2007 Bow Review - High Country 'Iron Mace' By Jason Balazs
May 12, 2007 - 5:02:09 AM
It all started in December of last year. I was talking with Rich Walton about doing a 2007 bow review to let the readers know what is out there for 2007. Now I know that not everyone is looking for a brand new bow, but there are some people who are. This is not like most of the bow tests that you see on the market. These reports are what I think a bow should be. With that being said,
each bow that I review will be shown on its own day. This way we are
concentrating on that bow only.
All of the 2007 model bows will be using the same rest, shooting the same arrow, through the same chronograph at same distance. The rest that I used are Quicktune 800's from New Archery Products. These rests proved to set up quickly and painlessly. For setting the bows up, I used an R.S. Bowvise and levels along with the Easy Eye Center Laser. I have mentioned this before; I would be lost with out the R. S. Bowvise and laser from easy eye. For the arrow, I will be shooting a 365.5-grain, Vforce HV500 carbon arrow from Victory Archery cut to 28" on my Apple Archery arrow cut-off saw. All of the bows that I am shooting are set at 70lbs with a 29" draw. I was able to ensure that all of the bows were set to the exact measurements and poundage by using my Apple Super Pro Bow press outfitted with the new Bow Tuning/Drawing tool. This thing is awesome because it allows you to measure and set the draw length on every bow. Along with the Bow tuning/Drawing tool, I will be using the new Parallel Limb bow adapter for the bow press. This minimizes potential damage to expensive bows, while saving valuable setup time.
The riser on the Iron Mace is Machined 6061-T6 Billet Aluminum Riser for superior strength, reliability, and also has 13 cutouts that reduce the overall weight of the bow. The Grip that came with the Iron Mace I received is made from Black Walnut and sectioned in two pieces. For a cable slide, the Iron Mace has a roller guard. There are two independent rollers that react with each cable independently.
LIMBS AND CAMS:
Sticking with the new technology, High Country has outfitted the Iron Mace with Barnsdale 6 Layer Laminated Parallel Solid Limbs. This should reduce the overall vibration on the bow. The Iron Mace has the all new Trinary Cam that is hard coated and camouflage. The Cams allow you to adjust the let-off from 65% to 80% and change your draw length from 28" to 31". Also, the Iron Mace is equipped with Winners Choice strings.
Testing:
After I adjusted the draw length to 29" and poundage to 70lbs on my Apple Bow drawing tool, I conducted the grip test. I drew the Iron Mace 10 times and would always grip the bow a little different each time. This way, I was not utilizing my own grip in the testing. The results I was looking for were if there was any torque on the bowstring or cams. The Iron Mace has a very slim grip, which does fit numerous hand types. With all of the grip positions I tried, the bow had virtually no torque.
The next test that I did was the draw test. You can tell when you are drawing the Iron Mace that there is some serious power stored in the limbs. Once past the initial pull the cams roll over easy with a light valley. The back wall has just a minor bit of play, which I was able to fix with by correcting the draw stops.
For testing the speed I shot through my Chronograph from Competition electronics 10 times. The average speed of all ten shots was 317 fps. With a bow that shoots that fast you would expect a lot of hand shock. This was not the case with the Iron Mace. The only thing that made noise on the bow was the string. I was able to correct this by applying some string silencers. After they were attached, the bow was very quiet.
Conclusion:
My first compound bow was a High Country Sniper. I loved that bow and still have it today. I have to say that in the last 15 years, High Country has really improved the quality of the bows that they create. The Iron Mace is light, fast, and comfortable to shoot. The 7-3/8th brace height is perfect for a person who is a pro or just starting for it allows maximum forgiveness when shooting. The Iron Mace can be used for hunting or for shooting 3D. With speeds in upwards of 400fps; with High Country's Speed Pro Max arrows, shooting a 1-pin sight for all tournaments will be the norm.
