Dangit! 

I think this is the definition of addiction.  When you pursue something with no purpose other than the pursuit.  Well, its not ALL about the chase, but,,,,,,,,

I went out and ran across a deal, and being Mr. Frugal, I held off on the purchase, saying “If it’s still here next week, it’s going home with me.”  What that deal is, was a 2000 Darton Yukon XT compound bow, with all the bells and whistles,,for $129.00.  It was still there yesterday when I went in.  It had the same specs I was looking at in a Bear Wild RTH, and at 1/3 the price.  Weight, draw weight, adjustable draw length, the only difference being the rest and that was an easy swap, especially since my cuz and I spent 3 hours tuning the little beasty to me.

Here is what this thing is doing at 30 yards. (Any variation is on me, as with rifles, these bows can shoot far better than the string puller.)

440 grain 29″ carbon w/350 spine @30yds

I didn’t take any other pics after that one, but a little tweaking brought that group over into the shadow mark.  Unfortunately, for me, all the pulling during tuning it has managed to put a little kink in between my shoulder blades.  Its nothing a night of rest won’t fix, but I definitely got a work out with a 60# draw.  Fortunately an 80% let-off helped loads.  If I had tried this with the grizzly, I’d be in serious pain.(it only has a 50%letoff)

Anywhoos, I am now addicted to modern archery and its precision shooting.  I wont ever, ever, NEVER ever give up my trad archery gear, simply due to its simplicity and functional sake, but why not use every tool available to make sure food can be brought home.  If that means mehanical advantage, I’m there. (The. Darton is only 2 lbs heavier than the Bear Grizzly recurve when both are ‘fully loaded’.)

What surprised me most is the performance of this bow.  For one, its 17 years old, and its ratings are comparable to several models of this year.  The speed test was 3 arrows and the average was 302 fps and thats shooting a 440 gr arrow!  Doing the math, that equates to 89.1ft/lbs of energy.  That would EASILY take an elk or bear.  That opens up possibilities.  And shooting so flat, 50yards is not undoable.  (I am not bad, but I will NOT attempt  a 40 yard shot with my recurve.  Even 30 yards gets iffy.)

Yeah, I’m an addict now.