# Samick Sage is pure garbage



## Jholt41 (Sep 24, 2018)

I bought a Samick Sage from Amazon about a month and a half ago. I only went to the range with it three times. I was firing it and looked down at the riser. It was developing a crack in the riser. After further examination it was also developing a crack along the stabilizer thread. I asked the archery range owner if it was a crack and he confirmed it was. Ive been hearing alot of complaints of the Samick Sages developing cracks and even breaking after light use. Let me tell you I babied this thing and treated it with the utmost care. It had #50 limbs on it and I never dry fired it. Sorry, but the Samick line is no longer a name you can depend on.


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## penumbra (Aug 23, 2016)

That is why I switched to Southwest Archery a couple years ago. Samick no longer has any quality control on its cheaper units.


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## Brad Lehmann (Sep 4, 2010)

I am sure that you are disappointed. There are so many of them out in the market place that a replacement riser can be found for around forty dollars. I have an extra left hand riser if that will work. If you want to move to a different make, I would be interested in buying your bow. Just because there is a crack, it doesn't mean the riser is worthless. The way that they lay up the wood in Sage risers makes repais pretty simple.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

Wow sorry to hear that I have used my Samick in temps from 15 below zero to 90F and never a single problem. I hope this is not a new trend in what was a great inexpensive bow.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

J - 

So you're making a blanket statement on your experience from one bow and a few rumors?

You bought the bow from Amazon, which means you really don't know where it came from or how long it was sitting somewhere or what batch it was from.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the Sage is the be all and end all on entry level bows, but one or two bad internet experiences really doesn't count for much.

Viper1 out.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

Like many entry level bows, manufacture of the Sage is sourced. A couple of years ago an archery store owner (very knowledgeable in recurve and Korean archery companies) showed me some subtle differences between Sage's built by different manufacturers. The bows were not identical in very fundamental ways, but you would not know it unless you compared the bows side by side.

Bottom line, it is a low cost bow built by low cost manufacturers. Quality controls are not as tight in low cost manufacturing. You could get a great bow, or you may get a bow with defects.


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## Warmuth (May 11, 2018)

penumbra said:


> That is why I switched to Southwest Archery a couple years ago. Samick no longer has any quality control on its cheaper units.


 My southwest tiger shark lasted about 3 weeks before the riser split apart. I’d be pretty surprised if these bows aren’t mostly all made in the same factory.


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## DDSHOOTER (Aug 22, 2005)

like Viper said. 
Dan


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

War - 

A few years back I saw an $800(+) custom LB delam on the second day of shooting and a number of Hoyt Quattros blow within the first year. Could they have come from the same factory too? 

While what I stated is true, I'm just messing with ya and trying to show that a a small percentage of failures is, unfortunately, expected. If/when it becomes the norm, most companies stop it sooner rather than later. 

I'll add that while I use Amazon on a regular basis, it's not where I'd order a bow (or arrows) from. That's what local shops and LAS/3R is for. 

Viper1 out.


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## boxerjake77 (Jan 16, 2010)

I don’t think Samick is around anymore. They were bought by Galaxy.


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## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

A couple of guys at the range where I usually shoot have the Samick Sage, and have been shooting them often for well over a year. They seem to have held up and serve their purpose. You can't rule out abuse by the shipping agent, or it just is a lemon out of many thousands produced. I had a new Volvo S40 which had body frame and axle cracks. Volvo could not explain the problems ( and mostly took care of the problems) - but I would not put down all Volvo cars.


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

If a company makes 20,000 bows each year vs another company that makes 200, which do you think will have more failures?
Yes, there is the percentage issue but I have owned more bows than I want to admit in the last 40 plus yrs and I have seen and experienced failures from mass produced and custom bows alike.

From what I've read I do think Southwestern Archery has better quality control. I have owned 2 Sages and my brother has a Sage...I still have one too.
No issues, but if I were to replace mine I would order the Spyder made by Southwest Archery.


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## Jholt41 (Sep 24, 2018)

You guys could very well be right. I think the difference is where it is manufactured. I also own two vintage bear bows that I adore and shoot on a regular basis as well. I bought this bow, because it was supposed to be one of the best price point take down bows. I think im going to save my money and get a real take down bow next time. That being said, Ive just heard a rising number of complaints about the quality of Samick Sages. I dont know if this is true or not. But i heard that some of the bows are being manufactured in China now.


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## Dodosaur (Mar 18, 2018)

My Southwest Archery bow cracked. Lots of these bows cracked. There's not a lot of quality control. But most places will have a 1 year warranty on it because it's a known issue (depending on which distributor you buy from).
Also, consider that Amazon has a lot of counterfeiters now. There's even counterfeit NAP and Rage broadheads all over the internet.

(And, if I'm not mistaken, Samick has been making a lot of their entry-level stuff in China for many years now.)


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## dunninla (Oct 17, 2018)

Dodosaur said:


> (And, if I'm not mistaken, Samick has been making a lot of their entry-level stuff in China for many years now.)


 Well, I highly doubt Samick owns a Chinese factory, some of which are the size of 50 football fields. So in fact, Samick don't actually MAKE anything. They spec what they want, put some sort of quality control in place, and have a Chinese factory make them where the labor costs $5 per day with no benefits. Get the riser made for $8 and sell if for $65. It's just the way business is now.

With almost everything that isn't at the very top of the price spectrum (for example the WFX riser at $800), or full on custom now made in China, the issue isn't where it's made, but who designed it, who spec'd if for manufacture, what kind of quality control system is in place, and what warranty service is available when something slips through Quality Control.


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## bullrambler (Mar 11, 2006)

I can't recall where I read this... but the information was based on the Samick Sage riser and it had mentioned that this riser was reliable and stable if one uses limbs up to the 40 lb range. The OP indicated that he had 50 lb limbs and maybe this is one of those Sage risers that comes "unglued" when it has limbs that are heavier them the 40 lb range. While my son uses a similar designed OMP riser at 50 lbs and my grandson uses a Ragim (with longer riser) at 40 lbs and no failures to date. I've shot their bows, as well as - both left and right handed Sage models at the Bow Shop, and selected other options for myself. If I was going to get this riser design, it would not be the Sage as I would want a longer riser in this design and I would likely stick with 40 lb limbs.


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## kentsabrina (Aug 23, 2017)

Did u drop or dried fire it (using 40# limbs with 1416 also count..Haha)

Usually a sage or that line of riser, can live long enough as a first bow, before u realize what it is n can't do.

Its kinda like those MTBs at Kmart shelf, they exist for a reason at a certain price point


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## kentsabrina (Aug 23, 2017)

O...U have 50# limbs on it.

What is ur arrrow setup/weight? It may due to arrows being too light.


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## SteveB (Dec 18, 2003)

Jholt41 said:


> That being said, Ive just heard a rising number of complaints about the quality of Samick Sages. I dont know if this is true or not.


Don't know if it is true but willing to just go with it anyway??!!


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## Warmuth (May 11, 2018)

Viper1 said:


> War -
> 
> A few years back I saw an $800(+) custom LB delam on the second day of shooting and a number of Hoyt Quattros blow within the first year. Could they have come from the same factory too?
> 
> ...


 I hear ya. The same factory comment to clarify a little is that the sage and spyder are really suspiciously similar, I know they claim to be the sage designers.Some different looking wood and a bit of sanding but they may as well be the same bow. I think the limbs may be interchangeable as well but I’m not positive. While I’m sure there are other factories that would be able to reproduce those bows it does look like a typical rebadging of a product. Side by side I can’t see anything that separates the two brands, maybe SW rejects more bows coming off the line than Samick or there are just so many Sages out there that the amount of fail reports seems like a higher percentage than it really is.


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## bullrambler (Mar 11, 2006)

I think that there are many brands that are pretty much the same design, if not the same riser with variations of woods or stains of the wood. And there are some that have different length risers too - to accommodate a variety of draw lengths. The most common would be the Sage at 62 AMO. The Ragim Wildcat Plus can be had from a 62 AMO to 70 AMO length and seems to max out with 40 lb limbs. And OMP sells the Mountaineer 2 and the Smokey Mountain Hunter with a 62 AMO. So this matches up with the Samick Sage AMO. I think that the OMP can be set up with up to 55 lb limbs. The point here is that there are other companies or brands that are out there that are so close in design and set-up that's it hard to tell the difference between them. And then there's the Spyder XL brand - available with 64 AMO. 

All of these (Samick, OMP, Regim, Spyder) risers are very similar in design with some color variation in the staining and perhaps the selection of woods that are used. The prices for these Riser and Limb combinations from these companies are competitive to each other. They provide an opportunity for a new archer to get into trad archery and not break the bank in the process. Many used ones are available for purchase as well.
And sometimes the limbs are interchangeable between these company brands or each company can have the limbs changed out for higher or lower poundages.
So here at AT nobody knows if a new trad archer will get through the initial stages of skill development, and stick with it. As the learning curve is a steep one; but good form creates repeatable outcomes and makes shooting arrows more enjoyable. And it is understandable why many new archers will obtain a Samick Sage or other similar bow to start with. It's not a bad place to start.


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## Joe Barbieur (Jul 31, 2002)

I posted this a month or so back in another part of AT.
I have been off AT for some time and just decided to come back. If you have any questions regarding Samick ILF bows I will be happy to answer them. For any Samick wood bows I do not have information about them. What many do not know is a few years ago Samick Korea went belly up. The original owner gave everything back to the bank and declared bankruptcy. 

The company was later purchased by another Korean person and re-opened. They currently make the ILF Samick bows, risers and limbs there in Korea. The wood Samick bows are made in China at two different factories under the Samick name. One of the factories is run by the previous owner of Samick, the other factory has an agreement to make Samick bows through 2020. 

It is a little complicated, but essentially there are currently three companies all manufacturing bows with the Samick name, only one company is making them in Korea.


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## Brayhi (May 21, 2018)

Sorry but one sage bow failure that not meaning samick sage carbage 
I like my samick sage purchased from lancestar last year 
I have 3 recurve bow samick sage is the cheaper one but I still love it and shoot with it


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## TGbow (Jun 24, 2016)

Brayhi said:


> Sorry but one sage bow failure that not meaning samick sage carbage
> I like my samick sage purchased from lancestar last year
> I have 3 recurve bow samick sage is the cheaper one but I still love it and shoot with it



That's all that matters. Honestly my Sage shoots cleaner, and more stable than some high dollar bows I've had.


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## sheepdogreno (Sep 29, 2014)

Killed biggest deer of my life with a sage. However as I grew and learned the sage does stack significantly at my draw if 29.5...but it’s definitely not garbage


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## Brad Lehmann (Sep 4, 2010)

I picked up a PSE recurve at the local archery shop yesterday. I immediately recognized the riser to be a spitting image of the Samick Sage. I've modified several Sage risers and there are a couple of things on them that bother me, so I change them. They were both on the PSE riser. It may not be made in the same factory, but the same software is driving the CNC router when the risers are shaped.


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## Jholt41 (Sep 24, 2018)

Viper One, unfortunately I do not have alot of choices when it comes to traditional archery shops where I live (I sure wish I did!) My first trad bow was this last August for my birthday. I got a Cabela's Warden take down bow. Ill tell you something......I loved that damn thing! To me that thing was an accurate little dart thrower!! But it was only 40# and I wanted something with a little more power. I bought a 45# Grizzly off of ebay and then a 50# kodiak hunter off of ebay as well. I love the hell out of those bows. But, I wanted a modern take down and everyone was praising the Samick Sage. Unfortunately, the only place I can get it is amazon. But hey lesson learned. You guys might be right about it being a lemon, but i feel really betrayed and heartbroken. I didnt dry fire it or drop it at all. In fact i was tuning my new black eagle vintage 400 spine arrows. I really wish i had a place by me that let you test trad bows out, but its all compounds out where im at (i own two obsessions). The only other place i can go is cabelas or bass pro, but their selection is real limited. Sorry, i ranted but i was really pissed and wanted that bow to be good.


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## kegan (Aug 28, 2006)

Jholt41 said:


> Sorry, i ranted but i was really pissed and wanted that bow to be good.


Being upset is understandable, but as was said the Sage is a VERY cheap bow. It recieves high accolades for its quality_ at its price_. 

Any bow can break, and bows built with natural materials like wooden risers and limb cores are particularly susceptible. I've built more than a few bows over the years and even at times when I thought I did everything right, something can still go wrong unexpectedly. These things are repeatedly subjected to stress in numerous ways, and it seems we often forget that just because bows are more durable now than they were a hundred years ago, they're still handling the same stress.

The old adage was that a bow fully drawn was nine tenths broken. Stuff happens.


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## MGF (Oct 27, 2012)

I guess all you can do is vote with your wallet. I bought two low end pse recurves a few years ago...one for myself and one for my wife. I had 3 limbs come apart on my bow (3 separate sets) and one on my wife's. I finally gave up on them. That's when I bought a bow from Kegan.


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