If you are in the market for a new bow there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that today’s bows are smoother and faster than the bows that were available just two or three years ago. The bad news is it there are a lot of good bows to choose from making the decision as to which one to pick somewhat confusing.
One bow that I consider at the top of the heap and one that makes the decision of selecting a new bow a lot easier is Darton’s new Pro3800.  Darton is presently celebrating its 60th year of manufacturing high quality bows. A little know fact is that a large percentage of today’s major bow manufacturers are using cams designed and developed by Darton’s owner Rex Darlington making Darton a true leader in the industry. For 2010 Darton combined its years of experience and technological innovation to develop the Pro3800.
When I picked up the 3800 the first thing I noticed was the no-torque grip. Being a life long target archer obsessed with accuracy I learned a long time ago the importance of a well designed slender grip. A bulky grip makes it difficult to get the same hand position on the bow each time resulting in different grip pressures being generated during the draw resulting in induced torque. On the shot these slight differences cause right to left errors. A slender grip solves this basic problem resulting in a more consistent hand placement and therefore increased accuracy. Another plus to the grip of the 3800 is that Darton supplies two sets of interchangeable side plates, one set smooth and the other set with a soft rubbery feel allowing the shooter to customize the feel of the grip to his taste.
The 3800 has a Quad-limb design for maximum speed and reduced weight. The limb is designed to distribute limb stress along a larger physical area of the pre-loaded limbs resulting in a smoother drawing faster bow with greater efficiency. In layman’s terms that means the bow delivers more punch with less effort. The yoke cable system allows the limbs to balance naturally during the draw resulting in increased limb stability which makes the bow more accurate.
The heart of the 3800 is Darton’s DualSync Technology which makes the dual cams act as one unit eliminating the need for cam timing. As every bowhunter knows a bow that goes out of time does not shoot accurately. The Dual Sync system eliminates the problem of cam tuning keeping your arrows on the mark and your bow out of the shop.
Darton has added not one but two string suppressors to the 3800. String suppressors are designed to stop the bow string quicker, reducing noise and allowing the arrow to leave the string at the same point each shot making the shot more consistent which in turn increases accuracy. While some bows have one string suppressor a few models have two. Although Darton offers two string suppressors it is the position of the suppressors that sets Darton apart from its competition. With one suppressor just below the grip the second suppressor is located just above the nocking point placing it approximately 1 ½ inches above the arrow. This placement of the string suppressor greatly increases the performance of the suppressor by more clearly defining arrow/string separation. The 3800 is topped off with Scorpion Premium string and cables. The pre-stretched string ensures no-peep rotation which is critical on a hunting set-up. Speed nocks are built into the string for greater efficiency and maximized speeds of up to 350 feet per second IBO.
Now all of that technical stuff sounds good but what does it all really mean? I find my 3800 handles like a good gun. It is light enough, (4 pounds), to carry easily yet fits like a glove and getting it on target is as simple as pointing your finger. While I expected the bow to be quiet, and it is, I was really surprised by the total absence of shock in the handle upon the shot. The first 3800 I shot as a demo did not have a wrist sling on it. As I shoot with a relaxed hand for maximum accuracy I completely forgot to grip the bow slightly as I normally do when shooting a bow without a wrist sling. I fired three shots before I remember the bow did not have a sling. Under normal circumstances the bow should have shot right out of my hand with a loose grip but it never moved. The 3800 is completely free of hand shock and is a real pleasure to shoot.
Many of today’s bows have aggressive force draw curves in order to achieve the high speeds demanded by many shooters. This means the bow draws a little stiff and has a very short valley. Creep a little and the bow will want to jerk the string right out of your hand which is very undesirable in a hunting bow. However Darton has designed these disadvantages out of the 3800. The force draw curve on the 3800 is very comfortable and smooth and even more important it has a generous valley allowing the shooter to easily maintain control at full draw. I have shot my 3800 under various conditions and physical positions and find it totally comfortable, easy to control and most important forgiving if I made an error. In my book forgiving is very important in all aspects of archery but especially when it comes to hunting situations which are often less than ideal.
If you are looking for a quality bow that is fast, quiet, smooth and accurate you need to look no further than Darton’s Pro3800.
For more go to: Â Darton Archery
