So what's the story behind the Martin Savannah Longbow? I've heard that is an extremely nice shooting bow for the price but that was me just overhearing a few guys outside Cabelas and a few friends. Anybody shot one?
yes i have shot one and was impressed with the quality . though you can find a good custome for less. butt if you dont want to wait than the savanah is a very nice production bow.
Loved mine!!! Do yourself a favor though and buy one used. I think Martin's "new" price is a little out there along with other big manufacturers making trad bows.
For the same amount of a new Savannah, you could have a VERY nice custom. :thumbsup:
A very nice used one can be had for $300-$350. Mine was 55@28 and would really zing an arrow, but did have a little hand shock.
If your going to buy new, for $500+, I would look elsewhere.
The Savannah is a great bow. I shot one at the Western States Rondevous. The price is right up there with a full on custom. I can say it also looks like a custom bow and is hand made by bowyers who have been in the business for 30 + years. I have visited the Howatt Shop in Yakima and all the guys making those bows could be custom bowyers if they wanted to. Many of them have been working for Howatt and now Martin Archery for 30 years or more. Throw in a great warranty from Martin and it would be a great choice.
Having said all that, for a little more you can buy a full on custom but the waiting will drive you nuts.
Awesome bow! I've owned a couple of different ones. Built by master craftsmen with decades of experience. I too think the new price is a little high, only because so many others are built just like it. Buy a used one for $300 and you have a great buy.
I have looked at the Savannah bow in Cabelas it was $529.99. Seemed pretty pricey for a production bow. Where would i be likely to find one used? I hav looked on this site but havnt found any, any ideas?
Are u set on just a Savannah, if not use the "Trad Gang Sponsor List" (top of the page), which will take u to thir we sites. Many of the bowyer listed have "in stock" bows. To name a few from the sponsor list w/ "in stock" bows; Bob Lee, Bruin Bows, Black Creek, Dryad Bows, Striker Bows, Dwyer Bows, JK Traditions, etc....
Have u check in the Classifed section? Buy a used bow and have custom bow built. I have found in buying then selling a used bow u can be close to breaking even, minus shipping.
If you want a custom made "For you" w/ your choose of woods, draw lenght, and weight, JK Traditions, Mohawk and Maddog (all of which I have) would be in the same price range as the Savannah. I sure other custom bows are also in that price range.
Maddog builds the "Mutt" which I heard good things about for $225. Probably my next bow.
One more thing, I haven't shot the Savannah so I can't comment on the quailty of the bow.
to be truthful i'm kinda spoiled on bows. I hav a 64'' acs adcock. 64'' death ader. 60'' vypercon. 62'' bear bow, and a few others. But when i heard about this bow i was intrested because its cheaper than the others and apparently has close to the same quality. Im not set on just this bow but im more of trying to get more info before i go all the way to cabelas to try it out. im about 5hr away from nearest cabelas but i got to get some other stuff anyway....
My dad has one that I've shot quite a bit and it's pretty nice. He got it brand new on *bay for $385 I think so there are deals if you shop around.
I should note that I haven't shot very many longbows so I don't have much to compare the Savannah to.
Do you shoot mainly recurves?
ttt
the savannah is a great bow,i had one for awhile,but like many others on here,wanted to try something else and ended up selling it.would i buy another? heck yes.
The first year i hunted with trad gear I used one, I shot five deer with it before I got rid of it. Wish I still had one but just a tad lighter than the 50 pounder that I was shooting.
Unfortunately i declined to shoot one when i was at cabelas a while ago, i shot some 3 rivers bows, since i didn't know the name i just didnt show much intrest. I had one hour in there so i wasn't wanting to waste my time on sumthing i didn't know was good
I bought a Savannah when they first came out and still have it.I think they are a fine shooting longbow,it shoots right up there with any bow I have.Smooth draw and pretty fast in my opinion,love the zebrawood limbs.I am quite a fan of Martin/Damon Howatt bows,have had many of them and still have four.They are among my favorite bows to shoot.
Do you feel that the price is right for the quality of bow?
I have owned three savannahs 45#, 50#,& 55#. I kept the 50# and sold the others. I love the bow! I wont sell it!!! The grip was perfectly shaped for my hand but a little small so I installed a leather grip and now it's a perfect fit.
I have had custom bows and I could care less whether its custom or manufactured. To me it fits or it doesn't. It shoots well for me or it doesn't.
I would suggest you go to some trad shoots & rendevous or chain stores(Cabelas,Bass Pro, Gander Mtn and ask to shoot a savannah. Realize that it probably wont be tuned for you but see if it fits you. If you like the feel then start looking online for a used one. I wouldn't pay new price when a used one will do the same job. If you decide to keep it, GREAT, you saved some money. If you later decide to sell it then you can sell online and probably get out of it what you paid. Thats what me and all my shooting buddies do when we're looking for a particular bow. Good luck
Martin in my experience has always made a good bow. I have seen people who shoot one bow all their lives and never think of buying another one but then you have people like myself that just luv having alot of nice bows. All that matters is if you shoot it good. Of course a good bow is like a good fishing rod in that you can never have just one.
Thanks taydog you wouldn't know any particular sites that i could possibly find a used Savannah?
Buy a MOHAWK. :archer: :dunno:
i've never shot a mohawk. howd they shoot in comparison to the savannah bow?
The Savannah is not a "production" bow - even Martin has had enough of that silly talk - it's not a Samick. I own one and it's a nice shooter - I do believe SOME other bows draw smoother than it - I have one other longbow to compare it to and it's faster than the other. You can order them with different woods just for you, maybe if you get one now you will get a new DH logo (I don't know if they do that or not - anyone know?) It is one bow I will not part with.
Wow i had been told that it was a production bow
I was unaware that it was a custom bow
I found the Bamboo Viper to be a better shooter for me. It shocked less and drew a little smoother...probably because it is a little longer
How long is the Bamboo Viper??
there is a savannah for sale on a sponsors page
rmsgear
I think in 290
Thank you Gerado do you shoot one
I bought one for my daughter it will stack arrows. LCH
Axis, the savannah is cut on CNC tooling then tapered and finished by hand as is a Black widow. However, the savannah is considered a mfg bow and the BW is considered a custom. Beats me why. You can order a different grip on the BW or different woods but you can also do that with a savannah (if you want to pay for it) though most people don't.
The bowyers(like Larry Hatfield for example)at the Damon Howatt plant that make the savannah bows for Martin are probably just as experienced if not more so than most "custom" bowyers and could be custom bowyers for all we know. I'm guessing they like the steady paycheck. Most "custom" bowyers have small shops(1-3 people) and do all the work by hand but unless they come measure your individual specs all you do is chose the model, the weight and the woods.
Two of my friends bought one new. After reading all the rave reviews, I was very un-impressed. Neither of them kept theirs very long either. Maybe they both got "lemons". Those are the only two I've shot.
Chad
Axis, you can go on tradgang, e**y, stickbow.com to look for used bows but be careful- look for a sellers feedback or pm a moderator to find a reputable individual seller. Look at a sellers membership # or date to tell how long they have been a member on that site(no guarantees). Check every bit of info you can get on a seller before entering into a contract. If it doesn't feel right don't do it. There are other sites but these are the ones I use. So far I have not been ripped off but it only takes one bad apple. Be patient.
I don´t shoot one , but if there is one lh at a good price I will probably buy it , my first trad bow was a martin mamba and I loved it, I really miss that bow, and I have always wanted to shoot a savanahh
good luck did you see the rmsgear page?
Axis, the savannah is cut on CNC tooling then tapered and finished by hand as is a Black widow. However, the savannah is considered a mfg bow and the BW is considered a custom. Beats me why
confuses me as well .
i never would consider a bw a custome bow but i wouldnt pay 1200+ for one either : good marketing is a powerfull tool .
you can sell most anything for twice its tue value if you can convince people its something special,slap a cool name on it and spent tons on advertising/marketing .
just my two cents :knothead: :campfire: :coffee: :deadhorse: :deadhorse:
QuoteOriginally posted by eric-thor:
Axis, the savannah is cut on CNC tooling then tapered and finished by hand as is a Black widow. However, the savannah is considered a mfg bow and the BW is considered a custom. Beats me why
confuses me as well .
i never would consider a bw a custome bow but i wouldnt pay 1200+ for one either : good marketing is a powerfull tool .
you can sell most anything for twice its tue value if you can convince people its something special,slap a cool name on it and spent tons on advertising/marketing .
just my two cents :knothead: :campfire: :coffee: :deadhorse: :deadhorse:
BW bows used to be all hand made. They were cut with band saw then sanded to shape. The whole CNC deal was supposedly to make them made the same bow for bow consistent for each model. This doesn't make since because they still measure each bow and record the measurement for future need(like a new riser or new limbs for old riser). I myself don't like the idea they did this but they do still make a good bow and I have priced other custom bows that were even higher than theirs.
I've shot several along with some high priced customs. The savannah can't really compare to the higher priced, high performance customs but I would take the savannah over about 90% of other hybrid, reflex/deflex longbow, flatbow bows that are all the rage today.
Very impressive bow if you can find it for a good price. I'd pass on one new at cabela's prices. Oh yeah, get a custom string for it. Martin sends all of their bows out with very thick stock strings. If I shot another "longbow" type bow again the savannah makes the short list.
Axis I have a Savanah at 45# that I'm willing to sell. I purchased it recently and found out I like recuves better. I've PM'd you.
Thanks
You will get lots of opinions. If you can, find one to shoot and try it out. I like mine, shoot it regularly, and shoot it better than most anything else I have.
RonP
QuoteOriginally posted by Apex Predator:
Awesome bow! I've owned a couple of different ones. Built by master craftsmen with decades of experience. I too think the new price is a little high, only because so many others are built just like it. Buy a used one for $300 and you have a great buy.
The above is coming from a person that builds custom bows so he would know exactly what is what!
For my take...I was trying to decide if I wanted to shell out the $$ on a new wheel bow when the allure of traditional archery set in. I was looking at serious money that I would have to invest in a new bow with all the extra equipment that goes with them...it's easy to spend close to $1300 or more in a hurry.
So I'm reading Traditional Bowhunter and also articles on traditional hunting in the regular magazines and I had always wanted to try it so I started to look around. I was lucky and had some gift certificates to Cabela's and my out of pocket was minimal and it was an easy choice.
I bought a #50 Savannah and love it...still a lot of fun to shoot and is like riding a bike, I can pick it up and put arrows on target fast. Mine loves 30.5" Beman MFX Classic 500's and I draw to 29.5"...this is with the aluminum inserts and 145 grains up front. I shot 7 months the first year, at least 5 days a week and I think I shot everyday of July and August that year. The next year I did the same and I think I have around 14 to 15 thousand arrows through it and it has never let me down!
Light weight and can keep up on all fronts with custom bows! But like many have stated the price has gone up since I bought mine in 2007, I think I paid around $460 plus tax if I remember correctly.
Many bowyers have stock bows on here and several can get one made in less than 8 weeks so I guess you have to ask if you want to wait or if you can't wait.
If you do get one you will not be disappointed that is for sure!
Josh
I like mine alot.I had a fast flight string made for it.Its a 50#er but pulls smoother than my 45# recurve.
I have owned more than a few and am mistified by those that think they are that special. The first one I owned was for my personal use. It is well built and does shoot ok, but I found it to be extremly enemic. Low end performer and one looks just like another.
The rest of the savanahs that I have owned, I have taken in on trade for resale. They do sell well as used bows. Not junk by any means just don't live up to the hype or the price tag.
Just my opinion and not to be confused with those that really know everything.
BigJim
My post is years late at 12/2016 but here it is. Rehabbing an over bowed shoulder, I bought a 35# Savannah from 3Rivers. It was good to practice with until I could handle the Bear Super Grizzly 60#. My daughter-in-law has it now and I went back a couple of weeks ago for a 45# Savannah and am very satisfied.
Only problem is $600+ price tag. 3 Rivers gives a 30 day return if not satisfied so that's worth something.
I have owned two. I can`t say anything bad about them other than they just did not fit me. I prefer a longer bow but thats just me. RC
Bought a savanah stealth in 40# draw two years ago. Beautiful bow but little pricey. Very very smooth shooting and incredibly light. Unfortunately mine developed a crack in the handle and some delamination in a month or two. Luckily martins customer service was very good and they built me a new bow and had it shipped within a month or two. Thinking about selling it as 40# is just too light for me to enjoy shooting. Did get my only Robin Hood with that bow though!
I will say it was probably as good a shooting longbow as I've ever shot including customs..they have decent speed are quiet and easy pointing..
compare to bows costing twice their cost, plus they are a good looking bow, when I say all this I'm talking about the older ones as I haven't shot any of the newer ones.
I have an older 45# Savannah that is still like new. It is the older model when they still had the tapered lams and has the picture of a tree with the sunrise on it. That is why you get the difference of opinions over the Savannah. The newer ones don't compare. The Savannah set recxords.I don't know how to post pictures on here but can send them in an email. I have many bows and would consider selling. Ken