Mamba: is it right for me?

[wolf413chris]

looking to get into archery, and purchace my first bow. i am 6'2" draw of 30. was told by cust service at another dealer to go no shorter than 55 AMO. i understand the added weight for longer draws and have decided 45# is a good place to start. (i may be searching for a 35# used cheapie too to get my form down)

i have my eye on the Martin Mamba 58" AMO and 45#

i will be mostly target shooting and bow hiking (hiking thru woods shooting natural targets like stumps). and would like the option of a good hunting bow if i went that direction. i dont have the money to buy several bows, so id like one good one, and one cheapie (w/ higher amo).

would like anyones opinion if they are tall themselfs, have a longer draw and use/tried the mamba.

thanks in advance. chris

[wolf413chris]

called Martin tech support and was told the mamba would be a bad choice for me, being 6'2" and drawing 30.. that drawing the mamba past 28 repeatedly will lead to damage and poor efficiency, reduced power/speed.

and the hunter would be a better choice, being 62".

anyone agree/disagree who has shot or own the mamba and is tall or have a long draw?

was looking for somthing a bit shorter, and am bummed about hearing this.

[gravedigger]

called Martin tech support and was told the mamba would be a bad choice for me, being 6'2" and drawing 30.. that drawing the mamba past 28 repeatedly will lead to damage and poor efficiency, reduced power/speed.

and the hunter would be a better choice, being 62".

anyone agree/disagree who has shot or own the mamba and is tall or have a long draw?

was looking for somthing a bit shorter, and am bummed about hearing this.

welcome to the forum.
no doubt that 55 is to short for a tall guy like you.somethin in the 64+ range would fit you nice.the problem with the bows below 62 for you would be string pinch at you DL,it will reak havok on your fingers and cause off shots.

[wolf413chris]

thanks gravedigger. would a glove or finger tab not eliminate finger pinch?

[gravedigger]

thanks gravedigger. would a glove or finger tab not eliminate finger pinch?

im no trad shooter so i am just speaking from what i have read on other posts.the glove/tab will help protect your fingers from getting raw and hurt from shooting.but at the anlgle the string would be at on a short ata trad bow with your DL would still bind up and cause a pinch....im sure it wont hurt as bad haveing a glove but i would think it might still pinch.

again im no trad shooter just a compound bow guy but ther are a few trad shooter on here who will have some good info for you,and im sure some of them will be makeing replies soon.

[bfisher]

GD, for not knowing much about traditional gear you explained yourself very well.

Wolf, something else you should know is that most all traditional bows have a rated draw at 28" of draw length. Each additional inch over that 28" adds about 2 lbs more to the effective draw weight. So in your case a 45# bow would actually be drawing about 49-50# of draw weight. This is one reason Martin suggested you shoot a longer bow. In assence you would be overdrawing a short bow putting excessive stress on the limbs possibly leading to premature weakening or failure of the limbs. Furthermore, unlike compound bows, the speed (called cast) of tradtional bows gets greater as length increases. Also the longer the bow the smoother it will draw for a given draw weight. The proper term for this is stacking.

It's been a lot of years (40) since I shot a recurve, but at only 5'8" tall I shot a 66" recurve just for the reasons I stated above. This was prior to the compound coming on the scene and bows from 66" to 72" were quite the norm for target shooting. Hunters usually used shorter versions with about 60" being common, but these didn't have near the performance of their longer brethren.

One thing tradtional and compounds do have in common is that the longer the bow the stable it'll be when shooting. If I were you (suggestion) I would lean more toward the Howatt Hunter in the Martin line. It costs about $50 more but I think it would be a better fit and is only 4 oz heavier.

Don't count out some of the takedown models either. These are versatile in that you can get different length limbs mto fit the same riser. This can allow you to have different length bows with different draw weights just by switching limbs. One that comes to mind is the OMP Cascade. Try a little comparison shopping at www.eders.com. They seem to have a nice selection. I don't personally know anything about OMP; just looking at specs. You could also try a visit to the Traditional forum on Archery Talk for more info.

Hope my long post helps you a little.

[wolf413chris]

thank you bfisher. been doing alot of reading before i make my first purchace. i have very little money to throw around so i want to get the right bow for me.

im having a hard time finding a shop in my area who will measure my draw length. so doing it myself...

my wingspan middle finger tip to tip is 78. so i divide that by 2.5 to get 31.2
or 78 minus 15 divided by 2 = 31.5

and standing with left fist stretched out like im holding the bow, and measured knuckle to corner of my mouth, i get around 31 or 31.5

the one shop i did go to, didnt care to measure me he just guessed a 30. but its somthing id like to know to factor in extra weight for my draw.. ill be buying my first bow online probably.. as i want somthing used and not finding much locally. but 45# or 40# seems like what i should go for. id like a cheapie too, around 35# maybe even 30# to get my form down.

but yeah, the damon howatt martin hunter is appealing to me at amo 62" and 45#

[wolf413chris]

i understand the risk involved buying off the classifieds.. but any tips?

[gravedigger]

i understand the risk involved buying off the classifieds.. but any tips?

buy from a member with a highish post count,get all the contact info you can....home adress,full name,home phone,dont pay with gift from paypall incase you need to open a clame.

all and all 90% of the members on the forum here have been long time members if not most are very reg members.but above all listen to your gut when dealing on the classifieds because i can not track people down and get your money back if something goes wrong.also read the stickys at the top of the classifieds.

[elkslayer4x5]

I might add that if you buy off Ebay, do so only with a seller who will allow returns, just in case there is something wrong with the bow, plenty of honest sellers out there, but thare are some who are not, ask any and all questions before you buy, ask for more photos if you need them. Lot of recurves on ebay, Bears sell high as do Martins and Howatts, look for a 62" or longer bow. Just picked up a nice mid 60's Zebrawood Pearson 62" ...Cheap! Gonna be a nice trainer for the grandson, when I finally find the bow I want. Til then, I'm shooting it, I draw 31".