I've wanted one of these bows for awhile. I purchased an A&H ACS CX today, so I would like to hear your thoughts on these bows. Pics are always welcome. What are the shooting characteristics you like most about these bows?
First of all, it takes a stiffer shaft then your probably use too, and these bows are very fast,some of the fastest on the market.I have a 46#@28" my draw is 28" and I shoot a 7595 cut @ 30.625" with 145gr. tip. I also have some 7595 cut to 30" with 175 gr. tips.
All of the A&H bows I have owned, and I have owned a half a dozen or more, it takes a little adjustment to get your string silencers to quiet the bows down to an acceptable level. They do have a bit of a thump to them upon release of the arrow. probably due to the carbon in the limbs.
Once you get'r tuned, and your shafts tuned, hang on!
Hey Bruce, awesome info. I shot a 3-d with a guy who had a nice ACS. That bow was so quiet and quick! Can't wait to shoot it. Do you have any experience with the 3-D riser?
No I havn't. When I had my 3 piece bows A&H didn't offer the 3D riser, which I'm assuming is the low wrist.
I had the standard riser and the RC riser which I didn't care for. Now I just own three 1 piece A&H bows. I like the grip on the one piece bows a lot better, although I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that low wrist model.
Yes, the 3-d is a low wrist design .Thanks for your insights!
I shot the non-3-d model. Fastest bow for the draw weight I've ever shot at least it felt that way too me. SMOOOOTH TOO!
I bought mine used from a guy on here. Shooting the first 6 arrows resulted in a Robin Hood at 18 yds, I shoot only 2 arrows at a time. It's the fastest, smoothest, and most accurate bow I have ever shot. I dropped from a 55# widow to a 50# ACS. Gonefishin is right, they take stiffer arrows than you think. I'm shooting .330 spine carbons with 195 grs up front 29.5" long (28" draw). I'm switching to Axis shafts with lighted nocks and 215 grs up front. Good luck and enjoy your new bow!
I have the 3-d riser, my favorite A&h riser so far.
brining this back up. Looking for more comments, considering getting one and would like opinions on risers / grips
thanks
Not buying an A&H has probably been my biggest Archery mistake. I have shot OP's. Both TD and one piece. One of the only bows I consider "dead in the hand". One of the only bows I picked up and heartshot 3D's with first arrow at ranges out to 35 yards. Why you ask don't I have one? Wish I knew, wish I knew.
Now that I've owned this bow for nearly a year, I can give you some more insights into this bow, OBX. This is the only bow that I currently shoot. I shoot 3-d's almost every weekend and since I've been shooting this bow, I've shot my best scores and my shooting has improved exponentially.
This bow is very smooth on the draw, fast, has little (if any) felt recoil and has great cast. I've heard people say that these bows are very unforgiving of form errors. I don't have an opinion on that aspect. I can screw up an easy shot with any bow! I'm mainly a string walker and fixed crawl archer and this bow really shoots well for my style of shooting.
I have owned 3 of them over the years. I shot them all very, very well. I have sold/traded them off and later regretted it!
Since I am having to drop down in weight due to an arm injury, an ACS is the obvious choice! I am waiting on a call back from them now. Hopefully I can my hands on one very soon. I am hoping to go with the 3D riser with a leather grip. Larry Hannify said it is very popular.
I have been shooting one of these bows for about ten years now. I put a thicker leather strike plate on mine so I could shoot lighter spined arrows. I have it set up so it shoots the same arrows as my recurve.
Thanks for the info! What grips and risers do y'all like?
I've owned 7 or 8 of them. Still like the R/C grip the best. My 3-d setup is 48#@28"x62" . My hunting setup is 53#@28x62" using the same riser. I've taken one to Africa and shot a Springbok @ 29yds. It was so fast - Never heard the arrow coming. :biglaugh:
How quiet are these bows? I've heard carbon backed bows can have a peculiar "twang" to them that can be difficult to get rid of.
They're very quiet.
Don't have any problems with mine. I use wool silencers and do the Heterodyning thing.
I have been shooting a A&H for three years now. VERY fine shooting bow! Mine is not noisy at all.
I shoot a 66" 43lb @ 28' (I draw 30"), Larry Hannify will tell you his most efficient performing bows are the 66" long, in the low to mid 40's in poundage.
I shoot Larry's new BCY X string, with rubber cat whiskers. I have never chrono my bow, but I am sure that my 43lb A&H shoots just as quick as my low 50lb recurves.
chris <><
Picking this up again--if you don't order the bamboo core, what do they use? And how does bamboo make itself known in a bow with 4 carbon lams? Just wondering as I am about to get a 3-pc.....I just traded away a Shawnee with carbon/foam limbs because I found it stiff to shoot.....
The bamboo limb core is worth the extra $80 IMO. The bamboo limbs have a bit more of a "ping" sound upon release than the other limbs but are easily silenced. Both the bamboo and non-bamboo limbs are very smooth drawing. According to Larry, you get about an extra 3 fps with the bamboo limb cores.
I have shot and owned most of the top-name bows around. Other than a bow built for me by Paul Schafer and an old Damon Howatt Super Diablo, all other bows have been sold and I have 3 A&H Archery take-downs. Personally, I like the RC grip best (RC stands for "recurve").
Owned a 3pc and now have a 2pc 51@28 64" I draw 29.5 and shoot 350 Heritage with 100 brass insert and 125 gr point for a total of 630 grns and 180 FPS
I prefer the 2 pc over the 3 pc, just like having no bolts for backpacking into my Goat spots.
Definitely one of the best bows I've ever owned. Performance wise it probably beats everything I've owned and I've owned most including a lot of recurves. It's whisper Quiet, and super smooth at my draw, smoothest bow I've owned. The only thing I would change would be the Grip, I shoot it very well, but I prefer the locator Grip on my Kanati, or those of a Java Man etc. Deep grip with a nice thumb piece. But plain and simple they are one of the best shooting bows out there for sure.
PS. Mine has the Bamboo core X2 worth the money for sure .
Been shooting them for more than 10 years. The standard core material is maple action wood. I've owned both the action wood and bamboo core and can't tell any difference in draw smoothness or speed.
I suppose it's possible the bamboo's a little faster, and Larry would know because he does test his limbs. However, IMO, the core has little influence on the bow's performance because most of the limb is comprised of carbon laminations.
seen the ACS design fail too often for my liking.
My experience mirrors what Ozy Clint said.
Ozy and Mec, what do you mean by fail?
by fail i mean a limb blowing up at full draw.
a mate's experience-
1st failure was a limb that over time developed at severe out of tiller situation. the replacement limb failed some time later on a 2 week backpack hunt in new zealand. sure way to wreck a hunt. after this he decided to try a different brand.
second was a new bow less than a month old. complete limb delam along entire length of limb at full draw.
so the common denominator for us is the ACS or extreme bad luck.
Ozy. Inquisitive. I know you guys shoot pretty heavy bows. What were your draw weights, lengths and bow lengths on the limbs that failed?
The limb pad angles on ACSs are very shallow. That means there's an awful lot of early load on the limbs. That also means, the limbs will reach an overstress area earlier toward the end of the draw. A long draw on a short bow puts extreme stress on the limbs at full draw. Of course, heavier limbs just exacerbate the problem.
A&H provides recommended draw lengths for the different bow lengths, but folks don't always abide by them.
I've been shooting 64-inch ACS bows with my 28-inch draw for more than 10 years and have never had a problem.
The specs on the bows Ozy clint is speaking of were
62# @ 28" or 55# @ my 27" draw and 57# @ 27 "
That's 3 limb fails over both the brands that do ACS limbs.
I have a bear A riser and #3 limbs on there way.
Mark
Both bows were 62"
I e now shot my A&H for almost two year now. I can tell you that it shoots great! I changed my riser from the 3D low wrist to the 3DH, which is a medium grip. The bow shoots great and I've shot some of my highest 3D scores with a longbow with this bow. Great cast, fast & smooth!
Mark: I'd put that under the category of stuff happens. And, it apparently happened more than once for you. Bad luck to be sure. You mention two different bow/limb suppliers. Does that means that some of your experiences were not with A&H ACS bows?
I would say 3 limbs failing that use similar technology is more than coincidence.
There are only 2 bow companies that I know of that use ACS technolog, I have had dealings with both.
Regards
Mark
Sorry to hear about your negative experience. I have had a one-piece A&H ACS for a year or more and it is an incredible shooter, no problems, so I am hoping for the same in the 3-pc. I have had to drop down in weight so I think an uptick in performance will help the situation. Also, the weights I am shooting (sub 40#) will probably not overstress the limbs.
QuoteOriginally posted by huntryx:
Sorry to hear about your negative experience. I have had a one-piece A&H ACS for a year or more and it is an incredible shooter, no problems, so I am hoping for the same in the 3-pc. I have had to drop down in weight so I think an uptick in performance will help the situation. Also, the weights I am shooting (sub 40#) will probably not overstress the limbs.
You will be surprised what that bow will do with the right arrows!!
I had one, very beautiful that I loved. I blown a limb at full draw on a 6 month new bow, i sent back the limbs then I waited 10 weeks for new limbs that came 3 pound lighter than the previous ordered weight and after a couple of week of shooting the wood overlay on the new limbs unstuck. Again send the limbs,wait 10 weeks etc... I lost completely confidence and resold the bow with the repaired limbs without even taking out the bow of the box and shooting it again.
Bad luck for me.
I liked mine to, killed a few deer with it.
I just can't have a bow that I think is going to fail
Every time I draw it.
I love mine. I draw back and hold with confidence. That's too bad you had a bad experience. I hope you find a bow you have confidence in, Mark!