[dlaroe]

I've got a Bear Mini-Magnum I would love to use as a recurve.

Is it warfable?

I'm new (again) to archery and broke so I'm trying to warf this bow cheaply.
I want to end up with a lighter 30-35# weight at my 30"-ish draw.

It looks like I have a different Mini-mag riser than others have used, mine is all magnesium with a one piece grip. The Black Bear and other Mini-mag warfs I've seen seemed to have a removable grip.

The Mini-mag limb bolt holes are about 17.5" apart and 5/16" bolts with an oversize hole in the riser. The rocker/limb pockets are hard plastic and 1.5" wide, the three little plastic pins broke off in the limbs so I shaved them flat.

Gleaning data from the internet, it looks like the Samick Sage limbs are 24.5" long with the limb bolt holes ½" from the end and 1 9/16" wide.
I don't know if any of that is correct because I haven't ordered the limbs yet and I wanted to run it by some experienced warfers before I went down the wrong path.
Is there a better limb candidate for the money?

If these measurements are correct, can I just sand 1/32 off each side off the limb to fit snug in the hard plastic rocker/pockets or do I have to make an adapter to mount them directly to the riser?
Would a little foam or cork underneath the limb be a good idea?

With 30# limbs, my 30" draw and assuming similar riser mounting angles to the Sage (I have no idea, really) that would seem to put me in the ballpark of 35# draw weight.
Will the extra length (65.5" instead of 62") effect the draw weight?
How do I figure out the string length?

Thanks for your help, what did I get wrong?

-Dale

 

[Sam Dunham]

YESSIR!! I can warf it!

 

[dlaroe]

Thank you Mr. Dunham, but a set of ILF limbs seems to start near the top of my total bow budget not including plates, string, etc.

Can I do this on the cheap?

-Dale

 

[Bowbender Mike]

Bear used the same riser for a recurve model. I used the same riser for my first conversion.
Using your rockers and bolt down limbs like the Samick Sage or Polaris, you should be able to make a nice shooting bow on a budget. RWSbow on this forum has a lot of experience with this type of conversion, he may be along soon, or you could try a PM.

 

[dlaroe]

Sam, your conversions are awesome work, when I'm ready to step up I will give you a call!

Mike, thanks for the heads up on the riser. I guess this is less warf and more re-reconfiguring from the factory. Or using Samick limbs a samarf?

Got 35# limbs on the way, I'll post pics once I've got it bolted together.

-Dale

 

[mick uk]

That's a real cool looking little riser, reminds me of a Black Swan. My friend did the same conversion with a very similar riser, he had a small gap each side of the limb pocket so he shimmed each side of the limb butt and he was off.. He shoots a good field round with it too.

Good luck with the conversion and looking forward to pic's and report.

 

[dlaroe]

Update

I finally got the bow together and in my novice hands it seems to shoot pretty well.

Its not a warf, bolting on limbs was cheaper and good enough for me to learn on.

Its a Bear MiniMag riser, bolted on Samick Sage 35# limbs and 60" fast flight string.
It measures 64" nock to nock, 17.5" bolt to bolt, 22" riser overall and the limbs are 23" at rest. I don't have a way to measure the weight it is pulling but it is a bit more than my kid's Bear Titan.

I had to dremel less than 1/16" off the limb so it would fit in the original limb pockets. The Sage limbs have a bushing that I left in, using just the Bear bolts and not the washers. Its a little funky but works. I'm going to try and find some knurled limb bolts that fit the Bear nuts eventually.

hehe, bear nuts...

i had a shelf rug on it but it peeled off the original pebble paint riser finish.
With its compound heritage, maybe it wanted a Weatherrest!

Thanks for you comments and encouragement!

I kept the "Do not Dry Fire this or any Compound Bow" sticker, makes me smile.

 

[stevelong]

Nice job, it looks great, bet it shoots good too.

 

[2Ten]

Did you have to use the dremel on the sides of the limbs or the butts? Looks nice. I'd like to find one of those.

 

[dlaroe]

Just the sides and I managed to get it just close enough that I didn't need to shim it.

I scored lines with a razor knife using the limb pocket as a guide and worked slow with the Dremel using a depth gauge and a pencil to highlight the high spots.

 

[Sam Dunham]

Your riser is not what I am familiar with as far as a genuine mini mag. It may be a mag riser but is too long and does not have the characteristics of the shorter mini mag risers. I have converted one riser like yours and as I remember I had to make a thread collar to have a "In and out adjustement" of the limb bolt to ILF. I think your riser turned out just fine and owuld shoo the heck out of it!!!