Chek-Mate and Fred Bear...which one?

[rollingrock]

I had a few looks at some chek-mate bows at Booreman before. Honestly, I wasn't very impressed. To me they are just a down graded copy of Blackwidow and not very cheap to buy.

I took a look at some Fred Bear recurves. They're pretty well made and carry their own designs and characters. The price...is awesome. Some people who have used them told me they are pretty smooth and quiet.

Now the question is...our dollar is at par with US $. Why still buy chek-mate? Only because it's made in BC?

[jessbennett]

I had a few looks at some chek-mate bows at Booreman before. Honestly, I wasn't very impressed. To me they are just a down graded copy of Blackwidow and not very cheap to buy.

I took a look at some Fred Bear recurves. They're pretty well made and carry their own designs and characters. The price...is awesome. Some people who have used them told me they are pretty smooth and quiet.

Now the question is...our dollar is at par with US $. Why still buy chek-mate? Only because it's made in BC?

the quality of checkmate bows are top notch...........

[Onesock]

A couple of things;
Chekmates ARE made in BC
Chekmates supports BC bow hunters and their organizations
Chekmate has a lifetime warranty
You can't shoot a better bow--bar none
MARK will go out of his way to make sure you are satisfied with yur purchase

[JeremyCarrano302]

I have a fred bear compound just because it was free but you always support your own country buy canadian

[greybark]

Hey RR, The money for a BW will buy you TWO custom Chek-Mates . As for the difference in shooting very few archers have the ability to take advantage the "edge" is so small or minimal . The BW HYPE is part of good sales marketing and they do have a class product at a class price .
The CM has no market hype that you pay for and gets by with word of mouth . CM bows have a classic design feature that I realy appreciare in that the limbs are fitted into the riser in comparison to being attached on top of the riser as is most Recurves .The result is refined flowing design .
Chek-Mate bows as OneSock states is the most cost effective bow in North America and can be ordered (classed up)with exotic woods and still provide workhorse service .
I recommend the Take-Down Hunter 2 with it`s forgiving riser design and good physical weight for beginners and experienced archers . I find that CM`s are smoother drawing than the Fred Bears and more stable in the hand .
At a Van Is TBBC Championship 98% of the Archers had CM bows , that is one hell of a testament .
Cheers

[Bowzone_Mikey]

check mates are great bows ... but why have you just limited yourself to those 2 ... have you looked at Martins?
the Dreamcatcher is an awesome recurve bow

[valleyHunter]

i know mark from checkmate, and you wont find a better bow for what you get and customer service,i personally own two and there both awesome bows

[xtremearchery]

Nothing even comes close CM bows. He's been an awesome supporter to our club for years! I am in the bow business, and frankly CM is the BEST! By the way has anyone heard from Mark from CM lately??

[Tuffcity]

Entry grade Bear and entry grade CM are about the same $ and go up in cost about the same (based on a quick comparison between Cabelas and Git Er Done archery sites).

Can't comment on the longevity of the new Bear recurves but my CM "go to" bow of the past 15 years shows no signs of slowing down, replace the string every once in awhile (with a dyna 97- entry Bear seems to need a dacron) and thats about it.

Story on "toughness": Quite a few years ago I bought a kids longbow from Marc. Picked it up at a shoot and as I strung it up and pulled it back (48" bow that went about 18#@ 20") some guy walked by and shouted "don't pull it you'll snap it!" Marc laughed and said go ahead and shoot it- you won't break that thing. So I did, several times and I draw 30". Bow still works as good today as it did when I bought it.

... and that's just the QUALITY of his kid bows.

But buy what you like...

RC

[fester]

I have a chekmate crusader longbow it is awesome!!!!