Oh yes, one more thing, I heard these bows are fairly noisy, any suggestions on noise dampening devices? I'm only familiar with the compound versions.

I don't think they are anymore noisy than others. String leeches work well. Cat whiskers also.

BCRules, the 30# reccomendation is just a nice "safe" reccomendation that gets the newby a shootable bow with some degree of decent cast. It prevents overbowing the newbies and thereby leading them to develop truly bad form. Its a common reccomendation because we have no idea what somebody can or can't handle. Generally the newby himself has no idea what he can or can't handle! The lack of let off is a big surprise to compound shooters.We can't see them shoot. (And BTW neither can you.) This is in line with Night Wing's advice to make an effort to get ahold of a real recurve and see what the shooter really can or can't handle. All too often that is not possible for a newby. So, we're back to the "safe" reccomendation. First off, "Do no harm."

Properly tuned, the Sage isn't noisy. A set of cat whisker silencers will work just fine.

40# is plenty to cleanly kill whitetail and smaller game, as long as you do your part. A double-lung with 40# is always better than a wound with 100#. The nice thing with the Sage is you can buy heavier and/or lighter limbs pretty cheap.

I've always shot off the shelf, but a rest can work just fine. Mainly personal preferance.

You wan't at least an inch clearance for broadheads, so you don't cut yourself.

I'd go with at least 125 grain points. Speed isn't the name of the game here. Heavier is quieter and gives better penetration. What spine arrows you need depends on several variables--it you order from someone like Kustom King, Lancaster, or 3 Rivers they can offer advice on what you need. At first, you'll just need to be in the "ball park", because your form and style will be changing. In time, when you get settled in, you can work on fine-tuning. A great site for that is www.bowmaker.net.

Chad

I don't know. I see this all the time. Especially by older guys. Everyone's different. I see it by older guys, and then I ask them what they learned on, and they go to tell me it was a 45lb bear or a 50lb whatever. I am like, "you just told this guy, whatever".

I know for me, I have shot trad bows from 35lbs to 66lbs. I like em all. I had no issues whatsoever with my first longbow of 50lb martin. In fact, I learned more from shooting heavier bows then lighter bows. I know I started shooting a 66lb widow longbow and I can't believe how much strength I gained and how fast from shooting it. Going back to my 45-55bows seemed effortless. I could easily shoot 4 3d rounds in a day. It was good training, and I had much cleaner releases.

Same with longer range shooting. I make myself shoot 30-50yards all the time. Now, will I shoot at animal at that distance? No way. But it makes my 20yard shots feel easy. Little tuning problems show up so appearantly shooting that far.

I have no idea how strong this shooter is. My advise for any new shooter is to pull it back full draw and hold for 15-20 seconds. If you can hold to full draw without letting down, thats your wieght to start. If not go lower.

wanna know why "older"guys recommend lighter weight even IF they themselves started heavier? Because they learn from there mistakes and aren't out to prove their manhood but rather HELP a new archer to be the best they can be with the fewest self imposed hurdles to overcome.

Guys I have seen give solid advise would be people like Byron Ferguson, or even read about folks like Howard Hill, who shot very strong bows. Or even Chad on here who shoots strong bows.

Whats even more comical is most of these older fellas I see stuggling to come back with thier arrows. They make all kinds of excuses. Mostly talk, talk on how they used to be so good. They usually do more talking than shooting.

Placed my order with 3 Rivers Archery and they too were very helpful. I got the 40# Sage and was told with my draw length I'd be shooting 43# or so. I actually got the bow, case, stringer, arm guard, back quiver and damascus glove in a set for $199.

I also bought the Bearhair rest and plate to give shooting off the shelf a try first. I followed their recommendation and got Easton XX75 aluminums in 2117 (400gr) and was told to use a 125gr tip if i think i may want to hunt with it in the future. I liked the idea of wood arrows for tradition or carbon for speed but the heavier aluminum would be best for hunting if thats the road I go down.

Anyone use the brass weights that you can add for extra weight?

I'm so dang excited to get it and give it a try!

Thank you everyone for your help so far. Im sure I'm going to run into questions when it comes to tuning and setting up. I'll keep everyone posted when it comes in. Thanks again!

If your going to shoot off the shelf, 2117 will be way stiff. I would consider 1913's, or even 1816's.

Really depends how the shelf is cut. If your going to use a flipper type rest, you can get by with a much stiffer arrow. I always just shoot off the shelf. I am not sure how far past center the riser is cut on the sage. If its -1/4" (cut past center) you might be ok.

2117 is for about a 60 pound bow. At 43 you want 1916's. Ive only seen brass inserts for carbons.