First impressions: Martin Cypress Takedown Recurve Bow

My second Martin Bow...

I began to appreciate wooden-handled bows after dabbling into archery for more than a year.
Basically, it's the tool that started it all.
And when it comes to affordability, Martin Archery tops it in terms of price-point. But when you know what you are getting into, well, the Martin bows are there to last for a while. 
That if you don't abuse it, leave it in your car until the limbs warp.

New for 2015

The Cypress with its old price...

Martin's line-up of traditional wooden handled takedowns

Martin introduced the Cypress takedown recurve bow for their 2015 line-up. It has a retail price of USD$199.99. Through some on-line retailers, it goes as low as USD$149.90.
Recently, Martin has increased the price of the Cypress to USD$249.99. Maybe it's because of higher cost for materials.
The riser is made of Zebra wood and the bow has an AMO length of 64", which should be rather easy to draw. 

With a little help from a friend...

I contacted a friend in New Mexico in the US for some help on the bow. Sent him some money in March and waited for a bit for the bow to be ordered by his local archery store. The moment finally arrived when my buddy, Michael Elman received the bow. He has good things to say about the riser which is ergonomically sensible.
He worked out the shipping cost and have the bow sent via airmail to Malaysia.
It takes about a week for the package to arrive. 
And when it got here, I had to claim it from the Mail and Courier complex in KLIA.
Went over and declared the package to the Customs officer.
There weren't any issues when they released the package, so, I went home and got it set up.
The Cypress is held together by fitting two screws into its limbs on the riser. An allen key is supplied with the bow kit.
I didn't see any instruction sheet with the bow package, so, I assumed that the "A" marking was for top end while the "B" goes on the bottom.
After fitting the limbs, I stringed the bow. Then, I put a nocking point and tried it at my little shooting range outside my home.
The arrow traveled in a straight line on an 18-meter distance. Grouping was rather decent.

Sending some arrows downrange with the Cypress

The Samick Sage and Martin Cypress

Summary

With a draw weight of #40lbs, the Cypress is definitely not a beginners bow. Martin did offer it at #35lb in the beginning. But dropped it to fit its current line-up of #40, #45 and #50.
I thought the 64" AMO length would be forgiving to draw, but I was wrong. It was rather stiff compared to my Martin Panther takedown recurve rated at #45lb.
Since its a bare bow and has no vibration dampening features, I did find the limbs wobbly compared to the high-tech panther.
Straight out of the box, its rather accurate.
I see the Cypress getting plenty of range time and I am sure it's a fun bow to shoot!