mark Smeltzer Bows.

This is a review for a bowyer , Mark Smeltzer, and company , Bow Makr LLC , that I had not heard of until I entered a Facebook contest on line and was the lucky winner of a beautiful 1 piece recurve. After receiving my prize bow I decided to ask Mark if he would like a review written. It turned out that he had no idea that I did this sort of thing , and he had no Idea who I was , other than some guy that entered his contest.

When the bow arrived I was impressed at the looks, and the fine workmanship . This bow has great eye candy , with some very pretty Cedar veneers under very clear glass. The bow is a 50's style recurve with a leather wrap handle that shows a bit of sap wood on the side of the Honduran Rosewood riser. The bow is pretty and very well made. Glue lines are precise and the finish is flawless.

Shooting the Cobra is a pleasant feeling, it has good performance, draws smooth, and am even able to hit my targets with it most times. It did take a bit to make the Cobra hunting quiet at first. After some string twisting, and playing with different silencers and materials I got it quiet for hunting. The point is I have a bow quiet enough for a hunt, it isn't silent like a Hickory longbow, but it certainly is hunting quiet. Vibrations are non existant , and it seems to behave best with a hunting weight arrow of 500 grains plus.

Perhaps I am to used to longbow quiet, but a wrap of wool on the string ends was what made the deal for hunting quiet.

I am a sucker for pretty bows, and the Cedar veneers over the maple cores, and those super fine tips have won me over. Add in the rosewood riser ,that has a hint of the sapwood and this bow has tons of eye candy. Mark has a, keen eye for precise fit and finish.The fades are long and exact, the tips are very fine and show the sapwood and Rosewood like the riser.

Draw Length	Pounds	Weight gain	Arrow \|Weight	FPS	Arrow weight	FPS	Arrow weight	FPS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10	2.69
11	6.86
12	10.43
13	13.54
14	15.84
15	18.30
16	20.42
17	22.25
18	24.45
19	26.15
20	28.02
21	29.70
22	31.73
23	33.67
24	35.61
25	37.59
26	39.84		346	174	494	152	680	131
27	41.91		346	185	494	159	680	139
28	44.21		346	188	494	168	680	143
29	46.76
30	49.52
31
32
33