Shrew Little Favourite (Li'l Favorite in US Vernacular)

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Ron advertised a few in-stock bows when all you American blokes were sound-asleep, and so this Aussie jumped at the opportunity to get one straight-away while the time ticks by on the Shrew waiting list! And, it was just the right length and draw weight, a 56" Little Favourite drawing 65# @ 28"; in fact, it was the recurve version of the Shrew CH I have in mind. Ron and Gregg kindly tillered it for my three-under shooting. As an aside, conventional wisdom dictates that one tries before one buys... an impossibility here in Australia, and hence the importance of TradGang and its search function - the reviews and experiences of fellow TradGangers are how I do my research, something which I sure did having a 29" draw. When the deal was done, I also researched quivers, and Don from Eagle Flight Archery helped me get the right one for the bow and my tastes. And OneStringer provided some pretty nifty arrow wraps to dress the CX350s up. Anyway, two days ago, I got an e-mail from the mailroom lady at school saying there was a long box propped against the loading door for me. I hurried down and opened it then and there, and the ladies were very impressed with the simplicity, beauty and craftsmanship of this bow, the first traditional hunting bow they'd seen. Today I got the opportunity to shoot it properly for the first time and see what it would like up-front in terms of point weight in addition to the 100 grain brass insert. I had a fair idea based on my 78# Black Widow PL days, and wasn't far wrong. It looks like this 30" VONBOP arrow will like 300 grain points and broadheads, in addition to that 100 grain brass insert - a nice 400 grains up-front for a total of 791 grains. The bow throws them with authority. Thanks Ron and Gregg! I hope to break my bowhunting drought with it this year.

The first shot missed the pingpong ball by a bit, but the second one nailed it.
 

This was my mate Dave's pingpong ball. I don't know much about pingpong. Can a ball really be worth $25.oo?
 

 

 

 

There were numerous piggy-wiggy tracks in the sandpit. Hopefully we'll catch-up with some later this year.
 

 

[duffer1565]

Congrats on the new bow !

[Possum Head]

Very impressive set-up Ben. I have been studying comments on Schrews lately and like what I read. Hope to get my hands on one for a test drive.

[JV Rooster]

Very nice!

[Kentucky Jeff]

Wow, I see they still are using black and white cameras in Australia.  What did you do, Fax them in to the web admin?

J/K mate.

Nice bow and good luck with your ping pong ball hunt.

PS, how do you get the Marmite off the leather handle?  

[Killdeer]

[jcar315]

Very nice new bow Ben. Looking forward to haearing about some hog hunting adventures!

[barkrider]

Sweet setup... Always wanted to try a little fav, enjoy    

[JimB]

"This was my mate Dave's pingpong ball. I don't know much about pingpong. Can a ball really be worth $25.oo?"

Not after you got done with it.Nice bow.

[Gen273]

Nice bow and good shooting.

[Biathlonman]

I've been wanting to try one of those...

[daniel boon]

Congrats on your new bow, nice, looks like it's working for you.(I can fix you up with some replacement pingpong balls for half the price)

[Covey]

I haven't seen the recurve model...very nice! Congrats on the new shrew! Looks like you two will get along just fine!

Jason

[Margly]

Congrats with a nice bow!

[raghorns]

Ben,

What a great set-up...I just bought an older Shrew last week and took it out and killed my first trad turkey with it this week.

It is truly the most amazing bow I have ever shot. Mine is 70lbs. @ 28 and it feels more like 60lbs...even though it is only 54in. longbow.

I know you will enjoy it even more when it makes a few kills for you...thanks for sharing.

Lyle

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Thanks, People!

Jeff, the thing is, we don't get the Marmite off the grip except in extreme circumstances. We smear it on there at the start of a hunt as a safety precaution so that if we get stuck or stranded or lost out in the bush, and are having difficulty finding or shooting game, we have something to survive on. Just one lick of a Marmite-coated handle per day is enough to not only survive but flourish!

[amar911]

Can't go wrong with a Shrew. Yours certainly is not the first one to see action in Oz, and it won't be the last. Gregg and Ron will be sending my new Shrew Safari for my second buffalo hunt DownUnder. My Super Shrew Samurai Buffalo Bow has not been retired after the buff I shot last year, but it will be the back-up bow this year. Andy Ivy will soon have his new Shrew Scout recurve in hand. Lots of Shrews headed to Oz. Pat Kelly will have a Shrew Safari there too for his buff hunt! Congratulations on your LF and good shooting!!

Allan

[ozzyshane]

Ben what did the shipping cost you to get the one pc bows down here Thanks Shane

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Shane, that is a very good question with a very interesting, good answer! It is expensive to ship one-piece bows, usually. Howard Hill and Black Widow seem to be able to do it for about $115 or so, and I thought that was the cheapest. I have paid double that for shipping some other bows, and I was expecting to this time. Once upon a time, very short one-piece bows, like K-mags, were able to be shipped cheaply via USPS, but I was reliably informed that this is no longer possible. However, Ron managed to ship this bow, via USPS, for $40-something. He must've worked some magic. From what I gather, a large part of it has to do with individuals at post offices and how strict they are in following the letter of the law. And then, it isn't USPS that is not coming to the party when it comes to shipping bows here, it's Australia Post that's placed restrictions. But it seems that once it is in the system, they will accept it. It seems...

[raghorns]

Allen, is there a thread on here that tells about your buffalo hunt?

Lyle