Samick Sage No tools Take Down Recurve Bow
Aug 3, 2012 1:27:47 GMT
Post by ineffableone on Aug 3, 2012 1:27:47 GMT
Samick Sage No tools Take Down Recurve Bow
(please forgive the poor quality camera phone pictures, I will try to get better pictures soon and replace the worst quality ones) :oops:
Introduction
I had wanted to get back into archery, which I had done some as a youth. I also wanted to get a nice pack bow, as I like to camp and felt if I got a bow I would like to be able to take it with me when I went camping. This pack ability also served a secondary purpose of being able to be packed into my INCH (I'm Never Coming Home) pack, a pack for supplies in case of long term emergency that you can carry the basic necessities for survival for a long term period.
Historical overview
The bow is one of the big inventions of humanity, ranking up there with fire and the wheel. The reason for it being such an important part of human history is that it enabled hunters to reach further with more power than they could normally do themselves. Humans really are fragile creatures, and have little in the way of offensive and defensive capabilities compared to other animals except their ability and use to make tools that increase their abilities.
Samick it self is a Korean bow company, Samick Sports.
It is quite true that Korean Archery is quite top notch. The Korean Archers win a lot of the competitions and Korean archery equipment is considered very high quality in archery circles.
Full Disclosure
First I have had this bow for over a year now, so this is not a new bow for me, but one I have been using for awhile. I am just now getting around to reviewing it.
I had been lusting after the Tomahawk Bows T/D Diamond series at 3Rivers Archery for years. I had been wanting a nice traditional bow to get back into archery and long bows seemed like the way to go. These take down long bows seemed like the best of modern and primitive together, but with prices of $800-$1000 it just seemed way to steep a price.
I then came across a video review of the Samick sage from a youtuber I am subbed to.
and his follow up
I discovered these videos when I was getting serious about actually getting a bow, I had been looking at compounds, and long bows, and recurves. That first video pretty much decided me on the Samick Sage, though I did continue to do research and find more about the Sage from other reviews, and about other bows. The Sage looked like the perfect bow to me for my needs.
From 3Rivers Archery I bought the Samick Sage bow, Which only cost $139 plus shipping. However I also bought a fast flight string (recommended for the Sage as the stock string is not the greatest), a stringer, a set of arrows, a calf hair plate I cut down into rest and plate, string nock points, tapering tool, arrow glue stick, and some field points and a set of zwicky broad heads. All these things add up in the price of a bow, and yet are necessities for being able to shoot your bow.
Latter I added some Llama wool string silencers, sticktamers (reduce limb vibration and noise, act as brush guards, and allow you to hang your bow from them), and a shooting glove.
I also bought a second set of arrows I found that were advertised as stump shooters from ebay. They are the yellow fletched arrows . They are not the best set of arrows and were advertised and priced as such. But sold as good arrows to practice with when it was highly likely to damage your arrow.
Initial Impressions
My initial impressions were of amazement. The bow had cost a very reasonable amount but had the look and feel of a much more expensive bow. Putting the Sage together was simple and took little time. I have not even tried the stock string but immediately stung the fast flight string. I quickly was falling in love with this bow and hadn't even taken it out to shoot. It was just a beautiful bow. I really liked the no tools take down aspect and the assembly and take down was very easy and simple.
Statistics
My Samick Sage is a 62" bow, with 50 lbs draw at 28"
Riser
The riser is 19 1/4" long
made of laminated Olive Dymondwood and Hard Maple
cut-on center shelf for shooting "off the shelf"
Riser has AMO sight (also known as ATA accessory), a plunger rest, and a front stabilizer brass bushings installed. With these bushings you can install bow sights, bow fishing reels, plunger with elevated rest, and/or a stabilizer to fully customize your shooting experience to your needs.
Limbs
22 1/2" long
The Sage limbs are made with a core lamination of Hard Maple with black fiberglass back and belly.
Handling Characteristics
The bow is light and has a good feeling grip. The bow shoots quite well, and took very little tuning to get it shooting. It is often said of the Sage that it is a $140 bow that shoots like a $400 bow, and I feel that this is very true. I have shot other peoples bows that where in the $400 range, and the Sage performs just as well as they do.
Recurves are well known as noisy bows due to string slap against the limbs. To quite mine down I not only added the Llama wool string silences, but added Sticktamers.
These made the bow super quite along with the string silencers. They also act as brush guards keeping sticks and leaves from getting between the string and limb while stalking game in the woods.
You can also see my homemade limb tip protector in this picture above. Simple and effective made from a scrap of leather I had laying around.
Pros
- light weight
- no tools take down
- relatively inexpensive
- comfortable grip
- fast flight string compatible
- comes with all the bushings etc installed if you want to use them
- trusted bow maker with great reputation, the Sage it self has a great reputation too
- shoots/performs as well as much more expensive bows
- replaceable limbs, and Samick has plenty of different limb weights available
Cons
- stock string is not the best, and it is recommended to upgrade to a better string (fast flight)
- having to buy the other parts, like the plate, rest, nock point, etc
- for some, it is popular so a lot of people have it, it is not a bow that people will oooh and ahh about but one they have seen plenty of already
Conclusions/The Bottom Line
I really like this bow and have been shooting it over a year now, and definitely can say I love it. While a lot of the reviews and info might seem like hype, the Sage lives up to the hype. It is a great low cost high quality bow. Good for beginner or experienced archer. The no tools is a big plus to me as it means less gear needed to take out with me, and less to possibly loose.
I would highly recommend this bow to anyone wanting to get into archery or wanting a good pack bow. The price, quality, and ease of use is great.
(note I plan on updating this review with more stats, better pictures, etc but I wanted to get the review up and posted as I have been delaying and putting it off way too long)
(please forgive the poor quality camera phone pictures, I will try to get better pictures soon and replace the worst quality ones) :oops:
Introduction
I had wanted to get back into archery, which I had done some as a youth. I also wanted to get a nice pack bow, as I like to camp and felt if I got a bow I would like to be able to take it with me when I went camping. This pack ability also served a secondary purpose of being able to be packed into my INCH (I'm Never Coming Home) pack, a pack for supplies in case of long term emergency that you can carry the basic necessities for survival for a long term period.
Historical overview
The bow is one of the big inventions of humanity, ranking up there with fire and the wheel. The reason for it being such an important part of human history is that it enabled hunters to reach further with more power than they could normally do themselves. Humans really are fragile creatures, and have little in the way of offensive and defensive capabilities compared to other animals except their ability and use to make tools that increase their abilities.
wiki article on bows wrote
Recurve bows made out of composite materials were used by, among other groups, the Scythians, Hyksos, Magyars, Huns, Greeks, Turks, Mongols, and Chinese. The recurve bow spread to Egypt and much of Asia in the second millennium BC. Presumably Greek and Phoenician influence would have introduced the recurve form to the rest of the Mediterranean region. The standard weapon of Roman imperial archers was a composite recurve, and the stiffening laths (also called siyah in Arabic/Asian bows and szarv (horns) in Hungarian bows) used to form the actual recurved ends have been found on Roman sites throughout the Empire, as far north as Bar Hill on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.During the Middle Ages composite recurve bows were used in the drier European countries; the all-wooden straight longbow was the normal form in wetter areas. Recurve bows depicted in the British Isles may have been composite weapons, or wooden bows with ends recurved by heat and force, or simply artistic licence. Many North American bows were recurved, especially West Coast bows. Recurve bows went out of widespread use, for war, with the availability of effective firearms. Self bows, composite bows, and laminated bows using the recurve form are still made and used by bowyers and amateur and professional archers.
Recurve bows made out of composite materials were used by, among other groups, the Scythians, Hyksos, Magyars, Huns, Greeks, Turks, Mongols, and Chinese. The recurve bow spread to Egypt and much of Asia in the second millennium BC. Presumably Greek and Phoenician influence would have introduced the recurve form to the rest of the Mediterranean region. The standard weapon of Roman imperial archers was a composite recurve, and the stiffening laths (also called siyah in Arabic/Asian bows and szarv (horns) in Hungarian bows) used to form the actual recurved ends have been found on Roman sites throughout the Empire, as far north as Bar Hill on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.During the Middle Ages composite recurve bows were used in the drier European countries; the all-wooden straight longbow was the normal form in wetter areas. Recurve bows depicted in the British Isles may have been composite weapons, or wooden bows with ends recurved by heat and force, or simply artistic licence. Many North American bows were recurved, especially West Coast bows. Recurve bows went out of widespread use, for war, with the availability of effective firearms. Self bows, composite bows, and laminated bows using the recurve form are still made and used by bowyers and amateur and professional archers.
Samick it self is a Korean bow company, Samick Sports.
Samick Sports about page wrote
Korea,The land of Archery Samick Sports, The Brand of Champions Samick Sports, the leader of archery production and exporter of this industry, now boasts distrubution of its products to more than 50 countries worldwide. Because of your support we have been growing, having a full variety of archery bows. As the only bow manufacturer in the world to offer a complete line of bows for every level of archers, we produce recurve bows, compound bows, field archery, hunting bows, and a full line of metal and plastic archery accessories. Our products are used by all, from beginners to top archers. With a humble yet enthusiastic attitude, we make every effort to develop new models, as well as in improving the products' quality. Our success is clearly based on our staff, who share a common passion for archery and top performance. One of our strongest points is that the final quality control is made by top archer inspectors. To give the best service for archers and to create perfect archery, Samick's Development Team light stays on for 24 hours a day, to develop new models every year. The Samick Team is dedicated to maximizing its resources, technical knowledge and creative energy to produce the best archery of tomorrow and thereafter. We invite you to join and enjoy Samick Sports. Thank you.
Korea,The land of Archery Samick Sports, The Brand of Champions Samick Sports, the leader of archery production and exporter of this industry, now boasts distrubution of its products to more than 50 countries worldwide. Because of your support we have been growing, having a full variety of archery bows. As the only bow manufacturer in the world to offer a complete line of bows for every level of archers, we produce recurve bows, compound bows, field archery, hunting bows, and a full line of metal and plastic archery accessories. Our products are used by all, from beginners to top archers. With a humble yet enthusiastic attitude, we make every effort to develop new models, as well as in improving the products' quality. Our success is clearly based on our staff, who share a common passion for archery and top performance. One of our strongest points is that the final quality control is made by top archer inspectors. To give the best service for archers and to create perfect archery, Samick's Development Team light stays on for 24 hours a day, to develop new models every year. The Samick Team is dedicated to maximizing its resources, technical knowledge and creative energy to produce the best archery of tomorrow and thereafter. We invite you to join and enjoy Samick Sports. Thank you.
It is quite true that Korean Archery is quite top notch. The Korean Archers win a lot of the competitions and Korean archery equipment is considered very high quality in archery circles.
Full Disclosure
First I have had this bow for over a year now, so this is not a new bow for me, but one I have been using for awhile. I am just now getting around to reviewing it.
I had been lusting after the Tomahawk Bows T/D Diamond series at 3Rivers Archery for years. I had been wanting a nice traditional bow to get back into archery and long bows seemed like the way to go. These take down long bows seemed like the best of modern and primitive together, but with prices of $800-$1000 it just seemed way to steep a price.
I then came across a video review of the Samick sage from a youtuber I am subbed to.
and his follow up
I discovered these videos when I was getting serious about actually getting a bow, I had been looking at compounds, and long bows, and recurves. That first video pretty much decided me on the Samick Sage, though I did continue to do research and find more about the Sage from other reviews, and about other bows. The Sage looked like the perfect bow to me for my needs.
From 3Rivers Archery I bought the Samick Sage bow, Which only cost $139 plus shipping. However I also bought a fast flight string (recommended for the Sage as the stock string is not the greatest), a stringer, a set of arrows, a calf hair plate I cut down into rest and plate, string nock points, tapering tool, arrow glue stick, and some field points and a set of zwicky broad heads. All these things add up in the price of a bow, and yet are necessities for being able to shoot your bow.
Latter I added some Llama wool string silencers, sticktamers (reduce limb vibration and noise, act as brush guards, and allow you to hang your bow from them), and a shooting glove.
I also bought a second set of arrows I found that were advertised as stump shooters from ebay. They are the yellow fletched arrows . They are not the best set of arrows and were advertised and priced as such. But sold as good arrows to practice with when it was highly likely to damage your arrow.
Initial Impressions
My initial impressions were of amazement. The bow had cost a very reasonable amount but had the look and feel of a much more expensive bow. Putting the Sage together was simple and took little time. I have not even tried the stock string but immediately stung the fast flight string. I quickly was falling in love with this bow and hadn't even taken it out to shoot. It was just a beautiful bow. I really liked the no tools take down aspect and the assembly and take down was very easy and simple.
Statistics
My Samick Sage is a 62" bow, with 50 lbs draw at 28"
Riser
The riser is 19 1/4" long
made of laminated Olive Dymondwood and Hard Maple
cut-on center shelf for shooting "off the shelf"
Riser has AMO sight (also known as ATA accessory), a plunger rest, and a front stabilizer brass bushings installed. With these bushings you can install bow sights, bow fishing reels, plunger with elevated rest, and/or a stabilizer to fully customize your shooting experience to your needs.
Limbs
22 1/2" long
The Sage limbs are made with a core lamination of Hard Maple with black fiberglass back and belly.
Handling Characteristics
The bow is light and has a good feeling grip. The bow shoots quite well, and took very little tuning to get it shooting. It is often said of the Sage that it is a $140 bow that shoots like a $400 bow, and I feel that this is very true. I have shot other peoples bows that where in the $400 range, and the Sage performs just as well as they do.
Recurves are well known as noisy bows due to string slap against the limbs. To quite mine down I not only added the Llama wool string silences, but added Sticktamers.
These made the bow super quite along with the string silencers. They also act as brush guards keeping sticks and leaves from getting between the string and limb while stalking game in the woods.
You can also see my homemade limb tip protector in this picture above. Simple and effective made from a scrap of leather I had laying around.
Pros
- light weight
- no tools take down
- relatively inexpensive
- comfortable grip
- fast flight string compatible
- comes with all the bushings etc installed if you want to use them
- trusted bow maker with great reputation, the Sage it self has a great reputation too
- shoots/performs as well as much more expensive bows
- replaceable limbs, and Samick has plenty of different limb weights available
Cons
- stock string is not the best, and it is recommended to upgrade to a better string (fast flight)
- having to buy the other parts, like the plate, rest, nock point, etc
- for some, it is popular so a lot of people have it, it is not a bow that people will oooh and ahh about but one they have seen plenty of already
Conclusions/The Bottom Line
I really like this bow and have been shooting it over a year now, and definitely can say I love it. While a lot of the reviews and info might seem like hype, the Sage lives up to the hype. It is a great low cost high quality bow. Good for beginner or experienced archer. The no tools is a big plus to me as it means less gear needed to take out with me, and less to possibly loose.
I would highly recommend this bow to anyone wanting to get into archery or wanting a good pack bow. The price, quality, and ease of use is great.
(note I plan on updating this review with more stats, better pictures, etc but I wanted to get the review up and posted as I have been delaying and putting it off way too long)