I was just wondering what you all thought about the new Silvertips that Dave is producing? My dad is thinking about getting one and he wanted me to ask you all about the good, bad and ugly. Thanks for the help guys...
The cheered grip is tops.
Smoooooooth draw and shooting bow.
They do not have any gripes that I have heard of but the price if you order a new one it is $1200+ and if you can find one sell for $850 to $650. Why that is I do not know I would think they would hold value.
JMHO
DEATHMASTER
Cons???
um prob one of the best made,finished and top performing bows out there!
cons um... take too long to make
There are no cons, just a ton of pro's!
They feel a little top heavy and not as well balanced as some of the other bows I have owned. I had one and killed a lot of deer with it, but eventually found other bows that I thought were better so sold my tip with no regrets.
Deathmaster, the reason they don't hold their value decieving. The price has gone up each of the last 2 years. You could get a new silvertip for around $900 a few years ago. If you bought one for $900 and sold for $850 I would say that is pretty good value. Just wait to see the prices when guys start trying to sell the ones purchased in the last few years. Great bows, my personal favorite, top notch service and some darn good looking detail!
About as custom as you can get,
Yer really really expensive, But that is not stopping people from ordering them, you now if there is a 10 month waiting time, it'll be work waiting for.
James
I've had several ... there is no con's IMO a long wait is not a con, its indicative of the time spent to build one of the best bows made .... if the build time was 3 weeks that would very likley deminish the kind of quality that is put into them
Cons:
1) you'll never be satisfied with just one
2) you'll have to keep it away from your friends sticky fingers
3) you'll likely be dissatisfied with what you are currently shooting
4) most wives don't like to sleep with a bow in the bed
QuoteOriginally posted by BradLantz:
I've had several ... there is no con's IMO a long wait is not a con, its indicative of the time spent to build one of the best bows made .... if the build time was 3 weeks that would very likley deminish the kind of quality that is put into them
Out of curiosity, what is the build time?
Love the smoothness, Grip [mine is checkered] and speed. Mine is a 64" fast flite 61@29 with camo limbs, however with the FF option the diamond wood riser is required and it's heavy after a day of Elk Chasing. But I feel lucky to still be chasing them at my age. If you DO YOUR PART this bow will take care of the rest.
Gene
The length of time you wait for a bow may or may not mean anything. Maybe "he" and he alone builds them and then only part time and only on the Saturdays his kid doesn't have soccer. etc. Price isn't necessarily a reflection of quality nor is resell value. That being said I like my friends a lot. :)
Tom, it's ten to twelve months.
I can't think of anything but good things about mine.
He doesn't make FF models in exotic woods for some reason
All pros no con's! fast but more importantly very " Shooter Friendly" . I own a Bunch!! (http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/Copyofgreyzebrasilvertip-1.jpg)
I've owned several over the years, The bows that dave builds are just as good if not better than the bows that Paul built. no Cons for me, Silvertips are the only bows I hunt with.
Billy
Billy; now remember that Pauls bows have a little more Mojo.LOL. Dave is an awesome Bowyer, but don't tell him that!
No cons...if you don't buy one now, you'll ended up buying one later!
I wish I would have bought mine 15 years ago. You gotta have the checkered grip it is the best!
I love the 2 that I have, the only down side I can see to them is the lack of enough finish IMO but that is the only thing negative I can ever say about mine. Dang they shoot good and the feel is unbelievable as these bows are smooth ,fast and just feel RIGHT.
Jack
What Tim said.Ive never owned one but Ill be looking in a month or so.
These are beautiful bows with a wonderful grip, but I found speed to be only average...even with the FF option. I have done a lot of chronographing and it is no speed demon. It's certainly no dog, but several bows out there with equal poundage will surpass the tip by 8-10 fps. However, they are very shooter friendly with good manners and this "con" is minor in my book. I just wanted to mention this because sometimes the "hype" gets a little out of hand.
I agree w/ Lon. Nice shooters but the two I've had were of average speed. Nice, well crafted bows though.
Cons: I can only shoot one at the time!!!!!!
I'm going from a Howatt Mamba that was given to me to a tip. I haven't had any other bows. I cannot wait to feel the difference. Pro's-What I have read and been told by everyone here that has or has ever had one!
your right on the Mojo Sergio, :) the bows that Paul has made for me are very special to me. I remember reading about Paul when I was a young man and I just had to have one of those bows. I'm saving them for my 3 year old son I just hope he does'nt end up being a lefty. I hunt with a couple of Daves bows now and they are truly awesome shooting bows. Any Silvertip will do :)
Billy
The Silvertip is a hell of a bow...and Dave is one hell of a bowyer!!
Peter
I have owned/shot many bows, currently down to one....Silvertip. Get the checkered grip.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ben Kleinig:
Tom, it's ten to twelve months.
I can't think of anything but good things about mine.
Surely it wouldn't take that long. Waiting time sure, but build time would be a few weeks surely.
That's correct, Tom; it is the que that takes the time. But it's worth lining-up for.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ben Kleinig:
That's correct, Tom; it is the que that takes the time. But it's worth lining-up for.
Ben, if I had the dough I'd order one today!
I own 2 of Dave's bows. He's a fine bowyer, one of the best IMO! ;)
I have to agree with others above that about the only con I can think of is the waiting time. Other than that, they're fantastic.
Dave and Beth are great people and a pleasure to deal with too! Your dad won't be disappointed with a Silvertip!
My pros:
When you order one, you get to deal with Dave and Beth. Two nicer people, I do not know.
The grip and feel of the bow when shot. I went thru a LOT of bows looking for MY favorite recurve. Nothing fits my hand better or shoots better for me than a regular, stock, medium everything Silvertip; I guess I am just an average guy! Everyone is different though and everyone shold find what fits THEM.
Confidence. Silvertips have travelled to all corners of the globe and have been used in every climatic condition known to take a tremendous variety of game. I have personally never heard of a failure.
Cons: None in my mind.
I have to question those that say Silvertips aren't very fast. I have shot a couple Silvertips against bows that I own (Black Widow, Morrison). If everything thing were equal on these bows, ie:string, draw weight, silencers, etc. I don't think you could find 1-2 fps diffenence in them. And yes, I shot have a crono and have shot them all extensively through it.
The only con 2 cons that kept me from ordering one for so long were:
1) My own impatience---but I finally made myself realize that I will never have one if I don't get it ordered!
2) Dave not using exotic woods in the risers of FF models. Well aftering some research here and talking to Dave, he actually will buid the riser out of exotic woods for lower weight bows (mine is 50#) but doesn't warranty it. I know he has his reasons for his policies and I appreciate them.
After talking to him, I went with just that. Cocobolo riser, FF and I CAN'T wait till it gets here!!!!
I am also curious about the lack of speed comments. I find them to be above average in speed. Never chronoed a tip or any other trad bow for that matter but it is obvious how a bow performs once you take two steps back from 18-20 yards. My tips are hard hitting too, they seem to pack more punch when they arrive at there destination.
I can think of a few other custom bows out there that are slower to the eye and to my own speed test which is the 18-20 yd mark.
I know that the deer are not interested in how fast the arrow get to them, so I guess I don't really mind either. Silvertips rule the recurve market in my book and I have been down a costly road figuring that out!
Quote2) Dave not using exotic woods in the risers of FF models. Well aftering some research here and talking to Dave, he actually will buid the riser out of exotic woods for lower weight bows (mine is 50#) but doesn't warranty it. I know he has his reasons for his policies and I appreciate them.
After talking to him, I went with just that. Cocobolo riser, FF and I CAN'T wait till it gets here!!!!
I've wondered about this. You see plenty of bow makers offering exotics and I think I've only seen one or two posts in all my years about a broken or cracked riser.
Here is one of mine; Fast Flight and all Ebony...that is exotic, isn't it?
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/P7260196.jpg)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/P8220010.jpg)
Seriously, A.S is correct with his info. I am not worried about any warranty.
Steve, that ebony Silvertip is absolutely gorgeous (love the checkering ;) ), and that goat is nice too. :thumbsup:
My hunting buddy and fellow tradganger tadpole is on his second tip and they are by no means slow the tip he has and has had will smoke any bow I've ever had in my hands!! I won't mention any name's but my bow's are slow compared to his!! I took the hint and orderd one about 2 weeks ago so here in about 10 months I'll be shooting my own!! just my 2 cents, Jason
I just got one myself recently. I must say there are pro's all over it. Not a con to be found anywhere IMO. Wish I would have gotten one a long time ago. Now I am in the market for another.
Froggy
I've got 2 Schafers, one is a Paul riser/Dave limbs and the other is a Dave - short riser/long limb. The big thing that I notice as well as the others that shoot them around here is that the bows love a heavy arrow. I've been playing around with the carbons, they shoot good at 600 grns. I stuffed some weight tubes to get 680 and the flight improved and the bow performs better. Currently using 2219s @ 685 grns and shoot flat to 25 yards. The bow is spec at 64#@28 60". I agree with what is said for pros. Some would say that the exotics not being FF a con, I got my bow to hunt and shoot. Sure fancy is nice, but I'm a function over fashion guy. The long wait is tough, but most bowyers have up to a year or more. Can't go wrong with a Schafer, not only are you shooting a well built bow, but a legand as well.
Bad thing is now that I have one ordered, I'm already thinking of how I can justify getting another one "just to hunt with"!
Wonder if the wife will go for that one. :biglaugh:
4 more months, 4 more months! I understand why Dave does not do FF on exoctics, what I don't understand is why everyone thinks it is so important to have? Only 1 of my tips is FF and I don't see that much of a difference.
Pros Quality Bows & Quality People
Cons There ADDICTING :biglaugh:
I have one and like it very much.
There's enough bows/bowyers out there that anyone that orders a custom bow and later can find a Con with the bow,can only blame themselves.
ST Great bow/Great bowyer
I believe there was some chrono info on here a while back showing speed of different bows with similiar setups. The tips were average to slighly below average. Not a slow bow, but by no means a speed demon. The one I owned was a shooter, but it also was no burner.
Steve O. - simply magnificent bow, prongy and photograph!
I am also very happy with the speed of my bow; I wouldn't have a clue what it is, but it's plenty fast enough to poke excellent holes in large and nasty (or nice) ferals.
still waiting for you to put a Nasty ol Buff on the ground with Tip of yours ben :readit: :thumbsup:
excellent bow, bowyer, and customer service!
they are expensive and the wait is long but you know you are getting a very high quality product built one at a time by one person that will last a lifetime. money well spent.
as for speed. my recurve is "fast enough". never chrono'd it and probably never will because its very stable, quiet, and most importantly ACCURATE when it counts..in the woods.
just my opinion
What do you guys think about the balance in the hand? It seems a little weight forward for me...
:D
Dude...you are over analyzing things just a wee bit. They shoot great and kill stuff dead :knothead:
QuoteOriginally posted by Steve O:
:D
Dude...you are over analyzing things just a wee bit. They shoot great and kill stuff dead :knothead:
I have to agree ;)
Schafer Silvertip, it's the Michael Jordan of the bow world. NUFF SAID!!!
First off, customer service is second to none! Beth will go to amazing lengths of time & effort to get you into a Tip. My concern was the wait & she found a way around that!
As for performance, outstanding! Speed is not my primary concern, silence, accuracy, pointability then speed. I do not have a chrono nor plan on ever having one. I do have several "fast" bows including Border Black Douglas, Wapiti & Morrison being about the quickest judged solely by what I think & feel, nuttin' scientific like. My tip shoots as well or better & feels as good or better.
Other outstanding bows I have include 2 Rose Oaks, Brackenbury, SheepEater, Caribow & Shrew.
Now, put into my own perspective, I'll be keeping my SilverTip!
That said, it still remains up to your Dad to decide. Best thing possible is to try out as many bows as you can -before- purchasing. What feels good to me may not feel the same for your Dad. Bows are personal things & over time, you will come to appreciate the subtle differences between fine custom bows. Whether it be the feel of the grip, smoothness of draw, steadiness in hand after release etc.
There will be bows you come to love, & some you just don't shoot as much or as well. Even between the same make & model. I believe there still remains some "witchery" in the hand crafting of a bow that can & does make every bow unique unto itself.
Remember also the thrill of the hunt,....for a bow!