A no brainer

[damascusdave]

You have just inherited 600 smackers from your favourite aunt.

The only bows you have available are a Chek-Mate Hunter III and a Martin X200. Which one would you buy?

DDave

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Check-Mate Hunter.  I've never shot either but custom vs. factory, I'd take the custom.

[Kip]

If I could buy the checkmate with a Bob Lee grip I would never have sold my
checkmate Hunter 56".Beautiful bows big grip for my small hands.

[Stumpkiller]

I'm partial to Martins and one-piece recurves, but if you figure you need a take-down the Chek-Mate Hunter II is a sweet looking bow.  Didn't know there was a III version.

[dirtguy]

Whoa!  Only two bows available???  How can that be?

If all other things are equal (both bows at a god draw weight for you, TD vs one piece is no issue, etc, get the custom bow.  

But just two to choose from?  Why?

[DeerSpotter]

Check out Chad Holm bows ,He's a sponsor on here ,and a great guy to work with .

Carl

[David Yukon]

Look like there is two kind of Chek-Mate bows, on e USA one Canadian... The Hunter II look to be the same bow in USA and Canada but the III is only found at the Canadian bowyer!?!!

[damascusdave]

Originally posted by Kip:
If I could buy the checkmate with a Bob Lee grip I would never have sold my
checkmate Hunter 56".Beautiful bows big grip for my small hands.

That is where the Hunter III shines, the grip throat is slimmer. As far as I know the III is a response to requests for a slimmed down riser.

One thing to think about is that with a take down the owner can add whatever limbs they want to the riser at some point down the road. A bigger riser is a stronger riser, all else being equal, and since there is no way to legislate stupid Marc has erred on the side of caution.

[Ragnarok Forge]

For $600 you can have a nice bow made to your specs.  Go custom otherwise.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I'd go for a chekmate for sure

[Cherokee Scout]

Not the 200 for sure.

[damascusdave]

Originally posted by Cherokee Scout:
Not the 200 for sure.

That is the correct answer. If I had a prize I would sent it to you.
DDave

[damascusdave]

I posted this to make a point to newbies. They get on the brand name bow makers sites and they get stars in their eyes that blind them to reality.

The reason I picked those two bows is perfectly logical with a little background info. About 2 weeks ago I went to Calgary to order a Beaver Creek bow, and ended up ordering a Chek-Mate instead. That bow will cost me 600 dollars and will be a thing of absolute beauty and shootability.

On the way home I stopped at the relatively new Bass Pro Shops outdoor world at Balzac and of course hit the archery department. There on the rack, in all its glory, was a sparkling new X200 at the hard-to-believe price of only $569.99.

Now for anybody that has shot an X200 they were not a bad bow when they cost a bit over 300 bucks, but at 600 they are just plain a bad investment and I am sure that even Larry Hatfield would admit that (btw I have shot the Hatfield Takedown, and a couple of different x200's,and the Hatfield is a very nice bow, just overpriced compared to the Chek-Mate).

DDave

[damascusdave]

Originally posted by Stumpkiller:
I'm partial to Martins and one-piece recurves, but if you figure you need a take-down the Chek-Mate Hunter II is a sweet looking bow.  Didn't know there was a III version.

Looking at your bow inventory you are kind of like me. I have three old Bears, a Martin, a Damon Howatt, a Ben Pearson, a Chek-Mate on order, and I just bought an Adcock this morning.

The Hunter II is a very nice bow and it looks like a club compared to the sleek lines of the III.

[damascusdave]

You know I am a teacher and I should know better, but I left out a couple of commas in one of the above posts. It should read:

"and, since there is no way to legislate stupid, Marc..."

DDave