Has anyone shot a BW pch next to a toelke pika? I have been shooting pikas for the last 7 years and love them but am curious if the BW has the edge from a performance standpoint. I have a 25.5" draw and could be tempted to try a BW if there could be some performance gain. Its hard to believe anything could be better than the toelkes I have shot though...
Where are you measuring your draw length? From the back of the riser? Or the deepest part of the grip?
getting decent performance from any bow with a shorter draw length is tough to do without having something custom built that is draw length specific. I'd put my money on Dan's bows over BW. .02 cents. Kirk
My experience is that BW makes good bows. I've had a few. But even if there is some gain in performance you may find you still like the Toelke Pika better. After 60 years of shooting bows and spending way to much money looking for the one bow that is better I've finally realized that performance is good but shootability is the key.
The comparison is a little skewed. The Pika is a short R/D longbow whereas the PCH is a short recurve. Better to compare the PCH to a Chinook. No disrespect to Black Widow, but the Toelke Chinook is one of the finest recurves ever built. And since you know you like Dan's bows you might consider giving the Chinook a whirl.
If looking for performance I don't own one but know folks who do and the like the Centaur,
I measure with a marked arrow to the deepest part of the grip. I absolutely love Dans bows, and the Pika is a treat.
I have shot the chinook and love the bow but am very comfortable with a bow that is 52-54" and feel this optimizes performance at my short draw. Soes the chinook gain that much over dans whips? For example my 56" pika 50# @ 25.5 (measured) gives up 10fps to my 52" pika that is 50# @ 25.5. I dont notice a large difference in shootability.
I have a dall sheep hunt in a year and a half and am planning an arrow in the 9-10gpp range from a slightly heavier bow than what I have now. Ultimately I was curious if the BW pch might be worth trying or if ill stick with a pika in a slightly heavier draw weight.
If you're looking at short, fast bows, you might also consider a 52" Elkheart Magnum. A simply amazing little firecracker.
I have a Chinook and really like it. Had a BW PCH and sold it. Couldn't get it quiet, at least to my standard. The Chinook is really quiet with the string Dan supplies. That said, I have a 58 inch Kanati that I shoot lights out. Took some work to quiet it down, but with a TTT B55 string it is really quiet. I like it so much that I ordered a new 56 inch Kanati. Jason is building a new 56 inch bow that will have slightly more hook in the limbs. He said it will make the bow draw more comfortable for a 56 inch bow and a slight boost in performance. All for $625 vs $1600 for a Black Widow. And the Kanati is fast. My Kanati is 38 lbs and the Chinook is 40 lbs. I feel the Kanati is slightly faster but I shoot arrows that are 12 to 13 GPP, so don't give a hoot about speed. I like to watch the spin of my feathers!!!!!!!!
If you have committed to guided hunt for Dall Sheep and your thinking about a heaver bow why not order one from Dan in the weight, tiller, and length, you want, now. If you switch to a different bow the added physical weight, with a different bow quiver if you use one, might be a challenge. As an option, call the two and ask them for performance info on the final two bows your considering, and ask for specs on the two, whether finger pinch is an issue. What size glove do you use? Ask if they have a trial period, and the cost.