Southwest ArcheryTakedown Recurve Risers; All Models and Hand Orientations Available

I wanted to pick this riser up, because I was considering grabbing a Sage riser so I could have an extra recurve bow for company. I have the Fleetwood Monarch.Now, you ask around, which should you get, the Sage or the Monarch? Because they seem to be the same bow, or really close. You ask that, and virtually everyone will tell you to get the Sage. So my expectation was that this riser would be at least as good as my Monarch, preferably better, hopefully better.It isn't.1. It's heavier2. The limb bolts it's comes with are cheap and strip easily3. Worst of all, it's handle is painful. What should be smooth has edge to it that just doesn't exist my Monarch. The top of part of my thumb is already irritated from just a couple test-draws after string itI haven't even had a chance to send arrows through it yet, but I'm not looking forward to using this bow.If this is really the improved Sage, then the Sage must really suck compared to the Monarch, and literally everyone you ask is wrong.Or this is just an overhyped riser. I'm going to go with that.Now, I'm stubborn and I hate returning products especially when I haven't had a chance to give it it's due diligence on the field, but I'm probably going to have to sand down that handle, which is probably bad for the bow. But come come on guys, did you seriously think no one was going to call you out for this?Review #3 no less......I'll update this review after a test run in the next couple days with 25 and 30 lb limbs.However, I had to immediately order replacement bolts, and there's no way in hell I'd want the crappy POS bolts they sent with this riser, so I had to fork out an extra $17 for replacement limb bolts for the Sage. I could have gotten them for about $4 cheaper on Lancaster Archery, but their shipping is slower.UPDATE:So I took this to the range for several hours, and did an objective comparison to the Fleetwood Monarch using the same loadouts.I didn't see any noticeable perfomance differences, but I think I overestimated how uncomfortable/troublesome the grip would be. It didn't get in the way or cause undue pain, even if my at-home test-draws seemed to be causing it. I probably just adjusted how my grip changed when drawing, naturally, instead of what my old motion would be so I'm glad that wasn't a problem.I'm increasing my rating from 2 starts to 3 because my expectations for the range were worse previously. However, my gripes remain:1. Inferior comfort/handle for the grip, probably a problem for people with bigger hands2. Terrible bolts that need to be replaced right away; minimum price increase of $11 if you shop from Lancaster Archery, but closer to $20 on AmazonSo this is really an $85 samick sage replacement.You can do better for $85, and should.SWA needs to provide robust bolts for this riser at the very least, and should smooth the handle for their next generation. They skimped out on parts that you will be using all the time if you actually take down your bow like I do, which was pretty foolish in retrospect. If they sold this as the improved Sage for an extra $10 isntead of an extra $5 and packed some decent limb bolts, I would have given this at least 4 stars.But they didn't, so here we are.It's also kind of noisy compared to the Monarch, but so is the normal Sage, so I didn't dock anything for that.

Received my first Tigershark as a gift for Father's day and was so impressed that I returned the favor and bought my Son the Tigershark Pro for Christmas. We both love the quality and accuracy of both bows! The woodworking is truly a beautiful work of art!

Very nice design, I like the wood and phenolic look. Matte finish is likely more durable than the shiny stuff. Shoots well. Shot ~7 flights of a dozen arrows from bow, so far so good. Very compact. This will be my daughter's bow in a year or so, as she graduates from a Southwest Spider (also nice enough for the price.)Negatives: While the ILF designs with these short risers seem to work quite well, I think I am too long a draw for this- I am about a 32.5" AMO draw/31.5 to rest shooter. I figured what the heck, experiment a bit. I am about to try a 19" and see if it is good enough, if not- becomes a shooter for my wife.I have a bow problem... started on one-piece bows, moved to ILF. Got to get rid of a ton of bows :) My 25" Field Archery/Olympic class bow is nice, shoots VERY well, but it is not warm- searching for nice, warm, wood ILF riser. Long ones are pretty rare.

The recurve bow is well-designed and easy to assemble. I have confidence when I shoot because it gives consistent results.

Having had nothing but stellar experience with my Spyder limbs on my Sage Riser, after a bit over a year I bought the Spyder riser. What a difference. The Spyder riser is a vast improvement in every way. The Spyder is a little lighter and has better balance than the Sage. It is more sleek in design and not blocky like the Sage. The Spyder's fit and finish are excellent. It is very much more attractive. The grip is infinitely superior and reminds me of my Howett bows. It is a little slimmer and has that flat area that nicer trad bows have to help with the control of torquing the bow while shooting. I have about 40 bows and have handled over a hundred, and this grip on the Spyder is great.Best of all, you can't beat Southwest Archery;s customer service.

Love the semi-standardization of risers and limbs. This riser worked great with Southland Archery Supply limbs. Only knock would be the limb attachment bolts require a tool (unlike the Sage Samick). Still a great deal, very happy and would recommend.

This riser is good quality smooth fits hand well and good looking. Had bow extra limbs so bought a riser to make complete bow.

It’s very light