What can you tell me about this Bear? Good,bad? decent?
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Decent bows, like all short bows ya need a great release. They are of average speed and easy enough to quiet down and can pinch like hell after 28"s if ya have big hands like mine. Overall if you can shoot it good, it is a nice bow but a lot of folks struggle with accuracy with short bows. Shawn
I have owned a few. I find them nice little bows. I shot them well (good for me is probably not that great for others though!). I didn't notice finger pinch at 28". I will say that I did notice that they had poor cast though.
I had one and drew it just shy of 28", mine was noticeably slower that my Bear takedown and super Kodiak, also I did dare to shoot at anything over 20 yards with it.
I got one when they first came out in the 60's. It was slow, finicky and even though I shot my first deer with it I found that a Red Wing Hunter to be a better shooting bow.
They will perform fine if you have a draw under 28". I have seen some recent pictures where guys with long draws bought one and they broke. I would think any draw over 28" could be a problem with this bow. I have a 27.5" draw and have shot both the 48" super magnum and the 52" kodiak magnum. Long story short I own a 52" Kodiak Magnum.
FWIW, this is my limited experience...
Last year I was thinking about getting a short bow and tried a few at the local Cabela's store. When I shot a 52" Kodiak Magnum, it hit right where I was looking (so much so, that the archery employee seemed very impressed)... when I shot the 48" Super Magnum, it didn't. All this says to me is that the shorter bows tend to be not as forgiving when it comes to release and torque.
I just went through the same learning curve (Super-Magnum obsession) in recent months. Those 48" Super Magnum's look very cool and I had to have one, despite my 29.5 draw. After swimming through an ocean of used Supermag's in various electronic forums (many were over priced by 30-45% and had stress marks near the fade-outs!), I found one that was priced fair and in very good condition. And as much as I wanted to make it work for me (because it IS a cool little bow), my arms are just too long. I bought a 52" Kodiak Magnum too, but it just doesn't feel as good as a 60". That being said, there are many out there with much longer draws than me who love the 48" bows. The only way to find out if it fits is to shoot one. As far as quality, it's a Bear. If I had a draw length about 2" shorter, I would own ten Super Magnums by now! If you decide to get a used one online, just be VERY careful, as if you were buying a used car, as the BS can get DEEP. 3-Rivers Archery has new ones for a fair price.
The Super-mag has a very high-wrist grip. I find the K-mag much more comfortable to shoot, and the Redwing Hunter or Thunderbird better yet.
I have a early 70's 48mag 45lbs@28 not a good first bow because it's not forgiving a may take sometime to learn, love the grip, not very fast but still a fun bow to shoot. If its a short bow you want look at the Black Mountain line. Jon