PETE WARD

"WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD"

Gear Review

http://www.tradtecharchery.com/

a division of

LANCASTER ARCHERY SUPPLY
2195-A Old Philadelphia Pike (Rt. 340)
Lancaster, PA 17602
1 mile East of Rte. 30 on Rt. 340

Call 1-800-829-7408 

 email  info@tradtecharchery.com

 Samick "Sage" Recurve

62" 40#  Wood/Glass limb

Review

The "Sage" by Samick is perhaps one of the best introductory bargains out there. It is a nice looking 3-piece recurve that has good shooting characteristics, at an affordable price. The Sage limb weights are available from 30 to 60 pounds at 28" draw; the riser has been equipped with bushings for a plunger rest, sights and a stabilizer bushing/ fishing reel. For most of us we will not use the bushings, but the ability to attach a reel will be appreciated for the Bow Fishers. The limb bolts are knurled for hand tightening, so there is no need for wrenches. The sage can be shot with an elevated rest and plunger, or off the shelf.

 

I have had this bow for several weeks now and spent some time shooting and tuning it before getting it into the hands of some guys that are curious about traditional archery, but are hesitant about the cost involved. Every time the results were the same. They were able to shoot the bow well enough after an hour’s time at the target butt to go to the 3D course and have some real fun. Comments about wives and kids enjoying this were common, and the ability for the family to do something together at a reasonable cost was frequent. The Sage has been well received each time I took it to a range.

 All to often we see so called starter bows that are just "nasty" and a waste of money. They look cheap and seem to be just that.  The sage is better than this. I am not saying the Sage compares to the high-end bow, and that it will become my favorite hunting bow! It doesn't and will not. It is also not meant to. This is a bow that will bring a new shooter into traditional archery without breaking the bank. It will provide a positive shooting experience, and many days of fun on a small budget. As a teaching tool for clubs it is well worth looking at and will be a good clubhouse bow.

 

 

The available limb weights also allow us to start at a light draw weight, which is always good advice, and then upgrade to more weight later at bargain prices.  Will it hunt? Of course it will, and I am sure we will read of many success stories about game taken with it. At a recent shoot I attended there was a lot of interest by fathers in the Sage for their kids. For the son/ daughter who is about to start hunting, and needs a bow, but the commitment is not there yet, this is a great starter bow. They can grow with it, and upgrade to higher weight limbs at a minimal cost, before going into those high-end customs we usually end up dreaming about. I love high-end bows, but for a beginner they are better off waiting before dropping big bucks on a bow that may be collecting dust if the interest fades, or they outgrow it to fast. The Sage is lots of bow to let you know if this is the way you want to go or not.

When the Sage arrived it did not have an instruction sheet, and this is something that I feel is needed. Considering the "target customer" is inexperienced, and often has no experience at all, there needs to be some basic information provided for brace height, strings, stringing and even suggested accessories like a glove/tab, stringer, silencers etc. An arrow chart of some sort would also be beneficial. I found the Sage began to shoot good, without buzz, and vibrations after the brace was increased to 8" and between 8 and 8 1/2" it is quite nice. I settled on a brace of 8 1/4", beaver ball silencers and the stick on flipper rest that came with it.

AMO Draw length

 Draw weight

Arrow

 gr

 FPS

Arrow

 gr

FPS 

Arrow

 gr

FPS

 

 

  0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  7 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  8 

  brace-81/4"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  9

  0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  10

  0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  11

  2.87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  12

  6.92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  13

  9.92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  14

  12.66

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  15

  14.95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  16

  17.24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  17

  19.49

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  18

  21.39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  19

  23.24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  20

  25.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  21

  26.72

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  22

  28.57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  23

  30.43

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  24

  32.37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  25

  34.39

GR

FPS

 GR

FPS 

  GR

FPS 

 GR

 FPS        

26"

  36.51

  352

162

  472

147

 

 

 

27"

  38.67

  352

172

   472

154

 

 

 

28"

  40.92

  352

179

   472

159

 

 

 

 

I have always felt that a bow should be shootable out of the box. The Sage did have a stick on rest, but no brass nock or silencers. I do realize this is common, but the bows can have these at least included in the box and the price can be added in.  The string that came with the bow is a Dacron endless loop that does function, but gives a very tight nock fit, and is not as quiet as the replacement string I used. A good DF 97 -10 strand Flemish with padded loops to 16 strands gave the Sage a big boost, in feel, quietness and performance and nock fit was much better. I think the vast majority of purchasers would gladly trade the bushings that are installed for the sight and plunger for a good string. Perhaps Trad Tech / Samick will consider this in the future.

{Lee at trad tech has informed me that the Sage should have come with a DF97 string as per the catalogue.} I have seen other Sage bows and the string that was on them was quite large, and did not give a good nock fit on carbon arrows. I do not know what those strings were made from.

The limb pockets are held on with 2 Philips screws and these should be checked. I did find one screw that was not in tight. This is not a big concern, just a caution to make sure you do check them. The chronograph table was done with a 10 strand DF 97 Flemish twist string with padded loops. I like it better than the stock string that I misplaced.

To sum it up, I think that the Sage is a real good starter bow that will also do just fine for the person who does not want to spend a lot of money. It is also a possible back up-bow for that trip to who knows where? Nobody will be drooling over it, however it will not look out of place in the bow racks at deer camp and it certainly is more than capable of being a good hunting or fishing bow.  Youth, wives and the new shooters will find it appealing and enjoyable. The fit and finish on the bow is not like a Custom hand made Masterpiece, but it is good, and certainly acceptable. Please do not try to compare the Sage to the high-end bows I have reviewed. My comments are not intended to be used for comparisons. What is good for this price range is not the same as what is good for a thousand dollars. This bow is not intended to compete with the expensive bows available to us. On it's own merits it does quite well and I expect the Sage to bring many new shooters into Archery.

 

Thanks to "Lee Vivian " at Trad-Tech /Lancaster Archery, for allowing me to use his excellent photos for this review.

Pete Ward

 "Welcome to my outdoor world."

 

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