Parker is a significant player in the adult compound bowmarket and is getting stronger every year. The companyhas made a considerable investment in their youth bow

line as well, represented by the Buck-Shot. As you walk throughthis evaluation with me take notice to the construction of thisrig and how closely it comes to that of the adult bows in theParker line. The Buck-Shot was made for youth with an eye onadult quality and performance.

The Basics:Riser: The Buck-Shot’s compact riser spans approximately

17 inches and has a reflex geometry measuring 2 inches. Thecompact size and overall mass weight of only 2.7 pounds makeadding a series of lightening holes into the riser unnecessary. Inthe same manner as Parker’s top bows the Buck-Shot features a6061-T6-aluminum construction riser that is CNC machined intoits final form. Standard accessory mounting holes are availableincluding one of my favorites on any bow, which is a threadedstabilizer insert. The stabilizer mounting position, as you mayexpect from a small stature youth bow, is located on the frontonly. A straight carbon graphite rod is used for the cable guardand is held in place with a small set screw. Parker outfits theBuck-Shot with a one-piece Synprene (rubber-like) grip,which istextured on the heel and also contoured for a comfortable andconsistent hand position. A single screw is placed through onebrass insert embedded into the side of the grip, through theriser and then threaded into another embedded brass insert onthe other side. The riser is decked out in TreBark’s Big Woodscamo pattern, which is applied by a Hydrographic WaterTransfer process, otherwise known as film dipping. A blackembedded emblem with the name “Buck-Shot” in gold is locat-ed just below the grip on one side of the riser.

So, what does all this mean to mom, dad and the shooter?Parker demonstrates a commitment to youth archers by CNCmachining the Buck-Shot riser from high grade aluminum.

The Synprene grip is comfortable and inherently warmerthan plastic or wood on cold days afield.

Metal stabilizer inserts are one of my favorite componentson any bow and even more so on a youth bow. No threat ofdamaging threads that are machined directly into the riser.Fewer headaches.

TreBark’s Big Woods camo pattern looks great on the Buck-Shot.

Limbs/limb pockets:Parker’s Buck-Shot employsa solid, one-piece pocketthat is, like the riser, CNCmachined out of 6061-T6aluminum. The pocket is anopen ended design, whichbasically means the pocketdoes not “cup” or cover theend of the limb. Leaving outthis extra pocket structurehelps to keep the overallmass weight to a minimum.A synthetic rocker materialis used in the pocket.

Limbs are solid in con-struction and straight ingeometry. They measure 14inches in length and arematched for each bowbased on deflection values.Parker applies the samequality focus on theseyouth limbs as they do adultbow limbs and have chosento use Gordon Composite’sPower Tuff material for theirconstruction. Each limb isCNC machined for precisionand consistency. The testbow limbs are 50 poundpeak draw weight. Otheroptions include 30 and 40pound peak. All peak draw weights can be adjusted 10 poundsdown. Parker has an outstanding youth program called “Growup With Parker” in which Parker makes it a simple task toupgrade the limbs on the Buck-Shot. When you are ready for achange in limb weight just send the bow back to Parker andthey will not only put new limbs on your bow – they will alsoadjust the draw length for you and give the bow a full inspec-tion.The cost is only $49.95 and that includes the return of yourold limbs and return shipping charges.This is a terrific deal!!

As with the riser the limbs are film dipped in TreBark’s BigWoods camo pattern. On the face of each limb you will find thename Parker Buck-Shot in gold lettering. The inside of the bot-

Parker Buck-ShotBy Jon E. Silks

104

This ready-to-shoot Outfitter version has the available Whisker Biscuit arrow rest.

105

tom limb has a stickerIndicating the bow’s drawlength, draw weight, stringlength, cable length andserial number. Also foundon the inside of the bottomlimb is a sticker with thename of the person whobuilt your bow.

What does all this meanto mom, dad and the shoot-er? Gordon’s compositematerials are the industrystandard and their use hereshould make everyonehappy! Years of trouble freeshooting are in store.Watchfor an upcoming feature inArrowTrade on Gordon’shigh tech manufacturing plant.

CNC machined aluminum pocketsand composite limbs equal precision andperformance.

The riser and limb TreBark Big Woodsfinish work together for a super lookingbow.

What more can be said aboutParker’s “Grow Up With Parker”youth pro-gram – it is awesome!

Eccentrics: This is where the Buck-Shot comes alive! With a simple rotatingmodule this dual cam eccentric systemoffers draw lengths that range from 17.5to 28 inches on the same cam and with-out the use of a bow press. A secondarystring post allows for a more precise drawlength adjustment plus softens the drawforce curve and reduces the draw weightby 5 to 8 pounds. Adjustability is the cen-terpiece of this eccentric system. The

draw length module employs a widegroove designed to reduce wear on thecable. Both cams utilize hardened andpolished stainless steel axles that rideinside precisely reamed Delrin AF bush-ings. The Buck-Shot Cam has a let-off of80 percent. Parker does not advertise anyspeed ratings for the Buck-Shot.

What does all this mean to mom, dadand the shooter? With an adjustmentrange of 17.5 to 28 inches all on one camthe Buck-Shot is sure to please parentsand shop owners alike.This rig will fit justabout any youth archer out there – justloosen a screw, rotate the module to yourdraw length and tighten it back down –you are ready to go.

No bow press needed.An 80 percent let-off is easy on the

muscles of a younger archer.

Strings/Cables: TheBuck-Shot is outfitted withstrings and cables madewith Brownell &Company’s D75 Thin 100percent high moduluspolyethlene material. Eachstrand has a diameter of.011 inches. The stringmeasures 52 inches inlength and consists of 22strands and the cablesmeasure 33.75 inches inlength and have 18strands.

What does all thismean to mom, dad and theshooter? Brownell andCompany has been in busi-

ness since 1825 with a rich history inmanufacturing quality string, cord, andnet materials.With a company of this cal-iber behind the strings and cables every-one can be confident in the performanceof the Buck-Shot.

Other Features: Parker offers theBuck-Shot in an Outfitter package, whichincludes an arrow rest, sight, quiver andpeep sight. The sight is a Montana Cobrafiber optic sight.You can choose betweenthree rests – Quick Shot Whisker Biscuit,prong style or a QAD Ultra Rest.Each bowset up with the Outfitter package isrough-sighted in at 20 yards to get youon your way quicker and easier.

Testing:All of my bow evaluations start out

with a close examination of the rig’s fin-ish, machining and mechanical compo-nents. The Buck-Shot’s machining wasseamless. The finish had a few minorinclusions on the limbs.

Set up on the test bow included asingle brass nock, QuikTune 3000 arrowrest and a 23 -inch draw length. As youmay have noticed a slight adjustment hasbeen made to the Arrow Trade standardsby going with a 23 inch rather than a23.5”draw length.This was done becausesome of the youth models on the marketwill not adjust to ½ inch sizes. With theexception of the rest and nock,every bowis tested unchanged - as it would beshipped to the dealer or customer (bowonly). For the Buck-Shot I had to remove

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Draw in inches

Load

in p

ound

s

Parker Buck-ShotDraw weights: 30, 40 and 50 pound peakDraw Lengths: 17.5 to 28 inches on one cam with rotating moduleAxle-to-axle length: 32 inches advertised, 32.2 measuredBrace Height: 6.0 inches Mass Weight: 2.7 poundsLet-off option: 80 percent Eccentrics: Buck-Shot Cam - DualAdvertised Speed: N/AFinish: TreBark Big Woods camoCable: Brownell D75 Thin – 18 strands - 33.75 inchesString: Brownell D75 Thin – 22 strands - 52 inches Grip: One-piece – synprene, contoured Riser: CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum - reflexLimbs: Gordon Composites Power TuffCable Guard: Carbon Graphite rod - straightWarranty: Full Lifetime to original ownerMSRP: $279.95 – bow only or $339.95 as a complete package

106

the package accessories, including thepeep sight, to perform testing.

Speed was measured with thechronograph used for adult bow tests.Three different draw weights, 40,45 and50 pounds were tested with two arrowsof different weights, 260 and 328 grains.This should give a broad picture of whatcan be expected from this bow in termsof speed generated by various set-ups.Following are the resulting speed ratingsfor each in feet per second:

260-grain arrow: 40 pound draw207207206208208Average: 207.2 fps

260-grain arrow: 45 pound draw216217217217216Average: 216.6 fps

260-grain arrow: 50 pound draw229229229229229Average: 229 fps

328-grain arrow: 40 pound draw192191191191191Average: 191.2 fps

328-grain arrow: 45 pound draw200200200200199Average: 199.8 fps

328-grain arrow: 50 pound draw211210210210210Average: 210.2 fps

A force-draw curve was then plottedfor the Buck-Shot, which is shown in fig-ure #1.The draw curve shows an interest-ing rapid climb to peak and then a shal-low slope to let-off on the down side.

With a measured axle-to-axle lengthof 32.2 inches this Parker youth rig ismaneuverable yet has the length to pro-vide a certain level of stability. My sonMichael climbed into a treestand behindour home and took a few shots at difficultangles. He did not seem to have anyissues with getting the bow into a properposition and stand contact was made.

So, what is important to the youngarcher in regards to shooting a bow? Itwould seem that it really isn’t any differ-ent than what you and I would considerimportant factors: A lack of shock/vibra-tion at the shot,a lack of noise at the shot,how easily the bows draws for a givenweight and how the bow feels in thehands.

We will start off with the Buck-Shot’sshock/vibration and noise characteristicswhen fired. Parker ships the Buck-Shotwithout the addition of any noise orvibration dampening devices. Michaelshot the bow about a dozen times as I lis-tened from various positions. Right out ofthe box the Buck-Shot has a significantkick and noise level, however, there is asolution.After shooting the test bow bothwith and without a quality stabilizer and

with/without simple string silencers it ismy opinion that a stabilizer and stringsilencers would be a wise purchase. Iadded a 6 inch Stealth Stabilizer and alsoattached two common rubber bands tothe string. These simple additions nearlyeliminated all vibration, knocked the kickdown by what seemed close to 50 per-cent and the noise by even more. Thecommon rubber bands are a good itemto simulate how better-suited stringsilencers might perform, however, theydo not stay attached long.Great for emer-gencies though…

Parker has a reputation for makingbows with ultra smooth draw cycles –generally pleasant to shoot.That definingcharacteristic was not lost with the Buck-Shot. As you can see in the draw forcecurve this rig has a gentle curve, especial-ly on the backside, which indicates asmooth draw. Michael made the com-ment that he thought the bow was notset up properly because he thought thedraw weight was too low. I assured him itwas correct, however, he was not con-vinced until I showed him on the bowscale.To him, the Buck-Shot felt more likeit was set up to 40-45 pounds rather than50 pounds.

Both Michael and Rachel liked thetest bow’s grip, however, my eldest sonTyler said he would prefer a wood gripeven though he knows it would be cold-er on the hands in winter. He said thatthe grip “grabbed”his hand so that it didnot seat into shooting position as easilyas he would like. I shot the bow a fewtimes and would agree that it doesseem to make the hand move moreslowly into position, however, I doubtmany youth archers will even notice. Ifthis would become an accuracy issue foryour youngster you may want to switchthe grip out or just use the bow with abare handle.

The Parker Buck-Shot is a superyouth bow providing draw lengths from17.5 to 28 inches and the Grow Up WithParker program. These two points alonemake this one of the most sought afteryouth bows on the market. Parents wantto buy a bow for their youngster that theyknow won’t have to be replaced as oftenas their kid’s sneakers! The Buck-Shot notonly ensures the parents won’t have toworry but also has enough going for itthat mom may even be able to pick it upafter the kids have moved on.

Circle 204 on Response Card

FACT: OVER 70% OF OUR VIEWERS ARE ARCHERS.WANT TO REACH MORE OF THEM? NOW YOU CAN!

Call 1-800-971-2330 today to find out how to reach this concentrated audience of archers.

W W W . T H E S P O R T S M A N C H A N N E L . C O M

Bengal Features•M-Pro Single Cam with Speed Bearings•CNC Machined Riser•Weight 4 lbs. 3 oz.•Teflon Infused Cable Guard•Vibration Escape Kit•Thermal Grip•IBO 315 F.P.S.•Axle to Axle 32”•Brace Height 7”•Fully Adjustable Draw Length and Weight •Fully Laminated Coreflex Limbs•Smooth And Accurate•Made In The USA

Martin Archery3134 W. Highway 12 - Walla Walla, WA 99362 www.martinarchery.com 509.529.2554•Laura Photo by Greg Nielsen

Silky Smooth Draw. No Recoil, No Vibration.

All The Featuresfor $399

Laura Francese Martin Pro Shooter

BBBBBBBeeeeennnnnnngggggaaaaalllll FFFFFFeeeeeaaaaaattttttuuuuuuuurrrrrreeeeeessssss•M•M•M•MMMMM-PP-PPro Siningle CaCaCaCaCaCCaC mmm wiwiw thth S Spepeeded BBBB Beaeaeaeariririringgnnn ss••••CNCNCNCNNNC C C MaMachchinineded Risererr••WeWeWW igghththtthttht 444 4 4 l l l bs. 3 33 333 3 ozozozozozozoz.••••TeTeTeTeTeflfflflflonononon II I Infnfnfnfususususededededd CCCC C C C Cababaababablelelelele G G GGuauauardrdrdrdrd••ViViVibrbratatioion n Esssscaccacacaaaaapepepepepepe KKKKK K KKitititititititit••ThTThThererermmamall l GrGrrG ipipippippi••••IBIBBBBIBOOOO OOO 3131331555 FF.F.P.P.S.SS.•AxAxle ttttoooo o o AxAxAxAxAxlelelele 333332”2”””2222••••BrBrBrBrBrBracacacacacaceee e HeHeHeHeeiggigigighthththththt 77777 77”””””””•••••FuFuFuFuFuFuFuFuFuullllllllyyy y AdAdAdAAdAdjujujuststtststttaabbababbabbaababa lelelelelelelele DDDD DD D Drarararararaarrawwwww w ww LLLL L Lenenenennenngtgtggggtg hhh ananannnna ddd dddd WeWeWWeWeWWeWeWeWeWeigigigiggigigggghthtththththhhthththt •••FuFuFuFulllllllllyyy LaLaLaLaamimimimim nananaaaananatettetetet ddddd d CCCCCC C C orororoorreefeffefefefeflelelellexxx x LLLLL LL Limimimimimmimmimimmimmbsbsbsbbsbsbb••SSmSmSmSmSmmoooooothththththttht AA Anddnddndnnd AAAAA A Accccccccccccuuurururururururuuurrruratatattatatatatatatatteeeeeeeeeeee•••••MaMaMM dede I In n ThhThhhThThe eeeeeee USUSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA

SiSiSiSiSiSilklklklklkyy SmSmSmSmS ooooooooooooo ttththhhhhhthhhttttthh DDDDDDDDDrrraaw.w.,,,,, N NN NNNoo Recococcoccoooililllll,,,,,,,,

Bengal Features•M-Pro Single Cam with Speed Bearings•CNC Machined Riser•Weight 4 lbs. 3 oz.•Teflon Infused Cable Guard•Vibration Escape Kit•Thermal Grip•IBO 315 F.P.S.•Axle to Axle 32”•Brace Height 7”•Fully Adjustable Draw Length and Weight •Fully Laminated Coreflex Limbs•Smooth And Accurate•Made In The USA

Circle 216 on Response Card