The Samick Sage - 4 Years Later 

The Sage is the beginner bow that you never outgrow. It will shoot with sights, with an arrow rest, off the shelf, instinctive, string walking, backpacking.......whatever direction your archery takes you, the Sage will be there with you. Its wooden styling holds a universal appeal, it is simply a bow. To use a martial arts philosophy, it is a humble bow. Quiet and unassuming, it will teach you as a master sensei teaches young students.

About 3 years ago I was looking for a new mobility scooter, so I went online and searched the internet. long story short I watched your review of the samick sage and bought a #45 version.

The Samick Sage his literally the *Lee-Enfield* of the bows out there. Because of its "reliability & durability", low production costs, availability in virtually every geographic regions and ease of use. This bow has passed the test of the years in different hands and different uses and has managed to establish his name. Ultimately, the Sage inspired many clones and improvements. A synonym for Samick Sage would be the word "reliability". I hunted with this bow and have never been disappointed. Those who laugh at you because you use a Sage and strut around with their super expensive bows, they do this to compensate for their small organ, I'll let you guess which one.. Have a nice day and take care.

Just bought one of these as my starter bow. I love it.

Back in 2013, I was a freshman in college when I got my first bow, the Samick Sage. Back then, I was over bowed at 50 pounds due to my desire to prove something to others that doesn’t matter in the end, and I quit archery for a while. Now, I shoot target recurve with a more manageable weight. I just bought new 20 pound limbs for my Samick Sage so that I can teach other people archery without having buyers remorse like I did.

My first bow, recommended by Lancaster Archery Supply in Pennsylvania, USA earlier this year, before the Corona Crazies. I'm 64 and just took up archery. I started with the 25 pound Galaxy Sage Elite (the newest incarnation). The instructor of the novice course at LAS warned against rotator cuff tears with older guys and high-poundage bows. I have upgraded to a 35-pound Bodnik Mohawk (as high as I intend to go in draw weight), but I still use the Sage to warm up before shooting the Mohawk, which seems to be an awesome bow.

First and foremost - shout out to NuSensei for being a brilliant teacher and great inspiration! Your archery material is fantastic and a great resource. I've been doing archery for just over a year now, the Samick Sage was my starter bow, I've recently moved on to a 70 inch ILF riser/limbs modern bare-bow set-up. I still love shooting the Sage of the shelf, it's fun and feels good to shoot and I think it's a great bow to start on as it has all of the features/qualities a beginner needs whether they are interested in a specific type of archery or just want to have a go. In my honest humble opinion, as a recurve bow, it's a solid simple platform that allows for a good variety of set-ups and that most folks can't go wrong with. Peace and love to everyone, stay safe folks. All the best, Alex from the UK.

I have two of these....one was a garage sale purchase that I couldn't pass up..lol. Before they got hard to get here in Canada I bought a set of 30lb, 40lb, 45lb and 55lb limbs for them. I brought one to the Philippines to use over there and my son in law loves it too... I also have an OMP Ozark Hunter 50lb long bow and a PSE Black Hawk 45lb huning bow....but the Samick is always my go-to bow when just throwing arrows down range or in the back yard....love these!

Literally bought one last week.

I've been shooting my Sage for about 3 years and I love it. One the best recurves I own.

I love my Sage. It even has a name. Rated at 29lbs and I can hit 99% of what i airm for. Peace from the UK.

Great stuff- love learning from your experience

I have and started with the Samick Sage last year. Love it!

Was my first, went to compound within a week of buying it but now I know more about archery coming back to the sage and recurve shooting.

"Nothing wrong with it." Exactly. I don't feel very compelled to get a different bow. Have a 50#. A bit over 180 fps shooting 9gpp, low noise with silencers, low hand shock and vibration, doesn't stack unless you draw over 29" as with most 62" bows. I just shoot it right off the wood shelf as it came. It's all marked up and needs a light sanding on the corner of the riser where countless thousands of arrows have bumped it while nocking. The grip has been shined up smooth. It was dry fired once and had a string break on another occasion, no damage. Got my girlfriend a Spyder based on your review where you said the handle was a bit slimmer, also had her watch that video. She loves it.

3 years later, boughy my first bow, samick sage. Its been awesome so far. Went with 30lbs but also got an extea set of 40lbs limbs for the future. Ive been loving it.

Great review really enjoyed your time thanks.

This is still the o my bow I own. I wish I had more. I use it for hunting, targets, everything. I love it.

4 years. And still loving it

I finally upgraded to a Samick Sage from my homemade PVC bow just recently. Having a sight has helped tremendously in helping me back up and still feel confident in hitting the vitals on my deer target.

I recently discovered archery when I started taking a college course on a whim for a P.E credit, and I have been enthralled entirely. Today I had the opportunity to order my first personal bow (I've been using a donor from the school) and I just placed my order for a Samick Sage. I was reading through various "Best bows for beginners" guides throughout the internet, and the Sage appeared on nearly all of them. Then I rememberd seeing this video but not watching it. I watched it, and then ordered it! Appreciate all the hard work on your channel, Thanks NUSensei

I have a 45# Sam Sage. I like it as a backyard leisure archer. It is teaching me patience, humility, better posture and focus. I make my arrows as well as buy retail arrows. If I concentrate on the process and details, it is all good. I laugh at the hubris of professionals.

Bought my Sage about 3 years ago, still get it of the rack every now and then and have a bit of fun with it.

I got a Samick Sage in large part because of your videos! I started off with 45 lb limbs but got a pair of 25 lb limbs for indoor range shooting.Great bow!

Recently bought my first bow and so many people suggested the sage so I went for it. Love it so far

About to dust it off tomorrow for a shoot. It has been my go too for stumping for the past few years. Nice, simple, fun! Another great vid.

I just bought a used Sammick Sage as a starter and I love it.

I just ordered one on Amazon and I'm left handed. I can't wait to start shooting! Thanks for the info!

Been looking at the sage and the hunter, as we are in lock down and can't get to a club at the moment ( beginner ) I am going through reviews. The sage is topping the charts for us at the moment. Thanks.

I like watching your videos really good educational and motivating inspirational thanks for your reviews keep them coming

I have my Samick sage for 5 years now still love it

I’ve used a samick journey for years. Same as the sage but longer. It’s too long for me but was a gift. I finally bought a sage today. Looking forward to a better fit.

Yes,very good bow.Have a couple and a couple of look alikes.Never shot it much,but it delivers..Thankyou for reminding us how good it is.

Have you got any advice about my sage making a loud twang when I shoot it- like a low guitar string. Do I need to twist the string more? What do you think?

Started Olympic style at a club 6 months ago but still using club bows there, then with the lock-down bought one online to shoot at home (plenty of space) last month as something that was sufficiently different to Olympic style that I wouldn't pick up bad habits for that but could keep shooting. Loving it, upped my weight from 30Ib at the club to 40lb so excellent training for when I do buy an Olympic style bow. Shooting it off the shelf instinctive - just a lot of fun but at the same a good investment for future use.

Got one in 2019 to take camping so that I had something to do during down time. Now the whole family has bows. It was the gateway bow to the sport

Picked up a Sage at the start of lockdown. Been loving shooting in the garden.

I've had one for 3 years at #45. love it

Yes I still have my samick sage bow after all these years. I have purchased far more expensive bows $ 399 dollars and up and I end up selling them and going back to my samick sage bow. I absolutely love this bow and I only use the 25 lb draw weight and I shoot 500 spine carbon arrows 200 grain tips all day long. I stop buying other bows I just shoot my samick sage. I love this bow I have own this bow ever since the Samick sage revolution hit the market Thanks Danny C. USA

Bought one to determine if archery was for me, still shooting it today along side a lever. I always go back to it for its simplicity and it’s more relaxing feeling.

Love my sage!!

I love my 55# samick sage takedown recurve bow. I've had mine for over 10 years and it still works great!

The sage for life for me !

I have a 40lb one but its really 55lb at my draw length. Bought it fornhunting small game, but I'm lightyears away from being acurate enough for it. I love that it's a take down and it's not fluorescent coloured.

I just got back into archery. I was a teenager when I was into it the first time and we didn't have RU-vid back then for professional instruction. I recently bought a Samick Sage and i absolutely love it. Once I get strong enough to shoot 50 pounds, ill buy a higher end bow as long as I'm still having fun with it.

Ya I've got one, keep it for any friend that drops by and we go to shoot bows. I bought 2.5 years ago, for a small pittance, and your right it's a solid shooter.

I just got into archery and the sage was my first bow. Seems to be working well for what I want to do.

Got me a first bow, a 30 lbs Polaris, some time ago. Shoots fine, though I'm thinking of getting a double shelved horse bow, something that I could shoot left or right handed, on both sides, with different releases. Still, it's pretty fun. A bummer I won't be able to shoot it now that I'm going back to work to Belgium.

My first western recurve (vs my Kassai Panther Magyar bow which I already had before it) was the Samick Journey - like the sage but with longer limbs which makes for a 64 inch bow. It's still my go to bow for outside shooting even though I now have some others. I just find the grip really comfortable and the hefty weight of the bow is very much to my liking vs lighter bows.

I just recently got one of these. It's a really nice bow to use. I've got a 60lb draw version.

I just bought my first bow, I found a lightly used Sage FleaBay. It came with 55# limbs, so I've also ordered a set of 30# to start with. Should be fun 🙂

Just started archery, and yes, I bought a Sage. I also bought several pairs of limbs with different draw weights. The bow just feels right, and I love shooting it.

I've had my Sage since 2015, and I could tell you how much I like her but there isn't room here, like you said" there's nothing wrong with it". I shoot in competitions, recreation, hunts, target matches, etc. I have other bows, but my 45# Sage shooting off the shelf is my go-to for consistent feel, looks and response.

Got my sage about 4 years ago, still enjoy shooting it!

It's a nice bow I have to say I was one of those people that recommended it to everyone who wanted to get a new bow 😅. Also nice coat

I bought one for my son, it is a case of performance at a given price point. I'd never call things 'cheap'. But it is affordable compare to others and the performance for the level of affordability - makes it a great buy. Having bought it - it feels like I had a bargain. Fundamentally, though, it is really just great fun to use.

With the pandemic I decided to follow through finally on taking up archery. I went to my local shop and got hooked up with the Sage Elite, now offered by Galaxy. Only after did I start doing research and realized how ubiquitous the bow is 😅 ive been loving it, I've got it in #35. I shot every day since I bought it until this past weekend, when I had to give my shoulder a bit of a break. Something seems to be a bit off in my form.

I am stuck between the Samick Sage and Black Hunter, I'm leaning towards getting a Hunter but ... we'll see when the time comes.

I bought a similar one. Southwest archery spyder xl bow. Looks exactly like the sage. Even the wood grain is the same. I love it. It's my first recurve bow and I love shooting it. I got 50lbs draw with the starter kit on Amazon. It's a nice bow for beginners.

we are proud owners of 2 samick sage bows. Greetings from Malta.

That video where you reviewed the Samick Sage was the first video I saw from your channel and is also my first bow. I've been looking at the Mandarin Black Hunter but for now I like the Samick Sage.

Yer I have had mine for about a month now and very happy with it. Came with 2 sets of limbs so it's diversity is perfect. I can make it how I want it for the day.

I have a sage that I use for field archery. It is surprising for such a short bow that it handles string walking quite well. Gets a bit tetchy on the shorter targets but still shoots OK.

I just ordered a Journey to use as my first recurve the other day, should be here today or tomorrow. I used to shoot compounds about 25 years ago, and been feeling the archery itch again recently and I thought it would be fun to get into something more traditional and use it as a way to stay motivated about working out without breaking the bank. Not to mention with the way the world is going lately, might not be a bad idea to brush up on practical survival skills just in case, heh. Since I'm pretty tall with a close to 31" draw, the extra 2 inches the Journey has over the Sage seemed like a good idea for comfort. I almost went with the more updated Spyder XL, but they were about $20 more and I was having trouble finding one that wasn't back ordered in my desired weight (went with 35#, with my draw it ends up closer to 42#, which shouldn't be too much trouble for me even starting out since I am a pretty big guy with broad shoulders and a fair bit of intensive labor work in my past.) For my build it should be low enough to focus on form without too much trouble, while still being a useful weight for hunting if I decide to go down that route again in the next year or two.

Great awesome bow that can do anything you want, if you want a traditional takedown then the sage is there and for left handed people too!

Just bought one as my first bow. New for $109. Can't wait.

A great bow to start trad archery..not too expensive shoots great 👍

I just bought one last week as my first ever bow. Bought the 50lb version with the stained wood. Beautiful bow. Have not yet strung it as I do not have a proper target for it as of yet. I will be looking around this week for a few bails of straw.

Yep, when I wanted to get back into Archery few years ago the Sage was right at the top of its popularity. Merlin Archery here in UK couldn't keep up with demand. I brought the only one I could find, Iin 35lbs. Loved, it. Couple years later I found a set of extra limbs on ebay, 50lbs. Treated the sage to a Grizzly Jim string and loved it again. I then saw your video about "rebranded" bows, picked up a riser by Core and made a 2nd bow. Roll forward to now, confined by this current situation I decided to shoot 100 arrows a day for 30 days. I have 9.5 meters across my apartment the bow I'm using is the Sage, now with the 35lb limbs back in place. I've shot 2300 arrows and I'm so in love with it again. I use a "fixed crawl" al-la Push Archery and this bow is a joy.............I seam to remember you'd shot the Samick Journeyman before the Sage David, is it even smoother with the longer limbs?

Just built my first pvc/fibrglass bow a week ago and loved it heaps so i whent to the nearest archery store in geelong today to see what they had on offer and the sage was handed to me and highly recommended, might have to go back pick one up

I have one with 45 and 60# limbs. It is the bow I go to review my technique and consistency. I love it

Still have mine and it's still my trad bow of choice untill I buy something better at last :). I've put a flemish string and beaver puffs on it. Looks pretty nice. And surprisingly enough, it's probably still the one I'd recommend to beginners since while there are many others that are pretty much the same, the old Samick model is the only one you can get around $90. The Galaxy Sage, the SW Spyder etc. all cost $50 more. NU, you never really covered any Alibow fiberglass products beside the mini-bow. It would be interesting to know your thoughts since they pretty much make the "Samick Sages" of horse archery and are the first ones to be recommended to beginners that want to try thumb draw. Armin Hirmer covered pretty much all of them but it would be nice to hear your opinions aswell. Especially comparing them to a Mariner bow.

i have a sage too. love it.

Our local shop sells a number of Sages. I got one about 8 years ago and it is still the bow I shoot. I keep thinking about getting a new bow but it serves the need

I got one! it's my very first bow, and I'm still using it XD. I was thinking of moving up but the bow is comfortable!

I bought my sage this past July and shot it this last year in some local SYWAT tournaments here in TEXAS; 20 yds 5 spot indoor. come out in 3rd in state. now i have it setup like an Olympic recurve. might have to save up for a proper Olympic setup!

I learned to shoot with an old Ben Pearson 45# bow about 40 years ago, but like a dummy I sold it to the kid next door. Fast forward to about 3 years ago and I wanted to get back into archery. I went to a local sporting goods store and the cheapest recurve bow they had was a 55# Damon Howatt. I bought it because it was on clearance. (Apparently nobody wants a 55# recurve - all the hunters want compound bows.) But it became obvious pretty quickly that I wasn't ready for a 55# bow. For some reason I had shied away from takedown bows, but the Howatt was a bit much so I was willing to reconsider to get a lighter bow. A lot of people online suggested the Sage, so I bought one with 25# limbs. That's probably the best investment I've ever made in archery. I like that I can buy new limbs for it that will have heavier draw weight, but for now these will do fine. I imagine there are other recurve bows just as good for the draw weight, but there are SO MANY people who recommend the Sage, they're kind of hard to find.

Greetings! I just bought a Fleetwood Edge and I have read it is a Samick Sage rebrand? True? I am a beginner and have little experience but I can hit a one foot square target at 10 meters! Lol at least I'm having a lot of fun! I've only had it for a week but feels like it has great potential. It is smooth and quiet and very accurate and yes, like you said, it "feels good". Thank you for your channel. BIG Thumbs up and Cheers!

My first trad bow too! I have a recurve Martin and Samick Sage!

My first and only bow. I love it

I had the opportunity to buy 4 bows from last week until today, when the last one arrived, for my youngest son. I am a beginner and very excited about this sport that I see as a relaxing thing to do. I have bought a Junior Armex Black Spirit 42.5" #18 for my eldest son; this one that arrived today, which is an "Anglo Arms 15lb 51" Recurve Bow And Arrow Starter Archery Set"; my first bow, a Core Shift 62" #28, a week ago; and finally my second bow, a Samick Sage 62" #40 that arrived yesterday. I am already used to the Shift, which is a lighter draw weight and the Sage is a bit heavy for now. I knew that when I bought it, but I wanted to buy it anyway. I can shoot the Shift all day long, but the Sage, obviously, I'm tired after 20 or 30 shots. I am waiting to practice a lot more until I can shoot the Sage more easily, maybe in a club. I am shooting in my back garden for now, and 28lbs is more than enough.

Mine should arrive tomorrow hopefully

I just got one from a friend. He's had it over 7 yrs he's kept it strung nearly the entire time. It's perfectly fine except for a very slight twist in the upper limb which I've already gotten most straightened out

Yep, started with one 15 years ago. Due to a move, sort of dropped outta site and it was sold. I just now traded a Sage for a bass guitar I built and it’s a sweet bow STILL. Love it and wish I could shoot it better.

I just had to have this bow back in like 1998 or 1999. It was at my local Archery shop. I sold another item so I could purchase this bow for $225. Mine said "Kiowa" on the upper limb. After shooting with some other trad guys, I felt like I got ripped off because other guys had custom bows that didn't cost a whole lot more and some of those were noticeably better bows...but, in the end, it was a pretty good bow and I did some hunting with it, and had a lot of fun with it. I have a SAS Courage now and I am really liking this bow. It looks like a custom bow and I got it set up to where it is shooting real good and zippy.

Great beginner bow. 👍

Bought one of these on eBay in the UK recently and like it a lot so far. 30lb

Im moving within back-yard shooting, from air rifles, to a bow, and initially i wanted a complete set from merlin artery in the uk, which was good from a price point, it had everything to get started, the bow, arrows, glove, wrist guard, target and other items, however, merlin didnt have that set available, so i have had to make up my own set, and try to stick to the same budget The original bow was a 54 inch bow, called a merlin hunter So, i have gone for a samick sage, im looking forward to it arriving The samick sage and all the other components were around the same price as the entire hunter kit, within £10 so yeah, i went for the sage

I hadn’t shot a bow in decades. I’m having a blast with my 45# Bow.

Yes. Still have it. I am not shooting it as much anymore. More into compound bow . 😊 But thanks for reminding me. I will bring the sage out to shoot.👍

I bought the left hand version, so I can shoot arrows on the right side. Wooden grip is easy to shape with a file and sandpaper to fit in the hand perfectly.

We have one Sage in our house :) Greetings from Poland! :)

Ok.... im buying one!

My sage still going strong

I've been shooting a sage for 5 weeks and I love it. It's only 30lb, but when I decide to get a heavier draw weight, I'll probably get limbs for my sage rather than a new bow and they're less than £44

I've started with this bow, havent used it much because of the event that must not be named!

have one, I like it.

Hubby & I both have this bow!

I bought a galaxy sage With 25-pound limbs from Lancaster archery last year and I love it. Going to buy the 35-pound limbs soon. And this is my first and the only bow So far I am also thinking of Adding a Fred bear bow soon And also a longbow.

My rental bow I had for a year was a Samick sage or a clone (20#, 26# and 30# limbs). Now I am even more traditional with a (modern style) longbow. ;)