The Amateur Archer - bows, equipment and related gear

Big Jim Thunder Child Review 56" AMO 46# @ 28" 2-piece Takedown It has been a good long while since my last bow review.  Life has been keeping me rather busy with work and family so I haven't been able to check out new bows, much less take the time to review them.  I still have some bows that I haven't had the chance yet to review and those will be upcoming as I find time to record my experiences. Up for review this entry is Big Jim's Thunder Child 2-piece takedown longbow.  I have long known of Big Jim and his high-end bows but never got a chance to handle one, let alone see one in person.  Big Jim is well known as a bowyer producing beautifully handcrafted bows that perform as well as they look.  Of particular interest to me was his Thunder Child longbow, which is unusually short for being a "longbow".  I started taking an interest to shorter bows ever since I took up bowhunting due to the compact maneuverability shorter bows provide.  Having

GrizzlyStik Qarbon Nano QN2 Review  62" AMO 47#@27" One particular take down longbow I have had my eye on for some time is the GrizzlyStik Qarbon Nano.  Since the time I had first noticed this bow, Alaska Bowhunting Supply (ABS) has since revised the bow with some improvements and now we have the Qarbon QN2 model reviewed here.  In-depth reviews of the second generation Qarbon are somewhat scarce, so I hope this review would provide some help to anyone who happens to have an interest in the bow.  According to the ABS website, the Qarbon was a bow designed from the ground up to shoot a heavy arrow and shoot it fast.  I prefer heavier arrows in general so let's see how the Qarbon does. *** 2/18/17 Update*** 3Rivers Archery has indeed picked up the Qarbon QN2.  The folks at 3Rivers are very knowledgeable and pleasant to talk to and I am glad they are the ones who are the new distributors of the QN2.  Scroll to the bottom of this review to see more details about th

Dryad Orion ACS-RC Review  44# 58" AMO recurve This time, I have an Orion bolt-down recurve.  The 58" bow consists of a 15" riser with medium length ACS-RC limbs scaled at 44# @ 28".  I had been wanting to try a set of the RC limbs for some time, so I finally put in the order during this year's Black Friday sale Dryad was having. - Riser - The 15" riser is attractively appointed with onyx actionwood, shedua, and red accent stripes.  I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love Dryad's risers.  They look great and the grip feels outstanding to my hand.  The Orion riser is no different.  This riser is virtually identical to a 15" ILF Epic I already have with the exception of the different woods and limb fitment.  The grip is a nice minimalist medium height with a wonderfully slim throat.  There really isn't much of any thumb rest to speak of and that's just fine.  I find the slim throat to really help minimize the ris