Customer Reviews

Martin Threshold Bow Set (Right Hand, 60-70-Pounds)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought the bow from sportsman's guide. It has a good riser and metal cams. It has an issue with the cam stop were it can rotate past the stop point and this can be dangerous because if it does the cam will get stuck leaving the limbs compressed. I had this happen to me the first time I shot it, easy enough to fix just be aware of it. It is an old style bow meaning the limbs are not parallel and it can jump out of your hand if you are new at shooting a bow like me. The sight ring cover is cheap plastic and will not take a beating. The arrow rest is a drop away rest but not fully confined would be better off with a whisker biscuit.

So now that I made it sound like a piece of crap consider this, the cam stop problem is easily fixed and the bow is 206 dollars with the sportsman's guide club discount. I replaced the sight with a $30 5 pin sight, the drop away rest with a $40 used fully confined drop away rest and added an extra washer to the cam stop bolt to extend its length, plus a $30 stabilizer and bingo for $306 plus tax I have a very accurate 70# bow with all the fixings.

I recommend this bow to anyone who wants to start with bow shooting and is on a budget like me. You will get an exceptional 70# bow that is very accurate, powerful and best of all affordable.

The arrows shown with the bow have nocks indexed incorrectly for the rest on the bow. As for the bow it is good looking, easy to use and
fast. I'd happily recommend it to anyone.

Just opened the box to see a fletching jig (obviously an awful small box). Though Amazon had put a sticker on it with the item # of the bow.

I am currently on hold waiting to speak to a supervisor, being told that the bow sold out (although I am certain they are sitting in the warehouse given that at least one other person has gotten on here and complained of the exact same thing. I ordered this with plenty of time, given that it was my husband's Christmas present. Now I guess he'll be getting a fletching jig for a bow he doesn't own.

The package was missing the two arrows and I did not see the box that says double as a carry case. I am going to try and get the two arrows by sending a e-mail. Will follow-up with rest of review after I attempt to get arrows. I have been offered a credit for the missing arrows. I now give it 5 stars.

When I made this purchase I was under Tue impression that I was going to receive a compound bow. Instead I received a fletching installer. I am not satisfied with my purchase.

I ordered a used bow based on the description and picture and they sent me some stupid accessory for a bow that i do not have!!!

It is not a pleasant experience when you opened your package and found inside Fletching Jig versus Bow Set. The wrong sticker "Martin Threshold Bow Set (Right Hand, 60-70-Pounds)"was stuck over an original product package label "Martin #J-8 Fletching Jig". Of course, a bow set is bigger than just fletching jig, but a product label tries to persuade you that it is exactly a bow set.

I got the 60-70# version. I'm a total noob in archery so I'm still learning as I go along.

The bow came partially assembled. I had to finish building it myself. Assembly instructions were rather brief, installation of the sight was not explained at all. Fortunately, it was not too hard to figure it out by myself. The biggest problem was that the allen wrench needed to install the sight was omitted from the package (all other wrenches were included) and none of my ~20 allen wrenches fit the bolts perfectly. To all other noob bow builders out there, the "knee" of the cable guard is supposed to go at an angle to the main plane of the bow: it's main purpose is to keep cables out of the way of the fletching on arrows (it's not at all obvious from included instructions.)

It is preset to 70# and draw length of 30". I had to adjust both presets down. Adjusting draw weight was (relatively) easy - all I had to do was turn some bolts. They were tight at first and it takes some effort to move them. Once they start moving, it gets easier.

Reducing the draw length is more difficult. To do that, it's necessary to swap a piece of the cam. That piece is held by two bolts, which are mostly occluded by the limb of the bow. You have to turn the cam, somehow hold it in the turned position (I ended up sticking a big screwdriver in it), and then unscrew the bolts. Replacement pieces are included for draw lengths of 26" to 32". The 26" piece did not fit properly at all, and I had to shave some plastic off the 27" piece with a knife to be able to screw the bolts back in. The manual also informs me that I can adjust the draw length in half-inch increments, but the only way to do that is to take it to a bow shop and to take off the string.

Once it is fully assembled though, it is a monster. Even at the 60# setting, just drawing it is hard, shooting a dozen arrows is a good workout. My upper arm muscles still hurt as I write this. I shot a broadhead arrow at an old door (not recommended - will damage the arrow head), it went all the way through and stopped with the point sticking out about 1" from the other side. It will send an arrow 100 feet and the arrow will still have enough energy left to dig 1" into a tree.

I got the kit from sportsman's guide and it did NOT include arrows. (Some reviewers here mention getting arrows - maybe their kit was different?) A dozen arrows and some hunting broadhead points will cost you about $80 on top of the price of the bow.

Fernando C. Malacara Jr. mentions a drop away arrow rest in his review. That aspect no longer applies, as both the sportsman's guide kit and the Amazon kit ship with Martin Mantis full-enclosure arrow rest. I haven't noticed any problems with the cam getting stuck. As far as I can tell, there is no cam stop and no nocking point in the kit. (I have some parts left over, but they don't look like either of those.) I don't see the need for a cam stop, but the nocking point is nice to have. I guess I'll just use a sliver of duct tape for now.

The bow only comes in a right-hand design, but so far I don't see any problem drawing it with left hand, looks like all you really have to do is flip the sight on the other side. Maybe I'm missing something.

The two aspects I can't address yet are accuracy and reliability. I'll keep using this bow and hopefully I'll come back and address them eventually.

At least my first impressions would be not for beginners, the instructions specifically know you will have one of quite a few variants of this bow so they put in instructions how to tune their other products too which confused me more so. Will probably bring this to a professional to finish the assembly, the tools and parts aren't labeled, or obvious to what they are so I'm trying to put the circle in the square slot and i have no idea which either looks like or is called, i feel that the idiot proof instructions were simply not included... I'm a little sad it didn't come no assembly required considering the box containing the bow was of decent size and then the second box containing that box was the size of a dorm fridge.

Overall its fun, comes tuned for larger people to the point i was forced to down play the draw weight so I could practice and be more accurate and still managed to bury my expensive arrows straight into the ground when i missed target. I'd still recommend it as a good addition to my arsenal, might even update this review as i tinker with it some more and figure out where those extra pieces go.

Received wrong item (Fletching Jig) twice !..last response from Amazon was we won't bother you with trying to correct the order and just cancel...Amazon return pickup process was good though.