At the K'zoo Expo, I bounced back and forth from a couple vendors' booths and the shooting ranges and came home with a new RER Vital. An RER Retro kept calling out to me "You forgot me!". An e-mail to Sue and Kevin confirmed that the Retro was still available, so it has a new home now too. I've been shooting the Vital, but won't have a chance to shoot the Retro since the show until tomorrow night.
Vital: 62" 45# @ 28" cocobolo and walnut.
Retro: 58" 49# @ 28" tiger wood and Wenge
Neither bow stacks at my 29.5", but I knew that at the show. The Vital is much heavier, with the limbs and riser both being wider than my previous XR. The Retro may become my very favorite bow - slim and trim as a young maiden and we old men love slim and trim young maidens.
Some comparison pics:
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/RER%20Retro-%20Vital/rtsides.jpg)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/RER%20Retro-%20Vital/lftsides.jpg)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/RER%20Retro-%20Vital/lftsidesfulllngth.jpg)
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/RER%20Retro-%20Vital/limbbackveneers.jpg)
The Coco in the Vital is outasite!!!
Beautiful bows.
Thanks Kenny. I happen to be a walnut freak and love nice gunstocks. I have to say that walnut isn't too shabby either!
The tigerwood and wenge also show up MUCH better in the sunlight than they did at the show.
Fine looking pair.......
Purdy!
Nice looking bows !
That one piece is pretty!
Beautiful bows. Very good choice
One piece is the bomb !!!!!! Very nice
Very nice. I'm becoming more and more interested in these RER's. I have never shot one.
Can't wait to shoot it again. It's right at the top of my comfort range - 49.8# @ 28" and 54# at my 29.5". It really comes back sweet, though, and I'm guessing an arrow is going to be a blur.
I still can't get over this bow is only 58". Light as a feather. This may well become my favorite hunting bow and use my lighter bows for higher volume target shooting.
Those are sharp!
That one piece Retro is georgeous. Love the wood combos. I have an XR and arroyos and love them. Kevin is a master bowyer and great person to know..He stands behind his bows too..
Great looking Bows!
Both are very nice. I shot one of those vitals at the expo and liked it a lot, but that Retro is really nice! I like the larger site window and 58". I may have to check into one a little more.
Wow, I can see why that Retro kept talking to you! Dang a little lower grip and it would be calling me too.
I would think Kevin could change that real quick :)
I find the grip just perfect for me as is. Especially on a short bow, I tend to torque the bow if I put my whole hand on the grip. If I let it settle in the thumb-forefinger web and put just enough of my index finger around it to keep it from falling, I do better.
Great bows! I know it's hard to choose one, or two. You would like to take them all home! I have a XR and really like it.
Those RER's are some shooters for sure. I love my Arroyo, and I'm sure I'll pick up another one somewhere along the way.
My LXR is my go to bow out of about 15 that I have. I cannot say enough good things about that bow.
DDave
:scared: :scared:
Awesome!
Thanks Ron
Arroyo
Retro
Another XR
I may have to send in another deposit for my 3rd :banghead: :banghead:
That's a pair of beauties..very nice..!
Kevin builds some sweet bows and your two kick butt. I have an Arroyo 54" that's a great shooter in my blind for turkeys. Good luck with your pair! :thumbsup:
I took my deer this year with my retro. I really like how it feels and the traditional liook. I draw 29 " and have no stacking what so ever. Kevin builds some great stuff.
Sweet looking bows :eek:
Bill
You have two good looking bows there. I wanted to try a retro at the expo but no right hander there to shoot. Keep us posted on the retro
And Lefty's to boot! Beautiful!
I've just decided to go to one-piece recurves in the 52-58" range and this now adds to the list to choose from. Great reviews on RER bows appear here a lot.
Man Ron, those are beauties. I'll be completely honest, when I just sold that Marriah I got from you, it was to try a shorter bow. I came up with three different bows I wanted to try. Rers were first on the short list. I just might have to forget about the other two for now, Great looking bows you got there.
Ron, would you be willing to re-link the pictures in this thread? I can't get them to come up. Thanks!
Yep, I missed the pics as well.
won't come up for me either.
I just ordered one of Kevin's stock bows. Anxious to get my hands on it.
Sorry guys. I was cleaning out my old pics on Photo Bucket and deleted them. I'll put them back up - at least the ones I still have. I decided that Vital, as nice as it was to shoot, was just a bit too bulky and a bit heavier than I like. I now have an LXR on order for delivery at next year's K'zoo expo. The LXR is an XR riser with both recurve and longbow limbs. Kevin has set aside a sweet piece of cocobolo and waterfall ash for the riser and matching waterfall ash for the limb veneers. I'm still debating what limb lengths I want for the 'curve. The longbow limbs will be 64" because Kevin doesn't make 66". My gut feel is to go with the 58" recurve limbs as I have already had 58" and 60" XR and Retro and I couldn't see any trace of stacking on the 58" and it sure is handy.
(http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm312/bladepeek/Archery/RER%20bows/DSC_0008.jpg) (http://s299.photobucket.com/user/bladepeek/media/Archery/RER%20bows/DSC_0008.jpg.html)
The rest of the Vital - Retro pics
http://s299.photobucket.com/user/bladepeek/library/Archery/RER%20bows?sort=3&page=1
And a link to my old XR pics with the ash I like so much:
http://s299.photobucket.com/user/bladepeek/library/Archery/RER-XR%2040lb%203-piece?sort=3&page=1
Thanks, Ron. that Retro looks just like one that was for sale at the Footed Shaft. it was tigerwood and wenge. and I emailed about it last night, and the darn thing sold between last night and this morning! (I think). Kevin emailed me and let me know that they are currently running about 9 months on their waiting list.
oh well, more time to save up!
been shooting an arroyo 60in I got off here, for about 3 weeks, what a great shooting bow. Its an older one w/o the coin but looks new. Gotta quiet her down just a hair & will be completely satisfied w/ it. Mike
Ron, forgot to ask for sure what woods are in those two bows (not that i'm looking to copy!) they're just really nice looking.
As Johnnyk71 said, the Retro is tigerwood and wenge in the riser with tigerwood limb veneers.
The Vital is cocobolo and walnut riser and walnut limb veneers.
I've got his XR and the LX.
Sweet shooters, and nice folks that build 'em.
Irv Eichorst
www.truesouthadventures.com (http://www.truesouthadventures.com)
Hi Ron, the pic's dissapeared before I spotted your thread. Since I am interested in a RER Vital, do you still have pics of that one???
Soryy missed your 2nd post with pics!
How was that RER vital shooting???
Just got back from a 2-week vacation out on the west coast (train from Michigan to Seattle, WA and then drove the coast road 1500 miles down to LA!)
Dutchman, the Vital was one sweet shooting machine. Very smooth and quiet power stroke. It had the same sensation of a slight let-off during the last 2" of draw that many people seem to experience with static tips. It's not a let-off, in the sense of a compound where the draw weight actually decreases, but it seems that the amount of increase lessens slightly when the tips reach vertical. There was no hand shock, but I have yet to experience any hand shock with any of Kevin's bows. It was just a bit heavier and bulky in the riser than what I prefer. I know a lot of guys like a lot of mass in the riser for stability and that's why Kevin developed the Vital. I'm an old fashioned type that likes a light, slender bow. The Retro is my cup of tea (coffee, actually).
I have an LXR on order that will give me the slightly slimmer and lighter riser of the XR with both longbow and static tip curve limbs. I'm still tossing ideas around in my head of what I want the draw weights to be, but both will probably be in the low-40# range. The 49# Retro will be my hunting bow.
Ron
Ok, thank you very much Ron. I shoot two Cari-bow Peregrines wich are very lowweight blazing fast hybrid longbows. And I shoot a Whippenstick Phoenix 3 pce recurve which is heavy in weight. A Thunderhorn sidewinder even increases the weight. That Whippenstick really smokes an arrow and is even faster then my Peregrines.
I like both! Both type of bows have their own minor pro's and cons.
One more time....
:thumbsup:
Haha, I own a RER vital now, and it is a sweet shooting machine indeed!
Yeah RER`s are great shooting bows!!