Border Raptor longbow review

Ever since I got into traditional archery, I have always admired the longbow.  I like the elegant shape the longbow makes - particularly the ones that form a smooth continuous D.  Something about that draws me to the longbow time and time again.  As much as I like longbows, I especially like take-down longbows for their ease of portability.  My favorite back quiver has a pouch specifically for take-down bows and I love how I can carry my bow, arrows, and support gear all in one compact package.

Not long after having acquired the Covert Hunter, I noticed Border was at it again with the new Raptor take-down longbow.  I figured I would simply inquire about this new bow for my own information and sent Sid Sr. an e-mail.  A few e-mails later, I found myself in the queue once again.  I guess my Covert Hunter needed a buddy.  This time, a bolt-down longbow.

What's in the box from Border

The full kit unwrapped.  Border supplies a stringer, string, and wrenches

- Riser -

The Raptor's riser is similar to the Covert Hunter with laminations of carbon and wood, and a little red phenolic for looks.  I understand these laminations are not just for aesthetic effect, but serve to minimize any distortions in the natural wood and to stiffen up the riser.  The riser I have is 15" long and made of Shedua and Indian Rosewood.  I had asked Sid to give me a grip similar to the Covert Hunter, so I ended up with one that is medium-high.  The grip is filling to the hand and offers a small, but supportive thumb shelf.  The wrist height feels similar to the Covert Hunter's, but is not identical due to the reduced riser deflex.  Still, it feels great and points naturally for me.  I have little trouble switching between the two bows.

As on my Covert Hunter, I had requested a Berger hole on my Raptor riser to allow me to use the same set screw technique to adjust for centershot.  Basically, I use a 5/16" set screw in the Berger hole and use it to push out on the soft sided Velcro pad to tune how far past center the arrow sits.  It is a very simple and highly adjustable system that does away with needing to experiment with different thicknesses of strike plate and I can adjust for fat or skinny shafts on the fly.  To prevent the set screw from moving due to vibration, I add a few wraps of thread sealer teflon tape around the screw before threading it into the Berger hole.

Covert Hunter and Raptor risers side by side.  Note the greater deflex of the CH riser on top.  The CH is a 19" riser and the Raptor is a 15".  

The sight window is small, but it works for me.  I usually cant my bow slightly so I don't have issues with the small window obscuring my view.  In fact, I like the smaller window because I find it frames my target nicely at the ranges I usually shoot at.  At 10 yards, I put the target at the top of my window and that gives me a good sight reference.

For an aesthetic touch, I requested carbon shields on my Raptor so the bow would have an all-carbon look when viewed from the back or belly.  It really does not do anything functionally, but I have always liked the look of woven carbon fiber and I think it accents the bow very well.

A look of the back side of the riser with the carbon shield

Belly side carbon shield

A view of the bottom limb with the Border logo and the yellow lettering detailing the relevant bow information

If you read my Covert Hunter review, you will notice I requested AMO sight/quiver bushings on the outside of the sight window.  On the Raptor, I opted to go without the bushings since I have a great Kanati Slim Jim strap-on quiver.  I also found out the hard way the AMO bushings used by Border are metric threads and I did not have any metric screws on hand with which to mount a quiver to the bow.  I ended up stuffing the arrows in my back pocket for the 3D shoot I attended with the Covert Hunter.




- Limbs -

Being a longbow, the limbs are well, long.  In my e-mail exchange with Sid, he recommended a set of extra-long limbs to suit my 27" draw for an overall bow length of 62" AMO.  The Raptor has limbs in a reflexed shape when unbraced, but will pull back into a graceful D shape when the string is in the notches.  I requested the Hyperflex cores in my limbs in the hopes I would wring out a few more precious FPS.  Additionally, the synthetic core material should be impervious to the elements which is a good thing since I plan to eventually hunt with the Raptor.

Woven carbon fiber forms the back and belly laminations and the whole thing is given an attractive matte finish.  The Border logo is present on the back of the top limb and belly of the bottom.  I was expecting to see a Raptor logo somewhere, but the only indication of the bow's name is on the info on the belly of the bottom limb.  As expected of Border, the limbs are glass-less to shave off weight and increase speed.  I would say the limbs are fairly light - 153g to be precise.

The limb connection system uses a pin and sleeve to ensure proper alignment.  The limb butt and pocket share a flat mating surface with a pin protruding out from the pocket side and a sleeve protruding from the limb side.  The pin on the pocket interfaces with a metal receptacle on the limb butt, and the sleeve is actually a hollow tube through which the limb bolt passes into the threads in the riser.  The entire system is simple to use and virtually idiot-proof.  The only thing you could mess up is swapping the top and bottom limb.  I went with the standard flat head limb bolts rather than the thumbscrews.  I felt it made for a cleaner look, and I usually do not take down my bows unless I have to.  If I could change one thing about the bolts, I would have preferred matching black bolts, but it is nothing a Sharpie or some black model paint couldn't remedy.

Close-up of the limb connection system.  Simple and foolproof.

- Tuning - 

Being a bolt-down bow, there is little one can do in terms of adjustments.  In many ways, I like that so I will not waste time fiddling around with tiller, preload, limb alignment, etc.  ILF bows are fun for their adjustability, but it can be a pain if something ends up out of alignment or you are an incessant fiddler like me.  Border's recommended brace height for the 62" Raptor is 6.5"-7.5".  I used a custom flemish string made by Chad at Champion Custom Bowstrings and set my initial brace right at 7".  The included black and red flemish string was a bit too long and I could see the two bundles had some cabling in them.  Sorry Border, you guys make some of the best bows on the planet, but your strings leave a bit to be desired.  Guess we can't be perfect at everything.  At my 27" drawlength, my digital scale rated the limbs at 44# - right around where I like my bows to scale.  At that weight, I know my arrows will spine in perfectly with only a point weight swap for minor tuning.  As for mass weight, the bow's overall weight is a healthy 2.1 lbs.

The arrows I plan to use with this bow are the same Easton Gamegetter 500s I used with the Centaur Carbon Elite except I dropped point weight to 100gr. making a total arrow weight of 470gr. and an average grain-per-pound of 10.7.  Border has a chart on their website detailing the minimum GPP for their bows and the Raptor comes out to about 6.4GPP as a bare minimum.  To me, that is incredibly low and would make for a pretty harsh shooting bow (and probably shorten the bow's lifespan).  I generally try to stay at or above 9GPP for all my bows.

A view of the bow in the unbraced state.  Note the reflexed limbs.

Setting up the shelf was simple enough - cut out a piece of soft velcro pad to fit the shelf and side plate and add a 5/16" set screw in the Berger hole to adjust for centershot.  I usually set centershot so the point of the arrow is just barely the width of the shaft to the left of the string when centered.  I tied in my usual two nocking points after bareshaft tuning for nock position and adjusted brace height for the quietest shot.  There is a twang in the limbs, likely due to the glass-less construction and synthetic core, but a pair of Broadband Limbsavers took care of that.  For the string, a pair of beaver balls eliminated any string hum.  In some of the photos you will see the beaver balls and others you will see white dyneema puffs.  I started with an endless loop string that already had the puffs on them while I was waiting for Chad to make the custom flemish strings.

The two Border bows side by side to showing the braced profiles and overall lengths

At 10.7GPP, I was pulling shots averaging 168.8 FPS according to the chronograph.  Definitely not the fastest bow, but still respectable.  I dropped the brace height to the 6.5" minimum and that brought speeds up past the 170 mark with a 5-shot average pulling 172.1.  For the record, I started shooting through the chrono alone when I took the first average, then a friend coached me for the second average to make sure I was drawing to anchor consistently.  I probably anchored just a tad further on the second string of shots, resulting in the 3.3  FPS difference you see.  I highly doubt a 1/2" decrease in brace height would have made that big of a speed increase.



- Shooting -

This review is a little later coming than I originally intended with family and work taking up a large share of my free time.  However, doing a later review has allowed me more time to shoot the Raptor and I have a better understanding of the bow than if I did a review immediately after receiving it.

Since taking ownership of the Raptor, I have been rather torn between regularly shooting it and the Covert Hunter.  Both are wonderful bows and each have their strengths and weaknesses.  In the Raptor's favor, I really like the elegant D shape it makes and the smooth linear climb in draw weight it gives.  I also love how it only makes a quiet thump on the loose and nothing more.  The difference in speed is quite evident compared to the CH with my point-on distance dropping some 7 yards with the same arrows.  Not that I mind the shorter point-on distance.  I rarely ever shoot beyond 40 yards and I limit myself to 30 yards if hunting.  Knowing I would be writing up a review of the Raptor, I made it my main bow for the past 4 months so I would grow more accustomed to it and really know my sight references and point-on distance.  With 10.7GPP and a 30" long GameGetter 500 shaft, I found a solid point-on distance of 34 yards at the local indoor range.  Between the 10 yard sight reference at the top of the window and the arrow point, the Raptor sight window makes for an excellent frame for accurate shooting at 99% of the distances I normally shoot at.

The Border Bros. hanging out in a tree in my backyard on a fall afternoon

I was not able to go hunting this fall due to family and work obligations, but I did shoot the Raptor at the winter indoor traditional leagues I usually participate in.  The weekly league involves shooting at 15 different 2D animal targets arranged at random locations and at varying unknown distances.  The closest distance is about 5 yards and the furthest is just under 30.  One of the fun things about this league is you can put a dollar in the pot and take a called shot on someone's arrow once everyone is finished with that end.  If you manage to break their arrow, you win the pot for that round of called shots.  However, the arrow's owner gets to retaliate for free and if they break your arrow, they win the pot instead!  I manage to avoid being an easy target by carefully placing my arrows in areas that would not be attractive to someone looking to take a called shot.  As much as I try, I've had arrows broken as collateral damage when the shot taker called the arrow next to mine but hit mine instead.  It's all part of the fun of the league.

Being a new model offered by Border, the Raptor garnered some attention at the league by archers in the know about Border.  The bow got passed around and all who shot it agreed on the smooth draw and quiet loose.  Many thought the riser was quite attractive with the carbon and wood laminations, but some did not like the pistol-style grip.  To each their own, I suppose.  I find the Raptor has a very stable feeling - likely due to the larger target type riser and grip.  It may not be a "traditional" longbow to some purists out there, but it sure is a great shooting one.

Since it is winter at the time of this review, I was unable to go shoot outdoors to test long distance performance.  I would like to go out to the same range where I shot the Centaur Carbon Elite and try a 170 yard shot to see how it compared, but perhaps that is something I can do an update on when spring arrives and the butts thaw out.  The most I can get out of an indoor range is 40 yards, which is pretty good and it gives me more than enough distance to fully tune everything in.

On one occasion, I was able to visit an indoor range in Dousman, WI by the name of Whale-Tales Archery.  My wife was a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding and had to travel over to Oconomowoc, WI to meet up and do bridal things (something about hair, make-up, and dresses and the like).  I tagged along to act as a companion during the 6 hour road trip and did some searching for a local archery range in the Oconomowoc area.  I must say, the Whale-Tales indoor range is quite something.  They had a 40 yard long indoor range set up as a 3D course with a variety of animals, cover shrubs, and even changes in elevation.  The range is essentially a large rectangular heated barn with a large pile of mulch chips piled up downrange.  The mulch serves to create hills and valleys as the range owners see fit (they probably use a Bobcat and shovels to change terrain) and also as a means to anchor the foam animals into the ground.  Back at the shooting line, there is actually one on the ground level, and another upstairs on top for an elevated shot.  Range safety is called with a switch that toggles on a set of bright red spinning police lights that only a blind person would miss.  I had a great time at the Whale-Tales range while my wife was out with her friend and fellow bridesmaids doing bridal stuff.  I had a few archers come over to see what I was shooting, being the only single-stringed archer there.  They were all rather impressed that I was able to hit anything at all and one fellow was outright amazed when I planted a 3 shot group into the vitals of a bedded deer at 35 yards (not too hard when your point-on is right about there).  Nobody asked to try my Raptor and I was kind of glad too, since everyone seemed to look at it like it was some relic from the Battle of Agincourt.  I surmise the Raptor or my arrows would not have left the range completely unscathed....



- Final Thoughts -

When I was exchanging e-mails with Sid Sr. regarding the Raptor, I was in the mindset of trying to whittle down my bow collection to 4-5 bows I would deem "best in class".  I was looking to have four categories: bolt-down longbow (BD-L), bolt-down recurve (BD-R), ILF longbow (ILF-L), and ILF recurve (ILF-R).  The 5th category would be compound bow, but I ride on the fence about bothering to maintain one since I hardly ever shoot compound.

With the addition of the Raptor, I believe I have settled the first category of BD-L, and the Covert Hunter takes the BD-R spot.  The ILF spots have yet to be decided upon, but I feel pretty certain the ILF-R category has been claimed by the W&W RCX17, but not 100% certain yet.  I've been playing around with different limbs on that riser and so far, have been quite happy with a set of TradTech BlackMax Carbon Extreme medium limbs.  I feel they offer among the best bang for the buck in a conventional recurve limb, but that's a digression for another blog post.  The ILF-L category is still wide open and I am holding it open for a set of Dryad's new ACS LB-X limbs I have on order due sometime in April.  If you read my previous posts, you know I am very much a fan of Dryad and I am eagerly awaiting the new limbs.

Anyways, getting back to the Raptor.  Four months of regularly shooting the bow gave me a good sense of its characteristics.  I like how quiet the bow is and how linearly it builds in draw weight.  I also really like the grip and the shape of the sight window as it really suits my style of shooting.  I especially like the way the bow braces up and how stable the limbs are at a low 6.5" brace height.  I have shot ILF longbows that require a recurve-like high brace height over 7.5-8".  I feel that robs shorter draw archers of a couple inches of power stroke resulting in slower arrow speeds for a given draw weight.  One thing I should note about bolt-down bows is how they likely offer the most speed for the given draw weight.  That is because the bowyer is able to create a bow with a fixed geometry that is optimized for performance.  In the case of ILF bows, some slack needs to be designed into the risers and limbs to accommodate a wide range of riser lengths, limb lengths, and draw lengths that may be encountered by the end user.

It comes as no surprise to me that Border has put together another great bolt-down bow.  I see the Raptor as the ideal compliment to the Covert Hunter and vice versa.  Similar enough to each other that I am able to pick up either bow and shoot them equally well, but different enough that I get variety between the two.  I am hoping Border will eventually develop an all-carbon fiber riser so that I can get one for both my Covert Hunter and Raptor.  It probably will not do anything to improve my shooting, but knowing how Border is able to work magic with carbon fiber, I'm betting the end result will be just fantastic.  As the Raptor is, I like it just fine.