Mahaska bows and FF Strings?

[Mike Burch]

How do you, that have one or shot one, think of it? Longbow, flatbow, or recurve? The grip looks like a comfortable one.

I noticed on his site that he doesn't warranty the bow if FF strings are being used?? Sounds like the bows are probley not built for FF.

I'd like to hear from actual owners and ones who have shot these nice looking bows.

Thanks, Mike  

[B.O.D.]

I had a recurve, very nice bow, didn't shoot FF on it, Called Kent, he said not to.

shot well without it anyways, very smooth, quiet with decent speed.  
BD

[Carbon Caster]

Let me preface this by saying, I have owned and shot a BUNCH of custom bows.  That said, the ONE Mahaska Recurve I owned was the shockiest bow "I" have ever shot.  I tried a HEAVY Dacron string with two whole beavers tied to the string, rubber silencers, wool, and brace heights from below minimum to WAY above Max and NOTHING helped.  I was shooting HEAVY arrows too.  I also tried "gasp" a FF type string.  LOL!!!  It was a bit better with the 8125 padded loop string, but not enough for me to want to ever shoot another one.  I MAY have gotten a bad one, but all I know is that it was not a good experience for me.  I liked the grip and the clean simple lines.  I still do for that matter, but the shock was terrible.  I have shot some terribly tillered self and board bows and a "JERRY HILL" and the Mahaska made all of those seem like pussy cats.  It wasn't terrible quick either.  I know there are guys like Cary that have owned and LOVED several Mahaskas and I am probably the odd man out, but I thought I would share MY experience and use it to say if you try one and like it and get it used (no warranty to worry about voiding) I would use a padded loop FF type string.  It WILL tame the shock some and be faster.  I am conviced that if you padd the loops until the budle diameters are the same size as a normal Dacron string there is NO difference on bow tip wear.  I WILL not shoot Dacron on Anything.  If you PM me I could tell you how I REALLY FEEL.  LOL!!!!

[B.O.D.]

True Brian, I would not hesitate to get a padded loop D97 on it at all.

I also shot mine with a GN quiver on it, the extra weight helped a lot.

I wouldn't say that it was the smoothest by any means, I have shot a lot of bows since then and there have been better ones by far.
I love the 58" Hill badger I'm shooting now, and it is with the stock B50 string that came with it.
That being said I'm betting it will be an even sweeter shooter with the D97 padded loop strings I have coming soon.

I like Brian, will never settle for B50 ever again.

BD    

[Molson]

Never had a problem with mine.  I'd still have it but I had Kent take down the back of the grip some and I didn't like the feel after that.  Shot B50 on it.  Never tried any other string material.

[indianalongbowshooter]

I had a recurve that like Brian about tore my elbows out of socket, no matter what I tried, wouldnt ever own another one, even tried shooting 13gr.# and it was still very shocky.

[Carbon Caster]

Dean,

I wonder if we owned the same bow.  You know we have done that before.  LOL!!!  If so, shame on you for trading it to me.  HAHAHAH!!!

[BRITTMAN]

I had a recurve a few years back . I liked it very much , smooth , quiet ,  and plenty fast for deerhunting . It did take a B50 string but like I said it was fast enough and was very reasonably priced .

Mike

[Mike Burch]

Thanks guys. I would be more interested in the longbows and flatbows, but glad to hear the opinions of the recurves as well.

Thanks, Mike

[Al Dean]

I had a longbow.  Loved to shoot it and found it very accurate.  Had a nice thunk on release.  I found a place on the arroya that was split and had been filled with epoxy.  I complained.  He said it was hard to find arroya long enough for a 66" bow.  I sent it back to Kent to be fixed as I did not want splits in my new bow filled with epoxy.  He sent my money back and I have not heard from him since,  I really enjoyed the bow.  Wished he would have sent me one without a split instead of my money, but maybe with the arroya he was unable to do that.  Some comuncation would have been nice.

[Colt]

I have a 62" Mahaska longbow. It is SW cedar limbs with zebrawood riser. It is very beautiful. However, there is a very noticeable twist in one limb. I also ordered the bow to be 52# @ my 26" draw. It is marked as such, but when I checked it on THREE different scales, it came out at 45#'s. Which explains why it wouldn't shoot the arrows I had very well (too stiff of spine). I had to reduce to 40-45# spine. There is some noise and a little hand shock.

I honestly don't know what to say or think. Kent was a very nice man to talk to over the phone and I know bowyers don't make much money. So I really don't want to bad mouth him. I guess the main thing that bothered me was the mismarking of the draw weight. It is obviously wrong. Was that intentional on his part? I don't know.

What ever you decide, I wish you the very best. I have no ill feelings towards Kent, I just won't order another bow from him.

[Chris Sims]

I like my longbow, but as stated above it is inefficient.  Very slow for a 59# @ 27" bow.  I admit I am probably only drawing 55# but my Roy Hall recurve that I only draw ~47# will shoot the same arrows and do it much faster.  I know Recurve vs. Longbow may not be a good comparison but I will not hunt with it anymore because I see no need in drawing that much poundage with little return.  I have not tried the FF string for the reasons above.

[B. Butz]

Amazing that a bowyer like Ostrem could have stayed in business for so long when his the bows he's making so dog slow and hand shocky.

I've helped guys with supposedly hand-shocky Mahaskas.  Most of them don't have the brace height adjusted correctly--7-inches for a longbow/flatbow and 7.5 for recurve.  The rest don't really even know what hand shock is.  

For the guy with the twisted limb and the guy with the bow that's pulling 6-pounds under the draw weight listed on the bow, have you bothered to contact Ostrem?  I'd be curious to hear what he said.  If the bow(s) was bought new and is still under warranty, then I would think he'd be happy to fix it free of charge.  

To the original question...I have six Mahaska bows (longbows and recurves).  Ostrem doesn't recommend shooting FF or Dyna 97, but I have been shooting a Dyna 97 string on one of my recurves and one of my longbows for months and have had no problems to date.  No string wear to the tips.  Nothing.  Shooting the Dyna 97 string actually added another 10 fps to both bows.

[Crash]

I just received a longbow, 66" 45@28.  While it's not the fastest longbow, mild r/d, it is a pleasure to shoot.  Mild shock for the type of bow that it is and extemely quiet on release.  I was thinking about ordering a newer string for it myself.  Of course, this is my favorite type of bow to shoot, I think they are just plain fun.

[B. Butz]

Crash, I would try a B-50, 14-strand dacron string.  The 16-strand string that typically comes with the Mahaskas is a bit much--a little overkill (IMHO).  At that weight (45#), you'll also get some re-verb (hand shock) with a 16-strand string.  SOme guys don't mind.  Other do.  If you drop down to 14-strands you'll be amazed at the boost in performance.

[30coupe]

I have a 55# longbow (see my signature). It is quiet and seems plenty fast to me, though I don't care all that much about speed. It blows arrows through whitetails pretty easily. The nature of a mild r/d tends to give a bit more shock than recurves or radical r/d bows, but my Mahaska isn't all that bad. I use a 14 strand B50 string, so that probably helps. It shoots right where I'm looking, but the 55# makes it less fun to shoot than my lighter bows, so I don't shoot it as often as I once did.

Like any bow, some will love them and some will hate them. My hunting partner hates Black Widow bows. Does that mean they are bad bows? Thousands of happy BW owners would say no.

Most of the people I know who complain of shock just don't know how to grip the bow properly. A locked elbow and a tight grip will make a bow feel shocky. Also, shooting lightweight arrows doesn't help either.

I prefer my Kanati, but not because of the handshock. It is shorter, handier, and the lighter draw weight makes it more fun to shoot.

Before you decide, shoot some Mahaska bows yourself. Don't take my word for it, or anyone else's either.

[laddy]

I have had BWs I finally decided they were to clumsy for my hunting style.  I did not care for the handling of the Mahaska longbow, but I thought the three I shot seemed fine, otherwise.  I am a bit surprised how many Mahaska bashers with a history on them jumped in so quickly.  I was trying to talk my wife into the recurve as one of her choices for her next bow.  Fedoras are ok, Aren't they?

[Chris Sims]

Don't get me wrong I am not trying trash Kent's bows.  I think he builds a quality product.  I may try another string on my longbow as suggested by B. Butz.

Bob, when you use the Dyna 97 strings do you have strings made with padded loops or just normal strings?

[B. Butz]

Hey Chris,

Just normal strings--no padded loops.  Ostrem over-builds his tips and, like I said, I've been shooting Dyna for months and have yet to detect any string wear (though it is bound to happen since the tips are only made of wood).  

Good luck.

[Carbon Caster]

I can't imagine shooting anything but a padded loop in (DF97) or any other FF type material.  With DF97 you can shoot a 10 strand string with the loops padded to 16 or 18 strands and have FAST and Quiet.  You could also build a 16 or 18 strand string and have the same quiet while sacrificing FREE horsepower.  I would not shoot a low strand count FF type string on ANY bow without padded loops.

I shoot padded loop 12 strand 8125 strings on my self bows and bamboo backed bows as well with NO ILL EFFECTS!!!  If I was to build a Bamboo backed recurve, I would probably put on tip overlays but there is no need with longbows.

Good luck!