Indians For Guns

I am contemplating the purchase of a Barnett Safari compound bow.

The kit comprises of the following:

1) Banett Safari compound bow with a peak draw weight of 60lbs.
2) Cobra open sight.
3) Stabiliser.
4) Quiver for four arrows.
5) Cavalier arrow rest with a spring plunger.
6) 22 field tipped arrows, 13 of which do not have any vanes. All arrows are unbranded.

As can be seen in the last pic of the bar code sticker, this bow was either made or left the factory on 25th July 1991.













Based on the above, I would like to know what this may have cost back in 1991/92 and your opinion on this product.

Last but not least, if the limbs on this bow should break, can I replace them with one of similar poundage from another manufacturer - barring a child's compound bow, Barnettonly make cossbows now and may not have a limb in stock.

Thanks.

Mack The Knife

some cool gear you got there Mack The Knife! Cannot give advise about price though. My guess should be around 25,000 - 30,000 bracket. If it was brand new.

Jonah

Jonah,

Considering that a PSE Fire Flite 33 CF package comes for $ 350.00 (Rs.16,000.00) TODAY, I consider your guess to be way over the top.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... t*cat21424

Mack The Knife

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barnett-Compound-Bo ... dZViewItem

One sold on ebay for $61 (2,767 INR)

I would guess everything there, here in the US, would sell for between $50-$75.

The bow is probably an OK bow, but I do not remember them having a stellar reputation. If the rubber clips haven't deteriorated on the quiver it is probably OK. The arrow rest needs to be replaced with a decent one, to be discussed in detail later. The arrows are better than nothing I am sure, but without markings we do not know if they are even spined correctly for the weight of bow you are shooting. Also, you need to buy a jig for fletching or else pay someone else to do it. I do not like stabilizers, so I see no point in that unless you can sell it to someone else. The sights look OK but you'll want to get a peep sight for the string.

Can you import a bow easily? You can buy a much better one here in the states with updated equipment for $150 that will also probably have a bunch of arrows with it.

Here is a nice deer that I shot with my bow a few years ago:

Ha! $61.00!!!

The asking price for this one is the Rupee equivalent of $600.00

It's what my friend paid for it years back and I tend to believe him.

However, it's not for me. Thanks for saving me a load of money - not that I would have bought it at that price.

I will need to check whether a compound can be imported. Think there was a post on this recently. Grateful if you could give me a link to this $ 150.00 bow.

That's a lovely pic. The deer isn't too bad either.

Thanks once again.

Mack The Knife

No link to cheap bows, that is the usual price in the classified advertisements around here for a bow a few years old with some accessories.

However, right now is not the time to look for bargains since it is hunting season, after christmas is much better.

Are you wanting one for hunting? the rest pictured is a poor hunting rest, a "launcher" style works much better (the arrow doesn't fall off as easily) and they have one now called a "whisker biscuit" that supports the arrow all the way around which is much better, especially when shooting from a tree.

For grins you can go to ebay and search "compound bow"

Hi Mark,

I cannot hunt in India but I would like to learn fast instinctive shooting rather than formal target shooting. Ideally, I would like a bow with clean lines - a Lee or Hoyt Tiburon take-down recurve, for example.

I am open to compound bows as well. I assume these are easier for a novice?

Mack The Knife

I cannot hunt in India

Sure you can,but like this http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~coun ... mazon4.htm

Just be careful where your feet are

penpusher

If I tried that, I'd get kicked out of WASI.

There may be one or two chaps who have tried their hand at bow fishing in India but the far more popular method tends to feature a gun or rifle.

Mack The Knife

Mack The Knife,

Try this link

http://www.grozerarchery.com/index_b.htm

Why not try making one yourself.Man has been making bows for thousand of years.Would not be that difficult.Indian made bows and arrows are also there in the market. Will check up at National Institute of Sports.

penpusher

Yeah, with your skills, why dont you go for it Mack The Knife? It will be an interesting project!
Best
Asif

penpusher,

That's a very nice site.

I have made bows and arrows since I was a kid but that was kiddy stuff. Having read a bit on the subject (and I do mean bit), I realise that it takes skill and practice to make one.

I would like to make one and most probably will after Mark describes the process during his how to make a bow and arrow class.

Until recently, I had an Indian bow and to be honest, I did not like it. The arrows in particular were anything but straight and varied in length for the same draw length. Even accomplished archers could not get it to group at a measely 10 metres.

Let me know if you can find something nice at the NIS.

Mack The Knife

eljefe";p="5035 wrote:Yeah, with your skills, why dont you go for it Mack The Knife?

You mean donkey work?

Mack The Knife,
You might want check this link.It's delhi based company selling archery equipment.
http://www.stikage.com/archery.htm

btw, does anyone have hands on experience with crossbows?How accurate are they at 10-15 mts?

pran

Interesting link there Pran!

If anyone is serious about this, I would recommend you go to ebay.com and search the term "takedown bow". Have someone in the US buy it for you and bring it back in their luggage. I think that would be OK, but don't know if there would be a customs problem?

http://sporting-goods.search.ebay.com/t ... acatZ20839

I would recommend a bow with a draw weight between 30 and 55 pounds. An ideal weight for an adult I think is 40-45. Many areas here specify 45 pounds as the minimum weight for hunting, the problem with higher weights is they require a bit more practice to build up strength and also (more importantly I think) they are much harder on the arows for casual shooting. Especially wooden arrows.

Regarding arrows, carbon ones are the way to go! The reason I say that is they last much much longer than aluminum ones do. They also perform marginally better (though that can cause arguments as both types have their fans!) but the main reason is that Aluminum arrows will bend when they hit something hard and carbons won't.

I shoot aluminum ones, but if I were going off into the jungle where I could not get replacements I would use carbons. If I get new arrows they will be carbon but I bought a bunch of arrows several years ago that work well with my bow so I probably won't replace them until I get another bow.

The arrows should be matched to the bow, so you really need to get a bow first then order arrows.

If you get a high poundage bow, nothing wrong with that and all you need to do to make the arrows last longer is just increase the distance you shoot.

Mark