Customer Testimonials Sasquatch SS Static Tip ILF Takdown Recurve Review The following is a customer review for his 60" Sasquatch TD model, 67.5# @ 28" "Kirk, I got my bow delivered to me late this afternoon, went out for a few shots before installing nock point or anything else just to shoot it and it started to rain really hard after about 9 shots. It was a cold day and I have a bit of flu so I was not feeling as strong as usual, took a few warm up pulls and let fly with those 710gr arrows and ... WOW, those arrows fly like darts out of this bow, incredible!!! Even without a nock point installed on the string, I was shooting right where I was looking. It's a strong bow for sure. Spent the evening setting it up with nock, cat whiskers and quiver ready for shooting tomorrow, weather permitting. I simply love the compactness of the bow Kirk, the riser is nice and compact, the grip is right on man, right on slender means less torque, hand right up under the shelf, as is the overall length which is a great plus for manoeuvrability. Everything is perfect, right down to the non-glare satin finish, great for hunting, not to mention the classy black mamba carving, really making this piece unique and special. I am very impressed with how slim you get those limbs, yet retain incredible stability. It honestly pulls like a much longer bow. The bow oozes "I mean business". This Mamba is so powerful, it was bending 29" 5575 arrows at 710gr like spaghetti, so much so, the shaft of one pinched the web of my left hand so severely it cut me quite bad, blood all over. I was shocked. I had noticed that the arrows were coming out like a snake on hot tar, corkscrewing. This afternoon, I got out there with my bow and some arrows and proceeded to set the nocking point. I backed off on the weight of the arrows, down to 650gr and they worked far better at 29". When I get enough time, I will run through my setup arrows and see what works best. These have been cut into half inch increments starting at 27" and work right up to 32" in both 5575 and 7595, some FMJ's and FMJ DG's shafts with the sole purpose of bow tuning. I told you from the outset that I will be using heavy arrows with this bow, and today I had a go with some and I can honestly say that you have surpassed my expectations with this build!!! 1060gr arrows were launched out of this bow with deadly power, no kidding. I simply cannot believe the incredible capacity of this bow to handle such monster arrows. Kirk, those arrows were giving me such incredible penetration on my target butts, a number of times they blasted RIGHT THROUGH the target butt and embedded themselves into the sand bank behind. I could not believe my eyes. My compound set at 72Lbs managed to do this with less frequency with those heavy arrows!!! Now that's HUGELY IMPRESSIVE, especially from 20 yards!! I honestly feel this bow is TWICE as powerful as my old 65# longbow. Not based on scientific tests, but that's how I feel about it. Those heavy arrows just soak up the bow's potential energy, very silent on the shot. This bow just loves heavy arrows. From 5 to 25m, those 1060gr arrows are totally practical to hunt with since trajectory only becomes a slight issue between 20 to 25m. You could easily go to 30m with practice. I would not shoot at any game beyond 25m with a longbow anyway, especially big game. I love the way this bow shoots where you look. Do your part and concentrate and bam, right on the money. Another thing, it's DEAD IN HAND at the shot, I mean DEAD. How the heck do you do that man? It's plain beautiful, poetry in motion so it is. Last thing, did I mention I love my bow? :)" Fred "Just got the traveling Sasquatch today.. Best bow box I have seen on a custom bow. Pulled out the cordless drill and took out the multitude of screws. A detailed review to follow. "This is a very different bow than anything else out there. The design is a forward riser with longbow type limbs. I say longbow type, because the limbs retain a lot of reflex when strung. The limbs are pretty stable. If you grab the string and move it up and down, you get some movement, but nothing like I have seen on other bows with this limb type. I strung the bow up, and it braced at about 8.0 inches. No string silencers were on the string, and it is of the endless loop variety. I grabbed a few 2016's, (which I figured would be too stiff) and headed out to do some shooting. Just a little background on what I am comparing this bow to. I have been shooting for 30 years, and in that time I have owned or tried just about every custom bow out there. Lets get back to the Sasquatch. The fit and finish on the bow looks good. I have seen some of the later creations, and the finish work looks to be top notch. This being the traveling bow, it has some dings and marks, which is to be expected. I really like the forward riser, it is light in physical weight, and sits well in the hand. The Sasquatch is nice and smooth back to my 28 inch draw. For having no string silencers on the bow it is also pretty quiet, nothing but the twang of the string. No real noticeable vibration after the shot was felt in my hand. Overall it is a very well made bow with a unique design. Thanks Kirk, for giving me the opportunity to try out your creation." Robert Hust "I got to fling a few arrows through the Sasquatch traveler. That bow is SWEEEEET! I was totally amazed at how light in the hand that bow was. It was as smooth as smooth gets to draw and shoot. Man I was stacking arrows on top of arrows the whole time. Kirk your Sasquatch has really moved up towards the top of my "want" list. THANK YOU'S to both you and Ernie for the opportunity to shoot that magnificent beast." Nathen , March , 2010, Billings MT "I just put a few arrows (8) through the little monster. WOW... I am impressed. Not surprised at all, because all I've heard for a solid year now is how great they are... But I'm impressed nonetheless. Put the arrows RIGHT where I was looking on the VERY first shot and NO hand shock NO noise! You got a winner there man!... I cant WAIT to shoot and see a takedown... especially with carbon! I will be the happy owner of one come later this year... really looking forward to it. I shot that bow off and on for about a week now. I liked to shoot it as much as my own bows, which of course, I'm biased To... I can say that my Sasquatch will likely get time in the woods with me, which would mean I will be leaving my own creations at home...which is saying something.... cause I really dont shoot other bows. I've watched Kirk develop as a bowyer over the last 2 years now and I truly believe he's got one of the coolest, highest performance designs out there. The performance (fps) is unreal and the quietness and shoot ability is fantastic also. The very first 2 arrows I shot out of this bow, at about 6 yards, touched each other! Then yesterday, Stiknstring came over, I handed her to him at about 9 yards he slapped his first two arrows together also! Kirks Craftsmanship is beautiful, and the maple and walnut in this particular bow are Stunning! If you are interested in getting a bow that is an easy, Please to shoot... and distinctive looking and can only shoot carbon because the wood arrows catch on fire too easily... One of these Sasquatch bows is a hell of a deal." Ernie McKenzie , Sapphire Traditional Archery, March, 2010 , Billings MT "Recently I got to be one of the lucky ones to shoot Kirk Lavender's traveling Sasquatch longbow. As soon as I picked it up I knew that I was in for something different. Turns out it was a truly impressive kind of different. For those who don't know him, or his work, Kirk is a bowyer located in Oregon. You can learn more about him and his bows at bigfootbows.com. He's got some good pictures of his work there. The bow I got to shoot was submitted to Walk the Talk III where it did very well. I got a bunch of technical info from Kirk that was generated for that event, so to satisfy the techies among us and get it out of the way I'm going to cut and paste in that info and some pics of the bow. I myself was pulling 46# @ 27.5" true draw. (That's measured at the high point of the shelf radius, not AMO measurement) I had the BH up at 8-1/4". I had the high BH as part of getting it tuned to shoot the arrows I had available. Shooting a 364 grain (7.9 grains per # of draw weight.) arrow I made 180 fps. Now that's all very nice but I had to put it in a way that really meant something to me. The best longbow I own is a Bob Lee. I hate admitting this, but for only 3# pounds more draw weight the Sasquatch shoots the same weight arrow 10 fps faster. Now that is a difference a person can really use. I know a lot of folks say that speed isn't everything. That's true. But hey, if somebody is just going to hand you several more fps, would you turn it down? Right off I noticed a few things about the Sasquatch. It's short and it's light. The shortness really got my interest. Thought to myself that maybe this could work out as a good hunting longbow. I'll admit I was somewhat skeptical about how light it was at first, but more on that in a minute. The riser has finger grooves cut into it. I've shot several grooved risers. Never did like them. Gotta say though, Kirk made them work. First bow I ever shot with grooves where I actually like them. A few other people shot the bow and they also found the finger grooves well made. I enjoy turkey hunting from a blind. I use a recurve. At 58" long this bow would certainly cause me to rethink my gear. I didn't get to take it hunting but I did get to take to a couple of trad shoots. That experience also got me to change my initial feelings about how light the bow is. The bow is quick to point, quick to aim, and it immediately reacts to whatever you want it to do. The shoots I go to always have a few "trick" shots. Shots I don't always make. The Sasquatch is light, quick, and responsive. No two ways around it, those qualities enabled me to make those trick shots at those shoots. Almost made them seem easy. I took a first at the Lodi Bowmen Gold Country Classic and a second at San Francisco Archers Traditional Rendezvous with the Sasquatch. When Kirk had the bow sent to me he asked me to write a fair and impartial review of my impressions of the bow, so I'm going to do that. The Sasquatch's lightness and responsiveness are leading me to rethink a lot of things. But those same qualities that I'm really beginning to like also make this bow not a good bow for a beginner. This bow is for the experienced shooter. Also, let's not fool ourselves here. Although I did very well in competition, trad shoots aren't like shooting a FITA field round or an American 900 round. For that type of competition, a heavy riser would be better. But after all you've got all day to set up your shot, shooting those rounds. When I got the bow dialed in for my arrows, there was a "thump" in the hand during the shot, but no real hand shock. I believe that if one were to seriously lower the BH though and run it like a hot rod like what was done for the WTT III testing, then it may start to generate some shock and some string buzz. Overall though, if you're looking for a bow to hunt with on Saturday, and then kick some butt on the range on Sunday, the Sasquatch would be well worth looking into. (I believe Kirk has some bows available for potential buyers to test drive, but contact him through his website to make sure.) This is a bow that I would seriously like to own! If anybody wants to know more, either contact Kirk at his website." Paul Fender Ca Apr 21, 2010 "Mike Travis brought Sasquatch to me to shoot for a while, and all I can say is, WOW! I enjoyed shooting it...the weight was perfect for me, and it was quiet and put the arrows where I wanted...which is unusual for me and the way I shoot.....quick too! I really didn't want to let it go this soon, but he gave me the name of the next person, so it is on its way to New Mexico.." Lee Vivian, Lancaster Archery Rep Dec 08, 2009 "Sweet design Kirk. This morning spent some more time with Sasquatch. Got the brace height a hair below 8" and she's quiet as a mouse fart, everything from heavier arrows to lighter arrows. It feels great from the start of the draw to my anchor. Do you attribute this to the limb timing? Holds nice and steady. Would you call it a recurve or a longbow?" Brian Grossnickle NM (reply) "Actually Brian this is what I consider a true hybrid longbow." - Kirk "Impressions of the Sasquatch. Light in the hand, I like that in a bow my self. Short, it is a 60" bow, I think 64-66 or more when I think longbow. No noticeable finger pinch though. When my form was better and I was shooting a lot I drew 30.5". Bow seemed lighter than the marked 50#. I haven't had a bow in my hands since beginning of January. I was getting 2 arrows touching pretty much every group of 4 at 20-30 yards. The other two were usually high. If I didn't let my brain work to hard, I would get all 4 touching, but I tend to over think my aim. Makes me get a lot of vertical stringing. Bow seems fast, but it is a heavier weight than I have been shooting lately. I was shooting full length Vapor 2000 with 4" feathers and 125 gr points. Bow is very quiet with nothing on the string or limbs. Incredibly well made, a beautiful finish. The limbs are narrow and the tips are tiny. It is a keeper." Dave Kard Feb 14, 2010 , Utah The following is a review of my new Take-Down 64" Reflex/Deflex Splinter Kat Longbow (43#@28") by bowyer Kirk Lavender. Before we actually discuss the bow, I feel that I should mention the bowyer. Kirk has proven himself, not only to be the most skilled and knowledgeable bowyer I've dealt with, but second to none in the customer service end of things. During my ordering process, Kirk took the time to answer all of my numerous questions, as well as teach me a great deal about bow making in the process (which was very rewarding and valuable in and of itself). He took considerable care and attention to detail to design for me the absolute best fit for a longbow (not only in design, but in regards to grip and aesthetics). He even took photographs of the bow making process, as well as including slow motion video of the Kat as it was test fired, so that I could see the dynamics of the bow during drawing all the way through the shot. I can tell you that after seeing the video I could hardly wait. What a stable, well designed bow (but more on that later). Did I also mention that he sent a draw force curve for my bow with explanation. Obviously, his skill, original designs and years of woodworking experience come together to make the best custom longbow I currently own. Now to the looks and design of the bow ... I was fortunate enough to have Kirk find for me a beautiful riser block laid up with Kingwood and Rosewood with black glass accents. To this I added a G-10 I-Beam for stability and extra performance. (I am primarily a traditional target shooter). The riser came out as a seamless and smooth piece of art, with exacting craftsmanship and a superb finish, allowing the beauty of the wood to show through from all angles. Absolutely perfect glue lines and no rough edges here. The riser as a whole has a wonderfully balanced shape, which adds to the profile. The grip perfectly fits my hand and shooting style due to the time and attention Kirk spent through discussions and with my hand tracings. Probably the most stunning aspect of the look came when I finally saw what Kirk had in store for my limbs. I ordered bamboo and walnut limbs with black glass. The surprise came when I saw the woodworking of the matching kingwood/black glass overlays and tips, the tips accented with white glass as well. These very fine and slender tips make stringing the Kat easy, as well as adding to the design. Stunning and beautiful is all I can say! All of these features come together to create a bow with a beautiful profile when strung or unstrung. Now to the shooting characteristics ... The first thing that I noticed was how solid and sturdy the bow feels in the hand. This is truly a well made bow that feels good to hold and you will notice this quality immediately. The feeling directly transfers itself to shooting. The Kat is a very stable and smooth shooting bow, allowing focus to be put on the shot, due to the perfect fit of my low grip. The grip just falls into place securely, comfortably, and with no torque whatsoever, finishing very dead in the hand after the shot. And given the great pre-load and smooth draw to anchor, aiming is easy and follows with a quick powerful shot. Even with my slightly heavier arrows that I like to shoot, the power and efficiency comes through. Finally, the Kat gives you that perfect "in the shot feel" that I have come to love and desire of any longbow I shoot. I am back to really being able to pinpoint and call a shot on target again. This is truly a high performance and skillfully crafted longbow. Shooting is a joy! I highly recommend Kirk Lavender and Bigfoot Bows and will definitely be adding another quality, custom bow of his to my stable in the future! Sean Evans