Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

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stumper
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Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#1 Post by stumper »

For much of my life I believed I was a recurve shooter. As a younger kid in archery my view of longbows was limited to those thingies that native Americans carried around. In my youth and probably ignorance is well I never realized there was anything other than shooting split finger. As childhood faded away, so did my first foray into traditional archery. A few years ago I would pick up a compound bow and quickly grew tired of its accuracy. For many people shooting all bull's-eyes would be fantastic and wonderful but for me it was boring. That compound bow lasted all of one month before I bought my dream bow from my childhood the bear grizzly. The last few years have been magical, childlike and full of learning experiences. For one I know now that I vastly prefer those thingies that Native Americans carried (well.. the modern version of course) around and shoot better three under. My first encounter with the longbow was an unpleasant one and consisted of so much hand shock I thought my teeth might fall out. However there was something about that straight stick that calls to me like a siren from a distant inhospitable island. Enter the prairie predator..... this bow by Mike at maddog archery gave me everything I wanted in a bow and then some. However last year I almost gave up hunting in the state of the Louisiana. Not because Louisiana has poor hunting but I was under the illusion that I could not hunt public land without someone to shoot and scout with. For whatever reason people here do not want to share in the vast land that they own. Contrasted to Florida where i used to live, the invitations to hunt seemed almost endless. Once I realized that I secretly had such a friend "Will" public land lost its intimidation and I decided that I should have a long bow that was built to such ruggedness I would not be afraid to bang it up in the woods (after all my praire predator is a work of art). Enter the slick stick....

For years I had read reviews on the Bodnik slick stick which touted the Bows performance and durability. I was really on the fence about buying another production Bow when I saw the quality and care that Mike put into his Bows. However, being a person that loves reliability I was wooed by the lifetime warranty. Somehow I persuaded the wife a.k.a. the keeper of the budget that this bow was a real need. Normally, I order all my traditional gear from kustom king and was intending to order a slick stick from them. A fateful google search revealed another site bearpawusa. Which is a new site recently established as the USA warranty center for Bodnik bows. What sealed the deal for me was that they offered the slick stick in charcoal gray and it came with a free bow fleece and stringer for the same price as kustom king.

Three short days later which felt like an eternity I had my beautiful bow in hand. I love the look of bamboo especially under clear glass. It is unfortunate that Mike is allergic to bamboo and cannot work with it. I carefully inspected the bow and found it to be nearly flawless, save one nick the size of a grain of sand in the riser which was easily fixed. I have held many bows costing in the $700-$1000 range and have not found this bows equal in construction or finish. The riser made of action wood which is basically layered sheets of maple, produces breathtaking swirls and level changes in the wood. At 58 inches in length I have learned that this is my favorite size bow which incidentally is the same length as the bear grizzly. Bamboo is a curious wood, it seems to provide amazing power, while providing the smoothest silkiest draw. The reflex deflex in this bow is so deep that it curves at the same rate as the bear grizzly recurve until the tips. As you will see in one of the pictures below the limbs taper immediately after the fades which produces a wider limb then the prairie predator, yet slightly slimmer than the recurve. The handle is a petite mimic of a recurve grip which bodnik States is reminiscent of bows made in the 1950s and 60s. Whatever it is, it is the most comfortable grip I have felt on a bow. This bow braced perfectly at 7 1/4 inches and I have not touched it since. There is no perceptible hand shock. The limb design and string produce almost no sound. Fitting that they named the string "whisper string" because I can barely hear the feathers sliding across the shelf before the thud in the target. Hopefully the pictures will show you that this bow sits perfectly in between the longbow and a recurve. Is the bow perfect? No, but it's as close as I have seen and I would challenge you to find anything better for double the price. Unlike my Au Sable which I loved but could not shoot well, this bow feels like an extension of my body. I have continued to name my bows after constellations and this one is named Sirius. Sirius is the brightest star to us in the night sky, it is found in the constellation Canis Major (dog). It is appropriate for this bow as dogs are man's best friend and so this bow is quickly becoming mine.

In addition to the slick stick I decided to try some other bodnik products, The black glove, natural leather arm guard, and a quiver. The black glove is interesting as it is an all weather shooting glove. It is my first glove that is not made of leather but the water repellent nylon and fleece lining tell me this glove is made for the Winterwoods. I have found that the nylon. Releases off the string perfectly without forming the creases typically associated with leather. For less than $15 this is a must buy. The natural leather arm guard is simple and beautiful and will get darker with age or oil treatment. It does it's job wonderfully and was a welcome addition to my accessories. Lastly is the quiver interestingly enough was previously marketed as Indian summer and now as a kids quiver. However even though the strap is short it came with leather string which I simply assumed was to extend the reach of strap. I got this all leather quiver up for $30 and despite it apparently being a kids quiver is perfect for me. In short I have been thoroughly impressed with all of the bodnik Products that I have purchased, they truly seem to be value minded quality products. They definitely will be receiving future orders from me.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.
D
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

stumper
Posts: 2688
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#2 Post by stumper »

Pics
Attachments
Happiness
Happiness
IMG_1242.jpg (207.85 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Limb profile
Limb profile
IMG_1304.jpg (91.78 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Risers
Risers
IMG_1305.jpg (105.79 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Reflex
Reflex
IMG_1306.jpg (108.2 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Bamboo
Bamboo
IMG_1310.jpg (75.81 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Tips
Tips
IMG_1311.jpg (74.9 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
String profile
String profile
IMG_1312.jpg (103.31 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Other side
Other side
IMG_1308.jpg (93.38 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Actionwood
Actionwood
IMG_1307.jpg (97.83 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Free bow fleece
Free bow fleece
IMG_1320.jpg (93.54 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Glover
Glover
IMG_1314.jpg (96.66 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Glove love
Glove love
IMG_1315.jpg (87.29 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Glove
Glove
IMG_1316.jpg (89.43 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Arm guard
Arm guard
IMG_1313.jpg (94.96 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Arm guard
Arm guard
IMG_1317.jpg (75.63 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Quiver
Quiver
IMG_1318.jpg (124.59 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Free leather stringer!!
Free leather stringer!!
IMG_1321.jpg (89.35 KiB) Viewed 7941 times
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#3 Post by Captainkirk »

What a great write up and review! Makes me want to check out their website!
Aim small, miss small!

Carpdaddy
Site Admin
Posts: 9469
Joined: Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:36 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#4 Post by Carpdaddy »

That was great and sounds like a great product. Thanks.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#5 Post by Captainkirk »

I did check out the website. Very nice bows! Great pricing as well. Tony, they remind me a lot of the bows you are building!
Aim small, miss small!

Crazynate
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue May 23, 2017 9:54 am

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#6 Post by Crazynate »

Awesome review. I shigbone of these at the archery show here in MI back in January. If I didn't just spend all my money that day on another bear bow I would've scooped one of these up. Very nice bows I love that quiver and armgaurd to.
Goodnight Chesty Wherever You Are.

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#7 Post by Captainkirk »

Crazynate wrote:Awesome review. I shigbone of these at the archery show
Lemme guess...typing on a cell phone? :lol:
Aim small, miss small!

stumper
Posts: 2688
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#8 Post by stumper »

Captainkirk wrote:
Crazynate wrote:Awesome review. I shigbone of these at the archery show
Lemme guess...typing on a cell phone? :lol:

Lol. I typed this whole review on a cell phone.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

Crazynate
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue May 23, 2017 9:54 am

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#9 Post by Crazynate »

Lol sorry it's probably the drugs. I'm in the hospital recovering from a pretty big back surgery I had yesterday. I'm a little out of it trying to keep myself occupied online but I can't concentrate. Scared to death my doctor is going to say no shooting bows for a few months lmao.
Goodnight Chesty Wherever You Are.

stumper
Posts: 2688
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: Perfect Hybrid (slick stick review)

#10 Post by stumper »

Crazynate wrote:Lol sorry it's probably the drugs. I'm in the hospital recovering from a pretty big back surgery I had yesterday. I'm a little out of it trying to keep myself occupied online but I can't concentrate. Scared to death my doctor is going to say no shooting bows for a few months lmao.
Prayers for you bro!!
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

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