Cabela's Frontier Longbow

[texasguy83]

I haven't ever shot that particular bow but I have built and shot straight backed (Hill style) longbows. That bow will be smooth as silk to pull but there will be a little hand shock upon release. Heavy arrows will help tame the shock.
I've found straight back bows to be very accurate and forgiving shooting bows but not very fast.....but for that price you can't hardly go wrong!

Thanks for the input

[SwampRabbit]

Just looking at the picture, it looks like your standard mass produce longbow that samick, OMP, etc make and resell under various chain brands. I own one just like it. I'll post a picture and you can decide for yourself. They are cheap bows that have a crap ton of hand shock. You can be accurate with them, but they are not going to be very efficient nor comfortable. They are not going to be like the samick sage recurve where you get a really good starter bow that isn't pretty, but can be a pleasure to shoot. It just is what it is.

Let me put it another way... I want to shoot 2 rounds at Chester this weekend... but I only own one long bow... that one is it, and it is not something that I will have fun shooting 40 targets with.

Keep in mind, that is my opinion on it.

[SwampRabbit]

Here is my "version" of what I consider the same class of bow.



Like I said above, it will shoot, it will hunt, but won't give the same bang for buck as a sage, etc.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[60 Deluxe]

Swamp Rabbit, I have a Dwyer longbow coming that is 47# if my memory serves me correctly. The guy that had it was using 250 spine arrows with 100 grain inserts and 150 grain points. He said that the heavy arrow eliminated a lot of the hand shock and suggested that I try doing the same. Might be an idea for your longbow, too.

[Lost Arra]

60 Deluxe: is that the Dwyer original longbow?

My Defiant and Endeavor have zero hand shock but are different beasts than the Original.

[SwampRabbit]

Swamp Rabbit, I have a Dwyer longbow coming that is 47# if my memory serves me correctly. The guy that had it was using 250 spine arrows with 100 grain inserts and 150 grain points. He said that the heavy arrow eliminated a lot of the hand shock and suggested that I try doing the same. Might be an idea for your longbow, too.

That bow is 50# at my draw and I am shooting 550 gr (11 gpp) and it still buzzes. I tried some wood arrows that I am pretty sure were heavier (might have been the same) with the same results. I guess I could have gone heavier... but just didn't think it was worth it. Have shot several other longbows that have a lil' bit of shock that are much more bearable.

I should try shooting a fiberglass fishing arrow out of it and see how it feels as a true test.

[texasguy83]

I'll have to try it and see how much hand shock it has. I realize it is a mass produced bow, but not wanting to spend a ton on my first longbow either. I've had recurves and compounds and never had an issue with any hand shock, but don't want to start either.

I'm planning on making some custom arrows for my trad bows using 315 gr broadheads and 9.9 gpi carbon arrows, should end up around 641 gr total. I like a heavy arrow for maximum KE

[muddydog]

Since you have already shot a couple of bear bows.... have you looked at the Montana longbow? I sure like mine.

[El Paisano]

I really don't understand all of this fear of handshock that people keep talking about with longbows. I've shot them for years and can only say that the only time I have experienced anything that I consider hand shock was when the brace height was grossly off. I guess there may be bows out there with poorly tillered limbs, or a lot of things that the operator could do wrong.

[RickBarbee]

I wonder who builds the bow for Cabela's?
If you can find that out, you can probably find reviews of the same bow in the manufacture's lineup.

Rick

[60 Deluxe]

The Dwyer arrived. It is the Original. The strike plate is well worn for an almost new bow which indicates too heavy of a spine being used. Just for kicks, I tried a few of my stiffest and heaviest arrows through it. I was not impressed. There was still hand shock and the arrows flew like they had a rubber band holding them back. I switched over to a lighter arrow in the nine gpp range and just held the bow loosely enough so that it can jump on the shot without rattling my arthritic hand. I suppose that a fellow would get used to that jump and not notice it; maybe even after a while start claiming that his bow doesn't have hand shock as a lot of the Hill style shooters do. This is a nice bow but I would prefer another Striker or Savannah instead. I will have to limit how many shots I put though it at a session as my sore hands keep me awake at night already.

Texasguy, if you ever want to drop by and shoot a bow with handshock, I have an old Bear Whitetail Hunter that is absolutely the worst bow that I have ever used. I keep it around just to show guys where the compounds started out.

[SwampRabbit]

I really don't understand all of this fear of handshock that people keep talking about with longbows. I've shot them for years and can only say that the only time I have experienced anything that I consider hand shock was when the brace height was grossly off. I guess there may be bows out there with poorly tillered limbs, or a lot of things that the operator could do wrong.

I like a bow that is dead in the hand. I can tolerate some degree of vibration, but there are some designs that outright will buzz you all the way up to your elbow. It gets to be uncomfortable and no longer a pleasure to shoot.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

[El Paisano]

I will consider myself lucky to not have encountered those vibrating bows that people talk about in my 50 years of shooting. Of course, most of the bows that I have had were older bows or were made by good custom bowyers. The smoothest drawing and shooting bow that I ever had was a Bob Lee takedown.
I have heard that if a Hill style (or any bow for that matter) isn't tillered so that the limbs recover at the same time they can be a real nightmare. I also think that loading the bow from different points on the string will have an effect on limb recovery timing (noise and vibration). When I tried 3 under it seemed like it was always more noisy that split finger and I had to change the nock point to get good arrow flight, but never got rid of the noise.
I have the bows now that I will likely shoot until I can't shoot any more. The ones that I shoot the most are a 7 Lakes string follow Hill style bow (68") and a St. Charles dual shelf Thunderbird (66"). I also have a Wing Slim Line Swift Wing (66") and a '67 Shakespeare Kaibab that are both real good shooters, but I only have so much time....

[JPR79]

You can still find some older vintage bows, that don't have stress cracks that shoot really well and are better quality than the low end entry level Chinese-made bows you find new today. I started on a 40# Browning Nomad Stalker (52" AMO... it was NOT friendly to shoot!) and worked my way around.

Nothing against the Sage, I will probably buy my wife one, unless I can find a decent recurve to start her on off fleabay, craigslist, or classifieds on here or Archery Talk.

[texasguy83]

Fleetwood Archery manufactures the bow, its part of the same company that makes the Samick Sage. So, should be good quality.