So I got a gorgeous 59 Kodiak. The new one, not a real 59. So I took it to the garage at 8yards. The first time shooting it. I was worried that my almost 31" draw would be too much but it seems pretty smooth and not stacking in any way that I notice.
I shoot three under and it's rated 50#. First three shots? All touching. Yeah. Pretty close so easy to do and it ruined two of my arrows. But the bow is fast in the hand. It points easily. It shoots to your point of aim easily. Hard to put it into words but kind of like how a nice 1911 points itself for you. Or how a nice over and under swings on a bird. The bow is just an easy extension of the hand and arm.
It shoots with authority also. I like it a lot. No range near me so I have to wait until the weekend to wring it out. But I'm impressed.
I am green with envy! Nice score on a modern classic!
Shot one this week as nice of a bow as I've shot.
QuoteOriginally posted by Gator1:
Shot one this week as nice of a bow as I've shot.
I sold a SK 64" Grayling Green to fund this bow and I was sort of skeptical about it. The SK was a really nice bow but I didn't like the big riser and grip. I had been shooting a mint Tigercat and the grip was much more comfortable to me than the SK so I started looking at the 59 and read about it and again was worried about the shorter length and my draw length. But after some folks messaged me that it wouldn't be a problem I got one. So in all I sold a gorgeous vintage Tigercat and Like new SK and I couldn't be happier. Now I have to roll a couple new arrows to replace the ones i just destroyed!
And. I still have longbow on the brain. The Wagstaff I ordered should be here in a couple months. I should be pretty busy this spring!
Well damn you just cost me $700 bucks! I have been looking at them since the day they came out. You post made me realize it's time to order one and find out for myself.
I have 2 custom bows on order but sometimes you get tired of waiting.
The 59 should be here Tuesday or Wednesday this week. 55@28 satin finish.
Tedd
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So here it is. Wanted to get everyone's critique on my stance and form. The bow feels good and the grip indexes in my hand easily. I'm 6'5" and my draw as measured by the wife is 30.75" or very close.
At this draw I really didn't notice it getting to a wall or severely stacking. I think it's draws very well it isn't very loud. Doesn't feel jump in the hand when shooting. I like it.
QuoteOriginally posted by Tedd:
Well damn you just cost me $700 bucks! I have been looking at them since the day they came out. You post made me realize it's time to order one and find out for myself.
I have 2 custom bows on order but sometimes you get tired of waiting.
The 59 should be here Tuesday or Wednesday this week. 55@28 satin finish.
Tedd
You know I'm sitting here and looking at it and it has a feel of being vintage. When I was a kid my grandfather and his buddies and my dad and uncles would all get together during the summer and shoot. Nobody in my family hunted archery back then (1970s) but more so they just hung out talked about whatever and shot targets on hay bales and some of the old timers shot Kodiaks of various models and this takes me back. I had this little green kids fiberglass bow with a red handle. The kind where you could shoot right or let handed. I would fling those cheap crimped point arrows at the targets and would get excited if one would even stick.
My dad had a really nice Tamerlane. My brother got it when he died. He was a south paw so neither of us shooting but it sure is nice. My one uncle had an Alaskan. I think he may still have it. And I have my grandfathers Black Hawk Bee. I refinished it. Shoots nice.
Anyway I like this bow a lot. Probably would like a 62" or 64" if it was an option but I'm just used to that, nothing to knock the bow so next weekend I am going to get some arrows through it
Is that a 60" bow? Seems to be handling your draw length pretty well. Nice symmetric bend in both limbs. 50# @ 28"? You must be pulling about 57-58#? You seem very relaxed, able to handle the weight. Perhaps a little tension in your bow hand. Kind of hard to tell from this angle. The shadow your bow hand makes against the wall is a little confusing. Same with your alignment. A shot from above and behind would make it easier to look at your string forearm alignment with the arrow. I'm not sure how your shoulders are lined up. Maybe have someone hold an arrow across your shoulder blades at full draw and see it it's pointing at the target? Your stance is fine. Bottom line is, you are hitting what you're shooting at. Hard to argue with that.
Congrats...those 59's are sweet shooters!
Yeah,
I have a 30"+ draw and always thought the 60" 59 would stack. It's the only thing that kept me from buying one. (I have a 66 kodiak that stacks so bad after 28" that I can't even shoot it properly. It's a great bow and I should sell it.)
So looking at your photo I should be ok
QuoteOriginally posted by KyStickbow:
Congrats...those 59's are sweet shooters!
I'll get a couple more from different angles later today.
QuoteOriginally posted by Tedd:
Well damn you just cost me $700 bucks! I have been looking at them since the day they came out. You post made me realize it's time to order one and find out for myself.
I have 2 custom bows on order but sometimes you get tired of waiting.
The 59 should be here Tuesday or Wednesday this week. 55@28 satin finish.
Tedd
Looking forward to your review. I was really amazed how nice this bow shot.
In preparation I made up a string for a 60" bow. 18 strands of bcy-x with .030 Halo to fit classic nocks. (I use glue on classic nocks on carbons and wood so I can switch arrows). The new string is on a 60" "stretcher" bow sitting near the fireplace so it settles in. Wooly Whispers are in place and adjustable nock points tied on.
I'm assuming the string that comes with the new Kodiak is probably a bit overbuilt and probably not the very best string material. I don't know how accurate the marked draw weight will be. I haven't purchased a production bow for a while but I think the have a 2-3 lb variance up and down from the marked weight?
The bow will be about 61# @ 30" and probably fall between .340 and .300 shafts depending on it's center shot. The stable is a little too full so I plan to sell a 1966 Kodaik and a 2015 Pittsley Predator.
A little more tinkering in the garage. Decided to try out some carbon arrows. Beman ICS Bowhunters 340. Five in LW shield cut feathers. With full length weight tubes and brass inserts and 145 points. A pretty heavy arrow I had set up for deer out of a #55 Montana I sold off.
They shoot very very well. Bare shaft they show good spine and fletch they impact the same at 8 yards. Have a lot of time to experiment with arrows until the fall. I really want to shoot straight up wood but every time I sling carbons, it just becomes so easy to work with and shoot as an arrow material.
very cool, I hope to own a '59 myself one of these days.
Glad its working out for you.I had a few originals and some reproduction 59ers.Currantly shooting a 1960 reproduction Kodiak that's 60 inches.Its similar to the 59er.
One of my original 59ers was a 64 incher that was in excellent shape.I loved that bow.You would probably really like the 64 incher alot!Maybe you will find one someday to try.They are more rare however.It would fit you very well.
I love the new 59s. They shoot very well and look and feel very similar to the originals.
(http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa277/DUCK_TRAP/5CBFDC63-F023-46FB-96D6-DA858DD69803.jpeg) (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/DUCK_TRAP/media/5CBFDC63-F023-46FB-96D6-DA858DD69803.jpeg.html)
I'm very happy so far. Great look and feel. Stuck shooting in the garage but better than not shooting at all.
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Here's one from the front. And my ugly mug! Don't think I can get one from the top down.
I don't think you're quite coming to full draw. There seems to be an angle between your drawing forearm and your arrow. I would imagine that if someone were to put an arrow on your shoulder blades when you are at full draw, it would point to the left of the target. These two alignment issues are related, and can cause left misses.
In general, you look really solid and relaxed. If you're happy with your shooting, keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about it. However, it may be possible to improve your alignment. One result of that might be an increase in your draw length. Ordinarily, that would be a good thing, but as you're already pushing the limits of your Bear, this could possibly move you into the stacking range of the force/draw curve.
QuoteOriginally posted by McDave:
I don't think you're quite coming to full draw. There seems to be an angle between your drawing forearm and your arrow. I would imagine that if someone were to put an arrow on your shoulder blades when you are at full draw, it would point to the left of the target. These two alignment issues are related, and can cause left misses.
In general, you look really solid and relaxed. If you're happy with your shooting, keep doing what you're doing and don't worry about it. However, it may be possible to improve your alignment. One result of that might be an increase in your draw length. Ordinarily, that would be a good thing, but as you're already pushing the limits of your Bear, this could possibly move you into the stacking range of the force/draw curve.
I get a good repeatable anchor in the corner of my mouth with my knuckles just under my cheekbone. Opening up my draw stance brings that anchor way back beyond what I would be comfortable with even if bow mechanics were not an issue. When I shot a compound, my draw profile was more in what you are talking about but that's with a release and a loop, kisser button and a peep and the knuckle of my index finger just under my ear at the back of my jaw hinge. I think it's just the repeatability that makes it feel right. Who knows.
Long arms and being 6'5" don't make anything easy.
You really have two choices, if you were to decide to change your alignment: making the adjustment on the string arm side or making the admitment on the bow arm side. Imagine keeping everything the same as you have it on the string arm side, but rotating your bow arm to the left. In the picture you posted, this would cause your bow arm fist to move to the left, covering the exposed portion of your bow arm. This would bring both your shoulders and string forearm into better alignment. To cause this to happen, you would start your draw closer to your body, so your bow arm and shoulders would be closer to in line as you draw the bow and at full draw.
Good point. But would I be locking my elbow? I think I might. But I could, conceivably rotate my shoulder and elbow further up on the string side and keep my anchor and better aligning my arms and shoulders with the line of sight. So my elbow and string arm would be higher in relation to my shoulder if that makes sense? 'll fool around with it and get more pictures.
I now make a 56" , 60" and a 64" replica of the 1959 era Kodiak. They are just neat bows.
I think your elbow could be locked or unlocked in either position. To demonstrate, hold your arm straight out to the side, without holding a bow, so that your bow arm and your shoulders are in a straight line. You could lock or unlock your elbow with your arm in this position. Now move your arm several degrees toward the front of your body, without changing anything else, which is the position you are in in your photo. You could also lock or unlock your elbow in this position.
Your objective is to get your bow arm as far to the side as possible and still be able to draw the bow. When you draw the arrow, it will be closer to your body than it is in your current position. You may not be able to achieve perfect alignment without also making some changes on the string side, but you will be better aligned than you are now.
To get into this position, I like to start from a slightly open stance and then rotate my torso until my shoulders are pointed at the target. I'm conscious when I'm drawing the bow of keeping the arrow close to my body. If I can see that I'm going to be off target to the left because of that, I rotate my body more as I draw the bow rather than move my bow arm, so that I don't have to make any further windage adjustments when I'm at full draw.
Starting from an open stance is optional. I do it because I feel like my body is more stabile than it is if I'm in a perpendicular stance.
I sent a few arrows down this morning and had my wife put the ruler to the bow at this draw and opening up a little with my shoulders straighter and with the elbow still unlocked slightly more, Im just a 1/4" longer to 31" exactly on the ruler so not much in the numbers but in the mirror the geometry is a lot cleaner and I might say the bow points even better?
Ill get her to take another picture this evening but I think it still is working well. No finger pinch, I dont notice a wall or stacking really bad and the bow seems to shoot pretty smooth.
Very nice bow. Congrats
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And this is what I've come up with. No a real noticeable draw length increase but definitely more repetitive and pointable at a target.
How's it look?
You seem to have a better line through your shoulders and bow arm to the target, which has also indirectly improved the alignment of your string forearm and arrow. However, I like your upright head position better in the picture before. The bowstring seems discontinuous as it passes through your hand, as if it's being torqued. This could just be a photographic illusion. Do you have any sense as to whether you might be torquing the bowstring (i.e. putting a counterclockwise force on it)?
I see exactly what your talking about. No torque. Its the angle from which she took the picture so what appears a little twist to the string in my hand is due to the parallax of the picture angle and is the angle of the string below my hand. Make sense?
Makes sense
I don't seem to be able to keep my head up and get my shoulders aligned this way at the same time. This is comfortable and repeatable. Been working on it with a low pound Tigercat just to get it ingrained into my muscles.
There's nothing wrong with tilting your head over the arrow, as long as you do it the same way every time. Jim Ploen, who I greatly respect, and a lot of other people in the past have recommended it. Current orthodoxy is to keep your head in a neutral position and bring the arrow to it, which eliminates the step of tilting your head over the arrow. So pick whichever one works best for you.
My 59 got here quickly. It's pretty sharp looking. The darn string that came packaged with it and sealed in the bag with the owner's manual is for a 58" bow! I untwisted it as far as possible and could get no lower than a 9" brace. The string measures 54". So I did not draw the bow. (I'm at the office). Three Rivers said they will ship a new string ASAP. I have a new BCX-X string ready at home.
(http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p714/tas0323/Mobile%20Uploads/D3A7C8E2-F3E9-4CBD-90BE-50B795CB51C2_zpsyyxnrajw.jpg)
Very very nice!!
Bow porn,I love it.
Nice satin finish.
I got about 25 shots through it. It was simple to tune. The arrows I had for my current shooter were perfect. So that was easy. I feel like bow points and hits better than any bow I have had. It's a little hard to tell with the 50 mpg wind driven snow and single digit wind chill. I have to play with the brace height. I'll give it a while then do a review.
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Ted they are great shooters. B
Aw you guys are killin' me. I'd never seen the 59/60 before, they are so clean looking. I draw 30" too, nice to know they don't stack. I think I need a 35# version.
Valkyrie & Tedd, how's the 59 working for you now a couple months later?
He's my 59'er
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/catman-do/ed%205_zps8on8f3ed.jpg) (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/catman-do/media/ed%205_zps8on8f3ed.jpg.html)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/catman-do/ed%202_zpsqfo9nkrk.jpg) (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/catman-do/media/ed%202_zpsqfo9nkrk.jpg.html)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f247/catman-do/ed%2011_zpszjdghsat.jpg) (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/catman-do/media/ed%2011_zpszjdghsat.jpg.html)
It has a handle like a longbow, and shoots very well to point of aim.
QuoteOriginally posted by Woodpuppy:
Aw you guys are killin' me. I'd never seen the 59/60 before, they are so clean looking. I draw 30" too, nice to know they don't stack. I think I need a 35# version.
Valkyrie & Tedd, how's the 59 working for you now a couple months later?
I ended up selling it. Great bow but just too short. Maybe I'll find a 64" model.
Valkyrie look at the Holm made version of the 59 er it is a sweet shooting bow .I just picked one up and I cant put it down
Still shooting it daily. I intend to hunt with it this fall. I think I have better first shot accuracy with this bow than any I have owned. The best part is how light and small it is!
I play with the nock height at times. I have never used a feather rest or skinny arrows before. Sometimes I get an up and down porpise if don't release smoothly. Sometimes it's best at 3/8, sometimes it seems to need to be a little higher.
I have a brand new one in the box I will sell if anyone wants it. I need to thin the stable. $50 less than retail no freight. it is 55lb, purple heart. Shot 6 times.
Tedd