Bear Grizzly question

[ngk]

New to trad bows.  Received a Bear Grizzly that says 58" 50x#...I am needing help identifying what I need to buy for a string.  Thanks

[Shadowhnter]

58"AMO....just make sure the string manufacturer knows the AMO length, and what the bow make and type is, and you are good to go.

Im thinking a standard dacron string (not fast flight) in flemish twist, or endless loop either one.

[dbd870]

Yep no fast flight for that one. Also agree tell your string maker the specs on the bow and they will take care of you. I like tenring strings but the vendors on here will take care of you

[McDave]

If you're new to trad bows, you may find it difficult to learn on a 50# bow.  Your 58" Grizzly will work as long as your draw length is 28" or less..  If your draw length is less than 28", you will be pulling less than 50#.  The Grizzly is a good bow, and 50# is a good hunting weight, but you might want to find a lower poundage bow, maybe 40# at your draw length, to learn on.  If your draw length is more than 28", you might want to find a bow longer than 58" to shoot in general.

[Longtoke]

54" Flemish twist is what I put on mine, it's really quite braced just under 8"

[Gray Buffalo]

Where about's in Missouri? I live in the St. Peters area.

[Captain*Kirk]

Originally posted by McDave:
If you're new to trad bows, you may find it difficult to learn on a 50# bow.  Your 58" Grizzly will work as long as your draw length is 28" or less..  If your draw length is less than 28", you will be pulling less than 50#.  The Grizzly is a good bow, and 50# is a good hunting weight, but you might want to find a lower poundage bow, maybe 40# at your draw length, to learn on.  If your draw length is more than 28", you might want to find a bow longer than 58" to shoot in general.

Agree with this^^^^^
50# is a bit much for a daily shooter, well; for me anyway. Should be great for hunting though.

[KevinK]

I was over-bowed when I started out and it put me behind where I am by almost a year. I thought 50# was perfect for my first recurve since I shot a 60# compound easily. It was a samick sage marked 50#. Took it home and pulled my back out stringing it. Since I was such a macho man I fought through the pain and went out to shoot it. Well it felt very heavy and my back got worse. I went to a chiro a week later, popped a rib out of my back cartilage (seriously I never heard of this happening). After I healed I took it to my shop and had him put it on a scale, it was actually pulling 58#. So I got 45# limbs and they were still a little heavy for me then for the amount of time I needed to put into it. After a month or so of this experiment I put it away for 9 months and shot my compound. Glad I gave it a second chance though. Of course YMMV and I doubt your Bear would be off by as much as a Samick could be. My advice for anyone starting out be humble about your draw weight and be patient with yourself and have reasonable expectations, it'll pay off in the end. If you have a good experience that first bow certainly won't be the last and only bow you ever own.

[30coupe]

If that is a Grayling, MI, manufactured Grizzley, you can take the side plate material off and the actual draw weight will be written there. Generally, a 50# Griz will be within about +/- 2# of the visible markings. Bear usually marked them at 5# increments at 28" of draw. Even custom bowyers are often off by a pound or two, so that's no knock on Bear bows. I don't know if they still mark under the side plate on the Gainesville bows or not.

BTW, I agree with those who are recommending starting with something around 40# at your draw weight. Some guys draw is shorter with a traditional bow than with a compound. Mine is exactly the same with either a compound or a recurve, so don't assume anything.

The best way to know for sure what your draw length is would be to put a tape mark at 28" on an arrow that you know will be long enough for your draw, then either have someone watch you shoot, or better yet, have them record you while you shoot. Then compare your draw to the tape mark. I CAN draw to 28" or more quite easily, but when I'm actually shooting at a target using proper form, I find that I am actually drawing 27".

Oddly enough, that is exactly what my draw was when I had the dealer set up my compound bow for me. Yeah, I've been to the dark side when elbow problems made drawing with my fingers too painful to tolerate. Thankfully, I've managed to heal up well enough to shoot traditional, although I have had to drop down to 45# @ 28" to do so. I found the joy of shooting just wasn't there with the compound. Although it was much faster and I could shoot it very well, it just felt wrong to me. The element of skill was all but gone, as was the sense of accomplishment.

Anyhow, the Grizzly is a fine bow. Keep the 50# bow and find a lighter one to start with as the others have said.

[KevinK]

What 30Coupe said and I have 2 Gainesville Bears and 1 Grayling Bear. All of them have draw weight marked under the sideplate. The Grayling one is marked in pencil and all are pretty close to the scale I always use.
But yes, keep the bow for later. After starting with something lower weight and seeing if you like it you could be shooting that 50# pretty quickly and enjoy it much more then.