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Bear compound bow reviews dual cam bow inexpensive bows

Bear Apprentice 3 Review

Image of Bear Apprentice 3 bow
Bear Apprentice 3 in Realtree APG camo.

Bear Apprentice 3 is the newest version of the famous Apprentice series. It’s light and overwhelmingly adjustable. With a huge range of draw length and draw weight it can perfectly serve 5 year old and a 15 year old. It will definitely not be outgrown quickly and high quality finish will make it last for years. The bow is also a high performer being able to shoot at 265 fps IBO speed. Comfortable wide valley and smooth draw cycle makes it a perfect bow for beginners. Apprentice 3 scores high in most customer reviews for the new, modular cam that enables quick and easy adjustments of the draw length. Thanks to the above features and a very affordable price Apprentice 3 has become one of the most popular bows among youth archers and beginners.

>Check discounted price of Bear Apprentice 3 on Amazon<

Riser

To keep the weight down without compromising on the strength the riser is made of machined aluminium alloy. It has a modern shape with large cutouts to further reduce the weight. A string suppression system is mounted on the front of the riser, below the grip. There is also a cable guard on the front of the riser.

The grip is slim to eliminate hand torque and enable comfortable operation for users with small palms. Its shape promotes proper hand position thus enhancing accuracy. It features black plates with white Bear logo on its sides.

Limbs of the Apprentice 3

Bear Apprentice 3 comes with famous Flared Quad Limbs. They are optimised for efficient energy storing. The construction and position of the limbs reduces vibration and their positioning eliminates hand shock.
The limbs are secured in place with Bear’s renowned Zero Tolerance Limb Pocket system. It ensures consistency and precision thus promoting accuracy. The pivoting pockets also help minimizing vibrations after the shot.

Eccentric System (Cams)

Image of Bear's G3 cam
G3 cam

Bear Apprentice 3 features the G3 cams. A third generation of a high quality, lightweight and and durable cams that makes this bow extremely smooth and provide enormous power if needed. This optimized rotating module design allows for draw length adjustments in the range of 15″ to 27″ in 1″ increments and draw weight adjustments ranging from 15lbs. up to 60 lbs. The let-off of this bow is 70% which enables comfortable aiming.

Finish

This compound bow comes in two finish options:

  1. Realtree APG camo pattern which melts into many different environments such as hardwoods, pine thickets, prairies, river bottoms and others. It’s an ideal turkey hunting camo.
  2. Realtree AP Snow PINK.

The camo pattern covers the riser whereas limbs, cams and accessories are black.

Vibration and Noise Reduction

The string suppression system mounted below the grip captures any string oscillations and prevent noise. Vibrations are also minimized by the structure of the Zero Tolerance Limb Pockets.

Content of the Package

The Apprentice 3 is sold as a complete ready-to-hunt bow package. It contains:

  • Compound bow;
  • Trophy Ridge Whisker Biscuit (black with brown whiskers);
  • Trophy Ridge 3 pin fibre optic bow sight (black);
  • Trophy Ridge quiver for four arrows (black);
  • Wheel Peep Sight;
  • Nock loop;
  • Printed manual;
  • Warranty card.

Summary of the review

Pros:

  • great adjustment range of both draw length and draw weight;
  • low price for the complete package;
  • plenty of accessories included in the package;
  • smooth draw cycle with wide valley.

Cons:

  • only two finish options available.

>Check discounted price of Bear Apprentice 3 on Amazon<

Video review of the Apprentice 3 bow:

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Bear compound bow reviews single cam bow

Bear Legion Review

Image of the Bear Archery Legion with ready to hunt package
Bear Archery Legion with ready to hunt package.

Bear Legion would be an excellent choice for someone seeking a compact, high quality and fast rig. The surprisingly low price tag has made this bow very popular among advanced users who are on the budget but don’t want to compromise on performance. It has been highly praised by users that shot it in variety of situations. Legion is proven to perform well both in the hunting scenarios and while you practice target shooting. Bear’s quality noise and vibration reduction mechanisms have made this bow virtually silent and eliminated any hank shock. Over 60 years of experience enabled Bear to produce a bow that impresses even the pros with it smoothness and reliability. At the same time Bear Legion is so forgiving and easy to adjust that even beginners can use it. This compound scores high in customer reviews for its performance, smoothness and lack of after shot vibrations. The weak point according to some users and their personal preference is the string which is by no means inferior quality.

>Check discounted price of Bear Legion on Amazon<

Riser

Legion’s riser has a classic for Bear archery bows shape with large cutouts. It features integrated dual string suppressors and a stainless steel stabilizer mounting. The aircraft grade aluminum riser despite its low weight stands out in terms of rigidity resulting in high torsional stability.

An image of the grip used in Bear Legion
Grip used in Bear Legion

Bear Legion comes with thin grip with side plates known from other Bear’s rigs. It has ergonomic shape and enforces proper hand placement. Most users appreciate the stability and lack of torque it offers, however its ascetic construction offers no thermal insulation hence if you’re planning to use in the winter gloves will be necessary.
The grip has a screwed in plates with white Bear logo on a black background.

Limbs

Bear_Archery_LogoBear Legion comes with split limbs positioned parallelly to nullify hand kick. They are made of extensible composite materials which makes them powerful, lightweight and durable. The shape and materials of Legions pre-loaded limbs enable uniform force distribution during the draw cycle and eliminates deflection.

Legion’s limbs are locked in place by Bear’s renowned Zero Tolerance Limb Pockets. This system not only provide ideal consistency and precision but also absorbs after shot vibrations.

Eccentric System (Cam)

Legion is a single cam bow and thus requires minimal maintenance and eliminates the necessity of cam synchronization. Bear Archery equipped it with a Modular E2-Cam. It allows for half inch increments in the rage of 26″ to 31″. The adjustment can be done with hex key (not included in the package) and a bow press is not required to do so. The idler wheel has a dual stainless steel sealed bearings which increase smoothness of operation and provide reliability. E2-Cam eccentrics provide generous 318 fps IBO speeds and thanks to their shape the draw cycle is smooth. This combined with 80% let-off and a solid back wall makes the bow very comfortable in use.

Finish

Image of RealTree APG camo pattern used in Bear Legion
RealTree APG camo pattern

Legion comes in a light and neutrally toned Realtree APG camo pattern. The coating is high quality and quite thick which ensures durability.

Vibration and noise reduction

Dual offset string suppressors mounted on the riser deaden string oscillations and eliminate noise. They were designed, optimized and meticulously tested using high-speed photography methods to ensure highest effectiveness in noise reduction with no compromise on the arrow speed. There is also an adjustment mechanism so you can tuned is according to your preferences.

The after shoot limb vibration and hand kick were eliminated by application of parallel positioned limbs and Zero Tolerance Two-Piece pockets.

If you buy Legion with Ready To Hunt Package you will also get a Shockstop stabilizer by Trophy Ridge that efficiently absorbs any residual vibrations.

Ready to hunt package
This package include a set of Trophy Ridge accessories, such as:

  • Whisker Biscuit – black in color with brown fibers;
  • 3-Pin Sight – can be easily adjusted for right or left hand use;
  • Stabilizer with Sling;
  • Wheel Peep Sight;
  • Quiver;
  • Nock Loop.

Review summary

Pros:

  • Good price to quality ratio;
  • High quality finish;
  • Easy to adjust.

Cons:

  • Ascetic grip;
  • String.

>Check discounted price of Bear Legion on Amazon<

Categories
Bear compound bow reviews dual cam bow hybrid cam bow

Bear Motive 6 review

Bear Motive 6 - a hybrid cam compound bow
Bear Motive 6

The new killing machine from Bear in full of contradictions. It’s amazingly fast and still thanks to double string silencers extremely quiet. The new cam system helps to accumulate huge amounts of energy during the draw but also makes the draw surprisingly smooth. If you’re after a high end bow offering top speed and packed with state of the art technology Bear Motive 6 is the one to consider.

>Check discounted price of Bear Motive 6 on Amazon<

Riser

The riser in Motive 6 is all about ergonomics and performance. Modern and expressive design was combined with stress resistant shape. It features integrated dual string suppressors positioned directly opposite accessories mountings which helps to keep the bow perfectly balanced.
Motive 6 comes with two grips. The default one is a very comfortable rubber grip with Bear logo overmolded on it. The second one can be uncovered by unscrewing the default grip. It is machined in the riser in the way that enables steady and dependable grip even in the most aggressive setup.
On the riser is also mounted a 4×4 roller guard with four rolls on two sealed bearings each. This aluminium guarded solution facilitates neutral position of the cables once the bow is fully drawn and thus reduces torque.

Limbs

The Max Pre-Load Quad limbs used in Motive 6 reach a past-parallel position once the bow is fully drawn. Being made from Gordon Composite material they are design to store enormous amounts of energy. For smooth and vibration free release of this energy Bear used Zero Tolerance Limb Pockets which keep the limbs tight in the pockets.

Cams

The new H13 Synchronized Hybrid cam system with two elliptical cams was designed to make the most of this rig. Thanks to rotating modules in the cams the draw length can be easily adjusted in the range between 25.5″ and 30″ (in half inch increments). To adjust the draw length no bow press or modules are needed.

Finish

Bear offers new Motive 6 owners plethora of finish options to choose from. Namely the finish options are:

  • Realtree APG,
  • Realtree APS,
  • Shadow,
  • Red/Black,
  • Green/Black.

Vibration and noise reduction

Dual Offset String Suppressors were used to eliminate any vibration and noise of the pre-stretched Contraband HP string after the shot. The suppressors are adjustable and it’s worth spending some time looking for your perfect settings.
For limb vibration reduction the new Zero Tolerance Two-Piece pockets were used. They prevent any movement of the limbs in the pocket which reduces vibrations.
Post-parallel position of the limbs is also a huge factor in overall vibration characteristic of this bow. The forces of upper and lower limb cancel out which prevents kicking effect and makes using Bear 6 even more pleasant.

Bear Motive 6 specyfications

IBO speed (fps)350
A2A length (inches)32
draw weights available (lbs)50, 60, 70
draw length range (inches)25.5 - 30
brace height (inches)6
bow weight (lbs)4
eccentricsH13 cam
let off (%)75
finishRealtree APG, Realtree APS, Shadow, Red/Black, Green/Black

>Check discounted price of Bear Motive 6 on Amazon<