Posted earlier in the week that I had purchased a Samick Leopard recurve, and was very excited about it.  Having never shot a recurve bow I didn't know what to expect. Having learned to shoot traditional on a Martin "stick" shooting the Samick Leopard was cake.  It's very accurate and a lot easier to shoot than the "Stick" but I noticed it was also about 3 times as loud.  Are low end recurves always loud?  Then after about 25 more arrows I noticed a very thin hairline crack in the palm part of the riser!  I do not believe that it was there at first just happened after about 25-30 shots.  What should I do?  The bow still shoots well, could this be the reason for the loudness?  Trying to stay positive on this, but its tough because I only had it about 2 hours before this happened! Any suggestions?

Recurves in general are almost always noisier than longbows.  I wouldn't worry about that.  Silencers, adjusting brace height, using heavier arrows are all solutions.

I'd keep a close eye on that handle crack and make sure it isn't growing on you.  Maybe someone else who knows more about this particular bow will comment about any possible history of handle cracks.

If it were me and I only had a few shots through it, I'd take it back to where you got it asap and you shouldn't have any problems returning it for another...I wouldn't think.      

I'm definitely not near as knowledgable as most others here, but I wouldn't think that the hairline crack in the riser would create noise.

Sorry, just noticed that your title says "new to me". I suppose returning it isnt an option.

I've found Samick bows to be louder but you can get the level down, use a better quality string than they gave you, put on string silencers and increase the brace height, should help. Other than that, watch the limbs closely.

I shot a samick recurve at the bow shop the other day and it was EXTREMELY loud. As swamp yankee stated, there are many ways to dampen the noise...but...after shooting the one I shot... and just going by the amount of nosie it made, it would take alot of tinkering to get it "hunt worthy". As far as the crack, i would just keep an eye on it. If it seems to get worse then I would stop. It could be because your arrows are not heavy enough add some weight to them and see it that helps any.

Take a magic marker & mark the ends of the crack then shoot it some.

Don't worry about the noise right yet just shoot it the same ammount.
What you are looking for is if the crack seems to grow.

If the crack does not grow any then you may be OK & it may have been there all along.
You can fill the crack but I'm not sure what would be the best stuff to use.

for a newbie, those offshore stick bows are basically decent entry bows.  

all recurves have limb slap.  use bow hush to quiet that down considerably.  

3pc t/d bows need to have the bolt system checked for slop - lock 'em down tight.

noise can also be attributed to shooting too light an arrow.  start with 10 gpp and work down to no less than 9 gpp.  go as heavy an arrow as you like.  heavy is good, in terms of lowered noise, a happier bow and your happier bow arm.

use good string silencers - adjust them properly.

the handle crack - wick in some quality water thin cya, obtained from a hobby shop.  that will lock it up permanently, UNLESS there are other issues with the riser wood.  inspect the handle before and after you shoot the bow, every time.

i know lotsa folks have great things to say about asian entry level stick bows.  however, once past the newbie stage, and in the long run, a good brand/model used or new commercial or private bowyer stick bow is the basis for a lifetime investment.

I've seen 2 leopards and all were really noise. A slide on selway quiver and whisker biscuits really helped to quiet it down to normal levels.

Thanks for all the advice guys, just really wanted to shoot a recurve for a while, to see if I liked them.(seeing as how all I've ever shot before were longbows) I really like the bow and would love to own a quality made Bob Lee, BW, Howatt etc..but I thought that I would try the cheapy before srpringing for a real nice one.  Wish I would've put that $125 bucks towards a brand new one as it looks like thats what i'll be doing anyway!

Treetop;
There may be nothing wrong with what you have there, try what I & others have suggested to see if the crack get's any bigger if it doesn't then the noise that it makes can be tuned out.

What part of Virginia are you in?
Maybe if you're close enough I can help you out.

Franklin county va near Smith Mt. Lake

Hmmmm a little distance from Fredericksburg.

Since you bought it second hand and can't return it to a dealer or the factory I would attempt a repair as that crack is going to allow moisture into the wood no matter how big it is...

I would heat the riser a bit with a hair drier and apply some locktite 420 [ the heat seems to help it "wick in" a bit better ] Then hit with a poly satin spray after giving the glue sufficent time to cure.

To quiet it down you may try the following:
Cut some adhesive backed mole skin to match the riser shape where it contacts the area between limbs and riser [ letting the adhesive hold it to the riser]. Make sure you have enough for the whole contact area and cut around the hole that the bolt goes in.

Some additional mole skin or adhesiive backed velcro [ the soft part of the velcro] on the limbs from the string groves to slightly past the area where the string contacts the limb should help also in conjunction to 1-2 sets of cat whiskers on the string.  

Gene Carroll

pick up a few syringes from a pharmacy and get some wicking type CA glue from a hobby shop and inject it into the crack. the CA that i use will wick into a .002 crack.
                     don