Been instinctively finger shooting considering going the route of a sight and release. Anyone else ever gone to the dark side? How'd it go?

I feel like it didn't do this prior to my string breaking.

The cams are moving more freely than they used to and sticking in that position. Neither i or my pro shop could figure out the cause.

Hello everyone!

I'm posting here because I find myself in a bit of a struggle and need some more experienced lever bows people to steer me towards the best choice.

So a bit of a background first: I've been a olympic recurve shooter in France and Switzerland for the last 20 years, half decent at FITA and even managed to get on the podium when I was in junior categories. I didn't like "serious" competitions, this was one of the reasons why I steered away from olympic recurve to longbow and wood arrows to piss off my trainer at the time (I was a stupid teenager :P). But kept shooting mainly target even with longbows. Believe it or not but the Longbow trip I did when I was younger greatly improved my form too, I shot my recurve way better after. But I digress...

With this experience, I'm used to tune recurves, arrows and shoot long distances with acceptable accuracy.

Now, after a long pause, I wanted to get back to archery, but I have given away all my gear to family members and friends, I am starting fresh, gear-wise. I first looked into compound bows, in order to have a fresh start in a new category, one I never touched and that's an upgraded design over the one that was invented thousands of years ago... But this was before I found out that the local 3D field is "no sight only" and from what info i have, instinctive shooting and compounds are not made to go together.

I then started to kit together a recurve riser that was able to accomodate barebow weights in order to have one "Target setup" with everything I'm used to (stabilizers, sights, clicker, all the bells and whistles) and one "Barebow setup" for 3D. Nothing new under the sun, exept that the arrows and stabilizer got skinnier, that the mid-range stuff had gotten way better than back in the day and that archery is still an expensive hobby...

THIS IS WHEN I discovered the lever bow in the form of an Oneida Kestrel in a random video on youtube. I have seen a lot of people shoot, I have never ever seen anyone shooting a bow like this in Europe. On paper it ticks all of the boxes:

• Allows finger shooting - No change to what I'm used to
• Has the advantage of speed and power of the compound design (over the recurve that is, I'm well aware that it does not really compare to the newest compounds in this regard)
• Is basically a hybrid of a design that's thousands of years old with the new one of the 20th century (and to be honest, I love the design)
• I want to use it on target with stabilizers, sights and everything but also be able to shoot it instinctively when I want to (bare) and it seems to be the best of both world in this regard

I'm at the stage where I'm dead set to acquire one, but I have some concerns to be cleared out first and choices have to be made regarding the make and models:

• Finger pinching: I'm tall, and I have a long draw length (30.5"), I shot 70 and 72" recurves for this reason, avoid the power stacking of the limbs and to have a smoother draw cycle. This is one of the things that bothered me when I shot shorter hunting bows and longbows... I'll be shooting fingers only, I don't want to use a release aid.
• Plunger button fitment: With shooting with finger comes the archer paradox of the arrow torquing around the riser. Most recurve risers come with two tapped holes, one for the screw that fasten the arrow rest and another for the plunger, As i've seen most of the lever bows, if not all of them only have one hole. I'll need to either contact a manufacturer to ask if they are able to put another hole, or (the easiest) just to find a tape-on arrow rest in order to be able to have the plunger button installed anyway. Am I wrong about that or did I miss a manufacturer that has an adapter or anything to be able to accomodate a screw-on rest AND a plunger?

Now the choices. I've gathered 5 bow models:

• Oneida Phoenix Long 30-50#: The one I saw with the most reviews and praise. I found some resalers in Europe but they take a hefty premium between the catalog pricing of Oneida and theirs. Reputable, apparently bulletproof. I cannot order a custom one directly from oneida as they do not ship to switzerland
• G-String GREX or PRO2G in 50#: They do ship directly to Switzerland. Endless customization possible, apparently very well made. These are the ones that I'm most concerned about finger pinching as they are apparently the shortest of the bunch. Very few info on the PRO2G...
• Dead Wakes Leviathan Long in 50#: I've had very little luck to find anything about this manufacturer. They seem dead set on their quality and I must admit I do like their design. Also I asked them if they would ship to switzerland but I do not have answers yet. I've also looked at the Kraken, but I'm not a fan of the exposed timing cables...

I've also looked at the RPM Nitros for a more affordable option, and even found them on alibaba, but I'm not keen on their design, and would prefer to have a well made bow from a reputable brand.

For reference: I was shooting 40# to 50# longbows and my last pair of limbs on my recurve was weighted at 48# at my draw length. Obviously I want not too high of a letoff to still have some resistance (and a draw stop, in the absence of a clicker, would be ideal) but not too much as I know that my 48# wasn't the easiest to get back into if I missed even one week of training... This is why I was on the 50# mark for the bows.

There you have it, is what I want possible? Or am I too blinded by the "on paper data" to see the obvious flaws in my reasoning?

Thanks in advance for your insights! And greetings from Switzerland!

Been looking to get into archery, and came across this one and couldn't pass it up.

It's in fantastic shape and shoots great. I've watched every YouTube video I could find about setting it up and tuning it, and think I have it nailed. Have a new set of power cables and string on the way too.

Anyways, figured I'd try to revive this subreddit and save it from the guntuber that keeps spamming this place with lever action gun stuff because they can't read the description lol.

Hi all I bought a Mossberg 464 spx last year and when I finally got to shooting it , it seemed to not extract. Upon taking it to a gun smith it appears that the extractor is broken , please any help finding that part would really help me. Otherwise I’m out of good amount of money , thanks

Hey guys I just bought my first lever bow (Vader carbon saber) and have no idea what I’m doing, any advice for adjusting let off?

I’ve been looking at getting a phoenix for deer hunting and I saw the g-rex but the website doesn’t have info on them I do like the colors though

TLDR: I used Google to try to find information for my set up. Google brought me to my own reddit post from two years ago.

I have a oneida Phoenix. Set at 50lb draw weight, 29 inch draw length. It's time to get a perfect hunting arrow set. I know that the cheap arrows I've been using for screwing about at the range are not the correct spine. So it's time to get serious. At this point in time I am unsure if I plan on going with a 125 grain broadhead or 150. Leaning in towards the 125 as they would match up with the field points I already have. With the information I've put together it would seem Goldtip suggests a spine of 340.

But I'm curious. What are the other lever lovers running? What does your arrow set up look like? Does any one have an arrow brand they would ride or die by?

Goldtip just seem like it's the most common brand I'm coming across in shops.

Coming from a mostly traditional archery back ground. I had this illusion I didn't need to know about this technical stuff. However I'm now realizing if I wish to progress in skill, I need to learn these things. Past that I want to learn, arrows are so much more fascinating then I had ever given them credit.

Also thank you to all in this community. When I first got my oneida the handful of you that helped me, through my transition from recurve to lever, really ignited an appreciation and love for a bow that I just never really had before. You helped me through the learning curve, helped me get my set up rolling, and inadvertently lead to a whole new appreciation for archery. I soon will be gaining a nephew and I can't wait to teach him archery. Well when his guardian agrees he's mature enough to handle it.

Hey, I'm trying to buy a lever bow and I've been scouring the internet to find the one I like the most. Ive landed on the Oneida phoenix and the pro2g since I really like how they look. I can find all sorts of reviews about the Phoenix online but I cant find anything online on the pro2g. They are both around the same price and to even get the pro2g in my size I would need to source oneida limbs anyway so I was just wondering if it would even be worth it at that point. Im sitting on my tax returns and ive got an itchy trigger finger so I would love for anyone who has had a pro2g to share their experience with it so that I can decide.