The new Bear Au Sable - 2pc longbow?

[Rob DiStefano]

Anyone have this 2pc longbow, and if so, what is the 2pc mechanism used?  Can't find anything about it online.

[4dogs]

Rob. It is not a take down as in the bow comes apart. The are talking about two pieces of wood to make the riser...it is a one piece bow, Poor wording on the web site.

[4dogs]

https://www.bing.com/search?q=bear+ausable+take+down&form=ANNTH1&refig=64ce405a343f4c6d8d874b4238e1880b&pc=DCTS

[Rob DiStefano]

Rob. It is not a take down as in the bow comes apart. The are talking about two pieces of wood to make the riser...it is a one piece bow, Poor wording on the web site.

Actually good to hear it's a 1pc, I'll put one on order and check it out.

Bad bow copy on the Bear website is inexcusable!

[4dogs]

  Let us know what you think.

[Rob DiStefano]

Got the AuSable longbow, 64", 40#.

First off, the grip is "blocky" feeling and not as nicely contoured as the Montana. 

The r/d limb set is somewhere between the mild of the Montana and an aggressive r/d.  Smooth draw thanx to the 'boo limbs, good arrow speed, no shock, really not much difference than the Montana, which clearly is a fine longbow.  Was it worth about $200 more than a Montana?  No.

[RIVERWOLF]

((((((Was it worth about $200 more than a Montana?  No.))))))

Rob, "I think"you love those Montan's like myself... Mild ..MILD R/D get in your blood. Inherently quietier , and much easier (as you know) to get deadly quiet .  Time you balance the playing field with sound , the performance in bowhunting range isn't even in the equation 

Imho , every bow can benifit from some form of dampening to eat the varying degrees of performance leftovers in the setup in hand.   The Montana isn't excluded from that, but...they are very easy to get  feather in the wind quiet 

Jeff Kavanagh did a great review on the Ausable yrs ago . Good honest (and a good laugh;)review . I almost purchased an Ausable yrs ago , but after shooting a couple other gull wing designs...I just picked up another Montana to cure that itch ;^)

Thanks for the quick review and thoughts Rob , and best with your quest my friend !

[Rob DiStefano]

((((((Was it worth about $200 more than a Montana?  No.))))))

Rob, "I think"you love those Montan's like myself... Mild ..MILD R/D get in your blood. Inherently quietier , and much easier (as you know) to get deadly quiet .  Time you balance the playing field with sound , the performance in bowhunting range isn't even in the equation 

Imho , every bow can benifit from some form of dampening to eat the varying degrees of performance leftovers in the setup in hand.   The Montana isn't excluded from that, but...they are very easy to get  feather in the wind quiet 

Jeff Kavanagh did a great review on the Ausable yrs ago . Good honest (and a good laugh;)review . I almost purchased an Ausable yrs ago , but after shooting a couple other gull wing designs...I just picked up another Montana to cure that itch ;^)

Thanks for the quick review and thoughts Rob , and best with your quest my friend !

I had done some YT searching on the Ausable and did check out Jeff's channel, good stuff.

IMO, the Ausable isn't a "step up" from a Montana, it's just different with regards to the amount of limb r/d where each has its own shooting qualities.

I had a brandy new Montana for sale on the Classifieds and it's now sold ... to me.     

[RIVERWOLF]

"""I had a brandy new Montana for sale on the Classifieds and it's now sold ... to me."""
yea buddy . Wise move  

My first Montana was a pretty New 2013 Montana with the dymondwood that Bear offered for a few yrs. After the futurewood stuff that was like layers of plywood. The dymondwood Risers were HEAVY and impregnating the Maple with some type of Resin that basically made the riser imprevious to moisture , while adding nice weight to a very light design. 

It had the prettiest marbling I have seen on a riser. Like a fool I sold that bow to fund a Hot Rod R/D...that I hated ;^)   Needless to say , I pretty much begged the gent to sell her back to me....No sir, he killed a nice bear with it first hunt .

   That has been a LOT of yrs ago , and as you can see ..I am still WHINGEING about the loss   

[Rob DiStefano]

I'd "tasted" a few of the offshore bows that were built in the Montana vein but none were keepers, even those that had 'boo limb cores.

Another strange thing about the AuSable is that the sight window is dead flat - zero radius - which means that a piece of leather or Velco or matchstick, etc, needs to be added as a pressure point, which decreases the effective centershot of the riser and makes shaft selection more critical else the riser gets bashed by a weak spined arrow.

I still think that the Montana with 'boo cores is the best commercial mild r/d longbow for the money and would be appropriate for either newbie or seasoned tradbow archer.

[RIVERWOLF]

I haven't handled/shot a New Bamboo Montana "yet"
Might be my Next Montana ?   

I have heard , and continue to hear, the Bear Montana with the words "Good Beginners Bow" often attached.. Price wise I agree...but on a performance-quality standpoint that is an extremely misleading statement/overture.   

After owning many of the top name brand bows custom built and manufactured on an assembly line ...I have taken  A Good number of animals with other bows , but I have clearly taken far more with a Montana Longbow .     For a few reasons... I choose to carry and hunt with a Montana because of how quiet -smooth-and flawlessly it performs .  Solid performer . 

...but hey, let the retailers wrongfully label them. Perhaps that will keep the price down for us believers ...

[Rob DiStefano]

Having owned and even modded at least 4 Montana longbows over the years, the new 'boo model is just better, at least for me - 'boo makes for smooth drawing.

With this new 'boo Montana, the sparse info sheet specifies a brace height of 7-1/2" to 8-1/2" and never to go lower than the former.  Nonsense.  I spun up a B55 14s string and set the b/h @ 7-1/4" and for me it just performs better, no change to holding weight, still plenty of speed, good arrow flight, smoother draw (as will be with most lowered b/h's), quiet as shots end with that satisfying deep throated twang (10.5 GPP woodies or carbons) that's easy to quiet with some Bow Hush.

As mentioned previously, it's a fine longbow for anyone ... not just beginners. 

Bear Archery marketing isn't the swiftest around, and neither is their website.  Both could use a facelift at the least.

[RIVERWOLF]

Couldn't agree with you more Rob !

I have had 4 Montana's also, and I have always had mine setup with a 7"-7 1/4" brace. I have almost  always used 2018's with mine that ranged from 50#-55# @ my draw length. I love heavier thick walled shafts. Just LOVE the Easton 2018's . Mine come out 557gr-600 gr dependent upon my string setup/type=tune.

I'll likely be picking up  Boo Montana soon.....

[Kelly]

I’ve had 5 different Montana’s in my hands, still have two left, a 35# black glass one and a new 30# bamboo model. But the main thing I object to is no two are alike. All have been 30-35#, one brown handle/glass model, three black and this latest bamboo. All were different lengths, couldn’t take a string from one to put on another without having to drastically change either brace or nock point. That is not acceptable imho.

For example taking the factory string from my current 35# black Montana and putting it on the 30# bamboo can’t be done without huge changes, untwisting the brace and then the nock point is off. You see the bamboo is about one half inch longer in the top limb besides it’s also thicker and wider in the limbs than the heavier bow.

I have hardly shot the bamboo model because the factory string creates a higher brace height than my liking, almost 7 3/4” and not enough twist left to lower it. Yes I can take strings from my black Montana, untwist them to get a proper brace of 7-7 1/4” on the bamboo model but I don’t want to be doing that all the time.

So three of the different length Montana’s have gone elsewhere and the bamboo may follow. I dislike having to learn where a different, yet same model bow shoots all the time. I do like shooting different bows but only will keep those that shoot where I’m looking without having to relearn them.

Basically imho the quality control of Bear products needs lots of work, it’s terrible and it’s not just this bow. Same goes for their takedowns.

[RIVERWOLF]

Hey Kelly
I understand your opinion ...though I do think such should be kept to emails-pms. 
With that said I will give my 2 cents (in a positive way)on the subject of the Montana Longbow and Bear archery.

It sounds like you concluded the pros outweigh the cons or you wouldn't have purchased 5 of them imho.  Also , these have been in production since late 90's..1998ish

Over these yrs it has had some small tweaks in design I believe , but you would have to ask Bear archery for verification on that. I have had the thicker core and thinner core ...Brown glass, black glass. In the yrs 2011-2012-2013-2016.

Yes , all have a slightly different string  length needed per brace . Mostly because the handle  configurations all vary somewhat as Bear archery still does a LOT of hands on grinding . Is this an excuse for what you speak ? NO .  ...but , like every other manufacture , Bear archery likely has a large turnover employee rate . Also likely a few of your bows have "years" between manufacturing dates=likley a different person shaping/finishing out the bows. Coupled with Bear likey using thin core/thick core to more economically utilize core woods . Again, you would have to email Bear for clarification on that as well.
       
      The Montana is a Great bow design (and still a good price though it is ever rising) regardless. Do the different years have differing bow grips ? O yea..just grab a 1998ish and compare it to a 2011---2025 ;)Has the design been tweaked over these yrs ?  yes.
Even a lot of custom manufactured bow grips vary from bow to bow. Even using pnc machines  when the finish work is via human hands...
Could Bear archery do better ? Yes ...we all can