Tell me about your A&H bow?

JohnV · June 09, 2017, 12:27:00 PM

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").

TDHunter · June 09, 2017, 03:35:00 PM

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 .

Orion · June 09, 2017, 04:37:00 PM

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.

ozy clint · June 10, 2017, 04:19:00 AM

seen the ACS design fail too often for my liking.

mec lineman · June 10, 2017, 08:35:00 AM

My experience mirrors what Ozy Clint said.

Wile E. Coyote · June 10, 2017, 09:12:00 AM

Ozy and Mec, what do you mean by fail?

ozy clint · June 10, 2017, 06:19:00 PM

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.

Orion · June 10, 2017, 06:30:00 PM

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.

Marksman Quivers · June 10, 2017, 07:05:00 PM

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

Marksman Quivers · June 10, 2017, 07:20:00 PM

Both bows were 62"

longbow fanatic 1 · June 10, 2017, 08:13:00 PM

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!

Orion · June 10, 2017, 08:29:00 PM

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?

Marksman Quivers · June 10, 2017, 09:21:00 PM

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

June 13, 2017, 08:34:00 AM

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.

MIBIGHNTR · June 13, 2017, 09:01:00 AM

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!!

hybridbow hunter · June 13, 2017, 04:03:00 PM

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.

Marksman Quivers · June 13, 2017, 07:03:00 PM

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.

longbow fanatic 1 · June 13, 2017, 07:10:00 PM

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!