# Parker Challenger??



## GlowbugAng (Jul 23, 2003)

*I know who can tell ya.....*

Don't know much about Parker bows myself.. but I know who does....

bowgodez can tell ya all about Parkers!

If she doesnt see this thread send her a pm.

Ang


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## bowgodez (Jul 15, 2003)

the 20-30 pound limbs might be a little low for the average woman..the 30-40(min @28,max @42-43#) are usually found to be a little more comfortable providing more speed,which in turn will improve grouping at distances of 20-30 yards.also,as she continues to shoot the bow,and condition muscles and shooting ability,you can upgrade to the 40-50 pound limbs (having a minumum poundage of about 38#) and she can continue to increase poundage if she wishes..these limb upgrades are only 49.95.the low wrist grip style on the challenger encourages more natural form....the bow is very light compared to other brands of comparable level..feel free to PM me if you have any more questions....thanks,GlobugAng!!


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## heathshayne (Feb 15, 2004)

*parker- too light*

I think that the parker is too light of a bow to start with, it will be harder to stay consistant with such a litle bow. I would go with something heaver with a good brace height. Also the cams are a little snappy for beginners. If you really want her to fall in love with the sport get her somthing that she is comfortable shooting and most of all be patient. Have fun.


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## Kystudboy (Feb 24, 2004)

*parker too light*

HeathShayne
Thanks for the input...I need all I can get. Do you have a different competition colored bow that you'd recommend? I have never looked for a quality youth/ladies bow before...


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## NYBilly (Dec 16, 2003)

Hey KYstudboy,

Heathshayne is my girlfriend and away from the com. right now. I see she left a post regarding the challenger. I agree that a first bow should be very easy to shoot to keep her hooked. I have set up and taught many women to shoot and found that if you start them with an EASY to shoot bow they will build confidence quickley and are more likely to stick with archery. I have set up and sold many Parker Challengers to women (great bow, great warranty, great company and great people). But I personally feel that if you start her with a bow that is a little heavier, little longer with a better brace height she will have a lot easier time shooting it. A bow with those spec's will be slower and more stable too. If you look at most of the bows we shoot for indoor, 3d or field we try to make them fairly heavy and shoot lower poundages. I would tell you to take her and shoot as many bows as possible ALL brands, let her tell you what is most comfortable as she will be the one shooting it. oh yeah, when you do start her out shooting keep it close, as close as 3 yds, get her to work on shot and form and forget about wheres shes hittingthen move slowly back and keep her practices times short, 10-20 good shots a day are more rewarding than than a lot of so-so shots and sore muscles, thus making her want to shoot againg the next day. sorry the post was so long, if want want any add. info please pm heather or I and we'll get back to you.
Billy

P.S. heather has been shooting an 2003 hoyt ultratec for spots and loves it.


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## Africanbowhunter (May 29, 2003)

The parker Challenger is a hunting bow for women and youth Added weight can be added like with stabilizers BUT WEIGHT CANNOT BE TAKEN OFF A BOW

Its a universal bow


My lady has a Sierra TEC 2003 Hoyt she will shoot for target work and she will Hunt with the parker Challenger


Many days she shoots better groups with the C challenger than the grander Super Deluxe Hoyt Sierratec

Almost mos women PREF ERR THE GRIP (SMALLER) AND every WOMAN BAR NON HAS SELECTED THE challenger OVER ANY OTHER BOTH WHEN HUBBIES OFFER EITHER ONE.

mOST FEMALE people LIKE SNAPPY CAMS THAT WHAT MAKE HER lITTLE ARROWS FLIES LIKE DARTS

tHATS WHY ITS THE BEST SELLING wOMAN bOW INTHE wORLD nOW


tINK


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## kodiak (Jan 27, 2003)

I think parker makes great bows and the challenger would be good for women because of the small grip and light weight. Like Tink said you can add weight, but you can't take it off. 
The other thing to consider is if she might want to hunt after shooting 3D for awhile. My state Indiana, requires a mininum of 35# for hunting. So if you go with 40# limbs and back it down to 30lbs untill she gets use to it and slowly increase the poundage, I think you would be ahead of the game. I also see women like men trying to get speed out of their setups to help with misjudging yardage. The parker can produce some nice spped with lite arrows. If you decide to sell the bow someday, I believe you'll do better with the 30 to 40lb limbs than 20 to 30lb limbs. Their will be youngsters and women looking for a 35# hunting bow.
Goodluck, Kodiak.


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## Kystudboy (Feb 24, 2004)

*parker thread*

Thanks to all, I have decided to buy the parker challenger and try to upgrade the limbs from 20/30 to the 30/40 # IF my wife maintains an interest. I hope she enjoys it. Thanks again.


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## Africanbowhunter (May 29, 2003)

*Wise Move*

Women just love that little bow

Add Lim savers and it will be much smoother TINK


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## ViperTec (Jan 19, 2004)

Good choice!!

I didnt see this post til it was too late  oh well. The challenger was my first bow, after looking at alot of smaller bows, I chose the Challenger because it felt good and was just so well thought out to give women every advantage they can get. As for consistency.... I shot soda bottle lids off the bottles from 20 yds on demand with that thing. Still my #1 reccommendation to any woman or youth beginning in this wonderful sport!

_VT_


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## Kystudboy (Feb 24, 2004)

*parker choice*

thank you vipertec and all others. I feel good about the bow,,,and I ain't even got it yet.


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## Africanbowhunter (May 29, 2003)

AMEN


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## lady_merlin (Mar 2, 2004)

The Challenger is a great bow to start with mostly because you're not investing a huge amount of money into it. Out of all the youth/women's bows, I would recommend it. However, if you know that she is going to stick with the sport, spend the money up front and get her something that shoots great. 
I started shooting with a Challenger @ 40 lbs and upgraded 6 months later to the 50 lbs limbs. The best part about it is that for a small cost, you have the option to up the poundage. It was great to get me into the sport and was great for hunting, but it isn't a great bow for scoring. It's too short and way too light. If you're really looking for consistency, forget all the marketing for "ladies' bows" and start looking at some of the full sized bows. Most bows you can get in a 26" draw - some even less and many you can get with 40lb limbs (30 lbs at the bottom). The Challenger was great to get me into the sport, but I traded up less than a year later. The great thing is that it is fairly easy to resell once her abilities have surpassed it. 
Check out the new Matthews Mustang. I've shot it, and it's much more stable and accurate than the Challenger is. It also offers much more speed. It's a little more costly than the Challenger, but it's an investment that will work for her much longer than the Challenger might. If offers all the benefits of a standard bow in a shorter draw.
Good luck with your search!


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## lady_merlin (Mar 2, 2004)

The Challenger is a great bow to start with mostly because you're not investing a huge amount of money into it. Out of all the youth/women's bows, I would recommend it. However, if you know that she is going to stick with the sport, spend the money up front and get her something that shoots great. 
I started shooting with a Challenger @ 40 lbs and upgraded 6 months later to the 50 lbs limbs. The best part about it is that for a small cost, you have the option to up the poundage. It was great to get me into the sport and was great for hunting, but it isn't a great bow for scoring. It's too short and way too light. If you're really looking for consistency, forget all the marketing for "ladies' bows" and start looking at some of the full sized bows. Most bows you can get in a 26" draw - some even less and many you can get with 40lb limbs (30 lbs at the bottom). The Challenger was great to get me into the sport, but I traded up less than a year later. The great thing is that it is fairly easy to resell once her abilities have surpassed it. 
Check out the new Matthews Mustang. I've shot it, and it's much more stable and accurate than the Challenger is. It also offers much more speed. It's a little more costly than the Challenger, but it's an investment that will work for her much longer than the Challenger might. If offers all the benefits of a standard bow in a shorter draw.
Good luck with your search!


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## Bownutter (Dec 27, 2003)

I find this thread very interesting. It mimics my life in archerydom.

My first bow was the Parker Challenger 30-40 lb. limbs. Great bow for a starter. Affordable, light, adjustable, quiet, nice size grip for small hands great tec support. Un-complicated. I soon started meeting with success using it. With the right arrows and overdraw, you can fling some arrows through it at surprisingly fast speeds on the Chrono. On an outdoor 3-D, you can't beat it because it is nice and light. Several of our outdoor tournament here are in the badlands and having a light bow is very nice when climing the hills.

My next bow was a big step into techno stuff - the Parker Force Multiplier II. It's a very fast bow, even at 40#. I got rid of the line jammer arrows and went to A/C/C 3-04-680s. It shoots very nice and flat which is a Godsend when estimating yardage because bad guesses don't necessarily spell bad shot. The grip is sized for a man's hand, so I put on a Loesch zero torque pivot grip and am much happier with it.

My most recent acquisition though is a beautiful Hoyt Ultratec XT3000 with cam and 1/2. It is very stable. Very smooth. Fits like a dream. It has a great, superbly smooth feel and the grip couldn't be better for my hand. I can't say enough about it and hope to find my first 300/60x with it. It's a nice bow to tune. Techs at Hoyt have been great to talk to when I have questions. We're looking for a Hoyt for my 12 year old son who is into his 4th season.

I use arrows that are very small in diameter like Easton Superlite A/C/C 3-04-680 Series DL. People at the shoots call em our twigs -that is until they see how flat they fly for the 3-D's, especially in windy conditions on outdoor shoots. I also use X-10's for 300/600/900 rounds, but won't risk wasting them on a 3-D. 

It's interesting to see what women are shooting out there. We are always looking at good bows for kids that will give them a serious chance at the archery game too.


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## Kystudboy (Feb 24, 2004)

*update*

I got the challenger...and was surprised! I maxed it at 30 and tuned it just right, and BAM! Even with outta-the-box Jazz 1816's, it flies straight and FAST . I gave my wife a 5 minute "how to" and at 5 yards(after moving the pin a bit)....5 bullseyes! Moved to 10 yards(moved pin)...5 bulls again. She is estatic! At fifteen yards she can keep a 5 inch group as long as she concentrates on setup and don't jump the trigger. The only fault thus far is that the bottom of the shelf(above right grip) rubs her thumb knuckle, and I'll find a way to alleviate that. 
We went back yesterday and she shot about 40 arrows at 15 yards, and perhaps 10 of them were outside the 5, none were outside the 4 ring. 

Here's where it gets even better.

Last night I took her bow to my league shoot. I am left-handed and left eyed, 28" draw. Her bow is right-handed, 26" draw,. I let the guys ridicule my "pretty purple bow" and razz me for awhile with remarks about "Strawberrie Shortcake" and "my little princess" and several other remarks concerning my manliness. 
But then I watched them shut up as I went from a 7" group in the first five arrows, to a 4 inch group by halftime. I managed a 273/300 with my off-hand (all 4's and 5's). Afterward one of the fellas asked me what the bow was, and if I knew who sold them....priceless. It shoots just where you hold it at. Thanks again for your input one and all. 
 KyStudBoy


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## Africanbowhunter (May 29, 2003)

Thats Funny 

My lady Red Dot found her expensive $$$$+++ Hoyt Sierretec didnt seem to have the same speed that her Parker Challenger did Tomorrow we drag out the Old Chrony to see whats what


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## MrSinister (Jan 23, 2003)

Good idea tink. I don't think the sierratec is all that fast of a bow. It lists 285fps on the web site but I believe that test is done at 60lb draw weight and 28 inch draw length which most women archers are not at. I have been wanting to get my wife's mustang clocked up in its hunting configuration since we got it but have not got to yet. We should post that kind of information here so other folks can get the real numbers on these bows before they buy them. I will post my findings on the Mustang soon I hope. I also shoot a 50lb draw weight myself in a Cybertec from Hoyt and believe me it will fling arrows with the best of them. If you set up a 50lb draw weight bow right there is nothing a 70lb bow can do that it can't do as well.


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## potato749 (Jan 15, 2003)

Glad to hear all this talk about finding women's bows..I've been having the same problem finding one for my girlfriend....the problem I'm running into is I'm looking at needing something in the 23-24" draw length category and about the only one that doesn't come in camo is the challenger. It's good to hear good things about it because that may be the way I end up going


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