This is a review of the Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Shooting Bow.
One bow stands above all the others when it comes to traditional archery. This bow is the Samick Sage. It is the top recommended beginner bow by myself and by most traditional shooters.
The reason for this is that the Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow offers a wide variety of draw weights in a simple, well designed bow. Archers will appreciate the ability to choose one of the many bow options that fits their current needs
This bow also offers a tool less setup with the option to add extra accessories making it a fully customizable experience.
Over the course of this Samick Sage review, you will come to see why the Sage is a great choice as a starter bow. We will also show how thanks to the upgradability, this bow can be used by many archers of various skill levels.
Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow Review: Pros and Cons
- No tool limb takedown setup: The Sage connects the limbs to the riser with self screwing bolts. This means you can replace the limbs yourself by simply turning the screws by hand. You don’t have to look for an odd sized allen wrench when you remove the limbs from the riser.
- Sturdy build: This bow is very well made from the wood riser to the wood and laminate limbs. You should not be worried about your bow falling apart or getting damaged when carrying it through the woods. The Samick Sage is built to withstand normal use from the field to the hunting stand.
- Draw weight options: The bow can be purchased with one of many draw weight options ranging from 25 lbs to 60 lbs allowing it to be used from children to an adult by simply replacing the limbs.
- The bow only comes in one length option, 62 inches. While this is ideal for most shooters, if you have really long arms or really short arms it might not be the perfect fit for you.
- The string on the bow is great for the lighter weights but there will be a slight notice of performance difference at draw weights higher than 40 pounds. The good news is that a bow string is easily replaceable thanks to the simple design.
Who Should Buy The Samick Sage?
The Sage is the perfect bow for the beginner archer who wants to be able to upgrade their bow down the road. The various options from the factory allow you to choose a weight that is perfect for you from the outset and still grow later as you improve and strengthen your muscles.
It is also ideal for those who may want to hunt or bowfish thanks to the draw weight options that are 40 pounds and greater. There are plenty of mounting holes already configured to fit the bow to your particular needs.
Features and Benefits of the Samick Sage Recurve Bow
No tool takedown bow
If you have never spent time with bows, you may not appreciate just how beneficial a no tool takedown setup is. Adjustments will be a necessary part of using any tool. You should always check your bow to see that everything is in its place and is in top shape each time you take it shooting or hunting.
The Sage fits perfectly in this category by allowing you to simply tighten the limb bolts by hand. Plus, because they offer many different weight limbs, you can own multiple sets and adjust the weight from target shooting to hunting or for various family members with ease.
Pre installed brass bushings
There are different ways to shoot recurve bows. You can shoot barebow or what is known as traditional shooting. Or if it is available, you can put on modern accessories such as an arrow rest, target sights, silencers, and stabilizers. The Samick Sage bow allows for this with pre-drilled holes. You can add as many or as few of the accessories that you would like to use.
This also allows for a bowfishing rig to be installed at the front of the bow if you were to take up the sport of bowfishing. There are even some camera mounts that some hunters place on the front of their bow now to record their hunts. All of this is possible thanks to the pre-drilled accessory mounts.
Made To Last:
The bow has been designed to last. The laminated hard maple and olive wood construction of the riser combined with the wood and black fiberglass limbs give the bow a very robust frame and a beautiful finish. Plus the laminated hard maple acts as a protector against scratches which are common from regular use.
There is a warranty that you can have that covers factory defects as long as you purchase the bow and register it with Southwest Archery, the company that now produces the Samick Sage.
Reinforced limb tips:
The reinforced limb tips on the Sage allow you to shoot what is known as a fast flight string or ff. This type of string has less flexibility and thus lasts longer and shoots faster. Because it puts a greater pressure on the bow, only those that have reinforced limb tips are eligible for this upgrade.
This will also aid in arrow selection. With the faster string, you can shoot a heavier arrow. This will translate to more accurate shots both at the range and in the field.
At 62 inches in total length the bow is very comfortable to shoot:
This bow has been designed for comfort. It has been built for most people to pick it up and be able to shoot it. Thanks to the bow length, the draw length is around 28 inches which is an average length for most shooters.
Lightweight design:
The bow weight for the Sage comes in at 3.25 pounds. This is certainly on the lighter side of recurve bows. There are others that are lighter but the benefit of the Samick Sage is the weight is not only manageable but it provides just a touch more stability for the shooter.
Option for either right handed or left handed:
My brother would tell you that sometimes it is quite hard being left handed in a predominantly right handed world. He often would have to do something right handed because that was what was available.
The Sage fixes this problem by offering their full line up in either right hand or left hand models.
It is important to note that you want a bow that matches your natural hand dominance. There are a very limited number of people that have to shoot against their dominant side but this is an exception and should be avoided if at all possible.
Various draw weight options, ideal for an adult down to children:
Most recurve bows on the market only come in a very narrow set of draw weights meaning you are stuck if you over or under shoot. This is not true for the Samick Sage. This bow offers limbs in 5 pound increments. Currently, you have 8 options from Amazon, 16 if you count the difference in right and left hand.
Hunters will want a draw weight that is 40 pounds or heavier for most mid sized game. Large game will require a draw weight that is closer to 60 pounds which the Samick Sage also offers. Having options in this range makes the Sage an excellent bow for hunting.
Target shooters will want a lighter draw weight, somewhere around the 30 to 40 pounds depending on experience and overall level of strength.
There is also a 25 pound option for those who may be younger or just getting into traditional archery. And the best part is that the limbs can be purchased separately so you only have to buy the bow once but get many options with each change of the limbs.
Riser cut for off the shelf shooting or for an arrow rest
The riser has a cut past center shelf which allows for a more direct path for the arrow off of the string. This is different from a lot of bows that are cut to center thus creating a need for the arrow to go around the riser and losing speed and accuracy as it leaves the bow.
Brace Height between 7.5-8.25 inches
The brace height is the measurement of the string to the bow. This affects accuracy, power, felt recoil or vibrations, and even the effectiveness of the string to transfer energy in the arrow.
With a shorter brace height for the Sage, shooters will appreciate the forgiving nature of the bow as well as the consistent accuracy it provides.
What are others saying about this bow?
There is not a lack of people willing to tell you all about the recurve bow.. The company started producing bows in 1975 and people have been raving about them since. Some people attribute increased interest in the field of traditional archery to the Samick Sage.
If you might be worried that the bow is past its prime, take a look at the following archery reviews from people who are still enjoying their Sage recurve bows.
Reddit user nonax when commenting on their bow setup for the first time, had many others chime in on their own Samick Sage bows. Below is just a small section of this conversation from Reddit, an online forum for discussion on various topics.
Two different bow owners both comment on the beauty of the bow and its usability. And the more you look, the more you can find comments just like these across the internet.
One major website that sells the Samick Sage bow has over 2,400 reviews with a very high rating. Most of these users state how much they love the bow, especially for the money. Others stated that it made them feel like they were a medieval action hero or heroine out for adventure.
You may ask yourself, well what about the negative reviews? There are still a number of them across all of what I have read online. The few negative comments that are about the bow and are real reviews can be lumped into two categories.
First, some complain that the bow is difficult to string. This comment usually comes from someone who is trying to string the bow with a special tool called a bow stringer. Please get one if you plan to own a recurve bow. It is very dangerous to yourself and to the integrity of the bow to put the string on and take it off without a stringer.
Second, some complain about the build quality of the bow. They forget that they are getting a fully functional bow for an entry level bow price. Some people want the top dollar quality at the bottom dollar price. This bow is not a top end bow. However, for most people it is the ideal bow due to its price range and quality it does offer for what it costs.
These comments are few and far between across what is overwhelming approval and love for the Sage. I would look at the overwhelming positive reviews of the bow and trust the hundreds of people that have bought one and used it to fulfill their shooting goals.
Samick Sage Alternatives
There are two bows that fit around the same price range and space as the Samick Sage: the PSE Archery Razorback Traditional Takedown Recurve Bow and the Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Recurve Bow. Each of these bows have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a look and see how they stack up against the Samick Sage.
Samick Sage vs PSE Archery Razorback Traditional Takedown Recurve Bow
The PSE Razorback is a great bow for beginner shooters as well as women who are wanting to get into the sport of recurve shooting or traditional archery. It is both cheaper and lighter than the Samick Sage.
The PSE Razorback also has built in shock stabilizers to reduce the felt recoil and noise inherent to recurve bows.
The downside to the Razorback as compared to the Sage is the limited draw weight options. The PSE Razorback is not recommended for hunting due to its maximum draw weight being limited to 30 pounds.
On the positive side, the PSE Razorback does make the bow great for beginners. Negatively, if you progress to the point that you want to upgrade beyond that, you will have to purchase a new bow that has higher poundage.
Samick Sage vs Southwest Archery Spyder Takedown Recurve Bow
Southwest Archery now owns the Samick Sage line and produces the bow through their company. That’s most likely why the Southwest Archery Spyder Bow has been labeled as the Sage 2.0.
The Spyder Bow took the Sage design and “improved” upon it. It is lighter than the Sage by almost a pound, took a different color scheme, and some say has better rounded edges. If you held them up beside each other, you would realize that they are both built off of a similar design structure.
The downside of the Spyder when compared to the Samick Sage is the limb design. The limbs require a specific tool to take them off or put them on. This differs from the Sage’s toolless system.
The Spyder also has fewer draw weight options making it suitable to fewer people than the Samick Sage. But if you need the range that it offers, the Spyder is a great bow at an affordable price.
Conclusion
The Samick Sage is a bow that many people have gotten started recurve shooting with. It has been for many years the top selling recurve bow on the market.
The simple design makes this bow desirable to a wide variety of people looking to get started shooting. The bow’s multiple draw weight options means that no matter where a person is coming from, there is a starting point for them.
If you choose to shoot with a Samick Sage Recurve bow, you will have the gear needed to be effective on the range or in the woods.
Check out the Samick Sage Takedown Recurve Bow for yourself and pick one up today.