Here is a link to see the pics of my bow. I am trying to find the year out so I can get it set up for me. http://s825.photobucket.com/albums/zz174/isaackarrick/
IF this is the first bow you have ever bought just play with it because you can not have it tuned to you. Those bows are made by martin archery. I am almost positive there is not adjusment in the draw length of that prowler. Honestly if it needs a new string it would cost you more than the bow is worth. Your best bet is to take it to a pro shop and see if they can help you out with it.
It appears to be pre 1997. What are you trying to do with the bow. Meaning, are you just trying to learn with the bow? Are you intending on hunting next season with the bow? Do you have a budget you want to stay in? I would have to see better pics of the rest and rest mounts but, I am not so sure you could find a different rest for that bow. I am not even sure the modern sights will work. In the pictures it appears the sight would but, not the rest. Here is the deal, The bow probably needs a new string and maybe even cables. The cables appear to be the old metal cable wrapped in a rubberized coating. So they may be OK. I would replace the string, the peep, the rest (if possible), the sight and have a new D-loop installed. That being said, you will end up with double and probably even quadruple what it is worth in accessories. Lets just say you spent what I would consider average on each piece. $60.00 Rest, $60.00 sight (you could go a little higher or lower), $10.00 peep, $3.00 D-loop, $40.00 string, then you have labor which wee will just say $20.00. Thats $193.00 right there and thats IF the new accessories will bolt to it not to mention actually work if they did. If you did all that to the bow and put it on craigslist or ebay, you may get $100.00 for it. You could try to get a pro shop to hook you up with used stuff but, you are still going to be in the $100.00+ range. When you are done spending all that, will wil still not be happy with the bow. I did it on an old Bear and still couldn't stand the bow. You could get a new rig ready to hunt for $300-$400 range depending on what bow you buy and be happy with it for quite sometime to come. There are plenty of bows to choose from in that range.
I was afraid of that. I was hoping that I got a good deal. One guy at Bass Pro told me the overdraw was worth like $100. I know my wife is not going to let me buy a new bow anytime soon. I have a guy who told me it was a made in 89. This is from a tech forum for Martin. I was planing on hunting with it this coming season if I could get some practice time in with it. We will just have to wait and see what I can come up with.
You can replace everything on that bow with newer stuff, and still hunt this year without buying a new bow. you can have that bow ready to hunt around a $100, if you go with a Whisker Biscuit for a rest, a cheaper 3 pin sight (20 yards would be max on that bow for me if I was using it and a 3 pin sight is all you need). Those should be metal cables on that Bow and you should not have to replace them unless there is extreme wear on them (I had a 94 Golden Eagle and never replaced the cables only the string and had it for 13 years). Take it to a pro shop and they should be able to set you up.
You know you could replace the string and try using what it has. That will at least get you shooting it but, I really wouldn't shoot it much without at least restringing it. On another note, you could talk to your wife and get her to go with you to a pro shop. Get her involved and let her see how much you really enjoy it and she may understand a little more. Most shops have a lay away program and will work with you on how much down and how much here and there you can pay. We have one that says they have people that have bows that have been on lay away for a year before they get them out. Not saying they are all like that. Look at new ones in an entry level price range to start with. Heck, you never know, your wife may end up wanting to get involved in archery also especially if you find a shop that has a woman working there too (I don't know how rare that is but, two sister own one of the shops here and my pro shops owners wife is a competition archer and is in there every day they are open). In the mean time you could shoot the old one and try to get familiar with archery. I still wouldn't shoot it without restringing it. Does it have a string length listed on it??? If so, what is it??
I actually own this exact bow. When I called up Martin, they said that this bow was probably older than I was (pre 1983). The 1980s is probably a good bet. A lot of modern rests will work on this bow, but your problem won't come from having that accessory fit. It is designed to be used with feathers and not vanes. If you use vanes, you'll never be able to get a really accurate shot down range because you'll always have contact with the riser. If the spring still works on the rest, I would just continue using it. A lot of modern accessories seem to use a different bolt size than this one does. As for the string, I replaced mine with a new custom one and it didn't cost me that much, somewhere between $35-$50 including setup. Since this bow uses the steel cables instead of a string, you'll be okay with those as long as they are in good shape. You might be lucky, since you're in Missouri, but up here, because the grip is all metal, it can get pretty hard to hold in the cold. On top of that, I always found that it didn't really help me when shooting. I started using a high wrist approach just to get of the fat part on the bottom. You can still use this thing to hunt, it's a solid shooter, but I would recommend starting to save up for a new one right now or at least a better used one. Don't worry about investing in new accessories right now if you can avoid it.
Personally, I always find Vito's posts well thought out, informative, enlightening, imaginative, relevant to the discussion at hand and down-right entertaining. (The preceding was a paid announcment and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of this BH.COM member.)
I dont see a string lenth listed on it anywhere. The bow came from WA and like I said it was my father in-laws and he only got rid of it due to not being able to draw and hold it due to being disabled anymore. He is buying a crossbow with what I paid him. I think I will try to take it to the local shop here but they were rude to me last time I was there. I am the type of person where I would rather pay more for something for good service then pay less for crappy service. I know my father in-law had it profsonlay tuned a couple of years ago he said. The cables look to be in good shape but the string (where the arrow goes and what you draw back) looks like it has a little wear on it. I just hope the pro shop is still open when I can get back into town.
I faced this same problem a couple of years back. My Golden Eagle was just getting wore out, needed new stings, and i felt like it was not worth the money. I ended up not bowhunting for 2 years, and went to rifle while i saved up enough money for a new bow. I feel it was worth the wait. I liked archery before, but now that i have quality equipment, I am Addicted to archery. Just my thoughts. If there is anyway possible to save money til July or August, you can find some great deals on new bows, just last years model. I bought my 2010 Iceman new in 2011, and got the bow for $450 shiped to my door. Good luck, and never give up on this great sport.
Do people not realize you can get a modern post 2k off ebay for next to nothing? Or do people just like shooting vintage bows? Lately all ive seen are threads on people asking to get help with a bow from the 80's that ther so called buddy sold them for a "good deal". And if they ever do get the thing shooting you need to send the first arrow through their windshield.
Some people aren't as blessed as others when it comes to affording newer bows. To some people $200.00 is like $10,000.00 to others. Add to that the lack of knowledge many people have for archery and or bow's and you have this. A lot of people go to a pro shop that shows them $600.00 plus bows and makes them feel like that is the only options out there (I know, a good sho pwouldn't but, do you know how ard that can be in some areas?) so they just go buy that $150.00 bow from their buddy that is really only forth $50.00 because they think that is all they can afford. And to answer your question, No most people do not realize that.
First off this bow was my father in-laws. I know he take good care of his stuff. I bought this bow sight unseen and didnt know the age or style of it. Second I know they needed the money and I had been wanting a bow for a while. This was the only way for me to get into this sport. I have never shoot a bow before in my life. There are others out there who are like me and are trying to help other family members out like I was doing. Third off if you were this rude to me inside of a pro store as a new beginer I would say the heck with you and your shop. I will not let you make me feel bad for this purchase due to I know that I helped a family memeber out. Also I know if I have a question about it then I can call him. I am only the second owner of this bow and I think for trying to get into it then I did okay. The worst case is I am out of $150 and I can pass it on to my kids and tell them this is the bow your grandpa used. Dont mean to offend you but your post offended me.
I appologize if i offended you or any one else. I quess i should have thrown this into a thread by itself so it was directed to any one in particular.
If you guys are paying $40 for a tear drop string you need to find a new pro shop. That is a sub $10 string.
A friend of mine had one of those in his Pawn shop for 2 years before he finally sold it for 80 bucks. Get your self a new bow. [video]http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/crash/grand/88396868.gif[/video] [video]http://gifsforum.com/images/gif/crash/grand/44588851.gif[/video]
I paid 20 for one tonight put on. I got that peep sight and a new slide for a total of 49. The best part to me was the guy at the pro shop spent about 20 min with me. This was good for me due to the fact I had never shot a bow before.
