King of Beasts...Schafer Silvertip Carbon!

[nineworlds9]

I was glad to help out a fellow Tradganger this past week who needed to sell a one-week old bow with some measure of urgency.  We worked out a mutually beneficial deal and I'm thankful to try this wonderful bow.

I have my keepers but always on the lookout for something I feel is special and worth trying.

Well along came such a bow...just too neat to pass up:

2014 Schafer Silvertip 'double carbon', 60" 62@28 (~65# at my draw), Walnut Dymondwood riser with thick phenolic accent stripe to add mass, black glass limb faces with double carbon and Actionwood cores, Walnut Dymondwood tip overlays with carbon accents.  

I have casually joked that it is the "King of Beasts" after getting it in my hands yesterday and having a chance to get it tuned up and shooting some arrows.  When Mike first listed it with some gorgeous pics I couldn't help but note the similarity to the king of the African savanna:

   
 

This is the second Schafer I have owned. The first was a gorgeous 62" 17" riser version, 52@28 with Charcoal Dymondwood riser, Zebrawood veneers, and sheep horn tips formerly belonging to Allen at LRU.  I had that bow long enough to test it and admire both the craftsmanship and shooting qualities, but ultimately passed it on so that I could try other bows.  Part of me still misses it but I can't keep em all.  That bow allowed me to see Dave Windauer's impeccable fit and finish first-hand and also showed me that Silvertips truly are 'a recurve's recurve'.  I have been on the lookout for another Silvertip since, whether recurve or longbow.  They have a certain mystique and attraction.  Something I have no doubt can be attributed to both Paul Schafer's legacy as a man and Dave Windauer's reputation for cranking out functional art.  

This new 'Tip is 10# heavier at 62@28 and also has a 17" riser like the lighter one did, but the working limbs are shorter.  This actually is better for me.  With this 60" version I am right in the sweet spot for draw length at my 29ish draw and I am literally getting every ounce of performance out of this bow.  

Aside from the slightly different specs what makes this beauty special is...double carbon limbs!  It also features a nice thick phenolic stripe down the center of the riser, and this particular bow has a really sweet heft to it.  Not as massively heavy as the Habu with a solid glass riser that I used to own, but with enough extra weight that this bow feels amazing in the hand, solid as a rock.  When I first unpacked it and got it assembled and then held it, admiring it, I said to myself "Damn, this FEELS like a $1600 bow."  Haha!  It's that same sensation you get when you close the door on a high-end car and grab its steering wheel...it just feels GREAT.

 

Mike told me Dave Windauer took a little extra time to select a really neat looking piece of Walnut Dymondwood for the riser on this bow.  The stain has brought out all kinds of browns and golds and it just glows.  That's why I started associating it with the majesty of a lion      

   

I got it strung up with the 'chubby' bare stock string that came with it and went outside yesterday afternoon to give it a shakedown.  Got it drawn back a few times to warm up my muscles and noticed immediately that this bow, 65# at my 29ish draw, was extremely smooth.  The triple carbon Habu of similar poundage I owned for a while was a very very smooth easy drawing bow, but this bow is still a bit more.  This may merely be due to the working recurve limbs vs. the hybrid limbs on the Habu, but I am impressed nonetheless.  Drawing this one gives the sensation of effortless power and mountains of stored energy.  You KNOW that the second you let this thing go it's going to be grins all around.  

The arrow setup I chose for testing was a little light for the poundage, only 9 GPP, but I figured it would be enough to get a good sense of the bow's power as well as potential for noise or lack thereof. I let loose the first arrow and was smiling right away with the sound level of the bow with a bare, and 'fat' stock string.  Brace was set at 7.25" also, so not very high.  This was also promising  At this point the bow gave off just a dull resonance from the bare string and there was some subdued string slap noticeable, just what is typical to working recurves, but on this bow with a bare string I got the sense that I could shoot and hunt with it as-is IF I wanted to.  Sound level was very encouraging at this stage.  I was very excited by what installing silencers, a skinny string and a heavier arrow will do.  I went ahead and installed some yarn puffs on the fat string and the sound level went down by an additional factor.  Gone was any string resonance and all that remained was just a slight bit of sound from string contact on the limbs.  This was shaping up to be one quiet recurve.  At this stage, definitely ok to take in the woods.  I have a skinny string with rubber cat whiskers arriving soon from Allen at LRU and I know for certain the sound level will go down again.  Once I get my arrows from 9 GPP up to 11-12 I can only imagine what this baby will be like.  Very very happy with how this bow sounds, and I am a 'longbow guy.' LOL.  

As expected, this bow is more dead in the hand than the lighter poundage and mass 62" one was.  This bow has the advantage of the heavier riser, the 2" shorter limbs (less moving mass on the shot and more dampening ability from the heavier riser), AND the benefit of the double carbon.  The carbon adds stiffness to the limbs which in my experience quells vibration.  

Another pleasing observation: this is one of the few carbon limbed bows I have shot that lacks that 'high pitched'/'tinny' sound that they are known for.  Firstly, I believe it is because this one does not use foam in the limb construction, secondly Dave Windauer obviously knows how to do this upgrade properly.  The limbs are carbon, Actionwood, and glass.  The bamboo and carbon bows I have shot are also like this.  The lack of high pitched tone is also surprising considering the light arrow I was shooting.  

Is it quick?  Well at 9 GPP, ummm...YEAH!!!  The Habu was a quick bow and I have also had a few other recurve setups that were very fast for their weight but this thing is pretty special.  The power this bow exhibits is incredible.  I can only imagine the game this bow could harvest with a heavy arrow setup.  I think I heard the bow whispering something like "Africa...Africa"            

[nineworlds9]

 

[nineworlds9]

 
 
 
 

[ed cowden]

How do you like that checkered grip. And you SURE are LUCKY to find a lefty 2014 used!!

[nineworlds9]

Thanks Ed.  I know I'm lucky!  Mike hooked me up.  The Habu I spoke of in the review was also a bow he formerly owned--Mike has great taste in bows.  He has been very helpful and generous in making it possible to get this bow in my hands.  Absolute Class A Tradganger!

I enjoy the checkering very much!  It isn't cut too sharply so it does not bite your hand at all even on a heavier draw bow like this one.  It is very helpful in allowing you to maintain a relaxed grip without worrying about the grip moving around, especially when your hands sweat...I can attest to that as it has been hotter than Hades down here in FL lately.

[cacciatore]

Great review,Chuck. Congrats on your purchase.

[A.S.]

Great write up Chuck. Your new string should be there any day.

I absolutely love the look of this bow!

Best of luck with it!!

[cacciatore]

Allen you have a PM

[Sharp Stick]

Nice Chuck, Very Nice!

[bowtough]

Wow, good for ya! These bows have ruined me, I shoot Tips so much better than any others I have owned. Cheers to Paul Schafer and Dave Windauer.  

[Jake Scott]

Great review as always.  I WILL have a 'tip one day.  The holy grail of recurves in my opinion.

Congrats on (another) sweet bow.

Jake

[Thumper_Too]

Ugh.. I want a tip!!! Nice man!

[MountainTool21]

Great looking bow.

Chuck
All set up is she as quiet as the other Schafer you've shot? Vs the Habu?

Thank you again and great detail
Andrew

[nineworlds9]

Originally posted by MountainTool21:
Great looking bow.

Chuck
All set up is she as quiet as the other Schafer you've shot? Vs the Habu?

Thank you again and great detail
Andrew

Yes it is definitely as quiet as the all-glass Schafer, and more-so even, which is what I was getting at in the writeup.  I think the carbon adds enough stiffness and 'deadness' on the shot that it helps muffle the string contact more effectively.  Now don't get me wrong, there isn't a thing wrong with the non-glass bow-  they are excellent, this is just something a little different and something 'more' for those with the desire to kick it up a notch.  It's ultimately up to each potential buyer to decide if its an option thats important to them.  As I said I was impressed at what a fat 'bare' string at 9 GPP was yielding...the skinny LRU string set to arrive and 10-12 gpp is going to be even more impressive, I have no doubt.  

The Habu was a hybrid longbow so it was an order of magnitude quieter still, sound wise really not a fair comparison.  I used it as a comparison mainly because it was a bow in the same 'class' and because the specs and speed were comparable.

Where this bow exceeded the Habu for me is the increased sensation of speed/power, as to be expected from a hi-po recurve, and just the overall balance/ total package plus the Schafer mojo.  I sold the Habu because the solid glass riser was just 'overkill' as far as mass weight.  This bow by comparison is 'just right' as far as a 3pc with a little extra mass goes.  Some might prefer an all-wood riser to keep overall weight down.

I think the carbon option is a worthwhile addition to the Schafer line.  Dave Windauer strikes me as someone who thinks things through and takes consideration before making an upgrade to these beloved bows.

[SAVIOUR68]

Thats it Chuck, I am emailing your wife to take you to the closest rehab clinic !
     

[nineworlds9]

quote:Originally posted by SAVIOUR68:
Thats it Chuck, I am emailing your wife to take you to the closest rehab clinic !
         

[Bowwild]

Very thorough evaluation from someone who has been there and done that with a lot of top-notch equipment!

I love my Tip and the "recurve's recurve" is especially accurate too me. I love the wider limbs on my Tip compared to other, also nice bows. My Tip is also very smooth drawing.

Of course I don't have a carbon copy of the Tip. I would suppose these carbon limbs would fit a regular Tip riser?

[nineworlds9]

Bowwild-

Thanks for the kudos.  I don't get as much time to hunt as I'd like so I enjoy spending a little time here and there shooting some real nice bows.  Most of the time I pass them on to the next guy to enjoy.  I don't have a shooting machine or a chrono, but I do try and be as thorough and impartial as I can.  I grew up around a shop specializing in maintaining high end European cars, have enjoyed fast motorcycles and a little track riding, and have some time in the vintage auto resto business, so I've made an effort to develop a sense for quality and refinement.  

The carbon is just a limb upgrade, otherwise the bow is same construction as any other Silvertip if that answers your question.

[MountainTool21]

Thank you Chuck
Reached out to Beth already;)
Andrew

[nineworlds9]

Originally posted by MountainTool21:
Thank you Chuck
Reached out to Beth already;)
Andrew