The Samick Sage comes in a one piece recurve. I bought mine from Lancaster online. It behaves similarly to a Bear Grizzly of a friend of mine let me shoot. Both were 50# at 28″. I draw 30″ at which the measured draw weight of my bow is 56#. Technically at $179 it is probably one of the best performing bows you can get. Lighter than the T/D but equivalen in performance. One issue. I am 6′ 1″ and the 60″ Samick is starting to stack noticeably for me.
You mentioned a $500 budget. I recently bought a Woodsman bow from Byron Ferguson what I am very pleased with. It is a 50# 66″ longbow with deflex limb tips that certainly shoots faster than my Samick, though I haven’t access to a chronograph to quantify how much. Every bow is going to point differently for every archer – but I have found the Woodsman has given me a more consistent performance as regards windage than any other bow I have shot. It might be worth inquiring about.
Steve
