Thinking of trading for a PMA II   are they consider a top of the line BW for hunting or more of a target 3D bow?  Are they a bit on the loud side?   it is 50lbs @ 50... 64"

I had a 60" 55# BW MAII that was a fine shooter and killed several critters with it. I have had several BW bows and that one was the quietest of them all with a set of cat whiskers on a 8 strand D97 string. It was a very accurate bow.

Best to ya, Ken

my favorite bow of all time,anytime me and that bow get together stuff dies.everyone who shoots with me says its real quiet,i think most of the noise is in my head.i have a 56@28 62incher.my go to bow,i carried a jefferys royal hunter first part of the year,the night i broke out the pma2,doe down.....black widows got some mojo

My new PCH seems pretty darn quiet.  I did take off the spider silencers and put on some cat whiskers.  I fold mine into twice then stick a close pin on them to clamp to the string, then serve them on.  Works much better this way.  I am shooting a 485 grain arrow at 48#.

Tell me about the PMA's guys

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Is that a big one?

I have a MA11 (early 90s). It is a great hunting/target bow, which ever you want at the time.

And like any bow they can be made just as quite as you want. They are great shooting bows.

I have a pma II and have killed a bunch of deer with it.It likes a 8 3/4" brace and i have 2 sets of cat whiskers and a SBD 8 strand D-10 on it and felt between the limb tips and string.None of the deer knew anything 'til the arrow hit them.Go ahead and get one...fine hunting bow.

Coming from those two longbows, you likely will find any recurve to be louder.  However, that model is one of the easiest to shoot, easiest to tune, most forgiving, traditional bows ever made.  So, what makes a good hunting bow?  We all will answer that question differently.  One thing is for sure though, PMAs have killed train loads of game.

I have a PMA II, 64" and 50 lbs.  It is a great bow.  Black Widow calls it their 'tack driver'.  With its long riser it has more mass weight increasing stability, and being longer you are less likely to torque it upon release.  I don't think you can go wrong with a Widow.

I have a PMAIII 64" 46@30.  Tremendous bow, great for hunting and nicely quiet for a recurve.  Also very accurate.  I shoot GT 55-75s with 145 points out of it, nice cast and very fast for 46#.

I did look at the BW website....still a little fuzzy on the difference between PSA versus PMA and pros and cons of the two....

So the PMA is more of a tournament or 3D bow than it is a hunting bow?

I think you'd find that it is a worthy tournament bow, due to it's length and stability.  It also has the tallest sight window of the Widow recurves, which makes it the best option for those who would shoot with sights.  

But if you don't mind the length -- I don't, as I shoot a 64" PMA myself -- then the things that make it a great tournament bow would also be positives for hunting.  Jack Howard hunted with 66" recurves and is one of the great bowhunters of our recent past.  The only reason for considering a PSA (2-inch shorter riser) or a PCH (4-inch shorter riser, I think) would be to get it in and out of tighter shooting situations.  And... I guess some people just like shorter bows.  

I've shot Widows as short as 56", and personally prefer the stability of the 64" PMA over all the others.  That being said, I may end up adding a PCH or a PSR to my bow collection, to have a "short bow" if I feel that I need it.  

If you want to cut to the chase on this topic, call Black Widow and ask Roger or Toby.  They are easy to talk to and know more about their bows than anyone else.  Great company, great bows, great people.