Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow 62" LH (Open Box)

I have not had a chance to fire this bow at targets and I will update it later today when I do but I know enough to start my review. Before I begin I will start by telling everyone that some of the reviews here are worthless. One reviewer gave the bow a bad review because they purchased the wrong bow and then had to return it and get a new one. This is not a problem with the bow, it is a problem with the purchaser! ________________________________ Choosing your Bow - Longbow, Compound or Recurve There are three types of bows you can get, Longbow, Compound or Recurve. Before deciding what type of bow you should get I would recommend spending some time researching the different bows so you are positive you will like what you are getting. _____________________________ Choosing your Bow - Right hand or left hand? If you are a righty you will probably draw the bow with your right hand you want a "right handed" bow that is held in the left hand while you draw with your right hand. If you are a lefty you will probably draw the bow with your left hand you want a "left handed" bow that is held in the right hand while you draw with your left hand. Choosing your Bow - Eye Dominance A lot of people choose a bow based on their "strongest" or most "dominant" hand. Another way to choose your bow is to actually choose the handle based on which eye is the most dominant (you should research "eye dominance" related to archery if you need help). You could be right handed but have a dominant left eye and in such a situation it is actually recommended that you get a "left handed bow" instead of a right handed bow. This can make archery harder at first because you might be "drawing" with your weaker hand and you will have to spend more time building your muscles but in the end you will probably have greater accuracy. Choosing your Bow - Final You can be good at archery by choosing your bow by your dominant hand and you can be good at archery by choosing it by your dominant eye. If you are looking to be the next "Robin Hood" (if he even existed at all) it is probably best to choose your bow based on your dominant eye. ________________________________ String Strength When you purchase the bow you will want to select a STRENGTH. Everyone uses a different String Strength. I am 34 and in decent shape but I still went with a 40 LB string because it is decent for practice and small game. I know I will need a stronger strength for real big-game hunting but I wanted something to build muscle and skill with so I can move to the heavier strings. 40 LB is VERY easy for me to draw but hard for me to hold so it was a great choice. After only a few days of practice drawing my arms and shoulders hurt a lot so it is definitely giving me a workout that will help me progress to the stronger strings. What you should choose is what you think you can handle currently or something that is slightly above you. I could have gone with a 45 or a 50 but the 50 would push it a bit. 45 probably would have been best. Remember that you can NOT just switch strings! If you want to increase string strength you need to purchase the string and also purchase the wings for that strength. If you put a 60 lbs string on 40 lbs wings you could seriously injure yourself! The Samick Sage is a Takedown so you can easily purchase different weight wings that can attach to your bow for $50 to $90. Start with what you think will be comfortable for working on your muscles and form and then upgrade your wings as you gain more skill and power. Your form is the most important part of archery so you need something you can handle. If you buy a 60 lbs when you can only handle a 40 lbs you will never learn your form because the bow is way too powerful for you to handle and it could take several months of conditioning before you can finally handle it and start shooting correctly. FINAL NOTE: Some people think archery is all about the strength of the drawing arm. This is NOT true. A proper draw is done with muscles from both arms and the weight is eventually transferred off to your shoulders. I have met some people that think that because they can lift 100 lbs with one arm that they can easily pull a 100 lb string. They learned the hard way that that is not how shooting a bow works and those 100 lb strings quickly became 60 lb strings so they could work on form. The best archers are those with great form and great discipline. _________________________________ What am I purchasing? This bow comes with the handle, two limbs, the screws, a bow string, a nock and some felt to line the arrow rest. ________________________________ Is the bow hard to put together? No. They give you a link to a video and when you watch the video it tells you everything on a step by step basis. The video even goes over stringing the bow with a bow-stringer and shows how to do it without a stringer. ________________________________ What else should I purchase with this bow? This is just the basic bow! I would recommend that you purchase some arrows. I personally think wooden arrows are the best but I wouldn't use them until you get some practice in first because the wooden ones can be ruined easier. Start with some Carbon Arrows or Fiberglass Arrows. Arrows will run around $3 to $10 an arrow so it is a little pricey but arrows also generally last awhile once you get your basic form down so you could drop $30 to $75 on a set of 6 or 12 arrows and those arrows will last a long time. You should also purchase a Bow Square but are best purchasing a Bow Tuning Kit because the kit comes with extra Nocks, one or two Bow Squares and the Nock Pliers. They aren't too expensive, maybe $8 to $15 for a Bow Tuning Kit. You should also Purchase a Bow Stringer. You can string a bow without one but it is safer to string your bow with one. You can purchase a Bow Stringer for as little as $8 to $15. You should also purchase some Bow Wax to wax your bow string if you will be shooting frequently. You will eventually need Bow Wax no matter what but you will need it sooner if you plan on shooting frequently. Infrequent shooters could probably wait several months before needed the Bow Wax. The Samick Sage Takedown Recurve is a MODERN RECURVE so it has some holes added in for adding a stabilizer, onboard quiver, plunger or sight. These are NOT necessary but if you want those added gadgets you should grab them and then you can attach them to your bow once you set it up and string it.