Darton Super Flite Hunter

[Mathew Carothers]

#2630

Hi everyone. I just picked up a Darton Super Flite Hunter 45lb 56in. Can anyone tell me anything about it? It is my first recurve (trying to start over after overbowing) and seems to be a really nice shooter. I can’t seem to find anything about it online.

[Mathew Carothers]

#14503

Ok, I found one reference, on another forum. A guy was referring to his 1974 super flite hunter.

I also looked at the old catalogs on Darton’s website; they did not have any recurves in their catalogs after 1974.

Is it possible that this bow is almost 40 years old? And is an old bow like this safe?

[tombow]

#14540

Interesting! I started shooting non-compound bows about 8 years ago and the first bow I purchased was a Darton Super Flite Ranger, Serial no. 15627, marked 45@28 but actual more like 55@28. It has slightly twisted limbs but shoots fairly well. The bow looks to be Maple with green limbs. I was unaware of the age of the bow but guessed it as an early 70’s model. I would take a good hard look at the bow to seek out signs of delamination, cracks in the glass, etc. Mine has pretty rough looking tips but has held together fine for a lot of shooting. I wouldn’t use anything other than B50/Dacron strings, no fast flight for old bows. If the bow isn’t making odd noises like creaking when you draw I would say it’s fine.

Hopefully someone will have some more information about these bows.

[Mathew Carothers]

#14575

Mmmm. No outward signs that I recall (i’m at work and don’t have it in front of me) and i’ve put @200 shots through it since saturday. Would it have already failed if it were going to?

I’m a little nervous now.:?

[tombow]

#15700

To be honest, I have been pretty fearless with mine, probably because of the cheap price, but I have shot the gamut of arrow weights through it from light carbons to a few shots with some heavy woods. I have not noticed a problem at all. I don’t think there’s too many people that can tell you WHEN a bow is going to “fail” BUT if you are not seeing signs to delam, creaking during the draw or unusual noises at the shot I personally would not worry about it. Give it a close, slow look around the whole thing and look for signs of non-usual wear and seperation between laminations. If you don’t see anything you wouldn’t expect from normal wear and tear, SHOOT it and forget it. If the bow wasn’t abused by being left in a hot car or other temp extremes (excessive heat could cause the old glues used in old bows to cause separation), left strung for a very long time, it is likely that the bow still has another years or better. Again, Dacron string is the only string you should use and don’t go too light on arrow weight. AFter that, just enjoy shooting the bow and don’t worry about it. Worrying will affect your shooting. Bottom line: If worrying about it is going to affect your shooting, get rid of the bow or put in in the non-shooting bow display. Best of luck.

[Mathew Carothers]

#15721

I took another close look at it last night after work, and I didn’t see anything that caught my eye. I feel pretty good about it.

I kind of think of it as a hidden gem. I couldn’t believe it was so cheap, and in my admittedly inexperience hands, it shoots very well. In the lighter weight it is much easier to hold back, and it zips them along pretty quickly. In my eyes is a nice looking bow, too; simple wood. An understated beauty.

Thanks for your input. I feel better now.:)

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