2019 Super Shrew II "Siberian Tiger" encounter

[nineworlds9]

Haven't written anything in some time.  Life's been busy, but here goes...

This is an offshoot of the recent "Shrews Galore" thread that Ron started, on there McDave and I were talking about how I happened to do some recent bow trading and get my hands on one of the new Super Shrew II "Siberian Tiger" editions currently offered via the talented crew at Bodnik Bows.

I've had a few days to become acquainted with the Siberian Tiger SS II I traded for.  I am honestly impressed by what Henry Bodnik and his team of European bowyers have achieved with these bows.  I think Ron made a bold and unconventional choice.  Refreshing would be a word.  With guys like Gregg and Chuck stateside filling the niche of offering full custom and individually unique versions of the design and now Henry and Co. offering more of a semi-production line of models with shortened or in many cases off-the-rack lead time I think tradbowhunters who favor the Shrew type bow are being straight up spoiled rotten with choices.  It is a great time to be a tradbowhunter.

On unpacking I was flat impressed with the level of workmanship on the bow and the quality of the materials.  The Siberian is indeed a striking bow.    The 'Save the Rainforest' "white Makassar" veneers really do look a lot like striped black and white ebony.  The resin impregnated birch riser wood is dense and fine grained with very pleasing flecks and stripes of black. The tips and riser are finished exactly and elegantly with no crudeness at all to them.  I was quite taken with the shaping on the tips and radiused edge on the shelf of the bow.  Ron quite obviously was involved in finalizing the design.  The grip will be immediately familiar to anyone who has held a previous generation Shrew.  It is nicely contoured and comfortable with the familiar thumb rest.  The grip leather is nice quality and the stitching is tight and even, very nicely done.  The finishwork is excellent, the coating appearing to be a durable textured matte hardened epoxy that to me splits the difference between what you see on Gregg and Chucks bows, Greggs being smoother, Chucks being rougher with more of a splatter effect on the final coat, this new Shrew is somewhere between- I can see it holding up very well in the field. 

The limbs have an incredible amount of reflex in a continuous curve like a scimitar, honestly to me right up there with a Centaur or Caribow, kinda surprised me.  They also taper in width continuously from fade to tip, with the tips being quite narrow and nicely layered with several micarta reinforcements.  I can not find narry a tool mark on the bow so Henry and Co. are doing a fine job on the final sanding and spraying.  Absolute bravo there.  I have seen some bowyers, none named here, muck that critical step up. 

Strung up it looks and handles like a Shrew, no brainer there.  String tension at brace is high, the draw has a very powerful feel with a quick build up followed by a steady linear increase, and you can indeed pull it way way back behind your ear.   Shooting with 10gpp+ the shot is powerful and flat.  I hit my mark with little effort.  String return to brace is quick and immediate, with no buzz or residual vibration.  Very crisp.  The stock string does leave me wanting, but is adequate.  I initially tried the bow with rabbit fur silencers to keep the weight on the string down and get a feel for the bows performance, and while they work at silencing the bow, like other Shrew style bows Ive shot in the past I realize I prefer some slightly denser wool or cat whisker silencers on this one as well.  The shot impression I get on this particular bow is one of power and authority.  My example is 47@29 and I feel it would be more than adequate against any size deer or pig that comes my way this season, or even something larger.
 
I am lucky that I currently have on hand one of Gregg and Chucks bows to compare this Siberian to and I am pleased to report this bow completes a fine trifecta of three generations of this great bow design and feels completely 100% part of the group sitting next to the other two.  If I handed you the bow and told you it was a one-off made for me you'd believe it.  I think a lot of thought and development between Ron, Henry and his team was put into these new Shrews. I have a feeling that they all knew they had one chance to get it right and continue Ron's legacy properly or risk it all.  In my opinion handling and shooting this bow they have achieved success 100%.  What is also neat is that these bows will see a whole new fanbase emerge in Europe.

Enjoy some pics of the Tiger itself and also some of it with the Elkheart and Ogemaw cousins, so you can see the similarities and differences.  I have now shot all three back to back and I find it remarkable how they all are simultaneously kindred yet unique.  Pretty awesome stuff. 

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[nineworlds9]

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[nineworlds9]

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[cacciatore]

Thanks for your fine review like always Chuck

[abbatoys]

Gorgeous looking bow...My first longbow was a shrew 30 years ago....Flat out shooters

[lt-m-grow]

Nice review and miss your reviews too.   Always enjoy(ed) reading them...

[joe vt]

Real good stuff there Chuck. As always well written. 

[TwistedHollow]

Great review. I've been really thinking about one of these and it's nice seeing someone finally doing a write up

[Sirius Black]

 

[McDave]

My bow is almost exactly the same as Chuck's, except mine is 42#. I have always admired Ron's bows, but have never had a desire for a super short longbow, so was happy when he came out with a 60" model.  I originally bought this bow with the idea of using it for roving, small game, and fun shoots with my friends.  For that purpose I settled on a Gold Tip 500 ultralight shaft with a 145 grain point, yielding 8.6 gpp and a velocity of about 185 fps.  This is significant faster than any other longbow I have in the range of 40-45#.  Probably in large part this is due to the short length.  I have seen no reason to change Ron's recommended brace height of 7 3/4", and have raised his recommended nock point of 9/16" only a smidge to 5/8" to accommodate my 3 under grip.  It bare shafts a tad nock low with the nock point set at 9/16".  My friends all say it is very quiet, and are glad I'm shooting it instead of my noisier recurves.

Then it entered my mind to use it in a tournament coming up this weekend that requires wood arrows for longbows, so I made up a bunch of 50-55# spine POC arrows that come in at about 10 gpp and 175 fps.  I have very little chance of winning anything with this new bow that I really haven't learned to control very well yet, but I never will learn to control it if I don't get out there and start using it for things, plus it is fun to shoot.  It has no hand shock or finger pinch that I'm aware of, and is smooth to draw.  Plus, as you can see in Chuck's photos, it's a very distinctive looking bow. 

Speaking of control, this bow won't shoot all by itself.  It is lightweight, and you have to pay attention until the arrow leaves the bow.  Let your mind drift one moment and the bow will drift 10" off target.  This is a good thing for me, as I need to increase my concentration, and I'm sure that learning to control this bow will help me to better control my heavier, longer bows.

This is a fine little bow, and I'm sure I'll enjoy shooting it for all the remaining shooting years that God grants me.

[todd smith]

Nice review!

I have seen the Bodnik Bows version of the Shrew a few times now and have been impressed every time!

Makes a guy wish he had one on his bow rack. 

[Ron LaClair]

Henry say's thank you for the review

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A thank you from Ron also.
Look how well the Siberian blends in with the poplar slashings

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[Ray Lyon]

Henry and his band of elf bowyers will do Santa proud this Christmas. Santa Ron will be delivering lots of Christmas cheer to bow hunters this holiday season

[tzolk]

What a beautiful bow! Are they made in Germany/ Romania now? Quality seems impeccable!

[Ben Maher]

So there is a lefty , 47# @ 29" ....
Ready to send it to Oz yet?
Nice mate