# Takedown or ILF



## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

ILF is takedown. But I understand your question. ILF all the way. No comparison to a takedown bow that is proprietary. With ILF you can use almost any maker's limbs - Hoyt Formula notwithstanding.


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## isleepu (May 28, 2012)

That the way I was leaning. What does everyone think about the Dryad risers?


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## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

Probably nothing better than a Dryad but a Pinnacle II from Trad Tech will shoot every bit as well and cost one third as much. No slight against Dryad, they are the tops for workmanship and function. But they really don't shoot any better than a Pinnacle. I've shot both and can't tell any difference to be honest. Limbs are far more important than the riser in ILF. Get a 250 dollar Pinnacle and spend your big dollars on great limbs. Or if you can afford it, get the Dryad handle. You won't regret the Dryad by any means, it's just a lot of money for no real gain in performance beyond cosmetics. Nothing wrong with pretty, however.


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## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

Dryad also make ILF limbs, I have an Orion it's good a quality product and performance is very good.

ILF also have the advantage of value for money, consider the huge range of choice from mainstream manufacturers who's latest Olympic innovations slowly filter down to us as the next best thing is released.


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## isleepu (May 28, 2012)

Thanks guys. I'll check pinnacle out too.


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## erotomaniac1928 (Sep 28, 2014)

Quick question: would any of you take your ILF rigs hunting?


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## Rick Barbee (Jan 16, 2013)

ILF FTW

Rick


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## Rick Barbee (Jan 16, 2013)

erotomaniac1928 said:


> Quick question: would any of you take your ILF rigs hunting?


Absolutely. ILF is all I shoot now days, and all my rigs are 100% hunting rigs.

It's just a take down system. Oh be it, a very good one. 

Rick


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## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

When I hunted deer, I only used an old Hoyt 25" target riser making a 68" bow. It was great. I didn't even bother to paint the thing. Red riser and silver limbs in the woods. Deer didn't seem to notice. They only see movement I'm convinced. Camo is a marketing angle. Have never owned a stitch of camo and never had any issues being seen by deer. Just wear dark tones if you feel you must pay some attention to such things. I never did and it never mattered. Deer walked in on my ground blinds no problem.


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## olddogrib (Apr 4, 2014)

Also, if you've been shooting long enough to know that you have form/release that benefits from a non typical tiller... slight negative in my case. And yes, I hunt with my ILF rig, why would you not?.


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## Beendare (Jan 31, 2006)

*ILF Hunting rig- you bet*



erotomaniac1928 said:


> Quick question: would any of you take your ILF rigs hunting?


ILF rig; Morrison Riser, WW Inno limbs....makes a good hunting rig and gives you lots of versatility


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## GEREP (May 6, 2003)

erotomaniac1928 said:


> Quick question: would any of you take your ILF rigs hunting?


Sure, why not? Been hunting with my TradTech Titan since they came out 8 or so years ago. 

As to the original question, I'm a metal riser fan but if I were to buy a laminated riser, it would be the TradTech Black Magic.









Very nice riser, nice grip and nice workmanship. In addition to that, TT's customer is second to none. It's the best in the business.

KPC


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## Roger Savor Sr (Feb 16, 2014)

ILF risers are every bit as useful in the field as they are on the range - I love them. All of my ILF's are dedicated hunting bows.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Only advantage to a bolt-and-pin is that the bowyer has complete control over the whole unit and in theory can produce a better system as no parts have to be interchangeable with anyone else. With longbows, the geometry of an ILF is much more difficult to work with, at least if you're trying to get more performance. With recurves, which ILF was designed around, ILF has absolutely no disadvantages unless you're talking about incredibly high performance bows like the Covert Hunter.


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## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

Kegan, how can the bowyer making a pin and bolt recurve produce a better bow when such a design allows no adjustment of tiller or final weight? Not busting your beaver balls but I have to ask. The only thing better about the bow you describe is aesthetics - they can be made with nice, flowing lines. That's about it.

Even the Covert Hunter can be matched in speed by a good set of limbs cranked down on a straight riser. A reflexed design. I don't think the ILF concept is beatable on any count save for "pretty". There a custom 3-piece is supreme. I don't care how a bow looks, I want accurate first with speed way down the list of things important.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Stone, you sort of just answered the question for me- why would you bother with the adjustment if you just crank the bolts all the way in for maximum performance? In order to get that performance you're sacrificing the adjustability that ILF offers. If you talk to the Sids, their newest limbs (whatever is on the Covert Hunter, Hex7 or what have you) perform better on their riser than they do an ILFriser. From what I've seen, many other bowyers have the same issue (especially longbows). 

It's a small detail, and one you really only run to in the very bottom of the budget or very top of the performance field. I know a similarly priced ILF is 10-15 fps slower than my Delta, with the limbs cranked all the way in for full reflex. You get the same thing on the top tier of equipment. There are also a lot of issues with longbows in ILF. It's very difficult to get an ILF longbow that's both affordable as well as stable and fast. 

Honestly though, the performance is really a non issue. Any of the bows will produce more than enough for a hunter, but an ILF will usually provide an easier to shoot set up. I suppose just coming from longbows has me looking at it all a little differently.


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Bob Morrison said in a very old post that the takedown was quicker pound for pound over an ILF.


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## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

I never listen to the makers of bows. They are selling you their bows. No offense, Kegan. I only look at chrono readings I can see for myself. I've never noticed any real advantage speed-wise with a take-down over an ILF at the many trad events I've shot my bows at that had chronographs set up for anyone to use.

Kegan, as I said, speed is not important to those who understand what they are about. Any good ILF limb is fast enough. I never button any ILF limb all the way down. I do use the adjustment feature to tune with. You can't do that with your kind of bow. Of course for what you are into, close range hunting, accuracy is not very important. Not guilt-edged accuracy anyway. Any old bow will do at 20 yards. Not trying to be unkind but I don't know any other way to say the obvious without sounding condescending.

I happen to think ILF beats the dog out of any bow design if you are into accuracy, hence the reason it's the ONLY bow design used in serious competition. ILF or Formula. Both Hoyt ideas I believe.


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## Rick Barbee (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't get why that is being said.

Every ILF I have shot so far out performed my bolt downs of higher draw weight on every front, including speed.

My first ILF rig was 4# lighter in draw weight than one of my high dollar high performance bolt downs, yet the ILF shot the same arrow 19 fps faster.

Rick


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Bob Morrison makes both so why would he knock one over the other? He was talking about his own bows and comparing the same limb but in take down vs ILF. I'm not saying it but he was and I read this in several posts so I'm not making it up. Sid may have concurred too.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Stone, I'd never argue accuracy between the two, and I agree performance wise it's a non-issue for most folks. I'm a longbow guy though. I love the simplicity and ruggedness but I'd never claim they superior to an ILF recurve. It's just something you want to shoot.

I suppose I should also clarify my comments are more about longbows as a result. On the lower end of the budget you can get more "bang for your buck" outside of ILF. Recurves this certainly is NOT the case. For the money ILF recurves hold their own with anything else, and often out perform many bows that cost a great deal more- and with better accuracy. With longbows it's different, and with more specialized recurves I suppose it is as well. Working off of the ILF geometry for the riser is crippling, especially for a longbow limb where the deep deflex of the limb pad makes vertical stability much more difficult to achieve, and more aggressive designs harder to balance. It took me only a month to design my Delta, but I've been working on my ILF limb now for three months and this is my second attempt, my first being about a year and a half ago. When you have complete control over the whole bow as a unit you can balance things differently to achieve the desired effect. Not so with ILF. 

It's all personal preference. I'm not saying ILF bows aren't fast, and I completely agree they're usually faster than bolt and pins. They're not _always_ faster though, and certainly not in every design- especially longbows.


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## ben911 (Sep 3, 2012)

ilf ,is best value,easy to adjust,easy to try all choice of ilf limbs.
metal ilf riser : tribe halo riser
wood ilf riser: TT black magic,Dryad Morrison(if you have budget for class wood choice)


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## High Plains (Feb 29, 2008)

I took the ILF plunge a few monthe ago. Now I wonder what I was waiting for.


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## ghostgoblin22 (May 3, 2013)

i just bought my first ILF rig two days, can't wait to see what all the fuss is about


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