PineLander

Hello all. Sorry for the long post...

I' m new to the forum, but not traditional equipment. I hunt whitetails & turkey and also participate in 3-Ds. The bows I have used (which have been many) have always been geared to hunting and shooting instinctively. Years ago when I caught the bug and switched to recurve, my draw length was 28" when shooting 50# bows as I learned the art of instinctive shooting.

As my abilties increased I progressively went up in poundage. 8 years ago I purchased a 58" Bighorn TD recurve 61#@28" which in turn lessened my draw to 27" . Yeah, I know... overbowing caused the drop, but have had no problem with the shorter draw and 58# was shooting decent speed with a heavy arrow. Through the years I' ve noticed that I' ve evolved into a shorter draw (26" [] shoulders not pulling outward as much).

OK, to the point at hand. Bighorn is out of business and I suspect a new set of limbs is out of the question. So..... when I get to the point of ordering a Chek-Mate (I' m sold), I' m thinking 55#@27" . Even though the Bighorn is a 58-incher, it has a 19" riser so I don' t believe it' s that much of a stacker, but maybe going to a 60" bow and somewhat lower poundage might help me get back to a more normal draw length (shoulders not pulled in so much), in turn resulting in a more confortable and controlled anchor.

Your opinions/comments are respected.

I prefer the short riser design... maybe Chad can line me up with a TD Hunter 56 that is 58-60" ?

Arthur P

Given enough years, I think we all evolve a shorter draw length. Mine' s an inch shorter than it was 15-20 years ago, when I was in my prime. I can only manage 32" nowadays.

I wouldn' t think a 58" bow would stack at all at 27" draw. Most bows I' ve shot, even bows as short as 52" , didn' t really start stacking until 29 or 30" .

Don' t give up on the Bighorn. A bowyer can usually take another 5 pounds out of a set of limbs by narrowing them a bit and doing some sanding to reduce the glass thickness and refinishing the limbs. You' d just need to locate a bowyer that is willing (and has the time) to do the work.

seymour

Not necessarily to be a stick in the mud where shaving limbs is concerned, but you might not want to do that simply because there' s probably another, perhaps younger, swain out there who will jump at a 61 pounder and will probably give you enough for it to cover the cost of the Chekmate.

On the other hand, if Bighorns are truly dead, then the bow might be worth more in the future, but you never know about that stuff. One thing is usually the case with collectors and it' s defined pretty much by the keyword " original" . So again, on a potential collector item, it might not be a good idea to modify it too much if you expect to get top dollar and don' t want to have to lie about the thing.

Arthur P

Maybe the original Bighorns made when Asbell owned the place in the 80' s might someday be collectable. But I doubt any made by the two subsequent owners will ever make collector status. Good point though, Seymour.

PineLander

Well then, I guess I' m just overbowed these days. Gotten to the point, with this bow at least, that I' m confusing stacking vs. overbowed. I have the brace height as low as I can get without waking up the neighbors.

Collectibles... in the early 90' s I picked up a used, immaculate, mid-80' s Asbell one-piece at an unbelievable price. Figures though, it was a 65#er. Sold it last winter... showed a good profit on that one. Wasn' t a collectible to me, unless you count the dust. I just wanted it to go to a good home where it would be used. The guy who bought it was currently shooting 65-70# recurves. []

One sweet recurve... too bad it wasn' t a 55#er......

Arthur P

Yep, it is hard sometimes to tell if the bow is stacking or if your muscles have simply bottomed out and pulled all they can. Only the bow scales know for sure.

Those old Bighorn limbs with the hump in the middle were something! I ordered a Bighorn about 4 years ago and found out they' d changed the limb design. I was disappointed no end. Then the bow gave me a galloping case of tendonitis in my bow arm elbow and I had to sell it, at a BIG loss. Somewhere, there' s a guy walking around with a Bighorn Custom TD that got a sweet deal on it.

TJ SILVERTIP

BIGHORN LOVERS, GO TO THE CASSIFIEDS I HAVE A REAL SWEETY on there ! iam new to the site so there isn't a picture, but anyone really interested can e-mail me and i'll send pictures, as far as the original question , sounds like you could be overbowed, or getting older "sorry" ! but it i think that happens to all of us sooner or later, ide either sell it and buy another that better suits you or try to find a bowyer that will take some weight off for you. TJ

arrowsmit

PineLander, call Ron Nelson at 970-587-2464 & explain your problem. He may be able to help. Good luck & let us know how ya make out.

PineLander

TJ - that really is a sweet deal on the Bighorn.
Hope someone knows it and swoops on it!
Yeah, I'm gettin' older. That saying "You're only as old as you feel" may be true... but when it comes to shootin' the stick, not much help sometimes.

Vic - thanks for the tip, but...

I have a new Chek-Mate in hand now. 56" short riser 50# @ 28". Some sweet shooter. My natural draw is back, gained nearly 2". Shooting the same 520 gr. arrows at 28" and it's driving 'em down there just as fast as the higher pound Bighorn at 26". I'm happy, but the Bighorn looks a bit lonely hanging up all un-strung and such.

seymour

I sold my Bighorn awhile back and was sorry to see the thing go but I'm confident it's in good hands. It struck me as a brute force kind of bow for a brute force kind of guy, which, as we get older, few people can sustain.

Anyway, my Chekmate Attila made up for the bereavement in nothing flat and I think it's working it's magic on you too, right? [8D]