Which Recurve Bows are NOT made in China?

[melensdad]

I'm looking for a recurve bow for my daughter. I'd like to keep the price under $200 as this is her first bow.

From what I have been told, PSE makes their traditional (wood) recurve bows in communist China, and on their lower end bows the quality is supposed to be spotty at best. The aluminum/composite PSE Optima is made in the US.

Samick makes their wood and composite bows in allied/friendly South Korea and seems to have an excellent reputation among target shooting archers.

Browning seems to have sold their archery division to PSE.



Where are the wood/traditional (moderately priced ~ not top end ~ but not toys) take down October Mountain (OMP), Martin, Greatree, Ragim and other brand bows made?


I'd like to buy a traditional bow (wood/wood composite) that is made here in the USA.

??? ???​

 

[Flinttim]

I currently own 2 Samicks and have had a couple others before. I also own some high end "custom" bows so I know a good one when I see it. I've never shot the lowest end Samicks but the middle of the road bows I have a good ones and I would recommend them highly. I have the Phantom take down and a Red Stag. I have heard others on some archery boards about problems with them but they are few and far between. I have heard similar stuff about even the highest end bows from custom shops. Occasionally it can happen to the best of them.. I would not even compare a Samick to a PSE.

 

[XtremeVel]

Have ordered from these folks a few times for son as he as grown. Great people and I have always been happy. Many or maybe most are imported though, exactly from where, IDK. If you were to call, I'm sure they'd be happy to answer any questions.

BTW, they are also located here in Indiana off 69 at the Ashley exit.

Click here: 3Rivers Archery Equipment, Traditional Youth Archery Bows and Arrows, and Long Bow Hunting

 

[Flinttim]

This one would do you fine
Samick Red Stag I 60" Recurve Bow - Traditional Bows - Bows

 

[melensdad]

. . .I would not even compare a Samick to a PSE.

I have 2 friends who are into archery in England and have been conversing with them via email. Both are strong supporters of the Samick brand and one of them currently holds 3 world records. Neither of them even mentioned PSE.

The shop local to me has PSE and seems to favor them for youth/teenage archers which is why I asked about them. You are saying that PSE is not in the same quality class as the Samick?

I'm looking at the Samick SAGE model because it comes in the 25# draw weight . . . which is the weight she has practiced with, and which has been recommended for her to use.

 

[Titanium Man]

The only bow I know of, and I know bows, which isn't made in China, for a recurve is a Hoyt. I'm not a big fan of Hoyt, but everything else is either made in South Korea, or China. Sorry. Martin, maybe??? isn't made overseas. Both you'll find to be a tad bit pricey, for what you want.

 

[melensdad]

Well I'd much rather support a business in South Korea (they are a friendly nation) than to support a business in China.

 

[Titanium Man]

I have 2 friends who are into archery in England and have been conversing with them via email. Both are strong supporters of the Samick brand and one of them currently holds 3 world records. Neither of them even mentioned PSE.

The shop local to me has PSE and seems to favor them for youth/teenage archers which is why I asked about them. You are saying that PSE is not in the same quality class as the Samick?

I'm looking at the Samick SAGE model because it comes in the 25# draw weight . . . which is the weight she has practiced with, and which has been recommended for her to use.

I would betcha, Samick and PSE are made in the same facility in South Korea, and or China for a South Korea company call KAP, or Korean Archery Products. They just slap on a different decal, and throw on the poly.

 

[Titanium Man]

Well I'd much rather support a business in South Korea (they are a friendly nation) than to support a business in China.

All the South Korean bow manufacturers have moved their manufacturing facilities to China. Welcome to the archery world.

That grunt call--China.

That deer blind--China.

Nearly everything is made there, restamped, packaged and marketed here---to out of work Americans.

 

[melensdad]

If the Korean stuff is made in China then that just sucks!

As for PSE and Samick being the same with a different decal, I don't see it in their line ups. They have different products and even products that appear similar have many subtle differences so they are not the same. Not saying they aren't both made in China, just saying they are not re-badged items.

 

[Flinttim]

I believe that some of the low end Samicks are made in China. But both of mine are made in S Korea.Maybe Samick makes a couple models that they sell to PSE and are branded same but you cannot compare the two for overall quality. Most PSEs I have had or seen look very clubby and thick while the Samicks are more slim and for the lack of a better word ,"lovely". I'd call Lancaster Archery and they can tell you more about it than anybody. For what it's worth, I'd consider one of the take down models. That way you can order new limbs as she grows and she can keep the same bow and grow with it.

 

[Flinttim]

Well, I guess I need to back peddle some here. I contacted some friends who would know and they tell me that as far as they know, Samicks are indeed made in China now. If so, it's a damn shame. The two I now have are great bows and Korean, but I can't speak for them now. If you don't find something new that suits you might want to consider hitting some of the trad shoots come the New Year. There are a lot of lighter weight , older, American made recurves that show up from time to time at our club in Scottsburg for example. Just last Summer one of the guys at the club had a nice Ben Pearson 30 pounder for sale for 60 bucks and before the weekend was over he gave it to my grandson as a gift. Lighter weight recurves are actually more plentiful than the heavy ones.

 

[den57]

You can start here: TradBow.com or pick up one of there magazines. Lots of bow makers in there that might be able to get you what you want.

Timberhawk bows, in Bedford I believe, are local and might be able to help or send you to someone that can help you.

Sometime there are bows for sale on Bowsite.com in the classifieds.

 

[Titanium Man]

If the Korean stuff is made in China then that just sucks!

As for PSE and Samick being the same with a different decal, I don't see it in their line ups. They have different products and even products that appear similar have many subtle differences so they are not the same. Not saying they aren't both made in China, just saying they are not re-badged items.

In there high end Olympic and Target Recurves, it's quite evident a lot of the same bows are just painted or decaled a bit differently. It's just business.

 

[melensdad]

Well I went up to Cabela's today. You know they are "Americas foremost outfitters" so I figured they would have a bunch of stuff and some knowledgable people to help me out. They had exactly 4 traditional bows. 1 of those 4 was a model that would be suitable for a beginner, the other 3 had heavy draw weights. They did have dozens of compound bows of all shapes, sizes and colors. From pink to camo and small to large with all sorts of wheels and cams and some that had stings that appeared to be twice as long as a serpentine belt on a GM car!

Now I'm sure somewhere in their aisles they had the cheap practice arrows but damned if I could find them. They had all sorts of expensive arrows with mean sounding names and logos like "Carbon" and "X-Treme" and other such things.

Clearly Cabelas caters to the NON-traditional archers. Target shooters are not welcome there.

 

[Flinttim]

You need to understand, us traditional archery types are a minority. From a business angle I understand their marketing. That small amount of space can be better used for some of the compound stuff. Besides, I'd much rather talk to a guy in a trad shop, someone who knows what he's talking about. You'd not go to a run of the mill biggy mart gun shop and want to talk to someone about fine flintlock rifles as an example. Your best bet is to seek out others of a like mind, as in a local trad shoot.I've never in my life bought a bow in an archery shop as we know them today, all private sales or at shoots. Well, there was one exception, my first trad bow. I bought it at an archery shop. But, on the other hand, the compound had not been invented yet, so I guess they were all "trad" shops. LOL.

 

[YETB]

My son has a Samick Sage and has a couple sets of different weight limbs - It has been a very solid set up for him to learn on.

I'd consider another one for my other son if he wanted to start.

As for the comment about not much support for Traditional Archery - amen to that. Very few people know anything of any real value about recurve bows. Everytime we ask a question in a store the response is "why don't you just get a compound bow?"

 

[melensdad]

FWIW, I've now seen that many of the Samick items are stamped "Made in Korea" so while some may be made in China, it appears their upper end items are not. Not sure about their items like the Samick Sage or Polaris.

You need to understand, us traditional archery types are a minority. From a business angle I understand their marketing. . .

Well if you look at gun usage then HUNTING is in the minority and SPORT SHOOTING is the majority, in fact AR15s are 50% of the rifles sold in the USA now. Looking at the wall of long guns it appears that Cabela's missed that train when it left the station because their inventory is dominated with hunting weapons.

You'd think they could devote a little more space to traditional archery.

. . . As for the comment about not much support for Traditional Archery - amen to that. Very few people know anything of any real value about recurve bows. Everytime we ask a question in a store the response is "why don't you just get a compound bow?"

I suppose if Cabela's were to bring in some traditional archery items they'd actually have to hire someone who knows what they are talking about. Given the "expert" quality of most of their employees behind the gun counter, I think it would be a stretch for them to hire anyone who actually understands the difference between a 'longbow' and a 'recurve' bow.

Ask them about hunting with a recurve and they are stumped.

Ask them about target competitions using any form of traditional bow and I'll bet they begin to tear up and cry.

 

[Flinttim]

We don't have a Cabelas anywhere close to here but have a Bass Pro about 50 miles away. If I am in the area for some other reason I might stop to look around and only buy something if it's on sale. The last time I was there they had a couple lower end Martins that were overpriced. Truthfully I think these types of places cater to the folks who really don't know any better and have a credit card to burn up. I stick with local gun shops and archery shops. But al that aside, give Lancaster Archery a call. Good folks and they know trad archery.

 

[melensdad]

. . . I stick with local gun shops and archery shops. But al that aside, give Lancaster Archery a call. Good folks and they know trad archery.

Generally I also support the local guys. But being Sunday it was Cabela's that was open so I took the drive . . . wasted gas!

I'm going into On Target Archery tomorrow. They closed for the Thanksgiving holiday and re-open Tuesday. It's the shop closest to me and has a good reputation with the folks up here (N.W. Indiana) who I've been able to talk to. Really lousy website, but the shop is supposed to be good. ON TARGET ARCHERY >> HOME PAGE << Steger, Illinois