Sheepeater Spirit Recurve Review

Sheepeater Spirit Recurve Review by Pete Ward
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The Sheepeater recurve is a bow that is built to hunt in thick cover and blinds. This is a bow that is designed to hunt, not a bow to look pretty on Friday night, although I think it looks good. The length when strung is 48″ from tip to tip and it weighs a very light 12.4 ounces. It has a very small grip that is wrapped with Rattan that is not going to slip no matter what. It also has very reflexed static tip limbs.

Brent has informed me the Sheepeater has just been given a new grip option that I feel needs to be shown here. I have only seen photos of it , so I cannot coment other than to say I like what I see. I think you will also.

It shoots with ample performance with no shock and it is a silent killer. The sheepeater came with a thick 16 strand Fast Flight string that I could not get my carbon arrows around unless I stretched the nock very wide. I replaced this with a 10 strand DF97 padded loop string on day one. The gain I observed at the chrono is sufficient to warrant a better string than the one that came with it. The string length for this bow is 47 1/2″.

I like short bows and short bows are one thing I think many of you are missing out on because of repeated bad stories from days gone by.

The Sheepeater is a bow that proves a short bow can be very accurate, and a deadly hunting bow. I am not trying to say it is a top target contender, however it is easy for me to shoot kill zones on 3D with. I expect that it will do the same when I hunt with it this year. From the blinds I like to hunt in, it is extremely easy to shoot. There is no worry about limb clearance and trying to get into a better position without making a sound that will spook the game.

Shooting in thick cover is always a problem with what I call a normal length bow but with the Sheepeater I am far less apt to have limb clearence issues that give problems with longer bows. I gave this a test while on the 3D practice course by stepping away from the stakes to where limb clearance was an issue for other bows and was able to easily and cleanly shoot. Try shooting a 60 to 66″ bow in thick bush and you will soon appreciate the little guys. Try it in a blind and you will really appreciate it.

Sitting on the ground or kneeling is easy shooting with this bow. Again the short limbs let me shoot where I would have difficulty shooting longer bows.

One of the big problems with many recurves is noise, but the static tip Sheepeater has all but eleminated this. A set of beaver ball silencers and it became silent. I shoot 3 under so finger pinch is not an issue for me at all. I have had friends with long arms draw it to 30″ without any complaints.

When the bow is strung up many have asked me if it was a kids bow, but they soon see it is not a kids bow at all. We are so used to long bows that it is a natural thing to think. When they see it is 50# @28″ and then shoot it they get a new perspective on what a hunting bow can look like.

The finish on the Sheepeater is good, and it is not going to shine and give you away. The limbs on this bow are made up with Red Elm and clear glass on the back and black glass on the belly over Maple actionwood with osage reinforcements on the static tips to match the riser. The nock reinforcements are made from a opaque horn over Osage and look good. The riser is Osage and has the optional cut in shelf that I requested.

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