I can't say enough about Palmer Recurves - they are fantastic. Over New Year's I visited my dad and tried out some of his bows. On the try out list were a Bighorn, Robertson, Allegheny Recurve, Northwind Recurve, Predator, Fox, Brackenbury, Shafer, Palmer, and a few others. The Palmer was my favorite of the bunch. I ended up going home with his Brack, which was my third favorite (He wouldn't loan out the Shafer or the Palmer). The Palmer is heavy, which I like. It is fast. A great feeling grip . . . and shoots where you look. In my opinion, it is the nicest recurve I have shot. The Shafer seemed the fastest of the bunch, but it was 65 pounds and most of the others were lighter. The Palmer was only 53 pounds, but it seemed to be shooting faster than a lot of the 55-60 pounders and I think it was faster than the 62 pound Bighorn and Fox.
It really is a great bow . . . I can't imagine you regretting your decision.
Ted