Ozbow

Hey all

Im new to the trad bow scene

So I have been shooting Compounds on and off for over 20 years , seen these at many comps I use to shoot ( NAFA )

Now Wheres the best place buy a Good high end bow that will last me and would be ok for hunting as well ?

Not sure what my draw length would be,currently is 29 on my compound and also what poundage should I get currently 60lb

Appreciate any feed back

Thanks Ant

Hi Ant,

Ants Carnage wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:05 pm .......So I have been shooting Compounds on and off for over 20 years , seen these at many comps I use to shoot ( NAFA ).......

Where are you located?

I have been a member of NAFA for over 40 years and shoot longbow / recurve Wednesday mornings.

Daryl.

Ants Carnage wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:05 pm Not sure what my draw length would be,currently is 29 on my compound and also what poundage should I get currently 60lb

70% of compound shooters overdraw their bows, particularly if they are not target archery trained. Likely hood that your correct draw is 1/2" to 1" shorter than current (or possibly even more).

If changing over from compound to recurve or longbow, you want to look at least at dropping peak poundage by 15#, making it 45# to start with. 15# reduction is always a good idea when you are changing something, including your style, to stop you from hurting yourself. A 45# bow will take game readily if shot with correct skill and within suitable range. Forget the long shots that you may have tried with your compound on game. The average non-compound hunting shot is taken between 10-15 yards. IT was all about the skill of the stalk. Back in the 70's, hunters were taking pigs with a 36# recurve, but they placed their shoots accurately, and often at around 10 yards.

As to recommending bows - do you see yourself leaning towards a recurve or longbow?

Hey Kendaric

Thanks for the Great Advise , Really appreciate it
Are the Ragim Black Bear ok for a hunting bow Was looking 45lb 28 draw ?

Once again mate you've been a great help

The Ragim Black Bear is not a bad choice, and sort of a copy of the Bear Grissly/Black Bear, at half the cost. The Ragim Black Bear has string grooves, were as the Bear Black Bear did not. The string grooves I see as a bonus.

The Ragim Black Bear is short at 58", but maintains it's smoothness of draw by the deflex riser and timber limb cores and riser, which gives it some forgiveness. The bow may start to stack if you exceed 29" in the draw. At 58" you may find that if you shoot split finger/Mediterranean style, that finger pinch could be an issue. Shooting 3 fingers under will resolve that problem. It's not the fastest bow, despite it's overall length, but it is no slouch either. I'd prefer stability over speed.

Ragim bows had a bad habit of cutting strings due to limb nocks that were not sanded/rounded out enough during the production finishing stages - a quality control issue. An easy fix to do yourself if you purchase a bow. From memory, only dacron strings can be used on it as the limb nock overlays are timber - you want something harder if you are going to use fast flight or similar.

Talking about quality control issues, being a one piece bow - if you can purchase in person is preferable to online (or get the salesperson to check for you before hand the following) - have the bow strung first and measure the tillers. From memory, most of the ragim bows had the same tiller on each limb or preferably the bottom limb slightly less tiller distance than the top limb. Should you find that the top tiller is less than the bottom, don't buy the bow, or return it - you will not be able to get it to tune well, and being one piece, you will not be able to pack one limb. To fix this problem, you need a bowyer to remove some limb material at the sides - not worth the hassle and loss of warranty.

The outer limb material is black fibreglass, which is then sprayed black and then with a clear satin finish. The riser is finished in the same clear satin finish. The beautiful red timber colour will fade some over time in the sun, but you could argue that that adds character. The wood grain is not filled. Overall the bow is fairly light in the hand (actually after lugging a compound around in the bush, a Black Bear will almost feel like you are carrying a piece of balsa wood).

Would I consider buying one of these as a first Trad bow - yes. Would I take this into a Trad competition knowing that it can shoot as accurately as bows costing 2-3 times as much, in the same configuration - yes. Would I hunt with it - sure. The rest would come down to you and your preferences. Personally I prefer a longer bow, but that is just me.

Another thought to consider. The Bear's have a fairly short riser window. This will not be a problem if you shoot instinctive (intuitive), point of aim, or gap shoot - BUT if you are use to using sights on a compound and want to window gap shoot (using the riser window gap as an aiming point reference, as opposed to the conventional gap shooting between the arrow point and the target) you may find the window too small for a clear sighting picture. This would also depend on you anchor.

Have you been in touch with....http://www.apexhunting.com.au/p/ragim-b ... 06733-1xxx

They are local and you may be able to play with one.

Daryl.

Hey Kendaric and Daryl

Once again that feed back on the Ragim was great

I did pop into apex the other day after work had a look and talked to a young staff member he was great ,
I did look at the Bear Kodiak Magnum online , They have got them at another wear house but Archery Supplies are $125 cheaper mmm thats huge

Is the Kodiak Magnum a good bow ?

Thanks Heaps once again for the feedback

I like the look of the Kodiak Magnum, but I have no experience with them.

Check out the Bodnik line of bows. High quality and they come with a 30 year warranty. I believe Archery Bug in QLD are the Aussie dealer.
Cheers,

Hey Tom

Went to the web page ? Click on Archery gear nothing now bows come up on what the have or anything

Im not the best on navigating a web page but I couldn't find pricing or what they have

If price is not a barrier buy the one that ‘feels’ right for you. Build quality may be the deciding factor.

I can remember reading and article about a husband and wife team who competed on the international archery circuit.

One was using a Blackbrook bow and the partner was using either a Fox Triple Crown or one the Border bows.

As an experiment they swapped bows and after shooting them for a while both were uncomfortable with their partners bow, they just didn’t feel right for them.

Daryl.

Ants Carnage wrote: ↑Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:20 pm Hey Tom

Went to the web page ? Click on Archery gear nothing now bows come up on what the have or anything

Im not the best on navigating a web page but I couldn't find pricing or what they have

Yes both the Bodnik website and the Archery Bug website are garbage. I ended up doing a fair bit of research using YouTube, archery forums, etc. then called Archery Bug and discussed what I wanted. Good luck.

So decided to get a Bear Kodiak Magnum in 40lb so its now ordered

Once again that for all the help and pointers

Also has anyone seen this it goes for 2hrs

https://youtu.be/1E1vKkSSoNs

I didn't watch the video, but going by the comments, the fixed crawl method of aiming was mentioned. Just a couple of pointers with regards that - that method will more than likely not work on a short bow like the Kodiak Magnum. Secondly, if you ever want to shoot in any organised events in Australia, no organisation recognizes it.

I was put off by the video within the first 10 seconds. At the end of the draw, he settles his head into the shot - not good form. At the point of release, he collapses and his draw arm drops low, then he fakes back tension by remembering that his arm should more back some - also not good form. He also short draws slightly to the front of his face, to make his aiming easier to line up the string, so every shot he wacks himself a little in the face (which you can see in his head/jaw movement at release), hence why the poor release form - to reduce the wacking. I jumped ahead on the video to segments of his actual shooting to confirm that he does this regularly. Nothing annoys me more than youtube instructor wannabes that can't pick their own bad form.

Coming from no experience at all I believe in the hole thing

Thanks for the heads up on the Bear

Cheers

Admittedly I am being overly harsh when it comes to the form (a particular fault of mine), but the information in the video may be of some value for awareness of methods.

Also I wanted to add that 40# was a good choice.

Well Picked up the Bear Kodiak Magnum today

Was so happy to get home this arvo , put the string silencers on strung her up measured brace and tila

Rushed out side set up the target and shot away


SO STOKED

Love it

Sounds like great fun!
Show us some piccies!

Congrats on the new bow and I hope you have many hours of enjoyment shooting it.

Jeff