Looking to buy a bow

[skb12172]

Look on ebay. Especially if you don't insist on a Bear or Ben Pearson, you can find good bows, from lesser-known makers, for a song. One of my grandkids hunts with a Shakespeare recurve that I paid $40 for, two years ago. (And yes, a 5-foot nothing female can put an arrow through a deer with a #40 bow, at 20 yards.)

What brand(s) fall in that $40 price range that you would recommend?

[SeekHer]

Look on ebay. Especially if you don't insist on a Bear or Ben Pearson, you can find good bows, from lesser-known makers, for a song. One of my grandkids hunts with a Shakespeare recurve that I paid $40 for, two years ago. (And yes, a 5-foot nothing female can put an arrow through a deer with a #40 bow, at 20 yards.)

What brand(s) fall in that $40 price range that you would recommend?

You're buying age (1950 to 1985) and quality not specific brands--Bear, Martin, Shakespeare, Ben Pearson can all be had in the $40 to $70 price range and the makers even have strings still available for them.

You can get old technology compound bows for the same price.

[First Shirt]

Shakespear, Wing, Ben Pearson, all are good ones to look at. The Bear bows have become collectibles, so you sometimes pay a premium for those.

I make my own strings, Flemish braid type, so that's not a problem. If you need a string, get in touch, and we'll get it done.

[D5CAV]

I make my own strings, Flemish braid type, so that's not a problem. If you need a string, get in touch, and we'll get it done.

I'll remember that. I don't know how to make my own Flemish strings.

I have a pair of 98# limbs that I just practice with - I can't hit anything with them (yet). I wanted a spare bowstring. The local archery shop didn't want to make me a bowstring because they said they couldn't guarantee it wouldn't break at that poundage. I insisted and they braided one about as thick as my bootlaces. It was so thick, it popped off my bow nocks when I drew the bow - just as dangerous as the string breaking IMHO.

Luckily, an old guy at the range braided me a string that was about half as thick that he said would be fine for the poundage. That was about a year ago, and it's still going strong. I probably need another string soon.

[First Shirt]

My bows are all in the #55-65 range, and I've never had a problem with a string. Never made one for #98 before, but it shouldn't be that hard to do. The problem is that most people (like me) who do flemish braid use Dacron B-50. The newer strings are sometimes made of FastFlight or something similar, which is much stronger per strand, but has less stretch on release, and early attempts to use the newer materials resulted in the string actually cutting through the limb at the nock. This is, obviously, awkward.

B-50 works fine for me, but I can see how a very heavy string (especially if the maker doesn't have a lot of experience with flemish strings) would be too thick, the tendency being to fudge a little on your calculations, and use one or two (or six or eight) strands too many, "just to be safe".

[Rich Jordan]

I got mine out of storage. I'd appreciate any comments if anyone is famiiliar with it; none showed up on epay.

Ben Pearson Centurion Model 7169
69" A.M.O.

I believe the markings make it a 45 pound bow at 28" draw. The tag (still present) says:

"Ben Pearson's finest tournament bow specifically designed for the serious tournament archer"

Thanks for any info

[First Shirt]

Back in the pre-compound era, that was one of the better production target bows. Haven't seen one in years, but if shooting little groups of target arrows into targets a ways out there is your goal, you could do lots worse.

[308Mike]

Yogi, did you find one yet?? And if so, we're waiting for a range report!

[gandalf23]

$10 bow
not sure how well it works, I'm still looking for a 3/8 fiberglass rod, but all the other parts were easy to find at home depot and yeah, about $10.

[Weetabix]

These bows are over $1000, but they are handmade by a skilled bowyer, so a much better deal than the $400 machine made bow the retail shops will try to sell you.

https://blackwidowbows.com/index.php?ro ... tion_id=15

These guys are in my backyard. If anyone ever goes there, give me a shout.