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Would like opinions on bows with bow bolt options. Has anyone bought a bow with one that they wish they had just bought a 1 piece? I have wanted one for a while now but not sure why. I don't travel with my bows. So before I decide to get rid of my Samurai and buy a bow bolt griffin or shrew. So what's your opinion?

I love my Samurai T/D

How often do you take your Samurai apart?

If you truly do not travel and have no intention to do so, then I personally see no reason to spend the money to have the Bolt installed in a new bow.  While Shrew seems to have the formula down, to the point where very few customers have trouble, I rarely unstring my bows, let alone take them down, unless traveling by air.....

YMMV

 :archer:

They work really slick. I owned one on a McCullough 59er recurve and there was no problems at all with it while I was shooting it w/ my 28" draw.  I sold it to a friend in MI that has a 30" draw and it hatched on him.  
  I would own another one because it's a slick little system BUT, I think I'd have it built using an epoxy pregnated, Dymondwood type riser. The 59er had an osage riser.

And, I agree w/ fatman. I have TD bows that I seldom take down because I only hunt near home. Never travel, fly in to hunt, etc. So, while the TD feature is handy I don't utilize it much. They seem to have better resale value

Thanks for the inputs. I keep asking myself how often I'd take the bow apart. I never have needed too yet.  I guess its the grass is always greener when there is something we don't have.

I have 4 Shrews and one Holm-Made bows with Bow Bolts. I think the bolts are well worth the money and work very well, but only if you actually take the bow apart. I travel a lot to hunt, so the Bow Bolt is a necessity for me, but if I didn't ever travel with my bows I would not spend the money or have the split grip just to say I had a takedown bow. I have had zero problems with my bows with Bow Bolts, but there have been issues with bows coming apart, even from the best bowyers. I agree that a very stable riser material needs to be used. Bowyers who have had failures and had to replace the bow learn quickly what works and what doesn't.

Allan

Allan,

Which is your favorite Shrew for fun shooting? I know we all differ, just asking for your opinion. Thanks

I love longbows!  For airline travel, the bowbolt is the best hands down for me.  My 54" Shrew Classic Hunter fits in my duffel on checked baggage.  That bow shoots just like a 1 pc.  I've never found a 3 pc bow I really liked...Doc

Greg,

I have fun any time I am shooting, so it is a little hard to say which Shrew I like best for fun shooting. If you mean just messing around in the back yard without getting fatigued, I would say that my lighter poundage Shrews are the best. Since my lightest is a 43#@28" Lil Favorite, then that bow with fairly light arrows would be the one. My favorite Shrew would be a Classic Hunter with foam cores (and maybe carbon backing) and Bow Bolt. My normal hunting weights run about 52 to 57 pounds at my 29 1/2" draw and fling an arrow very well. At those draw weights I start to feel significant fatigue at about 100 arrows unless I take a break occasionally.

I often shoot up to 300 arrows in a session and quit when my form breaks down. I know I should quit sooner and shoot slower, but every time I try to stop, I think "Just a few more." I can actually shoot my hunting weight bows better at first because I get a cleaner release, but when fatigue sets in my shooting starts getting sloppy unless I drop down in draw weight.

Overall, I think the Shrew I would consistently enjoy the most for "fun" shooting would be a 47 to 52 pound foam core Classic Hunter that I could shoot without fatiguing much and would still have a high enough draw weight to give me that clean release. A Bow Bolt would be nice, but for just fun shooting around the house it would be unnecessary. Same thing with carbon backing. The jury is still out on the carbon backing because I have been sick for most of the month and have not been able to chronograph my new carbon backed Classic Hunter to see what speed gains I get. I don't think the foam/carbon bow is quite as smooth or quiet as my almost identical foam core bow without carbon, so there needs to be a significant speed advantage to the carbon to make it worth adding. I do notice the carbon backed bow is faster, I just don't know how much faster. The foam core Shrews are definitely smoother and faster than the boo core bows. They have a distinctive higher frequency twang until you add string silencers, and then they get very quiet. I must have exotic wood limb veneers though, because I am a sucker for great looks.

I still have another Shrew I ordered a year and a half ago that would already have been built by now except I asked Ron and Gregg to hold off until I decided what I wanted in my next bow. Right now, my ideas are to either get about a 55 pound 56" Lil Favorite with foam limbs and Bow Bolt, or about a 50 pound 56" Classic Hunter with foam/carbon limbs and Bow Bolt, either of them sporting exotic hardwood veneers. I am also on the fence about the carbon backing on the CH until I do the chrono tests.

I know I prefer the Classic Hunter, foam cores, a Bow Bolt and beautiful veneers in a Shrew. I am not sure I answered you question, but I have tried.

Allan

Greg,

As most know I'm a big fan of the Bow-bolt system.  But if you don't plan to travel and don't take the bow apart, why spend the money?

I have two bows that have the bow bolt in them that I seldom use anymore.  I like the 3 pc more as it packs smaller and goes in my suitcase.

Mike

Greg,
One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, whether or not you ever plan to take the bow apart is the extra 3+ ounces the Bow Bolt adds right in your hand.  I have heard that some target shooters ask for it just for that reason.  I prefer my 2 piece Bow Bolt bows over my one piece bows for that reason alone when I am just shooting for the fun of it.  Other than the extra "solidness" (I just made up that word), you can't detect any other difference between a Bow Bolt bow and a one piece.  Oops, there is a small matter of an extra $200 +/-.

Craig

Greg I recently traded off my 60" 55# Griffin with the "Bolt".. hardest bow I have ever let go of  :wavey:

I will soon know what to think about the bow bolt system. I have one on the way. Does anyone know of a case made for a take down shrew or a homemade one?

QuoteOriginally posted by Greg Owen:
I will soon know what to think about the bow bolt system. I have one on the way. Does anyone know of a case made for a take down shrew or a homemade one?

Check with Rod at Safari-Tuff

Great idea. Now why didn't I think of that. I wonder if I will be able to shoot like he does if I buy one of his???

You can make a case pretty easy by cutting one of your bowsocks in half Greg if you not looking for anything fancy.Fold the top over and secure with thick rubber band or rope.You can then slide those 2 sections into another bowsock if you want more padding.

its easy to make something really.

The one I have is a rectangle shape,polor fleece material and about 36 iches long and 8 inches wide.It is stitched down the middle to make 2 compartments 4 inches wide.Put the limbs in fold together and fold the top over and tie it together at the bottom,middle and top.Pretty simple and effective.

Black widow and Kathy kelly make 2 piece cases as well.

Nice bow you got coming.I like it!

I use Rod Jenkins' Gazelle two piece takedown cases for my two piece Shrews, and they work very well.

Rod does guarantee you will win every shoot you enter if you use his products, but you must also stay at a Holiday Inn Express during the shoot for Rod's guarantee to be valid.        ;)

Allan

I have a really nice one made by Kathy Kelly. Full length zipper closure. It has two seperate sleeves attached inside to hold both sections seperatly and securely.  Also has to sewn in storage pocket aprox. 3"x12" with zipper, on the inside of the Bow Case.

Think I pd $45 new for it. Bought from Ted Fry at Raptor Archery.

Gene  :wavey:

Greg, I don't take it apart every day, but quite often and so far no problem. I like it, and I like to be able to unstring it and put in a quiver or a pack to go to or come back from my hunting spot.