Posted: 1/16/2016 7:34:06 PM EDT
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picked up one of these last week. i had been looking for something like this mostly to play around with. the owner had several blemished models that had imperfections in the finish. i ordered one and received it 3 days later. the finish was not bad at all. i had to look very hard to see anything at all.
i have not shot a bow since i was a cub scout 40 years ago. picked up some cheap arrows as walmart and was easily able to keep them in about 12" group the firt few times i shot them. it should be easy to get a lot better pretty quickly. the bow is a 50lb draw and should easily take small game without issue. the owner of SAS is a great guy. he spent a lot of time answering questions from me in the middle of traveling around and still got my order our next day. so far i am really happy with it. http://www.survivalarcherysystems.com/products/tactical-survival-bow here is the bow i received.. 
here it is after painting it today.. 
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The concept is kind of neat. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm not actually seeing the real survival utility of that bow. I'm getting a fairly solid "it's a neat toy" vibe here.
I can get an arrow on target most of the time. In order to do so, I need my modern bow, with modern, highly uniform shafts, matched broad heads, my pin sight, consistent knock point, rear peep and lots and lots of practice. After several weeks of daily practice I can consistently hit my intended target. However, if I pick up that bow for $199, and then spend some more on shafts, I now have the equivalent of a minor stick bow, much like I used in high school archery, or much like the fiberglass unit I had as a 13 year old. And I know I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. Others may be okay with this accuracy wise, but I know Id suck. SO here;s what Im seeing: A 2 lb bow, with another lb of shafts and heads, that gives me the potential to shoot at targets at 10-20 yards, and in my case, to hit the intended target about 10% of the time. I'd likely loose or destroy all shafts on hand before i actually connected with a bunny.... All for $199 + $75 in shafts and heads. For that same money and weight, I can opt for something like a Savage Rascal or a Chipmunk .22. I prefer the Savage. My daughters Savage Cub G is a single .22, weighs about 3.25 lbs, is very short and light, and I can consistently place a CCI minimal or Velocitor on a tennis ball to about 70 yards with no practice. I know that in my hands, these little rifles are FAR deadlier than any bow. About the same money and weight and wise, but much more potential meat in the pot... Fro |
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Just dont see it. A compact 22LR carbine, heck even a handgun. Just dont see the point of a "survival" bow or crossbow. What would make me throw this in a pack/car trunk kit/BOB, over a firearm which is smaller and much more useful? Because its silent? Theres SS for that if you believe you need it bad enough.
FerFAL |
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Quoted:
The concept is kind of neat. I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm not actually seeing the real survival utility of that bow. I'm getting a fairly solid "it's a neat toy" vibe here. Unfortunately,I'm really questioning the actual utility of that bow. I can get an arrow on target most of the time. In order to do so, I need my modern bow, with modern, highly uniform shafts, matched broad heads, my pin sight, consistent knock point, rear peep and lots and lots of practice. After several weeks of daily practice I can consistently hit my intended target. However, if I pick up that bow for $199, and then spend some more on shafts, I now have the equivalent of a minor stick bow, much like I used in high school archery, or much like the fiberglass unit I had as a 13 year old. And I know I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. Others may be okay with this accuracy wise, but I know Id suck. SO here;s what Im seeing: A 2 lb bow, with another lb of shafts and heads, that gives me the potential to shoot at targets at 10-20 yards, and in my case, to hit the intended target about 10% of the time. I'd likely loose or destroy all shafts on hand before i actually connected with a bunny.... All for $199 + $75 in shafts and heads. For that same money and weight, I can opt for something like a Savage Rascal or a Chipmunk .22. I prefer the Savage. My daughters Savage Cub G is a single .22, weighs about 3.25 lbs, is very short and light, and I can consistently place a CCI minimal or Velocitor on a tennis ball to about 70 yards with no practice. I know that in my hands, these little rifles are FAR deadlier than any bow. About the same money and weight and wise, but much more potential meat in the pot... Fro You read my mind and literally posted 1 second before I did (check the posting date). 
FerFAL |
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like i said i bought it for fun. it's well made. even a cheap long or recurve here is going to be in the same price range and a lot more delicate.
i can easily take raccoon sized game at 25-30yrds if needed and several guys have used them for deer, but i am a bit skeptical on that part. |
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Looks pretty cool to me. I'd be interested in knowing more about the materials and construction. Collapsable anything has weak points that non-collapsable items don't have. So long as those points have been made well, having a highly portable and stowable bow makes a lot of sense for survival purposes. |
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Quoted:
Looks pretty cool to me. I'd be interested in knowing more about the materials and construction. Collapsable anything has weak points that non-collapsable items don't have. So long as those points have been made well, having a highly portable and stowable bow makes a lot of sense for survival purposes. details are on his site. guy did his homework. i suspect this will easily as down to my great grandkids. |
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Great concept! Lite weight! Silent game taker! Very pack-able!
And even if you lost a bolt or two. You could make more ( with practice)! There are all kind of You-Tube videos on making Arrows! As well as Arrowheads! (from knapping old glass bottles.) Don't know how old your Great Grand-kids are. But I'm sure they will enjoy this bow. (Mine grand-son is going on four) PITA45 
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Quoted:
Just dont see it. A compact 22LR carbine, heck even a handgun. Just dont see the point of a "survival" bow or crossbow. What would make me throw this in a pack/car trunk kit/BOB, over a firearm which is smaller and much more useful? Because its silent? Theres SS for that if you believe you need it bad enough. FerFAL I am thinking reusable arrows or bolts. I still can't find 22lr in my area
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I'm going to buy one eventually myself. If you can BeerSlayer, buy some of their take-down arrows and report back here after trying them out. I "think" I read that 3 T.D arrows fits in the handle of the bow.... i did. they are on back order for a few more weeks. he is also sending me a multicam case. all the reviews were positive on them. |
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Hi guys... Please don't take this as an attempt to be overly critical... I am trying to help....
If you get into archery or crossbows, don't expect to be reusing arrows much.... Yes, I shoot my carbon shafts time after time after time. So long as they impact my big block foam target, I can reuse them hundreds of times. And as long as I shoot one shaft per target dot. If I shoot repeatedly at the same dot with more than one shaft, I'll regularly hit shaft on shaft, damaging both. Regular archery hunting usually means tree stands, shooting down at a fairly steep angle. Arrows and bolts pass thru deer, and often stick in dirt. These you can retrieve. Blades are usually toast. In both cases here we are talking about fairly controlled situations. Try some thing. Go out and buy six of the cheapest shafts and field points you can find. Don't spend a lot of money. Then go woods walking, and try to zap bunnies if you've got a lot. Or just 'plink' at targets of opportunity. Shoot freely, and keep count of how many times you shoot. I know from past experiences that if you are shooting from a standing position at a target say 20-30 yards distant and miss (which is usually), that shaft has about a 75% chance of being lost forever. they slide under grass, leaves, leaf mold, and forest floor debris, never to be seen again. Don't spend a lot on those shafts, since in most cases all six will be lost forever somewhere around shot 30 or so. If you get more than about 5-6 shots on honest targets of opportunity before loosing the shaft, you're really doing well. DONT try to make a wood arrow for use on any heavy draw weight bow. Wood works okay for 30-40 lb bows. But I've personally had a good sod shaft just explode on release, burying numerous big splinters into my forearm on an old school 55 lb recurve. I'm glad I wear glasses or i might have lost my vision. Yup. Old school bowyers would make shafts for the old english 110 Lb long bow. Thats a entire trade and skill by itself, Fro |
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Understanding that OP bought the bow mostly for fun, I recently blogged about whether or not preppers should bother with archery equipment, here. In particular: But, I'm going to go out on a limb and state that for most preppers in the USA, archery equipment should be far down on the list of gear to get, after food, water, shelter, and firearms. If you're in a jurisdiction that does not allow or heavily restricts civilian ownership of guns but does allow archery equipment, a bow or crossbow moves up the list. WRT to going out into the woods and shooting at targets of opportunity, or small game, don't use field points. You want points that will prevent the arrow from sliding under grass and leaves, and minimize penetration. Examples include Zwickey judo points or Saunders bludgeon points. I have been shooting the Saunders bludgeons in my back yard recently at cardboard tubes sitting on the ground. They prevent the arrows from sliding under the lawn but deliver massive impact. |
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Quoted:
Hi guys... Please don't take this as an attempt to be overly critical... I am trying to help.... If you get into archery or crossbows, don't expect to be reusing arrows much.... Yes, I shoot my carbon shafts time after time after time. So long as they impact my big block foam target, I can reuse them hundreds of times. And as long as I shoot one shaft per target dot. If I shoot repeatedly at the same dot with more than one shaft, I'll regularly hit shaft on shaft, damaging both. Regular archery hunting usually means tree stands, shooting down at a fairly steep angle. Arrows and bolts pass thru deer, and often stick in dirt. These you can retrieve. Blades are usually toast. In both cases here we are talking about fairly controlled situations. Try some thing. Go out and buy six of the cheapest shafts and field points you can find. Don't spend a lot of money. Then go woods walking, and try to zap bunnies if you've got a lot. Or just 'plink' at targets of opportunity. Shoot freely, and keep count of how many times you shoot. I know from past experiences that if you are shooting from a standing position at a target say 20-30 yards distant and miss (which is usually), that shaft has about a 75% chance of being lost forever. they slide under grass, leaves, leaf mold, and forest floor debris, never to be seen again. Don't spend a lot on those shafts, since in most cases all six will be lost forever somewhere around shot 30 or so. If you get more than about 5-6 shots on honest targets of opportunity before loosing the shaft, you're really doing well. DONT try to make a wood arrow for use on any heavy draw weight bow. Wood works okay for 30-40 lb bows. But I've personally had a good sod shaft just explode on release, burying numerous big splinters into my forearm on an old school 55 lb recurve. I'm glad I wear glasses or i might have lost my vision. Yup. Old school bowyers would make shafts for the old english 110 Lb long bow. Thats a entire trade and skill by itself, Fro I understand where you are coming from and from your post I'm "assuming" you shoot a high quality compound of some sort. I've shot competition and hunting compounds myself for 30+ years and I know what you are trying to say. I think you are over-looking a few things though. For the record: I've killed 27 whitetail bucks with a bow and numerous small game animals. * The SAS bow is a 50Lb recurve at about 200 fps. The arrows will have more of a rainbow trajectory vs. the flatter shooting modern compounds. This will help keep the SAS's arrows from shattering(carbon) or bending(aluminum), also they won't slide under leaves and grass as much. Also for woods walking and small game shooting a Judo point is indispensable and keep arrows from being lost. Judo points are also efficient at killing birds, bunnies and squirrels. I've shot and killed many. clicky I don't know shit about making wooden arrows "yet". But, they have been used effectively for 10,000 years and still work. In my archery club most of the traditional guys who shoot recurves and longbows make their own shafts out of cedar. For obvious reasons you probably wont find any 70lb compounds shooting wooden arrows though. Shooting at the same dot and damaging arrows shouldn't be too much of a concern with the SAS since it is shot instinctive without sights and probably wouldn't be as accurate. But if I ever got that good, I wouldn't complain. Lastly, and this has nothing to do with the bow, thousands of archers have killed thousands of deer, elk, bears, etc. without ever stepping foot in a treestand. I love whacking deer out of a stand, but a lot of places, especially out west, don't have trees for them. JMO Good luck. |
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like i said i bought it for fun. it's well made. even a cheap long or recurve here is going to be in the same price range and a lot more delicate. i can easily take raccoon sized game at 25-30yrds if needed and several guys have used them for deer, but i am a bit skeptical on that part. Should be okay for deer; here the minimum draw weight is 40 lbs. for deer and they had raised it up from 35 lbs. |
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Should be okay for deer; here the minimum draw weight is 40 lbs. for deer and they had raised it up from 35 lbs. Quoted:
Quoted:
like i said i bought it for fun. it's well made. even a cheap long or recurve here is going to be in the same price range and a lot more delicate. i can easily take raccoon sized game at 25-30yrds if needed and several guys have used them for deer, but i am a bit skeptical on that part. Should be okay for deer; here the minimum draw weight is 40 lbs. for deer and they had raised it up from 35 lbs. we have small deer here and with a proper broad head it probably would. for shtf it wouldn't be a question to use it. there have been a lot of guys taking deer with these so i know they will. |