Bob Lee Hunter.

[Shupe88]

Just traded my backup z7 for a Bob Lee hunter recurve. I’m new to the traditional bows and jumped on the deal because I had heard about Bob lees on Kifaru pod cast. So I’m assuming this is a great starter bow? 40# at 25” 54” bow. Question I have is I’m guessing I will be around 27-28 draw length. Can I pull past the 25”? And also what arrows do I need? Spine? Grain of point? Etc. sorry for the long post and questions but I’m brand new to traditional! Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[maxpetros]

Bob Lee's are excellent bows but that might be a very hard bow to learn on. At 28 inches itll be almost 50 pounds for you, great weight to hunt with, not so great to learn trad on. The 54" length may or may not start stacking on you (starts increasing weight in a non linear form, feels almost like hitting a wall). You can draw it past 25 but it may not be the most comfortable bow for you. I'd reccomend starting with a cheap bow like a samick sage in 30 or 35 pounds and learning your form before working up to the bob lee.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Shupe88]

Bob Lee's are excellent bows but that might be a very hard bow to learn on. At 28 inches itll be almost 50 pounds for you, great weight to hunt with, not so great to learn trad on. The 54" length may or may not start stacking on you (starts increasing weight in a non linear form, feels almost like hitting a wall). You can draw it past 25 but it may not be the most comfortable bow for you. I'd reccomend starting with a cheap bow like a samick sage in 30 or 35 pounds and learning your form before working up to the bob lee.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

I guess I will give it a try and just go from there. If it’s too much I will try the samick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PresTex]

Unfortunately, that is not a great bow to start out with, unless you have an exceptionally short draw length.

Short bows are harder to shoot, stack more at longer draws, and will make developing your fundamentals harder. If you pull 28” then that bow is going to be close to #10 heavier than the listed weight and the worst thing you can do starting out is shooting too much draw weight.

Personally, I would buy a Samick Sage, Twig Archery Black Spitfire, or similar bow and sell the Bob Lee. A 62” #30-40@28” is going to be much better suited to you.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cng]

I know I’ll probably get chastised by the trad folks for saying this, but I was warned not to get anything over 35# because I have a 31-32” draw. I’m still brand new to traditional, but I went with a 66”/45# @ 28” and draw weight has not been a factor at all. Went to a local shoot and got some guys to check my form, and they said I’m looking pretty good.

Things will be different for you with a shorter bow, but my advice is to shoot the crap out of it to see what you like about it and dislike about it, and then sell it to buy exactly what you want.

 

[sneaky]

I know I’ll probably get chastised by the trad folks for saying this, but I was warned not to get anything over 35# because I have a 31-32” draw. I’m still brand new to traditional, but I went with a 66”/45# @ 28” and draw weight has not been a factor at all. Went to a local shoot and got some guys to check my form, and they said I’m looking pretty good.

Things will be different for you with a shorter bow, but my advice is to shoot the crap out of it to see what you like about it and dislike about it, and then sell it to buy exactly what you want.

There's a difference in getting "some guys" to check your form, and having a coach break down your form. Higher draw weights can actually camouflage form issues and lead to bad habits. Most of us preach it because we've been through it. Not like we're picking on anyone in particular.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Cng]

I know I’ll probably get chastised by the trad folks for saying this...

 

[Felix40]

What was your compound draw length?

Bob Lee has made several different bows in the hunter class. Is this the one piece or takedown? They used to build a one piece called the dark archer which I believe was 54" and 56" designed for shooting out of a ground blind. Those bows handled well even at 28 inches of draw length. They are still harder to shoot than a 62" takedown though. If your bow is a one piece it is probably the less artistic looking version of a dark archer and might be just fine. If your bow is a takedown there is a good chance it was designed for a lady or kid and you might have some stacking at your draw length. Its hard to know without shooting it but in either case its probably not ideal to learn with. You may be able to make it work but you wont ever shoot it as good as you could.

The draw weight is less of an issue than bow length imo. I started with a 50# Bob Lee bow when I was a 130 pound teenager. I grew up near the shop and hand picked the bow for my 16th birthday. Killed a pretty nice buck with that bow. I see no reason to start with a bow so light you wont be able to hunt with it. If this one doesnt work out for you it would be best to trade/sell it for another high end bow that fits you better. The sammick sage will fire arrows but its a long long way from being a Bob Lee. No reason to go backward.

 

[sneaky]

If you think that was chastising, you need to get out more

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[sneaky]

Then again, when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs the one that yelps is the one that got hit

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Wilderlife]

For perspective, I'll summarise my journey.

Shot a 60-70 pound compound bow for a couple of years. Found it fairly easy to draw and shoot - Mathews No Cam HTR at about 26.5 inch draw length.

A friend gave me a Black Widow PCH 65# @ 28 inches - 60 inch bow. A beautiful gift.

I couldn't pull the 65# limbs to save myself, so with some help, I sourced some 54# limbs. I draw about 27 inches so the bow is close to 50# I guess?

I also bought a 35# cheap used recurve off eBay for easy practice but I've already out grown it. It came with 50# limbs as well and I'll probably give it to another newbie.

Recently bought a Bear Montana 45# @ 28 inch bow but have no arrows for it yet.

I can handle the 54# BW well enough but I get fatigued after about an hour of shooting so I need to be mindful of that. I'm only a small bloke (70kg and 171cm) but I exercise and lift weights regularly so I consider myself fairly strong. It's more about technique than strength, in my opinion.

The best advice is to just make sure you get people to watch you and you are critical of your form. There is no use just jumping into things and shooting heaps and learning lots of bad habits. At the same time, worrying about all the little nuances with bow tuning and accuracy and everything at the moment isn't as important as just sending arrows down range and becoming familiar with the bow.

 

[Shupe88]

So do I shoot for a while and see what happens? I have shot a compound for 17 years and have killed several deer and bear with them. Most of them in the last 5 years. Average 7 deer a year with the bow. Not that it matters at all but I feel like I’m a decent shot with the compound. I just don’t feel that I should sell the bob lee and buy a cheaper bow. If I get efficient with the cheap bow then I will be wanting a high end bow again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shupe88]

What was your compound draw length?

Bob Lee has made several different bows in the hunter class. Is this the one piece or takedown? They used to build a one piece called the dark archer which I believe was 54" and 56" designed for shooting out of a ground blind. Those bows handled well even at 28 inches of draw length. They are still harder to shoot than a 62" takedown though. If your bow is a one piece it is probably the less artistic looking version of a dark archer and might be just fine. If your bow is a takedown there is a good chance it was designed for a lady or kid and you might have some stacking at your draw length. Its hard to know without shooting it but in either case its probably not ideal to learn with. You may be able to make it work but you wont ever shoot it as good as you could.

The draw weight is less of an issue than bow length imo. I started with a 50# Bob Lee bow when I was a 130 pound teenager. I grew up near the shop and hand picked the bow for my 16th birthday. Killed a pretty nice buck with that bow. I see no reason to start with a bow so light you wont be able to hunt with it. If this one doesnt work out for you it would be best to trade/sell it for another high end bow that fits you better. The sammick sage will fire arrows but its a long long way from being a Bob Lee. No reason to go backward.

My compound dL is 28”

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Felix40]

Its hard to say what you should do. That riser is one of their short versions....possibly 15" but definitely no longer than 17" which will give you more working limb but also a smaller sight window. Go ahead and shoot it and see how it feels. Mark an arrow at 28" and see if its uncomfortable when you get it back that far.

Its been a long time since I set up arrows for a light bow but something fairly heavy with a 500 spine and 150grn points should work. Shoot for 10 grains per pound of draw weight. There is a good grizzly jim video on bareshaft tuning you should watch too. Get them flying at least decent for now and tweak more later.

If it were me....I would shoot this one while also trying to trade it for something of similar quality in 60 or 62" long and 45-50#.

 

[Felix40]

Bareshaft video I was talking about. Theres lots of ways to do it but this will get you super close.

 

[Kevin Dill]

If you follow....

Sometimes you've gotta date a few girls to know which one is right for you. The trick is not letting one of them wreck your future.

 

[Shupe88]

I appreciate the help guys!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MontanaMarine]

My compound dL is 28”

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice looking bow, but I don't think that's a recurve. Looks like a reflex/deflex longbow shape on those limbs.

But hey, I'm certainly no expert. I just started shooting a bow a couple months ago, a 40# Toelke Whip. Mine is an r/d longbow too, so I kind of recognized the shape.

Have fun with it!

 

[maxpetros]

Nice looking bow, but I don't think that's a recurve. Looks like a reflex/deflex longbow shape on those limbs.

But hey, I'm certainly no expert. I just started shooting a bow a couple months ago, a 40# Toelke Whip. Mine is an r/d longbow too, so I kind of recognized the shape.

Have fun with it!

Yes sir, you are correct, that is definitely a reflex deflex longbow and not a recurve.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Shupe88]

Yes sir, you are correct, that is definitely a reflex deflex longbow and not a recurve.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Well shit! What’s that mean?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk