Pass around Tuktu Ex TD

[Cari-bow]

Jed
I've closed down the sign up awhile ago. It's well over half a year, that's not including shipping time.
Abe

[wooddamon1]

Holy smokes, what a bow! I've been shooting this thing like a maniac whenever I get the chance. Smooth, fast, quiet and beautiful.

 I've owned another static-tip recurve and always liked how it felt and shot, but this Tuktu Ex blows it away for speed at the same poundage. The arrow going around with her shoots great, but I had to take her hunting with some 73# cedars that flew like lasers with no tuning.

The hunting was cold, windy and miserable over the weekend so I spent a little time stumping and hiking to warm up. The bow was blasting arrows through frozen stumps like a Howitzer!    

Thanks Abe for the opportunity to shoot this awesome creation, I've really enjoyed it! Anyone looking for a functional work of art wouldn't be disappointed with anything Abe puts out there.

I'll be sorry to see this bow go, in the short time I've had it in my grubby paws it's become like an old friend that has been at my side for years...      

[Kevin Dill]

I feel just a bit sorry for the guys who whiffed on seeing (and more importantly, shooting) this TD Tuktu Ex. Obviously the bow would be out for 2 years if there wasn't a cut-off.

wooddamon...I know exactly how you feel. My week with that bow went by like a Saturday night date! The good news is that I've got a permanent date with one somewhere up the road.

[Cari-bow]

Damon
You are welcome and I'm glad you liked it.
 Wish you could have had better weather for your hunt on the weekend. I am happy you took the time to take out some stumps. You never know when you might need a Howitzer.    
Wish you and yours the best this Christmas season.
Abe

[wooddamon1]

Back at ya Abe, Happy Holidays!

[j.j.johnston]

I just finished my turn with this bow and send it on to the next lucky tester.  Let me preface this review with some background.  I am a serial bow tester.  I have owned bows from almost all of the major bowyers.  I buy used bows, shoot them a while and sell them to fund the next bow.  I have owned more than 75 bows over the past twelve years or so and will probably own a few more before my shoulder gives out.  My preference is for 50s style recurves and longbows, bows with a slim riser.

This bow is an excellent example of the bowyer's art.  The fit and finish were excellent.  The glue lines were tight, there were no tool marks visible anywhere on the bow.  When assembled, there was no play in the joint, but it assembled easily.  The finish was even, smooth and uniform it application.

I strung the bow and checked the brace and nock height.  Both were close to the maker's recommendations so off to the backyard to give it a try.  The temp was minus 7 F for the day so the shooting sessions were short, with warm up breaks.

The first three arrows grouped close enough that the fletches touched.  The bow shot where I was looking, touching the quarter sized dot on the bag.  There seemed to be a good bit of preload on the draw and as the bow was drawn to my 30.5" full draw, it felt very smooth.  There was no feeling of any stacking at anchor.  

Upon release, I was a bit surprised at the cast.  The speed was very very good.  I do not chrony bows, but have a very good feel for what is fast and what is slow.  I shot this bow with several others I have, noted for their speed and it was right up there with the best.  The cast was confirmed by penetration comparisons when shot into a 4' block range target.

 The bow was quiet.  I was shooting full length  GT 5575s with 200 gr points.  There was just a solid thump on the shot.  Many of the bows I have shot with this kind of speed were quite noisy by comparison.

Summary:

Fit and finish....as good as any bow I have owned.  The grip locks your hand into a good shooting position and is repeatable.  I liked the beavertail grip wrap.

Cast.....in the top five bows I have shot for speed.  

Noise level....in the top five for quiet, in the top three for recurves.

The bow is easy to shoot, feels very stable and comfortable.  It has good weight, but is not too heavy or bulky.

I would highly recommend this bow to anyone looking for a high quality bow.

[Cari-bow]

John
Thanks for sending the bow on and for your review. I know it takes time and effort to write a review and it is appreciated by  me as well as all the tradgang members.
Abe

[SELFBOW19953]

I am/was the lucky next recipient of Abe's Pass Around Tuktu.  I totally agree with everything that's been said about the looks, fit & finish, and performance of this bow.  John is right, you won't be disappointed with a Tuktu EX!!!

The carbon arrow that is supplied with the bow was the standard I used for testing my wood arrows (I can now say I have shot a carbon arrow, but I still prefer wood).  The bow is set up for that arrow and I tried different arrows until I found the one that matched its flight.  I tried spines from 50-55 to 70-75.  I believe the lighter spines could have been tinkered with to shoot well, but I didn't want to change the tuning of the bow.  

As Wooddamon found the 70-75 spines shot the best, matching the flight of the supplied carbon.  Next best was 65-70 spine that looked to need only a nock height adjustment.  My wood shafts all have 160 gr field points on 28" BOP shafts, with 4 5" shield cut feathers.  The carbon weighed 586gr, 65-70 chundoo weighed 600 gr, and the 70-75 ramin weighed 680 gr.  The EX is 54@28, so all shafts are in excess of 10 gpp.
Out to 20 yards, there was little difference in point of impact, not enough to worry about.  At 25 yards, as one would expect, the heavier shafts started dropping off.  All shafts were fast and hit with authority.  

Thank you, Abe, for giving us the opportunity to try your bow.

[SELFBOW19953]

Up for a great bow and bowyer.

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I received Abe's bow on Sat. It was very well wrapped up and everything looked great. When I took the limbs out I really was impressed with the workmanship, especially the way he had male and female grooves made for the fit between the 2 limbs. I had never shot a 2 piece bow so this was gonna be a new adventure for me. At first I noticed just a faint amount of play with the limbs hooked up but after stringing it up it was as solid as a one piece recurve. The static tips are at what looks like turned 90 degrees from the limb unstrung so I was real careful stringing it up. It shot great the 1st shot and the arrow supplied hit right where I was looking. I was immediately impressed especially with the speed. It's marked 54@28 but shot like a much heavier poundage bow. I have shot many different bows in the last few years and this has got to be one of the fastest I have shot. I own a Shafer, black widow, Morrisom Shawnee,4 RER  recurves  cause I love static tips, a Tolke Chinook, Great Plains, and several old Bear bows and this bow is a winner to be desired. The grip fit my had perfect and to my surprise aided the shot. It was 7 5/8 brace, was 7 1/2 the next day, and today I believe settled into 7 3/8 brace height after leaving it strung since I got it on Sat. We're having a deep freeze all over the country tonight so I'm shooting mostly in my basement tonight. I did take it out yesterday and the arrow supplied was right on. Flew like a dart. The wrap on the end covers the spine for the Beaman trad arrow so I would like to know what that is for it flies perfectly. I shot Gold tip 55/75 and they flew good.  I took some 2117 alum and saw the stacking at 20 yds flying perfectly. I'm not gonna mess with the nock( 5/8) above sq or try and do any bare shafting cause its shooting great and I have to move it own to the next guy.  All in all I'm impressed with this bow. I never dreamed a 2 piece would shoot like this. Great bow you created Abe. Oh yeah the bases of the limbs has raised lams that you can see and feel with touching. Work is truly great on this bow. I'll try and post more in a few days.    

[Cari-bow]

Dwight
The Beamen is a 400 and I think it's a 75 grain insert. I thought I would include an arrow that worked for me just to help with any tuning frustrations. I thought one might need to add or subtract point weight for different draw lengths.
I'm glad guys are using different arrows just to try out. I like Beamen arrows because they were one of the first carbon arrow makers to be consistent. Now it seems the others are as well. On brace height I shoot mine at 7.25".
Abe

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well I guess not  pics are giving me a fit

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bow is a great shooter

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my wife got my release form pretty good on this one. Every first shot of the day was in the spot I aimed for...not many bows doing this has been my experience

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Me and my dog, Remy, my Brittany this am

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I really enjoyed getting to shoot this bow during this past week.Its been quite an experience esp it being a 2 piece bow you could never tell it.
its one of the hardest hitting I have shot.we had so much bad weather this week and our deer season is over till next fall..its on to the next guy in the am  thanks again Abe

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one of the last shots of the day

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Calling it a day and taking a break by the creek and off to church.I'm getting around better now since my prostate surgery last month and this was great to get to use this bow

[Cari-bow]

Dwight
I'm happy you enjoyed yourself while you had the bow. Thanks for taking the time to post pictures of yourself shooting the bow. Nice to put a face to some of you.
Abe