Martin Savanah or Bear Montana

[browningcobra]

My 15 year old son experienced heartbreak today, his Samick Outlander delaminated while shooting. It was only a year old.
I'd like to replace it soon, as deer hunting is just around the corner.
Which bow, the Martin Savanah or the Bear Montana?

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

I see you are from Arlington, if you go up to Riverside Archery in Mt.Vernon they have the Savannah there.  Or at least they did back in may when I was in there.  They are more than happy to let you shoot their bows.  They are a Martin Dealer and have a pretty good selection of trad bows now, everything from the real cheap stuff up to the Hoyt recurves.

[csimpson]

What weight bow are you looking for?  I've got a RH 66", 56lb @ 28" Robertson "Mystical" I'd be willing to part with. I'm just a little south of you in Snohomish.

[Mudd]

I've never shot a Savannah so I can't speak to it at all but I can tell you that in my opinion you would be hard pressed to find a better handling and shooting longbow off the non-custom rack than the Bear Montana.

The Montana has to be one of the most underrated production bows for the money.

God bless,Mudd

[Ragnarok Forge]

Martin Savannah all the way.  The bowyers that make them at the Damon Howatt plant have been in the business for over 30 years.  I checked one out this spring and loved it.

[browningcobra]

Thanks for the comments. The Robertson sounds interesting, but, might be a bit more than I can afford. Interesting viewpoints, similar to the replies I got on ***********. Thanks for the heads up about Riverside.

[ishoot4thrills]

Originally posted by Mudd:
I've never shot a Savannah so I can't speak to it at all but I can tell you that in my opinion you would be hard pressed to find a better handling and shooting longbow off the non-custom rack than the Bear Montana.

The Montana has to be one of the most underrated production bows for the money.

God bless,Mudd

Same exact thing I was thinking.

[Stone Knife]

The first longbow I hunted with was a Savannah, it was a good shooter. I bought it used and it was worth every penny that i paid for it. I took five deer with that bow

[T Folts]

I've owned a Savanah and shot a Montana, IMO the Savanah is a much better bow.

[JRY309]

I would go with the Savannah,bought one when they first came out and still have it today.Great bow in my opinion.

[mrpenguin]

I owned a Montana 55# for a while.  It was a decent bow, but I did not like it too too much... I just got a Savannah and love it.  I am shooting pretty consistently with it out to 30 yds.  Its a fast shooting bow for a longbow and feels so much better in the hand... I think that is the most significant difference between the two, the grip.  The Bear grip is a notched out straight block, where the Savannah has a smooth shaped pistol-like grip.  The Savannah grip allows for a more consistant bowhand position in my opinion.  I noticed shooting my Bear that my bowhand would fatigue faster due to certain pressure points that just aren't there in the Savannah grip.  I can shoot that bow all day!  Also, there is handshock when shooting a Montana but NONE with the Savannah.  Lastly, the Savannah is just gorgeous.  Zebrawood limb laminations, bubinga riser.  It really is a custom, handmade bow for a production bow's cost.  I'd say, Savannah all day...

Oh, and its easy to tune.

[mrpenguin]

Here's Mine:

 
 
And here's how it shoots @ 20ish yards

 

[Red Beastmaster]

I've heard lots of praise for the Montana on here and personally I don't see it. I would take any Martin bow over any Bear bow all day long. You can tell the people at Martin care.

[mrpenguin]

Originally posted by Red Beastmaster:
I've heard lots of praise for the Montana on here and personally I don't see it. I would take any Martin bow over any Bear bow all day long. You can tell the people at Martin care.

Exactly.  Larry has dated used Martins for me on two occasions and always been super helpful.

[Jeremy]

Having shot both... the Savannah (for me)

[Arwin]

I've shot both, the Savannah all the way!

[Ragnarok Forge]

The folks at Martin do care.  They have great customer service, I know the owners and they are great people.  I just chatted with Gail at the WSR and he is the same great guy he has always been.  The bow shop in Yakima has been in business for a long time and most of the bowyers have been there the entire time.  The few new guys are learning from master bowyers.  It ends up with a great product at a factory price.

[freeman]

I've owned both. I'd pick the Savannah. That said, the Montana is a great bow for the money. But not in the same class as the Savannah.

[rushlush]

Savannah all the way.

[K. Mogensen]

The Savannah is the way to go. I shot one for a while and really liked it. Then I got a Lost Creek...