Oneida Phoenix
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: stick&string
13-Sep-17
I am leaving Traditional archery for my shoulders just cannot handle the poundage I like to shoot anymore. I am very interested in the new Oneida Phoenix, for it would give me as close to both worlds as possible. I am not trying to get opinions as far as price, they are expensive, but I do not care. I know they are a little noisier, that is OK. I know they are not the fastest, I am Ok with that as well, speed does not kill, believe me I am a trad guy. Does anyone here shoot one, and if so what are your thoughts? Thank you for your replies. Aim small, miss small...
From: Ken Moody Safaris
13-Sep-17
Sorry to hear that. I shoot trad and know what you're going thru. I have to pace myself when shooting so as not to tweak an elbow or wrist. I've found that stump shooting is productive and not too hard on the joints as opposed to repetitive target shooting. You might think of going with a 45# trad now. It will cleanly kill anything in NA if married to the right arrow/head. I have owned and shot Oneida bows and they are close to the feel of a trad recurve other than the machinery involved. No experience with the Phoenix though but I can't imagine there's too much difference in Oneidas.
From: Hugh
13-Sep-17
If you are on Facebook, check out the page Lever Lovers, its a group made up of Oneida Shooters, several have the Phoenix. Hugh
From: stick&string
13-Sep-17
Thanks for the replies. Does not look to be a popular bow on this sight, or am I wrong? I have checked out LL's on Facebook, just not a fan of Facebook. I have reached out to a few folks, but no replies as of yet.
From: stick&string
13-Sep-17
Thanks for the insight Ohio Hunter. I have held this new Oneida, and to be honest I just think it is a very interesting bow. At 70 pounds, I will probably shoot a release, different muscles, and easier on my shoulders. I know there are cheaper bows for sure, faster, quieter, that is not the reason for this choice. Ohio, my old stomping grounds!
From: SteveD
13-Sep-17
Not to side track it much here, but drop down 10-15lbs and it will be easier on you.
From: stick&string
13-Sep-17
Steve, You are correct sir, but pulling 70 pounds with fingers vs wrist is night and day. Different muscle group, and I like shooting logs. Thank you for the reply.
From: LBshooter
13-Sep-17
Why not just go down in weight? 45/50 lbs will kill just about any big game aniaml.
From: manitou1
13-Sep-17
Brotber and I shot Oneidas for years... probably over 20. I never shot a bow that even came close to the easy draw. Went trad after that. No experience with the Phoenix, but it looks like a similar system. As you already mentioned, speed is overrated. Millions of game animals have been killed with 180 fps trad bows and the old 210 fps compounds. If you are proficient with a 270 fps Oneida and know it's trajectory I don't see any reason. ot to shoot one. Doesn't Bass Pro sell them still? They were in their catalogue last season. Maybe you could shoot one there. John Paul Morris owns the company now ya know.
From: OkieJ
13-Sep-17
I shoot a Osprey with fingers with no problems bowfishing. You should have no problem .
From: Franklin
13-Sep-17
I agree with the "speed" thing....I killed almost all my animals with the Hoyt round wheeled Pro Hunter. I remember Ralph Ciancirillo had a bow shop and I brought that jalopy in to have a new string installed prior to a western hunt and he looked at me like I had 3 eyes....Good times. The Oneida has the limb tips that move....keep this in mind when drawing. I had a buddy that shot at a buck under his stand and almost ripped his sack off....his inner thigh was a purple I have never seen before. What every twirls YOUR beanie is what is important.
From: Shawn
13-Sep-17
If you are a trad guy, no reason you cannot kill most anything in North America with 45-47#s. I have been putting off a full shoulder replacement and get injections under X-Ray 5 times a year. I still hunt with my recurves. I used to shoot 80-90# bows then went down to around 60#s and then a bit less. I now shoot 42-47#s and the deer and other stuff I hunt is just as dead. If you want to shoot instinctively or gap or whatever you did with your trad bows, buy an older Mathews Conquest, great finger bows and you can set them up to shoot a lot like your trad ] bows! Shawn
From: swackerpw
13-Sep-17
been shooting aero force, until four years ago went to black eagle , been shooting oneidas for 25 years. There are smoothest bow of all of them. Love them!!!!!
From: stick&string
14-Sep-17
Thanks again to all that replied. Great suggestions and made me think a little. As far as the new owners of the Oneidas, it is Bass Pro (JP Morris), which I was hoping sine the purchase that the price would come down a little. That has yet to be seen. All points have been noted, thank you. I just really like the look of this bow. I will shoot one this weekend at Bass Pro. Thanks again. Aim small, miss small...
From: OkieJ
14-Sep-17
RPM Bowfishing is making a lever bow for $500.
From: Ken Moody Safaris
14-Sep-17
Oneida has been owned at one time or another by everyone. They need to go public and sell stock, lol
From: stick&string
14-Sep-17
I was hoping since Bass Pro bought them, that they had the money and resources to manufacture this bow for less. Remains to be seen.
From: GF
15-Sep-17
Not sure I'd count on a for-profit operation to lower their sticker price just because they had figured out a way to reduce their overhead... But when it comes to the actual manufacturing, I don't know that they would see much savings unless they were to farm out production to somebody else....
I'm told that the Oneida's have one truly unique feature; this may cause some people to want me to turn in my Trad Guy card, but here you go:
At full draw, you can rest an Oneida on your leg (or shooting rail, if you have one) and you can sit there at full draw All Day Long. Or at least until you want to do something that requires two hands.
Interesting proposition, in some ways....
From: stick&string
18-Sep-17
I did not know that, interesting. Not sure I would do that but interesting. Thanks for the reply.
From: WV Mountaineer
18-Sep-17
I didn't know that either GF. You might have just sold a few more Onieda's by sharing that info. :^)
From: OkieJ
18-Sep-17
At full draw, you can rest an Oneida on your leg (or shooting rail, if you have one) and you can sit there at full draw All Day Long. Or at least until you want to do something that requires two hands.
How is that possible? I shoot a Onieda and that isn't happening.
From: Kodiak
20-Sep-17
Good way to take yer leg off.
From: Rob Nye
20-Sep-17
A bear client had one last Spring. Super noisy at release, loudest bow I've ever heard by far. They always made me nervous wouldn't wanna be anywhere close if one ever came apart. What weight trad bows you shoot? I dropped from a 65 to 53 lb longbow and kept killing, even get great penetration on Moose.
From: Kodiak
20-Sep-17
I think they're cool and all...but it really is a failed concept. It's hard to believe they're still around.
Slow, loud and heavy. Great!! Lol
From: OkieJ
20-Sep-17
Oniedas are.sought after.for.bowfishing. That's why BP bought them. Cashing in on the fast growing sport.
From: BigOk
20-Sep-17
Franklin, i had a hunting buddy years ago do something similiar to yours. He came back to truck for lunch with the crotch of his pants ripped out. When I told him he was lucky that was all he ripped, a light bulb went off in his head. He started looking for a new bow shortly after.
From: badguybuster
23-May-19
I own an Aeroforce X80 and a 2017 Phoenix. Shooting with fingers they are very quiet.....with a release not so much
From: timex
23-May-19
I had an Oneida eagle 35 or so years ago & killed a bunch of critters with it shooting with (fingers) & yes it had a thwack to it like a screen door slamming. & to be more specific at full draw yes you can put the bottom limb tip on something & with downward pressure the the holding weight is significantly reduced. iv seriously considered buying a Phoenix but $$$ is a bit hard for me to swallow. they are significantly improved from the old ones with string stops & dished limbs to eliminate string slap on the limbs if you have no issues with the $$$ I'd go for it. very unique bows
From: badguybuster
26-May-19
I own an Aero Force and a Steike eagle (both rebuilt by Greenwells) and with fingers they are dead quiet. RPM seems to really be making a heckuba nice lever bow at half the price. That being said, the Phoenix i shot last week was super nice
From: Coyote
22-Mar-21
I own an oneida osprey, set long 29 to 31 draw, 50 pounds letoff to 30 it is very very smooth it is NOT loud my son shoots an alibow horse bow (kheshig), my osprey is only a small bit louder. These bows, both Phoenix and Osprey are easy to custom set, and easy to maintain contrary to popular belief And I do agree with some of these comments go lighter , the Pheonix can be set to 50/ 30 ect. You won't regret it
From: DrewB
22-Mar-21
Many eons ago I hunted with a Strike Eagle. Very smooth draw, easy to hold for a while, but loud on release (i shot fingers at the time). I had the unfortunate mishap while tree stand hunting, lower limb hit the stand and yanked the bow out of my hand. Bow came apart on the next “test” shot. It actually was anti-climactic, control cable popped and limbs just fell back with a crack.
One of the cool things a trad guy might enjoy is you can still make your own strings. I have a good friend who is a bowyer teach me how to make Flemish twist strings. I shot those for a few years.
If it floats your boat grab one and enjoy it!
From: WVFarrier
23-Mar-21
I own a Phoenix and shifted to it from shooting longbows as well. Here is my .02 1st- Oneida replaced all the fragile plastic parts of the original line of bows with metal, so it is more durable. 2- Its loud, at least twice as loud as any compound I ever tried. Even with heavy arrows (which my phoenix really likes). 3- I tried both a release and shooting 3 under. For me, its quieter with fingers. 4- Its a hammer, it slams an arrow into a target HARD. Its not fast per se bit the arrows really seem to THUMP on impact. 5- They are pretty simple to do basic maintenace on but for serious issues theres only a handful of guys who are GOOD at repairs. 6- Did I mention heavy arrows? Mine likes a 650 grain set up and is insanely accurate.
Theres my .02
From: Scar Finga
23-Mar-21
Guys the original post is from 2017! I have a brand new Phoenix custom I would sell if anyone wants it! I broke my arm in two places and can't shoot fingers anymore! 55-65lbs. 30" draw.
From: Boxcall70
28-Mar-21
I have a oneidas tomcat,and an aero force,and a screaming eagle.finger shoot all of them.
From: turkeyhunter60
30-Mar-21
I own 5 oneidas, first one brand new in the 80s,..Smoothest bow on the market, shoot them with release....I think there a great bow...
