates as well. Prices there are Canadian I think.

I'm sure others can throw out some references and picture location too. Here's a partial picture of my Raven...sorry my mug and that deer are going to get in the way. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> (Any excuse to show off ya know...)

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/memb...rty/index.html

When I was shopping for a bow, I thought I was looking for a Falcon (60&quot; 1 piece) recurve. Greg let me shoot a bunch of bows and I fell in love with the shorter ones. My Raven is extremely light weight, and short at only 52&quot;. I had a hard time choosing between it and the Firebird, a 56&quot; take down which shot extremely smooth. In the end, the styling and performance of the Raven won me over. I parted with more money then I had planned, but in the end I got a bow that (I think) is much better looking than either a Martin Hunter or Bear Kodiak which were also considerations for me. I spent about the same as I would have for a Martin Hunter and less than the Bear. (I think $319 including local tax)



Edited by - True Position on 11/13/2002 16:30:28

The CM Hunter II is a danged fine takedown and I can only imagine how good their little one piece bows really are. Never having shot one, I can't comment on them. I also like the Crusader longbow a lot. It's smooth, stable, fast, hard hitting and with little or no hand shock.




Make em sharp and shoot em straight, or leave em home.

Edited by - wahya on 11/14/2002 05:55:35

I have the Hunter TD with 45 and 55# limbs. It's a great bow for the price. It's not the fastest bow on the market but after shooting it through a chrono at my club, it IS one of the most consistent. I'm quite satisfied with mine. Dick

Got to agree with TP I love my Raven. Great for trees and ground blinds. I got mine from Greg too, I was looking for something to replace my Browning Cobra as I wanted to retire it. Shot Bears, Widows and a host of used bows first. Settled on the Raven. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Well, here's my two:


The curve is about 55# at my draw and the lb is about 60#. I draw almost 30&quot; with the lb and 30&quot; with the 'curve and neither one stacks. The longbow is 66&quot; of walnut and birds eye maple and the other is 60&quot; of bubinga and curly maple(can't remember what the limbs are-either osage or yew). The recurve is similar to the firebird only a little longer. I have never chrono'ed the longbow but the curve consistantly shot 197 (@ my draw)with a 31&quot; beman 400 and a dacron string, not sure what it does since I changed to a dyna 97. No shock out of either of them.

RC

Edited by - Tuffcity on 11/13/2002 23:17:50

I only have a few harvest pics with mine.

I own two crusaders, a pards wife owns the falcon which I have shot. A buddy of mine just blew up his widow (well, I did acutally in a round about way) and purchased the Hunter I, another friend of mine down in anchorage has the Hunter II, A crusader, and another crusader on order. They are one helluva bow.

All that said, look around as what we all may like might not fit what you like. Shoot as many as you can get your hands on. I have 11 bows hanging on the walls. 4 of which I shoot. My 2 crusaders, Plywood benders, and A buddy of mine from Anchorage made me a bow. The two crusaders are my primary bows, the other two are going to see the woods soon. Its hard switching between them, but dang its fun lol.

SO many bowyers, SO LITTLE MONEY <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>!

I have a hunter II takedown with two sets of limbs and a crusader t/d. My hunter II is 61lbs and 73lbs both at 29.5&quot;, and my crusader is 60lbs at 29&quot;. Both bows shoot extremely well. The crusader is one of the best longbows I have ever shot, fast, smooth, really a great bow. I liked it so much I ordered another crusader in one peice. My hunter II is also a really sweet shooting bow. Anyone that knows me know that I buy and sell bows randomly all the time. Its not uncommon for me to buy and sell 20 bows a year. THere are only 3 bows that I have right now that I wouldn't ever sell. THe hunter II crusader and a deathwish longbow, that is the best testimonial that I can say for a bow.

I've owned two Hunter II's and one Hunter. Sold the Hunter because I didn't like it as much as the Hunter II. Shoots pretty danged well, as it's my 3D bow and hunting bow. Last year I took six deer with my 65# Hunter II. This year I've taken 3 1/2 deer with my 53# Hunter II.

Yes, 3 and A HALF. I have to go out in a little while to bloodtrail a buck that was nice enough to accept the &quot;gift of sharpness&quot; at 6:40 this morning.

All in all, I LIKE them a lot. Try to shoot one first and decide for yourself.

JRW