Great bows. Have owned several adn still hold onto the Hunter II.  You can't go wrong with them !

Gordy - that is one elegant Crusader!!!!!

There are no superlatives that fully describe Marc's customer service. I own three. I guess the best recommendation I could provide is to say I sold a matched pair of Dale Dye Trails End bows that I had waited 18 months to get because I preferred the CM pair that Marc made for me.

Daniel Banting

great bows.  i just put my hunter I up on the auction site here at tradgang because i'm not using it and feel bad for it lying around.  it is the quietest most stable recurve i've ever shot! i am just in the longbow mood lately...

Very nice bows. I've had the pleasure of shooting in the same club as LBR. He shoots a longbow thats really nice.He had 3 at a raffle last year, they were all handsome bows.A couple a recurves and a longbow.

My wife shoots a Falcon, and it is one, if not the one, of the smoothest bows i have ever shot.

The Falcon is an outstanding one piece recurve!

I have a H1 that I ordered from Chad a few years ago and I wouldn't trade for any other, and you could not ask for a better man to deal with. Matter of fact Chad has a picture of mine on his website.(recurves.com)

Probably the best bang for your buck in Trad Bows.

CM's are pretty bows (probably the best looking production bows around) that are built like tanks (compare the tips on a CM to about any bow you want and you'll see what I mean).  IMO they are built to be a "pretty good average" bow, with decent speed & have much better shootability than the price might suggest.

I've had several and am currently down to one, a 60" 54#@28" H2 Zebra/Shed, if I remember correctly.  Very striking riser.  It's my #2 bow behind a 58" 52#@28" Lee Hunter.

The Lee edges it in speed (low 190's vs. mid 180 with 10GPP) and has a much slimmer grip & riser.  The slimmer grip makes the Lee a much more shootable bow for me.

The big grip is my main complaint with the H1-H2-H56.  If you have med-lg hands it's OK right up until you are hunting or shooting with gloves, which is most of the season up here in ND.  I understand liability but the CM grip/riser is over-engineered to the point of ridiculous.

CM tends to be inconsistent on order delivery.  I had one that I ordered delivered in 4 months, but on the other hand an H2 riser I ordered last year had not yet even been started 10 months later.  I cancelled that order in disgust.   I would say you are looking at 8+ months for delivery on average.

On the bright side, CM bows often show up on the Classifieds here and that internet site where you buy stuff.

Also there are a couple places that keep a decent selection of models in stock, Height Archery (archerybymail.com) and G&M Archery (gmarchery.com). I've bought several from these shops and they are great to do business with, fair prices and fast shipping...

You will not find many broken Check Mates around. They are one of the most reliable bows out there. We see a lot of them around here and I have yet to see one with any problems.
The ones I have shot were all quiet, shock free and had good performance. I think you get a lot of bow for the money with Check Mate.

Pete

QuoteOriginally posted by BobW:
Gordy - that is one elegant Crusader!!!!!

Thanks Bob.  It's one I sold a couple years ago. Would like to have another some day, but will go with 64" or longer.

thanks so much for the pics and all the posts.  looks like i need to get serious and order one!  thanks again, mike.

Gordy, What wood is your Raven made of? I like that one. Thanks.