The Amateur Archer - bows, equipment and related gear

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...

Centaur Triple Carbon Elite Takedown Review Carbon Elite 58"AMO 51#@28" with XTL and Takedown options Ever since I shot the one-piece Carbon Elite stock bow, I knew I would eventually progress to the full-tilt Triple Carbon with takedown option.  If you have read my earlier review of the stock version of the Centaur Carbon Elite , you know how much I like Centaur longbows.  Jim is a master craftsman and the 15+ month wait for one of his bows is testament to his skills.  It is also evident that owners of Centaur bows really like them as you rarely ever see them up for sale on the classifieds of archery forums.  If you do, they often get snatched up pretty quickly once posted up.   Before I got in queue for a custom bow from Jim, I decided to first try the Archery Talk classifieds to see if I couldn't scare up a gently used Centaur that fit my parameters.  A few weeks of sitting in the classifieds, my wanted ad scored a hit and I was co...

Vista Maverick review I have been reviewing my bows for the past year or so but I have not really touched on the support gear for them.  As any archer is aware of, the support gear is a vital part of archery.  Tools, string wax, tabs/gloves, arm guards, quivers, arrow pullers, etc. all add up to allow an archer to perform his or her best, be it that one shot on a whitetail deer or a whole shoot worth of arrows at a tournament.  This time, I'll be taking a closer look at one piece of my gear that I find particularly important - my quiver. Over the years I have been shooting, I have used a variety of quivers from belt-mounted target style side quivers to bow-mounted hunting quivers.  Since I transitioned into traditional archery from Olympic recurve, I found a back quiver to suit my tastes more than the full-featured target quiver that hung from my belt.  Sure, it was nice to have all the big pockets, pouches, and multiple arrow tubes, but I found that often...