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I met a guy in the field in 2016 I think and he had an APA bow. Apparently they are a Canadian company. Anyway, I became friends with that I guy i met and was chatting with him the other day and he is still shooting an APA and swears by the product and customer service. Anyone have an experience with this brand? www.apaarchery.com
Where's Spike78, he always seems to be thinking of one of those and seems to have done some good research on them. They look nice, but that's all I know.
I shoot an APA Mamba II. I got it new from the factory built to my specs around 2009 or so. I contacted them and told them what I was looking for and they hooked me up. I've never had any problems with it. IMO....it has some built in features that are very useful the other brands do not have. I love the limb hanger "fangs" built into the top of the riser. I use those for hanging the bow while in the stand. If I'm walking thru the woods or down the trail and need to stop, I can quickly hang the bow on a nearby limb without having to lay the bow on the ground. I can change the strings and cables in the field without a bow press if I had to. It's those little features that IMO make them better than the other bows out there. My nephew is saving up his bucks to buy one. Last time I checked years back...you can trade in your old APA on a new one. You can get some great color options on the new ones these days.
JL. How would you describe the draw cycle?
Mtn.....my back-up bow is an older single cam PSE and it is a little smoother as most single cams are. The APA is a dual cam with I think an 80% let-off with a max DW of 80lbs. I have it set to a 70 or 71lb DW. The DL is 30". It has the usual increase on initial draw to your set DW. It hits the peak hill (DW) and then drops into the valley (let-off). As it nears max DL you can feel the approaching stop (wall). The release is fairly smooth with little hand shock but I don't have another dual cam to compare it to. If I had one knock on it....I wish I had gotten the DL 1/2" or 1" longer. It might not have been an option when I got that particular bow way back when?? I know the new APA's have alot of options to choose from when you get your bow custom built at the factory to your specs.
I have always liked the looks of them. No where around here to check them out though.
They have changed the cams slightly this year. The draw cycle on my black mamba 31 has the feeling of a solo cam IMO. Having shot APA bows for almost a decade, the ones this year are my personal favourite. I’m shooting a 415gr arrow @ 290 FPS @28” and 66 lbs. 72.4 lbs was doing 307.
Also, they do have some cool camo/colour configurations as well this year.
This is the new OD green riser, and I ordered it with the verde 2.0 limbs.
Thanks for the info Andrew!
Thanks for the info Andrew!
Been to the shop and have met the owner. He is one of the most knowledgeable but guys I know. If you are interested in a specific setup and top notch service worth looking into. Vs the off the shelf mainstream stuff. Company has stood the test of time and products aimed at hunters.
Is that the bow that had a bottle opener or something built into the riser? Have heard they were great bows, but that's some next level stuff...... far better than waffle irons.....
^...you could probably open up a bottle on it somewhere.
I do want to try a Mamba 33 this year. Will have to find a place to shoot one.
The APA bows are a true dual cam bow. They store tons of energy and therefore the draw force curve is aggressive. They pull full weight longer than the other cam styles and this is were guys think that the bows draw hard. As APAX36 stated we have new cams out this year "always tweaking" to get the most performance.
These Bows will outperform anything on the market now for KE / Mom, etc. We have lots of customers asking for higher draw weights, and custom colours. As far as speed there is plenty. We have had customers tell us they don't need lots of speed and only shoot closer distances due to terrain or cover (USA East coast) to this I ask them why then do they pull higher weight bows to get the speed they do? Why not pull 10-15 lbs less and shoot the same arrow (weight) at approx the same speeds!!
As far as not having a dealer close to you please see our website and check out the test drive option. This will get an APA bow in your hands and test shoot it and with an option to return if your not impressed.......So far we have not had any returns!!!
Ask away if you have any other questions!
apapro
"We have had customers tell us they don't need lots of speed and only shoot closer distances due to terrain or cover (USA East coast) to this I ask them why then do they pull higher weight bows to get the speed they do? Why not pull 10-15 lbs less and shoot the same arrow (weight) at approx the same speeds!!"
Specific to that thought.....your basic logic has merit. However I believe the general thinking on the other side of the equation is that the individual on the east coast (smaller game) may want to do a large or dangerous game hunt(s) at some point. Could be in North America, could be Africa. Therefore it would be nice to have that higher poundage option within your bow's draw weight window to shoot heavier arrows if the hunt scenario dictates that. Without that option to step up the draw weight (and arrow weight) enough to achieve a targeted KE, the individual may have to get another bow or deal with a possible penetration issue on a large or dangerous game animal. At least that is my thinking.
Sign me....an APA shooter for the last 12 years. :-)