Flat bow

[orius]

Hi All,

Does anyone have any experience of the samick SLB flatbow. I fancy the idea of a bit of fun in the summer with instinctive aiming. They appear to be inexpensive and I would imagine a lot more forgiving than a longbow.

Any suggestions on bow weight ??

[JohnK]

My first coach (sadly deceased) shot one for fun. He only had a 28in draw length, but he found it started stacking at 27in. Of course, that was a few years back and besides, he might have just been unlucky enough to get a dud.

Basically, if you pay less than £200 for a traditional-style bow, then for the most part you have to accept that you aren't going to get an amazing piece of kit, although it'll probably be fun to shoot.

As for weight, I have no idea what to recommend because I don't know anything about you (what draw weight you currently shoot, whether you're male or female, etc.). Give us more details

[orius]

Thanks John,

I'm male and 6'-00'' tall and shoot compound at the moment ,haven't shot a self bow for years. Basically didn't know whether to jump in the deep end with a sixty pounder and go through the pain barrier of building up to it or settling for something a little lighter and sacrificing a bit of cast ?

[Macbow]

It's a decent bow for the money - not stunning but not £400 + either. However there is someone on the NFAS site selling a Border AFB for a great price which will shoot a lot sweeter. US trad legend Asbell mentions being able to pull a bow and hold at full draw for 10 seconds while sitting in a chair. Personally I feel somewhere around 45# is adequate for the average guy but go with whatever you can comfortably shoot.

[Macbow]

Orius, poundage is no indicator of cast. My 45# Border Griffon will have more cast than a 60# SLB due to its radical reflex/deflex design and carefully tillered limbs. My 50# Blackbrook Zeta is noticeably faster and smoother than my 55# Martin Vision. Also the SLB, like most AFBs on the market today, is not a selfbow - its basically plywood sandwiched between fibreglass.
There shouldn't be a pain barrier - if there is chances are you will not pass through the accuracy barrier. Surely it is more fun grouping arrows from a 35# bow than scattering them all over the place with a more powerful bow. A compound bow allows you to hold a very light weight at full draw. Even if you are using a 60# compound, shooting a 45# stickbow comfortably and accurately will be challenging for a while.

[JohnK]

I agree with Macbow. You should definitely go for something lighter, perhaps even 35 to 40lb at your draw length to begin with. The good thing is that if you buy a lighter Samick bow like this, you'd probably be able to sell it on easily when the time comes to get a nice British-made flat bow

If you live near a shop, I suggest you call them and find out whether they have any flatbows in stock. I know Wales Archery in Newport usually carries a good stock of them.

Best of luck

[orius]

Thanks Mac,

Thats good advice , I've checked out the add on NFAS site and will give the guy a call later. I hear what you say about bow weight and in the back of my mind I guess I always knew that comfort and tighter groups should be the priority over weight for the sake of it , its just you always have this nagging thing in your head that if you do sort of ''grow out of it'' so to speak then I'll be looking for another bow fairly quickly. Thats a choice everyone has to make I guess, sort of ''chicken and egg''. As I said at the beginning this , is meant to be a fun venture so I reckon I'll settle for comfort in the end. Another problem is that many retailers give good discounts when ordering on line and there is a temptation in doing just that, however when buying something as personal as a bow you have just got to try it and shoot it before buying, so I reckon my purchase might take longer than I first thought.

Thanks Again

[jadlem]

The millenium Metis field bow is a great bow and not much more than the samick, my wife bought one from Perris in January, everyone at our club wants to play with it as it's so easy to shoot and it looks stunning. Apparently bowsports do it for a bit less than Perris, but getting to play with it first and a bit of haggling meant we probably got good value in the end.

I have a Sam Wha flat bow I bought second hand and it's great fun too. Don't expect it to be like compound shooting though! A couple of good books I can recommend on the subject are: become the arrow and a beginners guide to traditional archery.

Also take a look at the true flight feathers website for a guide to fletching arrows.

[orius]

Thanks for the links Jad