# Shooting distance for the Kodiak Magnum



## bigtone1411 (Nov 3, 2011)

I've shot mine to 30 yards. Yeah my groups open up to about 8-9 inches, but that is fine in my book. I would probably never make a 30 yard hunting shot with any of my bows.


----------



## RecurvesOnly (May 23, 2011)

Bigtone, let me explain further, I shoot 8 arrows at a time. For no reason one or two of them will miss by so far that I actually run to examine the arrow for a defect on fletching or anything. I then reshoot that same arrow and everything is ok. With the Grizzly or Kodiak Hunter, I'm fine at 20 yards


----------



## CLASSICHUNTER (May 20, 2005)

Its the shooter not the bow you could without a doubt shoot out to 40 yds if you where a practiced shooter... I don`t say shoot at 40 yds but again if good you could...


----------



## ken613 (Oct 16, 2006)

CLASSICHUNTER said:


> Its the shooter not the bow you could without a doubt shoot out to 40 yds if you where a practiced shooter... I don`t say shoot at 40 yds but again if good you could...


Absolutely the shooter. Bad form will result in poor accuracy at 10-15 yards with a Super K or any other 60" + bow.....I'm much more comfortable shooting my K-mag than my longbows or my Super K....I'm good to 20 and okay to 25.... You've got to have good form. Period.

These bows are much more accurate than we are...
Ken


----------



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Well?..kinda subjective pending DL and skill level but i do know this...the last recurve i owned before buying a new Bob Lee TD Hunter over 10 years ago was a 58" 55#@28" Bear Kodiak Hunter...i bought it well used for $50..finish was crazed like a georgia roadmap but no signs of any delamination going on..and it had this cheesy sheet metal pin sight screwed to the front..and even being way younger...way stronger..and the advantage of a pin-sight?..and kisser?..no matter how hard i tried?..at 20yds the best i could do was grapefruit sized 5 arrow groups..average/norm?..was "happy to keep all 5 on a paper-plate at 20yds"...(mostly due to random fliers from finger pinch related string pluck)..just the 4 extra inches that my 62" 54#@28" Bob Lee offered was a night and day deal..and baseball sized 5 arrow groups quickly became the average/norm with the occassional pull'em all out with one hand, shaft slapp'in sized groups when i was really in the zone..with no pins or kisser..so?..unless it was a very special bow like a fedora stalker?..i would imagine i'd defanantly be hard pressed to keep'em all on a paper plate at 20 with a 52"er.


----------



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

RecurvesOnly said:


> Bigtone, let me explain further, I shoot 8 arrows at a time. For no reason one or two of them will miss by so far that I actually run to examine the arrow for a defect on fletching or anything. I then reshoot that same arrow and everything is ok. With the Grizzly or Kodiak Hunter, I'm fine at 20 yards


and that is exactly the "Finger Pinch Related Fliers" of which i speak with short bows..which begs the question..what's your draw length?


----------



## BowHunter6666 (Dec 28, 2005)

I shoot mine out to 40 yards all the time. I have a short draw so that may help but I shoot my K-Mag well!


----------



## RecurvesOnly (May 23, 2011)

Jinkster, my draw lenth is 30", you may have hit on something. At full draw I can feel the nock inside the "triangled point" of the string, and my fingers crushed tight. (It's not an easy thing to explain, I hope you get the picture)


----------



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

RecurvesOnly said:


> Jinkster, my draw lenth is 30", you may have hit on something. At full draw I can feel the nock inside the "triangled point" of the string, and my fingers crushed tight. (It's not an easy thing to explain, I hope you get the picture)


I certainly do and that triangle is called "The String Apex"..(aka "string angle")...i would venture to say that with a 30" draw on a 52" bow?..your string angle is far too acute to shoot "consistantly" accurate.

I would also venture to say that a good rule of thumb (though i'm just making this shid up LOL!) would be..

Your bow length should never be less than 2X's your draw length...following that?.."I"..would be saying you shouldn't be shooting a bow less than 60"s in length...cause "Fliers" blow when you're bearing down on that buck of a lifetime...and we're all familiar with murphys law...just say'in.


----------



## bigtone1411 (Nov 3, 2011)

Recurvesonly, The K-mag is a sweet little bow that I believe has some specific purposes. For example, blind hunting, tree stand etc. I think it would make a good hunting bow from short yardages to 20 yards max. With that being said, I'm sure it is possible to learn to shoot it accurately much farther. If you are working on your archery skill, you would be better off with something a little heavier and longer. (more Stable) Plus, I don't know what your draw length is, but mine satrts to stack past 28 inches and does provide some uncomfortable string pinch.


----------



## thorwulfx (Sep 26, 2011)

Shoot at whatever distance you're comfortable. 

I think the "book" on the very short recurves is that they're meant to be accurate enough to take hunting shots at fairly short ranges. I seem to remember that there was a study that said that most game animals were shot at an average of 17 or 18 yards. I don't believe many people would offer any arguments that longer bows are easier to shoot consistently for most archers. That said, if you're practiced up and comfortable with your short bow, it will probably do the job for you. I wouldn't take a make or break shot beyond where you feel you can be consistent, though.


----------



## bigtone1411 (Nov 3, 2011)

I just saw your above post. The K mag would be a tough bow for someone with 30 in draw.


----------



## RecurvesOnly (May 23, 2011)

Jinkster, Thorwulfx, and Bigtone, a big THANKS! I'll keep up at 20 yards with the Grizzly and Kodiak Hunter. The K-Mag will be only for where I have the yard marked at 15 yards. This will give me the piece of mind and allow me to keep enjoying all three bows!


----------



## bigtone1411 (Nov 3, 2011)

RecurvesOnly said:


> Jinkster and Bigtone, a big THANKS! I'll keep up at 20 yards with the Grizzly and Kodiak Hunter. The K-Mag will be only for where I have the yard marked at 15 yards. This will give me the piece of mind and allow me to keep enjoying all three bows!


That sounds like a good plan recurve.


----------



## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

RecurvesOnly said:


> Jinkster and Bigtone, a big THANKS! I'll keep up at 20 yards with the Grizzly and Kodiak Hunter. The K-Mag will be only for where I have the yard marked at 15 yards. This will give me the piece of mind and allow me to keep enjoying all three bows!


Cool...glad i could help..and here's a suggestion..that K-Mag could definantly have it's place (like bigtone suggests)..blinds, stands, thickly brushed areas..think about trying this..(cause i would)..try a release...even just a simple "Thumb/Rope" style release..it would get yer fat fingers outta the equation and i bet that 52" sucker would be screaming and accurate with your 30" draw..prolly sounds like blasphemy to some though! :laugh:

but...if ya like to hunt the bow...and it's great in tight places which it is?..a thumb/rope release sure beats a buck wounded with a plucked flier. 

Then again?..that's coming from a guy who thinks..

"If i can see more than 30yds?...i'm in the wrong spot!" :laugh:


----------



## guyver (Jan 3, 2012)

I shoot my 48" bow pretty darn well at 20yds. I have a 29" draw. Yes it does stack and pinch but nothing that cant be overcome. I find 3 under to be way more effective than split. If you can feel the nock pinching, it may help to experiment with different hand position on the string (probably 1/4 to 1/2 inch further down the string away from the nock). I would imagine an arrow being pinched would cause release issues resulting in erratic flight.

BTW I love my little bow, especially in a blind or tripod. And its perdy. And fun to shoot.


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

RO -

Like some of the guys are saying, strapped into a shooting machine, the K-Mag will hold it's own against most Olympic bows. The problem is that we ain't shooting machines. By nature, short, stacky bows, with plenty of finger pinch will be harder too shoot than longer and inherently more stable bows. 

When these shorties first came on the market they were referred to as "brush bows" and marketed towards close range shots from stands or blinds. Honestly, a lot of guys gave up on them pretty quickly, once the novelty wore off. 

Can they be accurate to longer ranges? Sure, but it will take more work for very little in return, IMHO anyway.

Viper1 out.


----------



## dan in mi (Dec 17, 2009)

In general short bows are harder to shoot than longer bows. Finger pinch, stack, and overall handling are the root cause of trouble for most people. Add to that that short bows are really finnicky about form and you have the formula for innacuracy for most people.

Beyond that, they're good for as far as you'd like to shoot.


----------



## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

RecurvesOnly said:


> Just a quick question to see how many agree or disagree. A knowledgeable guy at work tells me that with the Bear Kodiak Magnum being so short in length, I shouldn't be shooting at a distance more than 15 yards. I have to tell you that if he's right, this will clear up a lot of questions for me on why at 20 yards, I'm all over the place, while at 15 yards there aren't any problems with this model bow. Thanks


Although the Kodiaks I've had were too short for me, a Kodiak is as good a bow as anyone you can shoot for accuracy and distance. It was one of my favorites... as was the Martin Hunter... now replaced with a Bamboo Viper. Great bow! 15 YARDS.... that is for shooting flies and roaches.


----------



## trapperDave (Mar 12, 2005)

its the shooter or.... poorly matched arrows


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

Dont set your own shooting by somebody elses limitations, just about anything is possible if you work at it. 

In this Video I'm shooting a 54" 50# Saluki 'turk' horsebow out to about 40 yards (8" target), people keep telling me short horsebows are no good for tourney as they're not very accurate, I'm glad I dont listen to other people. :wink:


----------



## CLASSICHUNTER (May 20, 2005)

point made thanks steve


----------



## ryersonhill (Mar 18, 2006)

nie shooting Steve, i am a 27" DL and i have no problem shooting my Magnum, finger get a little cramped, but putting a yardage to a bow size is always going to start a debate, it all comes down to shooters ability, there is a video over on Leatherwall of a guy shooting his at 55-55 yards, practice, knowing your equipment and your abilities


----------



## steve morley (Dec 24, 2005)

ryersonhill said:


> over on Leatherwall of a guy shooting his at 55-55 yards, practice, knowing your equipment and your abilities


I shoot IFAA Field\3D so 80y is no problem and practice out to 100y some days, the Saluki isn't my normal bow for tourney (sometimes I shoot 3D with it) mostly Longbow or at this moment an ILF Italian Barebow Recurve, when I'm getting a little too tourney serious the Saluki is my go to *FUN* Bow, very good bow for aerial\moving targets.


----------



## WindWalker (Jan 23, 2005)

I wanna live in Estonia! Beautiful country and 21% flat tax.


----------



## RecurvesOnly (May 23, 2011)

I hate to resurrect this thread from a couple of days ago but I just got in from shooting the Kodiak HUNTER (not the Kodiak Magnum) and the results I got from 60 and 70 feet are outstanding. I got the 6" center spot often enough and my misses where only by a couple of inches. The bow is 50#, 2117 5" feathered arrows, and they all flew in like high speed darts.

I'm not going to invest more money for new arrows and trial and error shooting to get the Kodiak Magnum going good for me. I have the feeling that if I'm 6' 3" with a draw length of 30", the shorter bow may not be suited for me.

Thanks again to all and Nice Shooting Steve!


----------

