The Bear Kodiak Magnum is a heavily recurved, very short and well built bow, a mere 52″ long. Mine–the one I used for this review, has a 60 lb draw weight.
This is the second time I’ve owned a Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve bow. My first one, I bought used. It was already very old: as best I can figure about 30 years. It was rated for 55 lbs and still drawing 50 at it’s rated 28″ draw. And it was light, fast and easy to handle anywhere. In fact, like I’ve told friends who shoot those ultra-small, itty-bitty, surprisingly heavy compound wheely bows–it was easier to manage than a compound bow. Sure, there is no let off on the draw, but you can pull effectively at more angles, not just directly off the shoulder. And it’s more versatile. You can pull full draw for big game and less draw for small game, if you’re worried about arrow pass through. I often take partridges with my bow and only pull it about a third of the way so the arrows don’t shoot through and get lost in the forest.
I sold the old one because 50 lbs is just too light for me. Not showing off, it’s just power yields speed and speed yields flatter trajectories. As any trad archer knows, learning to line up left and right is relatively easy. The real challenge in archery is the vertical, or mentally calculating an arrow’s arc and drop. The more arrow speed you can get, the flatter the trajectory is going to be so aiming becomes easier.This new Kodiak Magnum I just purchased is a 60 lb draw and it pulls 63 at my 29″ draw. The draw is smooth and very little noticeable stacking. (By the way, I did not experience finger pinch, even at 29″!) Not quite as heavy or fast as my Tomahawk Woodland Hunter longbow at 72 lb at 29″, but nearly so. I don’t even see the difference till I’m shooting at 30 yards and have to add a little more height to the arrows’ flight. I figure the recurved limbs make up for the lighter draw with additional oomph in arrow speed. But then, that’s the purpose of recurving the limbs. (BTW, for us longbow fanatics, it has recently been found that the English probably recurved their longbows.) Also, if there was hand shock, it was barely noticeable. There was some hand shock on my old Magnum, so maybe Kodiak has improved the new Magnum in this way. And though some persons have written the Magnum is loud, I did not find it loud at all. No louder than my longbow and much quieter than my crossbow. I seem to recall my old Magnum was loud, though. Another improvement?The other reason I bought this bow, apart from that it’s simply a work of art, is I shoot mounted on horse back, from blinds, from stands and the country around here is very thick with brush and scrub, even in deep woods. This bow does it all great! I love my longbow, but it is simply inconvenient for this thick kind of country and nearly impossible on a horse. The much shorter Magnum is easy to get into dense brush, does fine in tight spaces, and it is a blast shooting from a horse’s back. Plus, it’s small enough I can sling it over my back like a rifle, or drop it into a rifle-like saddle case. A real boon for a horseman.It is a magnificent bow, and I couldn’t be more pleased. When I got it one early winter morning, I promptly put 50 shots through it. It was pouring snow and the wind was whipping at my wooded mountaintop homestead, yet is was fluid, responsive and shot sweet as butterscotch pudding.I think I noticed some other small differences from the older version of the Magnum (it’s been around 50 years since the original Magnums were made), and I would call them improvements. The arrow shelf is now crowned, and I am almost certain (don’t quote me on this) that my old Magnum’s shelf was flat. I think the grip is narrower now, and the shelf is more centered, too. I like that–more of a longbow feel. My old Magnum’s grip felt broader in my hand and when I would switch from my longbow to it, I would tend to miss to the left with the Magnum due to the offset. However, with the new Magnum I did not experience any need to adjust the horizontal. I did have to raise it a bit higher (as compared to the slightly faster Tomahawk longbow) to accommodate arrow arc, but only at 30 yards did that become noticeable. The Magnum is a little slower than my longbow, but barely. It makes up for it with its convenient size.
This bow will go everywhere with me. On my regular treks into the woods, hunting, foraying for mushrooms and wild edible plants, and teaching courses on woodscraft. This bow is going to be my new nearly constant companion.
Final thoughts: This bow is a work of art, in appearance and performance! Worth every penny and durable.
twa corbies hollow 