Samick Sage Recurve Bow

What the Samick Sage recurve bow is

The Samick Sage is a takedown recurve. A recurve is a bow whose limb tips curve away from you when the bow is strung. Takedown means it comes apart: a riser in the middle, two limbs that bolt onto it. Archery 360 describes takedown recurves as bows that break down into three pieces, popular for travel and for archers who like switching limbs of different draw weights.

On this site the brand covers one product type, recurve bows, in two listings:

• The bow alone: 62 inches long, right-hand, offered in draw weights from 25 to 60 pounds
• The bow-and-arrow set: the same 62-inch takedown bow, plus arrows and accessories

All of those specs come from the Amazon listings, and the grid marks them that way. Because that's a short list, the grid adds "Alternatives to Samick Sage": recurves and longbows from other brands, chosen by type. I'll come back to how to read them.

The Samick Sage bow, by the listing

Here's what the bow listing states. Length: 62 inches. Hand: right. Takedown: yes. Maximum draw length: 28 inches. The draw weight shown in the grid is one of several; the listing offers the bow at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 pounds.

That 28-inch figure matters more than it looks. Archery 360 explains that most makers rate recurve limbs at a 28-inch draw length, and that in general you gain about 2 pounds for every inch you draw past 28. Quick math: a 40-pound limb drawn to 29 inches pulls about 42. Drawn to 27, it pulls a little less than 40.

So the number on the limb is the weight at 28 inches, not the weight at your draw. If you don't know your draw length, a bow shop can measure it. (I'm a physical therapist. I've measured a lot of arms. Nobody's arms have ever been exactly the length they guessed.)

The Samick Sage bow-and-arrow set

The set listing names what's in the box: the 62-inch takedown bow, six arrows, a quiver, a bowstring, a stringer tool, an arm guard and a finger guard. The listing gives the length and the takedown build but not the hand, so the grid shows a dash there.

Here's what actually changes between the two listings. The bare bow gets you the bow. The set gets you the bow and the things you'd otherwise buy the same week. Archery 360 points out that a recurve shooter needs a glove or finger tab to protect the fingers; the set's finger guard covers that. The stringer is the other piece people forget, and it's the one I care about most.

Read both listings line by line before you choose. A set's arrows are made for the set, so check that their spine suits the draw weight you pick; if you change draw weights later, plan on new arrows to match.

How to choose a Samick Sage recurve bow

Start with draw weight

Draw weight is the pounds of force it takes to pull the string back to full draw. It's the one number you can't fix later without new limbs.

Archery 360 says drawing a bow is not a strength test, and that a beginner may need to start with a relatively low draw weight while the coordination comes along. The same source says a bow technician can measure your draw length and help you find the draw weight you can handle. That's the order I'd follow: measure first, then pick.

If you're buying for hunting, check two things before you choose a weight. One: your state's minimum draw weight and broadhead rules, which vary by state, so check your state wildlife agency. Two: whether you can hold at full draw long enough to wait for a clean shot, in a coat, in the cold.

Then the hand

Hand orientation names the drawing hand. A right-hand bow is drawn with the right hand and held in the left. If you draw with your left, the Samick Sage bow listing in the grid won't fit you; the alternatives include left-hand bows. Not sure which hand you draw with? A shop can check it when it measures your draw length.

Then bow or set

If you already own arrows that suit your draw weight, a glove or tab and a stringer, the bare bow is enough. If you're starting from zero, the set saves you a shopping list. Uncle Walt's take: "Either way, buy the arrows that match the bow, not the ones that match the truck." (His truck is red. So are his arrows. Coincidence, he says.)

Stringing a takedown recurve

My one opinion on this page: if you buy the bare Samick Sage, put a bow stringer in the same order. The reason is Archery 360's: it calls the bow stringer the safest method and the only one bow manufacturers recommend.

How it works, per Archery 360:

1. Attach the limbs to the riser first.
2. Slide the larger top loop down the top limb; seat the bottom loop in the bottom limb's string grooves.
3. Put the stringer's saddle end over the top limb behind the loop, the pouch end over the bottom limb tip.
4. Stand on the stringer, feet about shoulder-width apart, and pull up on the grip to flex the limbs.
5. Slide the top loop into the top limb's grooves.
6. Remove the stringer, turn the limbs away from you and check that the string sits in both grooves.

Turning the limbs away from you is a safety step: if the string slips, the limbs snap away from your body. If you've never strung a recurve, have a local archery shop show you once before you do it alone.

Brace height on a 62-inch recurve

Brace height is the distance from the deepest part of the grip to the string. Archery 360 says it affects where your arrows hit, so you want it consistent.

For 62-inch and 64-inch recurves, Archery 360 gives a typical range of about 7.5 to 8.5 inches, and says to follow the maker's range if it differs. You measure it with a bow square. If it's low, add twists to the string; Archery 360 says two twists raise it by about a quarter inch. If it's high, remove a few. Restring and measure again after every change.

Strings stretch, and stringing the bow over and over moves the number. If your brace height is off by several inches, the string is probably the wrong length; Archery 360 notes recurve strings usually run 3 to 4 inches shorter than the bow. Write the number on a piece of tape inside your bow case. Future you will check it.

Takedown limbs and changing draw weight

The point of a takedown bow is that the limbs come off. Archery 360 lists switching to limbs of different draw weights as one of the reasons archers like takedowns. That also means a beginner can start lighter and move up later without buying a whole new bow.

The catch is fit. Limbs have to be made for the riser they bolt onto. Before you order new limbs, check that the listing names your riser, and read the ILF note below if you're comparing bows.

And if you change draw weight, re-check your arrows, because arrows are matched to draw weight. The recurve arrows page covers how arrows are matched to draw weight.

Reading the alternatives to Samick Sage

The grid adds recurves and longbows from other brands because the Samick Sage list is short. Read them by the same specs as the Sage: length, draw weight, hand, takedown or one-piece, and what the limbs are made of. What's in there, per the listings:

• Other takedown recurves: 58 to 62 inches, with wood-fiberglass or bamboo-fiberglass laminate limbs on several listings
• ILF takedown recurves: 60-inch bows with carbon limbs listed, at several draw weights
• One-piece longbows: 54 and 64 inches, with no takedown
• Bow-and-arrow sets: takedown recurves sold with arrows included
• Youth-sized bows: 54-inch bows at light draw weights, including a left-hand listing

ILF in plain words

ILF stands for international limb fitting, a shared standard for how limbs attach to a riser. Archery 360 says most ILF limbs from one maker fit another maker's ILF riser, but interchangeability isn't guaranteed, because some makers measure their fittings slightly differently. An ILF bow gives you more limb choices later. A bow with its own fitting gives you its maker's limbs.

Longbow or recurve

Archery 360 describes longbow limbs as narrow and thick, with most longbows 60 inches or longer, and recurve limbs as wide and flat. It also says the longbow's limb shape makes more hand shock than a recurve. On a longbow the string doesn't touch the limbs past the tips. If you want the takedown feature, check the grid's takedown column: the longbows here are one-piece.

Youth bows

The 54-inch bows at light draw weights are sized for younger or smaller archers. One of them lists a 24-inch maximum draw length. Match the draw length before the color. Youth-sized compound options are on the youth compound bow page, and other recurves from a brand that sells several are on the Southwest Archery brand page.

Hunting with a recurve

A recurve is a quiet, simple bow with no cams or cables. It also has no let-off, which means you hold the full draw weight for as long as you're at full draw. (On a compound bow, let-off is the pull easing at full draw. A recurve never got the memo.)

That shapes how you hunt with it. Practice at the distances you'll actually shoot, from the stand or blind position you'll shoot from, with the arrows and broadheads you'll hunt with. Broadheads are sharp from the box. Keep them in a hooded quiver and your fingers off the blades. Hunting setups for recurves are on the hunting recurve bow page, and general recurve background is on the recurve bow page.

Care basics from the how-to sources

A takedown recurve has few moving parts, and most of the care is checking:

• String in the grooves: every time you string the bow, before the first draw
• Brace height: measure after stringing, especially with a new string
• String length: if brace height is far off, the string is likely the wrong length, not short on twists

A bow that comes apart is easy to carry and easy to store. It also has more small pieces to leave on the tailgate, so take it apart over a towel, not over the grass.

Draw weight at your draw, hand, then the stringer. Tape the brace height inside the case lid and the Samick Sage mostly takes care of itself.