Factory vs Custom recurves

[Palehorse]

I'm looking to upgrade from my old 1970s Bear Grizzly. I went down to the archery shop and tried a couple of factory recurves and I really like the Bear Super Kodiak. I was kind of curious about getting a custom bow though.

My question to y'all is, would a custom bow really be that much better than a good factory bow like the Super Kodiak? I don't mind paying for quality as long as I'm really getting something for my money. What's your opinion?

[TXRebel]

I'm looking to upgrade from my old 1970s Bear Grizzly. I went down to the archery shop and tried a couple of factory recurves and I really like the Bear Super Kodiak. I was kind of curious about getting a custom bow though.

My question to y'all is, would a custom bow really be that much better than a good factory bow like the Super Kodiak? I don't mind paying for quality as long as I'm really getting something for my money. What's your opinion?

IMHO, A factory bow will shoot just as good as a custom bow. With a custom bow you are getting a bow custom made for you. If I could justify the cost I would be shooting a custom bow.

[flywise]

All I know Is factory. I'd love a customer bow but this Martin is awesome. Its plainJane, it's not special but it shoots.good,

[muddydog]

I will never buy another custom. Only cheap factory bows for me. The price isn't worth it. Bottom line it's the shooter not the bow that makes the difference. I'm not talking down any custom. I personally can't justify the extra cost.

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

[helical]

It may be worth trying a few custom bows before committing to a purchase. If you are thinking longbow then shoot something like Bob Sarrel’s Sierra, Blue Ridge, Teton or maybe look into Fox Archery’s Triple Crown. If you’re a recurve guy then Bob Lee, Toelke, Sarrels, etc. would be good choices to start with.

Clearly there are many other affordable high performance custom bows,.. so the point is to try a couple of quality customs if possible - if you have been shooting factory bows for a while then it should not take long to determine whether or not a custom bow would be “that much better” than your factory experience.

[TWP]

Look up RMSGEAR in the Google machine. Check their bow inventory. Then call them, I believe you can even get a bow shipped to you to try out. Believe they have 500 or so, new or used. Get hold of Alex, Danny or Tommy and tell them Trevor sent them your way.

[Draco]

You may get a custom bow made and find you can't shoot it well at all. It can even be like one you have tried before. I took a friend to Bob's to get his first good bow. He had been shooting an old Bear that was really a dog. He liked a certain model long bow that Bob had several of on the rack. The forth one was the one. He immediately started shooting it lights out. He tried several more and retried the first 3 but when he got to that forth one again, he knew, this was his bow. For him, it shot better than any of the others even though they were almost exactly like the forth one. He has done very well with it the last few years. I think it's always better to try before you buy if possible.

[60 Deluxe]

I started buying used customs and seldom shoot a factory built bow now days. There is a different feel to the customs, if you know which ones to buy. I have owned some that were highly spoken of and just couldn't figure out what was so great about them. My favorites are recurves built by Schafer, Blacktail, Tall Tines, Robertson, and Bob Lee.

Some times you can buy like new customs for not much more than a factory bow. I bought a Tall Tines a week ago because it had a second set of limbs that I had owned and sold, to my regret. Knocking off what I sold the limbs for from the price, I bought a like new bow with a nicely checkered grip for about the price of a new Bear Grizzly. The bow probably was about $1200 when built. I won't keep the bow because it is a few pounds above my comfortable range and I already have a rack full of second hand customs to play with.

Try before you buy is nice if you live where there are bows to try. My approach is to just buy popular bows and play with them for awhile. Some times it takes several hundred shots to bond with a bow. If it doesn't work after a week or two, the bow gets sold and I usually get all of my money back on the sale.

[DRT]

If you buy a "custom" bow used is it really custom? Custom implies it was built to your style or to fit your likes/needs.
After that buyers are just buying a nice bow they want.
I've had a couple of low end (Chinese made) bows and both of them shot well enough. I've got a couple of "custom" recurve bows that I got used and like both of them more than my Sage. That said that Sage or the Black Hunter longbow I have were both adequate shooters and would serve me well enough should I stay with them. If all I really wanted to afford was that Black Hunter I could shoot it for 3D, hunt or just practice for me at home and be happy. But I have the means to dig a little deeper in the pocket and I try others. The funny thing is that if I am smart and patient I can buy a "custom" bow at a very reasonable price and then after enjoying it, or even not, sell it for what I have in it and not have lost much or anything to try it. The Sage and Black Hunter are the same. Just your upfront investment is less.

Gary

[ballgame]

I like that cartain customs are made by one person not an assembly line. I like being able to call the exact person who built it if there is an issue or if I have a question.

[Dry Bones]

Ballgame put in my exact thoughts. I like that a custom had one person, or only a couple, put it together and looked over quality every inch of the way. I have a couple "customs". On was built for me specifically (Freeman Longbow, Straight ASL) and will most likely never leave me, unless something incredibly unforeseen happens. The other is a Hummingbird Recurve. It was not built for me, but was the poundage and specs I wanted. Plus it looks really nice. Like 60 Deluxe stated you can pick-up a custom that is pre-owned a lot of times for about the same price as a box store bow. I have no issues with shooting mass produced bows, but the custom has a little more guarantee of quality.
My personal opinion. You may be hard pressed to find something that out-shoots that 70's Grizzly. I had a couple different grizzlies and now wished I had kept one of them (a 70's model to boot).

[caughtandhobble]

If you want a Bear check out Big Jim's Bow Company. He just got in some Bear blems at a crazy good price. There're on sale this weekend to boot.

Custom bows are built by one person, yes. Just how custom they are is really not much. You're going to have a hard time getting a custom bowyer out of his comfort zone.

In the beginning I went through a lot of custom bows. Some I loved, some I just liked, they're all nice. After you really use a bow is when you find out just how well they are built. Hell, a couple years ago a friend bought a custom bow that had more streaks in the glass that you could ever imagine. The guy that built that bow did not even offer a discount. I have more pride in myself and my work than that, I would have never let something that looked that bad leave my shop without a camo dip job.

When it comes to customs I love Black Widow Bows. When a Black Widow is 5 years old you can wax it and it looks bran spanking new. Some custom bows that are 5 years old don't even look as good as your 45 year old Bear.

If you decide to go with a custom be sure and check out Black Widows. Like most things in life you get what you pay for. Their customer service is second to none, just like their bows.

To your real question, is it worth the difference. IMO if you love your Bear you will always compare every bow that you shoot to it. Bear makes great bows, their Montana is what I started with. I still have it and I still love it. That being said, it's not a Black Widow.

Good luck and God bless.

[60 Deluxe]

Try finding a factory bow built like this one for $600. I've had Grizzlys and they are o.k. but they are no match for a top tier custom.

[Draco]

So much of it is simply the feel of the bow and how well it points for you. I knew I had found it with the first Pronghorn that I shot. I got it in the mail around noon and had a deer on the ground with it at 5:45 the same day. I've bought several more since but still shoot the first one I bought over 20 years ago. The others are of lesser weight. Just planning ahead when I have to drop a few pounds as I get older. They are not very fancy as Ol' Herb never got into making real fancy bows but man do they shoot for me.

[Palehorse]

If you want a Bear check out Big Jim's Bow Company. He just got in some Bear blems at a crazy good price. There're on sale this weekend to boot.

I really appreciate the heads up. I just pulled the trigger on one of their Super Kodiak Black Beauty blems. A new $800 bow for about 1/2 price with the sale, you can't beat that with a stick. I really liked the Super Kodiak that I shot too. It just seemed to feel right.