i'm looking for 50-55 lb compound bow(do they come in compact versions? if so, i'd like one of those).
i want it to be cheap but not junk either, sort of like the Rem 870 of compound bows

i don't know if this is enough info to recommend a bow, but i'll try and hopefully get som recommandations.

Have a look at the Bowtech Diamond series of bows

Diamond Razor Edge. It's compact and goes between 40-60 lbs I believe.

Go to http://www.forgebow.com and check out their line up of bows. I shoot a Forge Woodsman and the Woodsman XL. Both have a very forgiving brace height making them easy to shoot accurately, they're quiet, reliable, light weight and in comparison to many of the "name bows", are very reasonably priced. Many times you can get one completely rigged with a good sight, rest and 1/2 dozen Forge arrows for less than a name brand bow alone.

At 30 and 32 inches axle to axle, they're short, easy to manuever while stalking or in a treestand and adjustable in draw weight from 40 - 70 lbs.

I've used mine to take game from chipmunks to 1,400 lb. water buffalo.

i see that the Diamond Razor Edge is marketed as a youth bow.
but you think its a good choice for full sized people?

as to Forge bows, i really liked the Ambush.
but i can't find any webshops who sell them.

It might or might not fit you, a lot depends upon your physical stature as well as your draw length. If your draw length is longer than 29 inches, you're out of luck. I am 5'9", of medium build and I draw 29.5 inches. So for me, the Razor wouldn't work well.

Most of the reviews I read were favorable, however, most started with, "I bought this bow for my (A) Son, (B) Daughter, (C) Wife, (D) Girl friend..... So unless you are of small stature, I wouldn't recommend this bow for you.

The reason you cannot find many webshops that sell Forge Bows is primarily because the president of the company prefers to keep his dealer network small and doesn't want his bows sold over the internet unless he's doing the selling. That way he has closer control on how the bow gets shipped and he knows he has a satisfied customer.

Trust me, he would prefer to talk in depth with you, get your dimensions and measurements, then set up the bow as close as possible, with all the accessories already mounted, so that all you have to do is minimal fine tuning. So I would either call or email the company and ask for Steve Pagel (president and bow designer).

As I said, I'm on my third Forge Bow. My first is still being actively hunted with, it's just that my neighbor is the one doing the hunting with that particular bow. The other two are still being used afield interchanageably, one is my primary bow, one is my backup bow for when I hunt out of state or out of country.

Go to a good bow shop and you might find a good used bow. My bow shop probably has 30 of them. Some people trade them in yearly about like cell phones or computers.
You might find a great deal! Probably save 30-40% and you can try them out right there. Most will be already rigged up for shooting.


EZ

martin archery has some fantastic deals on budget priced bows. look at the gold line on their website. also, you would be doing yourself a favor if you looked around for a 2009 bow now that the 2010's are out. martin lists some 2009 on their site, and archerytalk.com classifieds has literally hundreds if not thousands of great deals.

I am 5 foot 10 and weigh 180lbs. So I am around the me size as you and the Razor works great.

quote:

Originally posted by DRNebergall:
I am 5 foot 10 and weigh 180lbs. So I am around the me size as you and the Razor works great.

It might, or it might not. Draw length is important. The neighbor that I loaned one of my bows to is about 6'4" and 200 pounds. I was stunned to watch him draw my bow and not need a longer draw length.

I thought too that I'd have to adjust the peep sight and the front sight, and he's shooting the bow as well as if it were set up for him personally!

Every one is different.