I'd recommend something ILF, 68" and 25#@28"

The Galaxy brand at Lancaster Archery gets good reviews at that price point.

 

In 2017, I got nurmous bows from :

-Bearpaw
-Bodnik (Custom Bearpaw)
-Falco
-Ragim (I am using the Ragim Red Lion limbs on my Galaxy Sear riser)
-Galaxy

Across the price range from $200 to $500, none are disappointing, so these are the trad brands I can confidently recommend.


For actual bow models.....Its really a personal thing.....

 

I would go ahead and purchase a Palmer and get the BEST for $650. Look at Moosehunters recent post on the Palmer he just purchased. It's super smooth, quiet, and probably one of the top 3 fastest recurves out there. Fred Eichler used a Palmer to get the first North American Superslam with a recurve.

 

And I sincerely recommend u not to get a Sage or Sage named/associated bow.....Those are entry level bow with no growth value.

For that entry level price point, in 2017/2018, the king of all rounder is Galaxy Ember Longbow or Recurve. You won't find a takedown with such speed n smoothness @ that price.

 

I totally agree with Kent's non recommendations. I don't like to put bows down, but they're not for your age. ILF is really the way to go. I was just on TT classified and they have a nice Hoyt Excel for sale at 175 bucks. Can't go wrong there. Any long limb would put you at 66 inches. You'd have a sweet shooting set up.

Bowmania

 

Along with a couple of previous posts, a quality ILF will suit your purposes perfectly and you get the option updating limbs on the cheap. If you go to some target forums you'll often see quality limbs with very little use getting advertised at 1/3 - 1/2 their original price. As for risers, if you're after a shorter 'hunter' style and don't mind buying from china, have a look at 'alibaba' and you'll see several risers that are currently being sold as 'Custom' risers from more than one US bowyer. If length isn't an issue, anything made in Korea will typically outshoot the archer. Cheers

 

Re: China, I'm referring to alloy risers, not timber

 

Thanks for all the quick responses. I take it that Galaxy is Lancaster Archery's private label brand. I checked them out online, had looked at them before but did not study them. The Ember seems to be the only model in stock at this time. Looks to be a beautiful bow with bamboo limbs to boot! Not sure that the 60 inch amo will work the best for me, it may as the last bow I had was a Martin Mamba at 58"amo. Had thought about a machined/cast metal riser utilizing IFL limbs but am not knowledgable enough about those. Thought I would stick with wood riser and taking a big step by going with a 3 piece. Not scared to spend money but the law of diminishing returns has me thinking I will have just as much fun with a 200.00-300.00 dollar bow as I would a 1200.00 dollar bow. The folks at Lancaster said they had been having delivery issues with Samick and decided to source/market their own brand. Please keep the suggestions coming. Thanks.

 

If u can consider longbow, I strongly recommend Bearpaw Blackfoot, a 66" one piece.

https://www.thelongbowshop.com/collections/flatbows/products/bearpaw-blackfoot-flatbow-30lb

Been shooting it since last month, this thing is smooth like butter n doesn't stack at all (I have tested it with over the ear draw)....N it launches arrows fast n true with a pleasure consistent shock.

Get a 30# will set u right for both backyard n tournament 3D.

The only down side of Blackfoot is it has some rough corners due to it cheaper price @ $200 mark comparing with other Bearpaws, but I spent 5 mins with some fine sanding paper....its all good.

#if u are willing to spend a bit more, u can also get the Bodnik Longbow, which is the refined + bamboo limbs version of the Blackfoot.


https://www.thelongbowshop.com/collections/flatbows/products/bodnik-flatbow-custom

 

Beside Galaxy Ember, the Bearpaw Mohican at similar price point is also a good shooter, it won't shoot as fast as an Ember, but smoothness wise.....it should be perfectly smooth up to 29" draw (Spec said 32" optimistically). I ordered a 25# for my wife, at such low #, I don't feel any stacking with my longer draw, but my draw is still a lot shorter than urs.

If u want a priced friendly wood riser tapped for side quiver n barebow weight, Mohican is ur choice.

This gentleman is sending some fast arrows smoothly with his Mohican.

https://youtu.be/En8VwI3GiaA

 

I'm returning to the traditional Recurve Bow thing to.

I bought a 3 peace PSE Razorback in 30 lb at 62" draw,,, it has done me good, but it's to short for my 28 1/2" draw.

68" to 70" is closer to what's recommend from a few archery sites.

I'm considering the 23" to 25" riser in the $300 ish range, and 2 sets of ILF limbs for my set up.

35 and 40 lb.

Lancaster has a 1-800 tech help number, my long time European archer friend give me the brake down on what I need,,, then I'll find out what's available from who has what.

Either Lancaster or Canadian Archery online.

Part of my frugal funds will come from the sale of my PSE.

Good luck on your adventure where ever it takes you, I have alot to learn, and hopefully the folks on this forum can help me along.

Don

 

Always nice to have more people shooting trad~~~

Ur draw is not that long, PSE Razorback is actually @ the Sage/Polaris level, so its the quality of the bow design/limbs makes the stack, not necessarily bow length. It is among the lowest club bows range, it will get the job done excellently for beginner, but has no growth value as mentioned.


One thing about trad archery is ~ it is largely hunting orientated and 58" is the common beginning length for a hunting recurve, up to 64" purposely. A 25" riser + med / long limbs to a 68" ish bow with front weight is actually a target/barebow thing. (<-----dont shoot me if u disagree)

a 68" grab n go, shoot off the shelf trad, we are usually talking longbow here, but the way how a longbow performs n handle is a total different thing.

 

I had looked at the Bearpaw bows and initially thought the Slick Stick recurve would be nice. Price point is slightly above what I would like to invest. The Galaxy Ember is right now in the lead as far as price/value. So many great bows on the market nowadays compared to years past.It is fun looking at all the options available. Please keep the suggestions coming, they are much appreciated.

 

The Slick Stick Recurve is actually sold on US market only at the moment, it is actually not within the Slick Stick family, design wise.

It is actually a lengthen Mingo, to give it more forgiving in overall shooting experience.

I have the Mingo in 45#, surprisingly this short bow is very smooth to draw, I only have a little stacking when doing over the ear draw with this one. Crazy design for a short 45# speed machine.

My review ~

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5336089#/topics/5336089

And it launches my 1916 arrows like an underspinned weak shaft...crazy performance there.


It is also cheaper than the Slick Stick Recurve, due to its shorter build, but everything is pretty identical.

https://www.thelongbowshop.com/products/mingo-recurve-field-bow-custom

 

Seek out a Black-bear Warf Riser (it's a Black-bear Compound riser converted too ILF) typically available for about $125 and then grab a set of Tradtech Blackmax 2.0 limbs from LAS for $149.99 and boom...$275 and you're there...and I challenge anyone to find you a better shooting rig (for what you wish to do with it) for that kind of money.

 

Jinkster, that is interesting. I did not know that this was possible. I learned a lot. Thanks.

 

You can always go with a great plains

 

Thanks for the reply Kent. This gives me a place to start as I plan to advance towards the next level this Sumner.

Don from Western Canada

 

There is a very nice Galaxy Black Ridge recurve in 35# in the classified section right now for $150. It is a sweet shooting bow and really nice looking.
Don't get a Samick Sage but I do very much like the Southwestern Spyder. I use one for informal target and it is a better shooter than other more expensive bows I have. If you want to spend a little more, consider a Bodnik bow. I have a Slick Stick, a Quick Stick and a Dakota. All very fine Bodnik bows.
I am not much of a fan of take down bows or ILF, but they are the "thing" right now.

 

As I mentioned in another thread on this forum, I returned to traditional archery a year ago for the fun side of it only,,, I don't see my self going further beyond this level.

It's not that I don't enjoy pushing my limits, or to see what archery teaches me as it offers so much in many categories in life.

Archery to me is an extension of over and beyond along with many out-door activities I have on the go,,, and there are alot of them on my plate.

All of us fit into the ever changing life categories, mine are the same, the 3 main reasons I returned to this activity was.

The Frugal "over all costs during the short and long hual."
The idea of something to do along the way in my travels of days off or work.
And the thrill of what traditional archery offers me in the (Ones Self) category.

Here are a few examples of how this archery played out this week.

It stared off in the big city as I had a few minutes to kill, the take down bow was up and running with target on ground in 7 minutes.

It joined me on 3 out of town jobs, 5 after hour shoots before bed time, 25 hours of traditional archery Web browsing, and 3 days of ice fishing / and archery practic between catching fish. LOL.

When I'm out and about on days off, I live in my truck,,, and the take down plain bare bow packs away nice in my long Fanny-Pack.

I look at it this way: It's not only what archey brings to me as much as what I bring to archery. Al Henderson said that we all come to the table with different ideas, some folks excel, others plain out and some,,, well some just do it for what ever reason. I fit this category.

But one thing I bring to the table in "all" of my out-door activities is "self" learning and improvements to my self.

I share this post for those that are joining in on good times ahead, and to those that are wondering a bit about what this Western Canada Don dude is doing / or direction of travel in this hobby.

The best part of returning to archery in general is finding something to do, having a good time where ever my wheels take me, and sharing this with some wize and noble human folks such as all on this forum and across our Americas.

I know one thing,,, when I travel to the USA, my back-pack bow is coming with me. It just that simple.
Nothing more rewarding then missing the target and loosing arrows. Ha

Don

 

Rockhitter,
Welcome back to longbows and recurves. I love this stuff, have fun shooting.

I have found that everybody wants something different. The metal riser ILF rigs are adjustable, versatile, popular, and from what I hear, shoot great. For some people, it ain't a bow unless it is a Howard Hill style American Semi-long bow. For me it is the wood; give me a longbow or recurve with yew, cocobolo, bamboo, or tulip. You said you were a Bear, Pearson, and a Martin fan. Watch the classifieds for one of those in your weight. I just saw listed a Wing recurve, a Root target bow, and a Bear target bow for $200 or less. If you want new, there bows from one-man-shops from $350 to over a grand. I believe life is short and an archer need not be limited to one bow.