Bearpaw slick stick

[gokartjon]

What are fellow tradgangers experience with the slick stick. I currently don't have a longbow and miss not having one. I have read really good things about them. The price seems right. I am mainly concerned about shootability at my 30" draw length.

Thanks
Jon

[Rough Run]

I have only read good things about the Slick Stick, but don't have any experience with one.  I do have a Bearpaw longbow that is a shade longer at 64", called a Kustom King Black Forest.  I love mine.  They are on sale now.

[Westkyhunter]

I have the early version of the slick stick which is known as the Bodnik little stick. They're the same bow except the newer slick sticks have a darker wood and different name. Mines 58" 45# @ 28" and is a very sweet shooter. I love everything about these little bows especially their performance. They're very well mannered, quiet, and fast! Did I mention how handy and maneuverable they are in the thick stuff?! I keep mine braced at 7 1/4" inches. I shoot carbon, wood, and river cane arrows in mine and it shoots them all nicely. The grip on these bows seems to be much like a recurve grip. Fits my hand perfect and my hand seems to automatically align itself every time. I do only have a 27 3/4"-28" draw however a friend of mine that pulls 30" has shot mine as well and had no issues. He remarked on how smooth, quiet, and quick it was and really didn't want to give it back to me.lol I will also say he had no trouble stacking his arrows in a nice little group at 18yds over and over with it too. I thought that said something considering he'd never shot this bow before. He was using his own arrows as which I'm sure matched his longer draw and heavier pull weight better.
    All in all I don't see how anyone could go wrong with one of the slick sticks for the money. Especially with a 30yr warranty. One thing I keep thinking about is how awesome it'd be if he came out with a 56" or shorter model!! Now that would be cool!! Mine has served me well on the 3d course as well as on multiple whitetail hunts. It was my bow of choice in which I was fortunate enough to fill my four whitetail tags this year here in ky. Three on the ground with a leafy suit and one from a tree. I know your bow isn't the determining factor in your success while afield but confidence is, and I just happen to have plenty of that with this bow.

[Shadowhnter]

I have almost pulled the trigger on both the slick stick, and the quick stick, a dozen different times. I love what they have to offer. I been eyeballing a like new used quick stick, for the price of a slick stick....but im saving for a Toelke Whip. If it weren't for that, id be getting it pronto.

[Over&Under]

I just picked one up (58" 50@28)
It is a great shooter...not as fast as I heard they were, but fast enough. Great grip, great mannners and quiet.  It seems you get a lot for your money IMO.

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Over&Under:
I just picked one up (58" 50@28)
It is a great shooter...not as fast as I heard they were, but fast enough. Great grip, great mannners and quiet.  It seems you get a lot for your money IMO.

I'll take quiet over fast any day. No trad hunting bow is really fast, but they are fast enough if you do your part. I've watched videos on a bunch of Bodnik bows and the one thing I notice most of all with them is they are quiet. I was impressed enough to order one of their Kiowa recurves. If I were looking for a longbow, I'd sure give theirs serious consideration.

[Westkyhunter]

I guess I could have mentioned the string I use on mine as well. I know it's nothing magical and doesn't greatly enhance the speed on a bow but I do believe it can enhance the feel and shot experience for different shooters considering what they're used too. I've been making my own strings for a couple years now and I've shot a few factory low stretch strings but shoot nothing but b55 Flemish twist strings regularly. I make them much smaller than what you buy in the stores or compared to even most b55 or b50 builders make. When I got my little stick used it came with two strings. Both thick b55 I do believe. I shot it with one of them and it shot fine but they were both very worn and frayed. I came in and made a ten strand b55 Flemish and served it with 62xs serving material. The area I serve on my strings is a third the length of most center servings. 62xs material wears like iron for me by the way! Upon shooting the string in I could tell it was "snappier" and appeared to be faster than the other string it came with and that long deep "twang" that I've heard on alot of trad bows with thicker strings was gone! It's held up great and still looked new before I pulled it off this fall to shoot in my newly twisted backup string in which I just left on through season. It was made the same way and performance stayed the same. I also shoot a 12 strand b55 on my 50lb Montana with small center serving and shot an 8 strand b55 string of mine on a 35lb longbow until I sold it a few weeks back. With the little stick I try and keep the overall weight of my arrows between 9-10 gpp. I have a set of easton 600 spines that are around 8.5gpp that zip out of it. I hunted this fall with handmade spruce arrows that were 10gpp and though heavier still flew fast and impacted a little higher than the faster lighter carbons I'm guessing because of larger diameter and farther distance from the shelf. A set of gt trads 500 spine around 10.5-11gpp and a set of gt trad 600 spines around 10gpp also set up for different point weights performed very well from this setup. All the carbon shafts were bare shaft tuned with field points and shot with multiple broadhead styles and weights. I dont remember the weight of the river cain arrows i shot in it but they are the heaviest and drop more though they fly and penetrate awesome. Over&under  I'm surprised you report yours is slower than you expected. I would have thought if anything it would have been faster than expected of course it does depend on multiple other factors than just draw weight.

[8upbowhunter]

I bought a Slick Stick this summer 60" 50@28 (I draw 28")and it is a great shooter. I have nothing bad to say about this bow, it shoots where I am looking, quiet with decent speed. My friend and my son also have a Slick Stick but theirs are the 58" version. My friend draws 30" and loves his bow. I don't think you can go wrong with what you are getting for the price.

[gokartjon]

8upbowhunter, does your friend that has the 30" draw have the 58" or 60" model?

Same question for anyone else that has one or experience with one. Do I need the 60" model for a 30" draw?

Thanks for all the great input so far!

Jon

[8upbowhunter]

He has the 58" bow with a 30" draw.

[Dave Weiss]

I had one for a while, but felt that the 58" was too short for my 29" draw. Also felt that the bow was a little too light in the hand, I had to be very careful about not gripping the bow at all. But that being said, it was a pretty quick little bow that shot well when I did my part...

[Over&Under]

I draw mine to 29 with no issues so far...I'm basing my speed remarks on how other bows in that lbs range handled various arrow spines, not a thru a chrono so I wouldn't put much stock in my comments