Why a Recurve Crossbow?
A Kodabow recurve crossbow has no moving parts to stretch or fail. Our bow is both quiet and accurate. It will stay that way shot to shot and year to year. If you like complexity, get yourself a bow with cams, pulleys, cables and gizmos. That is not us. If you want to hunt, use a Kodabow. It gets the job done right. It's made right here in the USA. A Kodabow won't let you down. That's our promise to you.
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EL 2 Sling, Carrying
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Cocking the Crossbow
String Change
Kodabow Simulated Hunt
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Koda Crank Mechanical Cocking
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Crossbow String Path Energy
Recent News, Press, Info
05/14/2013 04:58 PM
"Real Obvious" Turkey Hunting Tips
Turkey hunting? OK ..here we go! The key word is "obvious." Most turkey articles
focus on calling the birds. Plenty of You Tube "professionals" out there that produce "turkey" sounds that might bring in everything from a field mouse to the farmer down the road.
Tip #1 - Minimal Calling. Until you are accomplished, keep the calling to a minimum. A few light tree yelps early in the morning.....a few yelps and cutts to a responding bird and then put the calls away. A turkey will take his sweet time making his entrance. They have no schedule. Keep the diaphragm mouth calls in your pocket. Master a slate call or box call first to fill out your first tag. Work real birds and experiment.
Tip #2 - You May Fail. The spring turkey success rate runs at 19% in the Mid-Atlantic states where Kodabow is located. Using a shotgun is more certain than using a crossbow or vertical bow because there is simply more room for error and turkeys move through the woodlands bobbing and weaving. So be prepared to be 100% dedicated to the task to succeed. Follow Tips #3, #4 and #5.
Tip #3 - Don't Move. You can't move around after getting into position even the slightest little bit ---- we are not talking "deer hunting still"... this is being "turkey hunting still" which is a whole level of non-movement well beyond what is typical in deer hunting. The answer is to bring a good turkey chair or blind to increase comfort which will help keep you under the turkey radar as the birds approach. When working a call, the movement must be hidden from turkey view so using a quick set-up "two stick" simple camo blind just to keep any movement out of view can be the difference between failure and success.
Tip #4 - Hunt with someone who can call birds. The only way to learn the interactive techniques of turkey calling is to either spend hours, days and seasons making mistakes or alternatively, spend some time with a friend who is very proficient. What does that mean? We have seen good callers work birds into range that started so far away, we could barely hear the responsive gobble. Far distances well beyond several hundred yards.
Birds that crossed blacktop roads and open fields to get to the beautiful but simulated love sick sounds of a hen in the woodlot. Observe how small subtle changes in calling are executed by good callers. Every bird is different and adjustments are made. Birds have different personalities and good callers drop what doesn't work and accentuate the positive. You haven't really turkey hunted till everything appears perfect and then a yahoo hunter starts cranking loudly on a box call every 30 seconds at first light. The birds shut down and the early morning is busted.
Tip #5 - The REAL SECRETS. Spend some time before the season to obtain permission from landowners to turkey areas that appear promising. Some call it "getting keys to the gate" and often, disclosing that hunting will be done with archery equipment can provide entry to spots where landowners are adverse to firearms because of children at play or other reasons. Strike that pot call late in the morning when all the other hunters have long departed the woods wondering where the birds were. Pull out the striker and slate late in the spring season when others have given up and turned to fishing. Step 40 yards off the road and hit the box call because those wise old birds have heard calls from the trails and roads since opening day. Leave the decoys behind. More gear is never a good idea and we have seen decoys put the birds on edge more frequently than they have ever provided attraction. The statistics say that 81% will fail so extraordinary measures are required for success. Most of all - stay "turkey still."
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| Chuck Matasic of Kodabow with a nice 9" beard, 22 lb. Spring gobbler taken at 35 yards on 14 May 2013 after calling the bird into range with a slate call. He stayed quiet as the bird made the final approach. |
Tip #1 - Minimal Calling. Until you are accomplished, keep the calling to a minimum. A few light tree yelps early in the morning.....a few yelps and cutts to a responding bird and then put the calls away. A turkey will take his sweet time making his entrance. They have no schedule. Keep the diaphragm mouth calls in your pocket. Master a slate call or box call first to fill out your first tag. Work real birds and experiment.
Tip #2 - You May Fail. The spring turkey success rate runs at 19% in the Mid-Atlantic states where Kodabow is located. Using a shotgun is more certain than using a crossbow or vertical bow because there is simply more room for error and turkeys move through the woodlands bobbing and weaving. So be prepared to be 100% dedicated to the task to succeed. Follow Tips #3, #4 and #5.
Tip #3 - Don't Move. You can't move around after getting into position even the slightest little bit ---- we are not talking "deer hunting still"... this is being "turkey hunting still" which is a whole level of non-movement well beyond what is typical in deer hunting. The answer is to bring a good turkey chair or blind to increase comfort which will help keep you under the turkey radar as the birds approach. When working a call, the movement must be hidden from turkey view so using a quick set-up "two stick" simple camo blind just to keep any movement out of view can be the difference between failure and success.
Tip #4 - Hunt with someone who can call birds. The only way to learn the interactive techniques of turkey calling is to either spend hours, days and seasons making mistakes or alternatively, spend some time with a friend who is very proficient. What does that mean? We have seen good callers work birds into range that started so far away, we could barely hear the responsive gobble. Far distances well beyond several hundred yards.
Birds that crossed blacktop roads and open fields to get to the beautiful but simulated love sick sounds of a hen in the woodlot. Observe how small subtle changes in calling are executed by good callers. Every bird is different and adjustments are made. Birds have different personalities and good callers drop what doesn't work and accentuate the positive. You haven't really turkey hunted till everything appears perfect and then a yahoo hunter starts cranking loudly on a box call every 30 seconds at first light. The birds shut down and the early morning is busted.
Tip #5 - The REAL SECRETS. Spend some time before the season to obtain permission from landowners to turkey areas that appear promising. Some call it "getting keys to the gate" and often, disclosing that hunting will be done with archery equipment can provide entry to spots where landowners are adverse to firearms because of children at play or other reasons. Strike that pot call late in the morning when all the other hunters have long departed the woods wondering where the birds were. Pull out the striker and slate late in the spring season when others have given up and turned to fishing. Step 40 yards off the road and hit the box call because those wise old birds have heard calls from the trails and roads since opening day. Leave the decoys behind. More gear is never a good idea and we have seen decoys put the birds on edge more frequently than they have ever provided attraction. The statistics say that 81% will fail so extraordinary measures are required for success. Most of all - stay "turkey still."
02/26/2013 02:04 PM
5 Things about Crossbows
It will help a prospective purchaser of a crossbow make a decision when they understand what a manufacturer’s intentions are. At Kodabow, the objective is to make a dependable, accurate crossbow that is safe and will perform well in the most challenging hunting conditions. Similar to the “laws of physics”, we discovered a few “rules” or "laws" that seem to always apply and shape our actions. We base these five rules on our own development experience, observing our crossbow and other brands shoot alongside one another, and many, many conversations and experiences with crossbow shooters. They are not absolute but they have stood the test of time.
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| Sam, our Brown Labrador Retriever , (back left) relaxing in the Kodabow booth before the opening of the Springfield, MA Outdoor Show. |
Rule #1 – Reduce the moving parts and then make all remaining parts very precise. When more moving things are placed on a crossbow, the opportunity for unexpected events can increase. If a component is not absolutely secured to a crossbow, it WILL eventually come off. A crossbow is a very unforgiving machine. There is a lot of stored energy and minor imperfections can quickly escalate into major failures. A bowstring catching a burr on a cam or on a rail as it propels an arrow downrange will eventually come apart. There are huge forces at work. It is why we hold our tolerances extremely tight. When we learn that a brand of crossbow didn't fit together when the new owner undertakes assembly or the string breaks after the 10th shot, the evil gremlin of a "small imperfection" has surfaced and has done his work. We avoid that gremlin.
Rule #2 – Speed and Reliability can have an inverse relationship.We like speed. Everyone does. We also like to hunt. We choose to stay within very conservative limits when building bows but far exceed what it takes to efficiently kill a game animal. We hope you never feel as if you need a bow mechanic to join you on your hunting trip. As crossbow manufacturers push speed for a marketing edge and tell you all about it, they don’t serve the hunter well when that speed is not managed properly. The acute string angle into the trigger group that comes with narrower limb widths places high pressure on a center string serving which can cause premature string failure. Candid conversations at this year’s Archery Show with dealers indicated that they can see 60 to 150 shots on some competitor crossbows before the string is frayed or suspect and requires replacement. Consumers we speak with back that up. Good for dealer repair parts business – not so good if you like to hunt. On a Koda-Express, we say expect 500 shots on a string but you will likely see 900 if the string is waxed and maintained. We would rather see a hunter in the woods with 310 fps than on the phone with a customer service department trying to get a 375 fps bow working again. When we were back in school, the F-150 truck always ran ….. while a buddy had a fancy sports car. We would pick him up at the garage with our truck when he was dropping off his speedster for repairs. Remember, it’s about hunting.
Rule #3 – What you think you want – might not be what you really need! At a recent trade show, a gent visits and tells us he had a bad back and neck and needed a really light crossbow. We think he should do some research. Lighter bows can jump around a bit at the shot during the energy release and transmit vibration back towards the shooter versus a heavier crossbow. It will hold steady and shoot more smoothly and deliver a more favorable experience. It is why one of our Pro Staff shooters hunting from a wheelchair found his way to Kodabow. While we know a few folks will only look at the “bow to bow” comparison spec charts and base their decision on a few metrics, we think there are at least 34 elements that need to all work together for a favorable hunting experience. While our Kodabow weighs in at over 8 lbs, you will never see in a spec chart that it has a perfect midpoint balance so that many Kodabow shooters say --- “wow, this crossbow handles well.” And when it comes to marketing pizazz, many manufacturers push the envelope. A company recently introduced a “super compact” crossbow. When we looked closely, we found that the difference between our existing Kodabow line (all Kodabow crossbows measure 27” when cocked) was just over an inch. Not exactly a breathtaking event. At Kodabow, we are not standing still saying there is only one crossbow solution. We continue to develop and make innovative products while exhibiting leadership with credibility.
Rule #4 – Every manufacturer can have a product issue. No secret there. We are human beings and at times, despite the best materials and work, there can be a defect. If cheaper materials are substituted or quality is not maintained, expect a problem 100% of the time when talking crossbows. At Kodabow, we expect you will have fewer issues because of our conservative approach. We want to keep you hunting. Three of us were headed on a long 10 hour ride to Ohio for a Fall deer hunting trip. Halfway there, we all looked at each other and remarked that we each had a single Kodabow crossbow – not a backup bow in the truck. That’s real world confidence. You may never know that we may pay 3 or 4 times for a part that we know will never break versus a cheaper knockoff that will let you down. Our vertical grip is a great example. It is expensive but it will not break. A dealer recently related that across all his different crossbow brands, he experiences a 30% - 40% mechanical problem rate requiring a shooter to return the bow for a dealer repair or factory fix. (We always wondered when calling on new dealers why some asked about how quick we supply repair parts. Now we understand.) Test the theory yourself. Find 3 crossbow shooters and it is likely that one shooter in the group has experienced problems with a crossbow. We ask this question all the time and learn from it. This underscores the complexity of the making a crossbow. At the far extreme end, we have actually met shooters who have been flat out frustrated with a crossbow choice. They were on their 4thfactory replacement crossbow from a manufacturer. We could not believe it either. At Kodabow, our objective is to keep you hunting and not go beyond what we know will work or tell you something just to sell a crossbow.
Rule #5 – Most people are not crossbow manufacturing experts. Don’t take offense. There are plenty of great hunters or shooters but when it comes to making crossbows, we strongly recommend that if you plan on taking apart crossbow triggers or limbs with the belief that you can do better than the folks who make these products for a living --- you are headed for disaster. Yes....get ready for real big problems. A crossbow is a mechanical device that is perfectly suited to quickly finding any weakness in design and it doesn't react well to tinkering. Don’t fool around with these devices thinking you can do better --- they are complex instruments. We shoot every crossbow we make and then mount the scope correctly so you should be able to shoot accurately out of the box. It is all about hunting and we make dependable crossbows that do that well.
01/24/2013 09:37 AM
A Great Outdoor Show Falls Apart
Yesterday morning, we determined that it was necessary for Kodabow as a company to withdraw from attending the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, PA. This was based on the last minute and unexpected change in the show's format involving the ban on modern sporting rifles. Yes - we are an archery company but we stand with Freedom and the 2nd Amendment. We join a growing list of celebrities like Jim Shockey, major companies like Ruger and Cabelas, all who have said "No" to this show's format. We have talked with many of our customers --- many who have taken the time to call us and say they strongly agree with this position and appreciate the support. Others have emailed and simply said "thanks!" Yesterday morning, I knew this would unravel fast unless the show management company, Reed Exhibitions reversed course. Not one person called Kodabow and said "please support the show" or "you are making a mistake by withdrawing." Calls we made to Reed Exhibitions were unanswered. We did not want to see the demise of this event happen in this manner.
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| Kodabow Shooting Lane - ESOS 2012 |
Recognize that all of this is a tragic and shameful outcome for a great Pennsylvania tradition. Parents are now teaching their children that principles matter when they explain the reason that they will be doing something else during the period 2-10 February. Plans are being changed. Hotel bookings are being cancelled. Outfitters are sorting out how they will pay their bills without the bookings they generate at this show. Somehow, this terrific show transformed into an anti-gun event when the show operators offered a lame explanation that they were looking to avoid controversy by banning certain types of firearms and accessories. The opposite happened - they got plenty of controversy. A lot of opportunities will now be missed. We spent some time recently with Larry Weishuhn (aka. Mr. Whitetail) and looked forward to visiting with him in our booth. Companies like Kodabow are impacted by not only the potential loss of prepaid booth expenses measured in thousands of dollars but the inability to interact with our customers and future customers. In many ways, this show was our most important event of the year as a Pennsylvania company. We are heavily invested in the show and I know many sportsmen and women looked forward to visiting with us. We have made strong friendships at this show. During the past two years, we shot a single Kodabow crossbow with approximately 2,000 consumers at each show and really jump started our pathway to success. As a new crossbow maker, we felt we needed to go far beyond expectations to give hunters and shooters the confidence to buy our product and the Eastern Sports Show was a big part of making that happen. It was hard work but it paid off. We looked forward to doing it again in 2013. Make no mistake about this outcome. The path that has been taken is a rough road but we fully support our decision with no reservations. Those that would hope to use this great Outdoor Show to advance an anti-gun political agenda have won a skirmish by purposely placing the show in confused state and we suspect that there is far more to the story. The show operators clearly underestimated the feelings of the attendees - Reed Exhibitions was out of touch. The negative response they are receiving (but not listening to) is overwhelming. Shame on any local politicians or sponsors if they had a hand in this. The reality is that the local community surrounding Harrisburg will suffer the loss of millions in revenue as restaurants and hotels are unfilled. As an example, our Kodabow team stays at a hotel for 9 days straight and eats our meals at local establishments. Not this year.
So where does this leave us.
(1) Find an outfitter that may have dropped out of the show and book a hunt with them to show your support. This might be the year for that bear hunt in Canada or the trip to Wyoming.
(2) Spend some time in the outdoors with family and wait till next year because we know we will come back strong with an Northeast US Outdoor Show that is aligned with our values.
(3) Spend some money with the companies that support your 2nd Amendment rights. They probably need it right now. Write your state senator and ask about what is going on at the Harrisburg Farm Show complex. Contact your Congressional representatives and ask them to support hunting and fishing policies and our constitutional rights. Tell them to stop portraying firearms as the cause of the problems in our society - they are surely not.
Update your NRA membership.
(4) If you are looking for something to do, visit Kodabow in West Chester, PA during the period 2-10 February. We will open our facility and indoor range and provide "1 on 1" crossbow shooting instruction and include hunting skill improvement recommendations. Kids are welcome. Coffee will be served. We will be around. Give us a call at 610-620-4352.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Chuck Matasic
Kodabow
12/17/2012 12:33 PM
Late Season Archery
Late Season. Many hunters can't wait until snow is on the ground, the temperature is below freezing and the woods have that special stillness of a crisp winter day. Big bucks who can survive the archery season and the several week gun season will eventually find a wintertime safe zone. It is challenging to sort out the puzzle. Educated whitetails may find a place where they have a vantage point to observe approaching hunters or hole up in dense growth where they feel protected and getting close can be a challenge if not impossible. These smart bucks have patterned hunters for several weeks and recognize slamming truck doors, footsteps of hunters on organized drives and the rhythmic steps of a solo hunter making a trek to a deer stand. The deer may have gone nocturnal for a period but as hunting pressure eased off after gun season, more normal movement slowly resurfaces. Deer will begin to feed at the field edges as the sun goes down. The buck in these camera photos survived at least 60 days of intense hunting pressure and will probably make it to next season. The odds were possibly tilted in the hunter's favor early in the season and during the peak rut but everything has now changed. The odds clearly favor this smart and wily buck who is slightly on edge and now may travel in a group with many eyes on the lookout for human danger. Here are a few Kodabow ideas that could be helpful during this period.
2. Hunt the Snowstorms and Bad Weather. If your buddies think you are nuts, it is possibly a good time to be in the woods. We have seen then biggest bucks move freely when the snow is falling. The caveat is if the wind is howling like a mad dog - reconsider only because of the danger risk associated with falling trees and branches. A soft snow and a slight covering wind that muffles the littlest noise can be ideal for the stalking hunter. Pay attention and move slowly. When you see a branch that appears to be a portion of a deer antler, your mind must be attuned to think "Deer" and not "Tree." Quiet and slow approaches can result in walking up on bedded deer within 10-15 yards especially if you know their hangouts.
3. Dress warm. Hunt all day. The days are short and sunset comes early. The only way to do this safely is with appropriate clothing and gear.
One of the more memorable hunts was the day after Christmas. It was cold and I was hunting alone as I often do. Huge deer tracks were discovered in the freshly fallen snow. It was easy to recognize and appreciate where this deer bedded down the night before. The huge tracks showed a jagged pathway of the deer's morning travel through a feeding area. The right hunting decision was to back out of the area and put together a strategy for the next morning. Late season deer can be predictable and that was my expectation. Well before daylight on the 27th, I checked the wind and positioned a climbing tree stand along the previous morning's trail but well away from the bedding area. As the sun came up, I watched a farmer doing morning barnyard chores several hundred yards away. Then it happened - a large 10 point buck duplicated his movements from the previous morning. Like many hunters, I always have a strategy but most of the time, the best plans never seem to come together. (This is when my hunting friend always says, "That's why they call it hunting" -- like I didn't know that.) That morning, I guessed right. At 9:30 AM, on a calm still morning of the 27th of December, the late season came through again. See you out there!
Chuck Matasic - Kodabow
10/10/2012 11:23 AM
"Iron Sights on Crossbows"
This is a fiber optic sight with four crossbow aim points calibrated for 30- 40 - 50 - 60 yards using our Kodabow Magnum arrows and a 200 lb Bravo Zulu. The 225 Big Rhino will shoot slightly flatter and the Koda-Express 185 will require a small adjustment to shoot just a touch high at 30 yards to hit the remaining extended range marks.
The sight uses a rear peep and is specifically built to mount and be used on a Kodabow. In the production phase, we decreased the size of the overall rear peep mass and mounted it lower. We also doubled up the mounting screws that hold the sight to the rail because that is how we do things at Kodabow. The rear peep is where elevation and windage adjustments occur. The optic colors are Green - Yellow - Red - Green. The "BRO" part stands for Bad River Outdoors who teamed up with Kodabow on the production of this sight. We shot 2" groups at 50 yards and the experts at BRO shot 2" groups at 60 yards with a Kodabow so it was a green light all the way. Here is exactly what you can expect when using this sight. These observations are after extensive testing with the initial prototype and then the first actual production model coming off the line which incorporated several changes. Upon receipt, we promptly mounted the production sight on a crossbow and went out shooting and then on an evening hunt. First, the sight is accurate. You can expect to hit a 2" to 3" bull at hunting distances and fine accuracy is governed by your personal ability to align the rear peep with the front sight.
This is what the sight picture looks like from the rear of the crossbow.
Sighting takes a little practice as compared to a regular scope but will come naturally to shooters who have used a peep sight on a vertical bow or learned to use open sights on a firearm. You can hunt with high confidence that your KodabBRO crossbow shots will hit the heart/lung vitals every time with a properly placed shot. There is also an accessory feature which mounts on the front sight (not shown) for determining range to deer and elk so the sight can also be used for range finding. As sunset arrived, light rain moved in and what would have been a hassle with a regular scope was a non-event for the KodaBRO. It is an all weather sight. The deer were not moving in the rain but I patiently waited for the last minute of legal shooting time which was 30 minutes after sunset. The final test was to determine (in actual hunting conditions) whether the fiber optic gathered enough light to clearly see the aim points in the last 30 seconds of legal shooting. Yesssiree! I could see all 4 sight points.
It was just as expected. I would have made the shot if the deer were more cooperative. Granted, I was hunting a field edge where there was possibly more ambient twilight than in the thick woods but I could still see the sight markers well past shooting time because of the wound fiber optic cables designed for maximum light capture. This is a perfect solution where hunters require a non-magnifying sight for legal reasons or just prefer the simplicity of a well made, rugged, lightweight fiber optic sight that is foolproof in its design. First shipments head out this week and the sight sells for $189.99.
Crossbow Perspectives
"If we were only interested in "selling", we might make a cheap crossbow, put on bells and whistles or bring it over from some distant land. That is not Kodabow. We build a crossbow to hunt effectively, and it does this extremely well.
CDR Chuck Matasic, US Navy (Ret.)
"Kodabow builds crossbows that meet the demands of rugged field use. You can hunt with confidence knowing that you are using solid equipment that delivers exceptional performance. The bow is well thought out and very straight-forward."
Dirk Macfarlane
Navy Seal (Ret.); Former Commanding Officer of Seal Team Five
"Kodabow makes me proud to be an American! One awesome crossbow. Watch me shoot a Kodabow."
Patrick Elswick
Killbillies Outdoors TV Show Host
Kodabow gives away free prizes and free gear to our Facebook Friends. Just visit our Kodabow Facebook page, like us, and post "I just discovered Kodabow" on our wall to enter!
HUNTING TIPS
Use Shadows
Whether stalking on the ground or setting up in a tree stand with a climber, use the projected position of the sun as it moves across the sky...more tips >>
Customer Comments
Actual written comments from shooters who have purchased Kodabow.
"Great Product! More than expected."
"50 yard Bullseyes, Nice!"
"I love this crossbow. Very Happy."
"Great shooting bow! Real impressed."
"Wow. There were many other adjectives but I thought 'Wow' was fitting. Can't wait to shoot it. It looks and feels awesome...Quality."
"Great trigger – very accurate – critters are in trouble – made to military specs."
"Good Quality crossbow."
"Impressive."
"Great Bow!!"
"Great product. The testimonials of others speak for itself."
"Great product. Time to put it to use."
"Staff was great."
"Great x-bow. (My 1st.)"
"Awesome right out of the box!"
"Great service, Great bow!"
"Thanks for all your help and for making a high quality crossbow in the USA."
Merchant Services
Kodabow
Distribution and Administration Center
1045 Andrew Drive C-2
West Chester, PA 19380
Phone: 610.620.4352
Email: kodabow@gmail.com