Black Widow Plus and Minus

[Splitty]

Looking at a BW One piece.  Are they intrinsicly as accurate as the take downs.  I know the 3 piece will have more mass weight, but anyone out there shoot the one piece for Target/ 3D purposes???

[Diamond Paul]

If it's a Black Widow, it will be fairly heavy; they are pretty massive recurves.  They will shoot just as well as a takedown, it's all about the guy shooting it.

[Shawn Leonard]

The Widow one-piece bows are better shooters than their T/Ds. They are quieter and definitely a bit quicker than the PMA ans PSA's. More stable in your hand as well! Shawn

[Robertfishes]

BW makes 3 different one piece recurves. I have several widows. The 2 1/4 lb mass weight PTF or TF series are my current favorites for hunting, not as much mass as the PSA or PMA takedowns but plenty enough for me. I also have a 54" PSR (1 3/4 lb)which is the lightest weight and has the 50's look that I like, I use the PSR bow alot when scouting as it is the lightest and very compact. I have some PSA's while they have the most mass at 3 lbs, they are very nice to shoot and see alot of action on the 3-D range and sometimes in a stand. I have not shot the newest one piece, but it looks to be a shooter with more mass weight than the PTF's. I have no problems switching between the TF's and the PSA's for a 3-D shoot, I shoot which ever one I feel like that day.

[BUFF]

I use a PGA one piece for 3-D shoots... I really like it

[mooseman76]

My experiences with them are opposite of Shawn's.  I shoot the takedowns much better, much better than any bow I've shot for that matter.  I can get both equally quiet.  In fact my PL longbow was louder than all of the other models I shot.  

As far as speed, I really couldn't tell ya.  I've never chronoed any bow so I don't know exact speeds.  I will say that I asked Roger (from BW) this question and while they wouldn't release specific numbers from their in-house testing, he says there is no difference in the PMA, PSA, PTF, or PA.  He said all of those models have their limbs layed up on the same form and there is no difference in preformance.  I have heard the bamboo limbs add about 2 fps.

This is coming from BW.  If someone did some independant testing and came up with differnt results, I can't comment on that.  

All this said, if I had to choose 1 bow from their lineup to be my ultimate hunting bow, I'd choose the PTF.  It is so darn sexy!  Just more accurate with the takedowns  :(

[PastorSteveHill]

Mooseman, the PTF coco and osage you sold me was a looker!

[mooseman76]

you betcha, one of the very nicest looking bows I owned...Mike

[John3]

I own both a PSA and PGA. Love both but the PGA is quicker and in my opinion more graceful.

JDSIII

[Keuka]

I own and shoot a PTFV @ 58 inches and a PSAII @ 60 inches. The two bows are with-in 1 pound draw weight of each other and built one month apart. The same bare shaft flies true in both bows and I'm not shooting tapered shafts. Thats "real" close in performance.

I had the same question that your asking youself right now; "one piece or takedown". I knew I was the only one that could answere that question so I purchased both. It's been a little over two years now and I still can't make up my mind!

[Whitetail Chaser]

I just got a brand new PAX Kingwood today.  It is a smooth shooter.  Have not worked out the noise yet, but it will come.

As far as shooting goes, I have always heard that most guys can pick up a PSA at 50# and shoot it very close to a PTF at 50#.  I doubt the performance difference could be noticed.

I got the one piece because I thought it looked cool, and I already have 3 TD recurves.

Brett

[Dave Lay]

I have a one piece PGA and love it, but felt bad about banging it up huntin so I bought a PSAII greybark TD to hunt with and wouldnt feel so bad about the abuse my bows go through. But to answer the question, the one piece is noticably lighter than the TD. and they both being 63@28 shoot the exact same arrow. I cant see any diffrence in performance at all, but the one piece sure has a appeal that only a one piece can give with its clean lines and almost perfect physical weight

[Blackhawk]

Sorry, but the speeds are virtually the same for the TD and the one-pc if the bows are the same weight. (based upon Widow's report and my testing as well).  

The bows' quietness is determined by your own tuning and setup, and if done properly, will be about equal.  

The TD will be a bit heavier and therefore, more stable...and therefore, more accurate.