What bow to buy ??
 

I am about to order a new bow.What bow would everyone recomend and why? I know a bow will be different for every person that shoots it before I get the try them and see answer.I am just looking for opinions on what bows you have shot that you were or are very impressed by.Honestly I am leaning towards a widow psa mainly cause they are decent bows and don't take month after month of waiting to get lol Fire away all opinions wanted

SHOOT STRAIGHT >>>--------> Troy

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

Troy, I'm going to be a hypocrite and give some good advice. Go to a show like The Traditional Expo or Cloverdale and shoot a variety of bows and then decide. Bows that feel good to me may not feel good to you. Now after saying that, I just ordered a Blacktail Elite and bought a Checkmate from Chad without shooting them. I'm fairly happy with the Checkmate(At least the 45# limbs) and the Blacktail just looks sooooo pretty! I did shoot a Palmer at Kalamazoo and ordered one. 10 weeks till delivery. Not too bad. Personally, I think the Blackwidows are overrated after shooting them. (Here comes the hate mail!) Dick

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

Longbow or recurve? I've shot and owned the following longbows: Crusaders (3), Gharing, Sonoran, Viper, Thunderstorm. Shot the following: Thundermountain, 21st Century.

I'd recommend the Crusader, Gharing or the Sonoran. Gharing is very nice. John Gharing doesn't have a web page but he does have an add in TBM. Contact me if you need his number. I think he has a reasonable trunaround. The Sonoran is a very, very nice looking, smooth shooting bow, but a 14 month wait. The handle is slightly dished which doesn't really fit my shooting style. I didn't like the Viper. The Thunderstorm (made by Great Plaines for 3 Rivers) was a nice looking smooth shooting bow, but the grip was cut odd. The fletching would cut my hand. Didn't care for the Thundermountain or 21st Century. Very straight risers. I currently only own the Crusaders (2), Gharing, Sonoran and Viper(can't even give it away!).

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

after a couple years shooting recurve and longbow, Bear, TQ, Martin, and Bill price, I settled on the Price Longbows, I like the way they feel and shoot. another good one is the Martin Vision. I did look long and hard at Chek-Mate, but went with the Price bow.

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

If you're leaning towards the Widow, take advantage of their "test drive" program. It would be money well spent.

In the last several years I've had the pleasure of shooting a good number of "high end" custom bows. Some were outstanding. Others I wouldn't have used for much more than bowfishing. I'm not going to post the bad ones (IMO) here, but I'll give you a run-down of the ones I liked...in no particular order.

Bob Lee: The quietest recurves I've shot. Average on speed. Above average for stability. Excellent overall craftsmanship. The only down side is that they will not warranty for FF-type strings, although the bows are built to take it.

Palmer: Kind of like a Bob Lee on steroids. Same double bolt limb retention. Far above average for speed and stability both (IMO the fastest deflex riser recurve on the market). Craftsmanship is outstanding. The entry-level Palmer for $475.00 is probably the best bow under $500.00 on the market...and better than most costing twice that much.

Chek-Mate: Nice variety of woods. The Hunter II is a very stable bow that pulls exeptionally smooth and is average for speed (with respect to high-end custom bows). Craftsmanship is great, and they can be had for much less than just about anything from Martin. I've hunted and shot 3D with a pair of them for the last two seasons, have no complaints, and lots of venison in the freezer.

Habu: Outstanding craftsmanship and stability. Average for speed. I understand they are about $1,100.00 now though. Comparitively speaking, I think they're a touch over-priced.

Fox High Sierra: Craftsmanship, finish, and feel that'll make your jaw drop. Just absolutely beautiful bows. Very smooth draw. Can't comment on stability and speed as I don't have enough shooting time with one (yet) to accurately compare. I understand they are planning on setting up at the United Bowhunters of Illinois' banquet later this month. I'll have to hand the checkbook to my wife while I play around with them some more.

Morrison: Another beautiful bow with a nice smooth draw. By all accounts they are on the high-end for speed. Can't comment on stability.

Robertson: Exceptional craftsmanship. I can't comment much more though, because his bows are not built for draw lengths more than 30", and I draw 32". My draw length is beyond the limits of his design, so it wouldn't be a fair assessment.

Sovereign Ballistik: Good craftsmanship and above average speed. The one I shot drew smooth, but was a little quick to point out a bad release. Perhaps a longer bow would have been more forgiving for me.

I'm sure there are a few others that I've forgotten, but those are the ones that stand out right now.

JRW

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

I agree with Dick, go to a couple shoots or expos and shoot as many different bows you can get your hands on.

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

Does Palmer have a web site to see their line up and prices?

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

JRW Thank You that was exactly the kind of post I was looking for.As most everyone here knows I am a big fan of checkmate bows.I have 5 hanging in my rack now and number 6 on order.This time I was wanting to try something different.I will have to see if I can scrounge up some info on palmer bows.They sound interesting and I was also looking at the saluki Turk. Thanks for the opinions so far

SHOOT STRAIGHT >>>--------> Troy

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

Palmer doesn't have a web site, but one of their dealers (Lost Nation Archery) does.

lug "Lost Nation Palmer" into a search engine and you should find it pretty easy. Sorry, but I don't remember their URL.

JRW

RE: What bow to buy ??
 

Palmer does have a website under construction. www.palmerbows.com

PBB

Pick a hair.....or a caruncle!!