<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<font face="Arial">Good Friends of the Bow,<br>
<br>
Recently I purchased two Southland Archery Supply [SAS] 30-35#
Robin Hood bows for our household's loaner kit.. These are
interesting weapons that should have a place in our archery
program. My thoughts follow.<br>
<br>
<img src="cid:part1.0C55472C.139F4224@embarqmail.com" alt=""><br>
<br>
These are reasonably priced all-fiberglass recurve bows with the
usual youth archery accessories. They are available in black, and
at a slightly higher price in faux wood grain. I chose the wood
grain, as it looks nicer than dull black. I paid $73 each on
Amazon Prime with free shipping. The black sold for $60. In
retrospect, I should have gone with the black as it is less likely
to show nicks, and they can be touched up with a Sharpe pen. I
already have a couple boofers in one of my bows just from the
set-up.<br>
<br>
The bows come as a set which is advertised to include an optional
arrow rest, two arrows, an arm guard, a finger tab, a belt quiver
and a target face. Neither quiver or target face came with my
bows, but that is probably no great loss. The two arrows have the
typical youth blunt points, fiber glass shafts and plastic vanes.
I sawed the nocks off mine (so they can't accidentally be shot)
and added them to our growing collection of line markers. The arm
guard is a plastic lattice thingy that attaches with Velcro. I
don't like them, but some of the youngsters who shoot in Isenfir
may want them as part of their own starter gear. The finger tab is
vinyl, but well made, and surprisingly fits my adult hand pretty
well. I keep finger tabs in my loaner kit in case anyone asks for
one, but don't usually give them out to guests. These will find a
home among Mallard Lodge's tackle. [I shoot with a simple finger
tab myself, and like them, but there is a high learning curve to
use them effectively.]<br>
<br>
The bows measure 60". They come pre-strung with a 57" string, and
are not intended to be unstrung. The string is a longbow type with
very small loops that barely fit over the plastic limb ends. Even
if you unstring the bow, they won't slide far enough down the limb
to let you pull off the lower end. I replaced both strings with
3Rivers recurve strings from my stock. As the bows come, they have
a brace height of about 5", way too short. I chose 56" replacement
strings, and set the brace height at 7", which seems to be about
right for a bow of this size and power. The supplied strings are
of good quality, and have gone into my supplies for possible use
on some other youth bow with thinner limbs.<br>
<br>
I did not use the optional screw-on arrow rests, but set the bows
up to shoot right off the arrow shelf. I will probably add a piece
of glue-backed leather to reduce scratching on my arrows.<br>
<br>
I did a few test shots on my 8-yard basement range, and found the
bow to be reasonably accurate and very easy to use, except the
grip on the back of the bow is square and a bit uncomfortable on
the fingers. Because the rear part of the grip is shaped to fit
into the archer's palm, a leather grip wrap probably won't work
here. It would be possible to put a partial wrap of some
sticky-back leather as sold by 3Rivers (one should do for both
bows).<br>
<br>
I was shooting using my usual 27" pull with my thumb in the corner
of my lip. The bow can be safely pulled to a full 28" if desired,
giving 1.5-2 additional pounds of force. Supposedly the bow
launches arrows at 150 fps, but this would depend on the draw
length of the archer. When I used my bow scale, I was a bit
disappointed. The maximum draw weight I measured when pulling a
full 28" to mid-jaw was about 32.5#. At 27", it was 29-30. I had
hoped for a full 35# at full draw, as that draw weight is hard to
find and one that is very useful in a loaner kit.<br>
<br>
Overall, I think the bows are worth the money, keeping in mind
that they are effectively 30# weapons. These would be best for
teens and small ladies. They are comparable in price and value to
venerable Bear Titan 29# bow, and a lot more attractive.<br>
<br>
Yours Aye,<br>
<br>
<br>
Garth Groff<br>
</font>
</body>
</html>