I have a confession to make. I spent some money on myself, something I rarely do but I knew that if I didn't buy it that day, that I still wouldn't own one a year from now.
A couple of days ago I saw an advert pop up in a second hand group I'm on for a recurve bow. Now anyone that knows me would know that I have wanted a recurve bow since I was a teenager and that means a really long time. It hasn't happened because I always justify using my finances for everything else on the priority list and I very rarely spend any money on things that I don't really need but rather want.
With the recent events unfolding and a possible SHTF scenario always seeming to loom not so far ahead, I decided I should just jump at the opportunity while it was there.
What could possibly go wrong right?
Alarm Bells
There are always going to be issues that you need to look for with a second hand bow. The first alarm bell that rang for me was that it had never been used which means that it was more than likely a showpiece more than anything else. I had seen the photo and it looked more legit than I was expecting. I decided to go have a look at it the same day. For $35USD I figured I would be an idiot to not.
I made the arrangements and luckily was the first person to contact them or it would have been sold by the time I got around to it.
It was beautiful. I chatted to them a bit and asked them why they had never used it. It apparently had travelled all over the world with them...that was alarm bell number 2. It was unstrung now, but it had probably been strung for all that time and my assumption was correct. The bottom limb had delaminated from having been kept strung and constantly being under pressure.
Now anyone that knows even the smallest thing about archery knows that you always unstring a bow when not in use so these people didn't intend on ever using it for anything like actually shooting an arrow with it. It was purely decorative which is sad because it's a 40 pound bow, enough to take down buck/deer and smaller game like pheasants and rabbit.
To be honest, I felt bad that the bow had been kept without the opportunity to display it's power and abilities.
Knowing now that it was not functional, I understood the price and also knew that I would either have to fix the limb myself (which is perfectly doable with a good epoxy adhesive) or would have to replace the limbs before it was operational.
There is a slight crack on the riser (which you can see in the last image below) which I would also need to fill, but it doesn't seem so bad that it would cause a catastrophic malfunction. This bow is solid and weighs a few kgs. No doubt by the time I've practiced with it to become proficient, I'll have good biceps which certainly isn't a bad thing.
The story
With each piece like this there is almost always a story that accompanies it. Of course I wanted to know it's history. It was apparently made by a game ranger who made these bows as a side hustle to pay for his kids school fees and was carving it when these folks were on a safari. It's not beyond the imagination and quite possibly is true, although probably somewhat embellished.
I've decided that immaterial of it's upbringing I'd like to fix up this beautiful piece of equipment and see what it can do.
Loss vs Gain
Am I happy with my purchase? Well for $35 I have more than I had before in terms of prepping for stuff and the first step to becoming any good at a skill is to have the right equipment. Will the bow be the right equipment? Time will tell. I'm hopeful that it wasn't money wasted but at the same time, if it doesn't operate the way I would like once fixed, I could probably resell it and recoup the cost and look for another one that is better suited.
I do have a good feeling about this bow though and I've learned in the past that gut feelings in these kind of things are usually right.
The real cost
What will it cost me to fix up? If I can get the limb sufficiently glued back together that it operates, the cost will be minimal. If however I have to purchase new limbs as replacements, they will cost approximately $120.
Considering I haven't yet done the necessary repairs yet and been able to test them, time will tell. Of course with any kind of malfunction, there is always a chance of a reoccurrence which will make this bow inoperable so I'll have to wait and see once I've fixed it up. It's also going to need a new bow string as well as my arm guard and finger guards (which I can probably make myself if I find some nice leather for it) so there's bound to be a bit more in terms of initial outlay. I'm probably going to take the bow to a place nearby for someone with some know how to have a look at it and tell me what else I will need to kit it out with in terms of weight adjusters and of course - arrows.
What do you think? Do you think it was a good purchase or would you have turned the opportunity down because of the potential work involved? Let me know in the comments.
All images are my own