The Bear Line of bows are perhaps the best value in the industry.
The Method used to determine a force draw curve involves math and graphing. The Bear Truth's Force Draw curve is impressive and reflects sound engineering.
This simple machine measures the draw stroke that you exert on the bow when you shoot. The end result is a measure of the bows efficiency.
WHITETAIL UNIVERSITY BOW REPORTBOW: THE BEAR TRUTH
BY LARRY WISE
PART 2 of 2
In the first half of this bow report I evaluated three of seven areas that concern me when preparing, tuning and shooting a new bow. They were the draw stroke, the power stroke and the accessory setup steps.
I also gave a rating value to each of those: 11 out of 15 for the draw stroke, 14/15 for the power stroke and 9/10 for the ease of accessory setup. This, of course, is my own system that I established from the viewpoint of a professional shooter and a serious hunter. I hope it has some meaning for you as a hunter.
Now its time to evaluate the remaining four areas of concern: draw length adjustment, grip section design, aiming characteristics and the ease of tuning for arrow groups. As a reminder, the total point value for these seven areas will be 100 so if you want to copy my system for your own use in evaluating a bow please feel free to do so. Or change it to suit your needs or preferences but use a number system to help you be objective about comparing one bow to another.
DRAW LENGTH ADJUSTMENT:
You and your bow are at your best only if the bow can be adjusted to fit you properly. As a coach I teach my students how to put their bodies into the most advantageous biomechanical position so they can use their human gifts to get “repeat” performance. I teach them to stand upright, shoulders level and their head over top of their spine so their skeleton and back muscles have optimum control and leverage. At full draw they should maintain this posture and position their drawing forearm behind and inline with the arrow shaft enabling their back muscles to control the release. Only after they have learned to do that do I make the bow’s draw length fit their body position. In other words, put the horse in front of the cart and make the bow fit “YOU”.
The Truth bow has ample means for adjusting its draw length to fit most shooters. It adjusts from 23 to 30-inches by use of draw-length modules and an adjustable, double sided string anchor post. The modules are designed to adjust in one-inch increments and can be replaced, in most cases, using only a hex-wrench. In the case where the limb prevents access to one of the hex-screws you may have to use a bow press to make the change but even then it is simple to do. And I like simple!
The double-sided string anchor post is located on the single cam (bottom wheel) and is an important tool for fine-tuning the draw length. With the proper module installed the draw length can’t be more than a half-inch from correct leaving any small adjustment to be made using the adjustable post which has to be done in a bow press.
Since my Truth was not quite long enough for me I moved this anchor post about ¼-inch upward in its slot. This allowed more string to slip into use between the cam and top-idler wheel. More string in use means more draw length for the entire system. I also found this operation very easy to do.On the downside, this type of post adjustment does have a small chance to vibrate loose. If loose it will most likely slide upward in its slot and create more draw length. To monitor this I marked its final position with a black permanent marker or a scratch on the wheel so I’ll know if it changes. If it changes I can easily reset it to the marked location. If it changes while you’re on a hunting trip and you’re without a bow press then just snug it tight in its place and resight your bow – the draw length won’t be more than a half-inch different and you can deal with that on a short-term basis.
Other than the modules and string post you can always twist or untwist the bowstring and/or cables to make small adjustments to the draw length. Or you can install a different length D-loop to make a small change in draw length.
RATING: 11/15
THE GRIP SECTION:
This is where the shot begins and ends! This is where you first touch the bow’s riser and the last place you’re touching it when the arrow crosses the arrow rest. How you place your hand on the grip section is critical to your ability to get “repeat performance” from any bow and so the design engineer has to be helpful to the user by creating a grip section that allows proper hand placement.
Right now your question should be “What is proper hand placement?” The answer is counterintuitive since most people wrap their hand and fingers around the bow handle in an effort to “control” it and “make” the arrow go into the X-ring. All day long we use our hands to grip, hold, touch and manipulate objects but in archery we must “refuse to hold or grip” the bow. The less we control the bow handle the more likely the bow will repeat its performance and send the arrow to its intended target.
To achieve zero-interference between your hand and the bow first extend your bow arm to the target and make a “stop sign” with your bow hand. Your knuckles should be at a forty-five degree angle to the bow. Relax your fingers completely. This will prepare your thumb pad for placement on the grip section of the bow and your arm bones for resisting the force of the drawn bow. Rotating your knuckles to the forty-five degree angle also gets your forearm out of the bowstring path saving some pain and agony.
Your fingers must be totally relaxed at first touch and maintain this relaxed condition throughout the entire shot process. You must refuse to contact the grip section with anything except your thumb pad as shown in the picture. The totally relaxed hand is the best way to get repeat performance. Now, back to the issue of the Bear Truth bow. I find its grip section very conducive to proper bow hand placement. The grip area is not too wide or too thin and its angle to the vertical allows a comfortable and consistent neutral-wrist position. It fits a relaxed hand CORRECTLY.
A quick look at any bow handle will tell you if the arrow shelf wing allows bow hand placement with your knuckles at a forty-five degree angle. In other words, does the shelf stick out where your index-knuckle needs to be or is it raised and angled out of the way. On the Truth its been designed so that you have ample space for your index knuckle thus eliminating the resulting torque that would otherwise be generated at this point. I give this bow a high mark in this category. I feel that this is the most important design feature on any bow – if I can’t place my hand correctly all the other features cannot overcome the handicap.
SCORE: 14/15
AIMING CHARACTERISTICS:
I can’t hit anything with a bow if I can’t aim it well. Some bows make me shake when aiming, some bows aim still but below the target center, others float all over the target and never get still. Others aim well when you first settle on the target but then pull off center as you increase your back tension effort. You can probably add a few to this list of aiming characteristics but the one I like is the one that settles to the middle with ease and is easy to hold there through the shot execution.
I’ve had them all at one time or another and managed to shoot good scores with them. But I was younger then. Today I need a good aiming bow just to shoot average scores; I appreciate a good aiming bow. The Bear Truth is such a bow.
From the first ten shots at forty yards I knew that this was an “aimer”. The bow settled to the target center and stayed there while I finished the shot. In fact, the bow seemed to thrust itself directly to the middle during the recoil phase of the follow through and that’s nice. All ten of my friends that shot this bow said the same thing, “this bow aims better than what I’ve been shooting all winter.”
The only negative I have to say about the aiming has to do with the last few inches of the draw stroke. Dropping from peak weight to the low valley weight in just a few inches doesn’t help you settle on the target smoothly as I prefer to do. I like to have eye contact with the target center all through the draw stroke and bring the bow-sight in line with my vision and that’s difficult to do with any bow that has a steep drop off at the end of the draw stroke. But once you’re at full draw this bow is a solid aimer.
RATING: 13/15
EASE OF TUNING:
My years of experience at bow tuning have led me to establish a set method of installing and adjusting the accessories on a bow. I install the D-loop with a nock locator under the arrow nock so the bottom of the arrow is level, set the arrow rest center-shot so the arrow is directly in front of the bowstring and set the draw length and draw weight (50#) to my personal specs. I set the sight inline with the arrow, set the peep at my normal height and then I shot a .440 spined carbon arrow at close range.
I’m not fond of surprises at this point. I expect the arrow to be close to the centerline of the target. With the Truth bow the first arrow was on a good centerline but far below the target spot so I moved the peep up the string; short bows require a higher peep setting due to the sharp string angle at full draw. The next shot landed closer and, after a sight adjustment, the third shot hit the gold and I was happy to avoid any major surprises.
Next I shot from forty yards with a guesstimated sight mark. I hit about ten inches high and left. I shot four more arrows and all hit in a two-inch group. I thought it was luck so I shot again with the same results so now I’m thinking that this is too good to be true. The third time wasn’t as good but the fourth and fifth ends yielded two more good groups. This bow grouped with what I expected to be a standard setup and that means I won’t have to spend hours tuning this bow to get good results.
A friend was so impressed with shooting this bow that he ordered one. It came in last week and he’s been shooting it since with the same success as I have had. He had another friend shoot it as well with the same results. Bear has a winner with this Truth bow.
RATING 14/15
TOTAL RATING SCORE FOR THE BEAR TRUTH:
- DRAW STROKE: 11/15
- POWER STROKE: 14/15
- ACCESSORY SETUP: 9/10
- DRAW LENGTH ADJUST: 11/15
- GRIP SECTION: 14/15
- AIMING: 13/15
- TUNING: 14/15
TOTAL RATING = 86/100
COMMENTS:
This is a very good bow. Thinking back to all the bows I have shot over the years not many would score higher. All you have to do is decide if this bow meets your needs when you go to the woods this fall – it sure meets mine.
I’d like to see a two piece integrated quiver for this bow. That, in my mind, would complete the package that I like for hunting.
If you would like to look at the Bear Bows for yourself go to: www.beararcheryproducts.comKeep well, shoot straight.
Larry Wise