Home > Bow Reviews > A&H ACS CX 3pc 40#@28" on an ST 14" riser

A&H ACS CX 3pc 40#@28" on an ST 14" riser

Reviewed By Steve, 9 November 2009

Another ACS, on my scales this one draws 40.2# at 28", it is 64" tall and sports a 14" Bubinga ST riser. This little review was carried out with a 12 strand custom D75 string padded to 16 at the loops with Dacron, 2 silencers are on this string, half a cat's whisker each, there are 2 small ultra limb savers placed on the limbs - I know they are in the wrong place but they seem to make only a very minor difference and I didn't want them any further up the limb, all that trouble A&H go to, to get weight out of the limb and some idiot sticks a limb saver on it- my apologies to purists, but, I hate the fact that they do actually make some small difference. Andy is convinced they make no difference and constantly tells me to get the crap off the bow - I will try it and let you know !!.

The ST riser is short and the whole bow weighs only 1#, most of that it in the riser. Here's the thing though, I have shot many light weight bows and most often they can feel a little "cheap" for want of a better word, this has none of that feel, it ouzes quality, the smooth rounded riser feels totally right in the hand, instantly you grip it and it fits, my hands are probably average sized and although the riser is slim it doesn't feel too thin, even friends who have very large hands comment on how natural the small riser feels.

The limbs are plain and simple in black with a non reflective finish, in fact it is quite "not smooth". The tips are short and fine, with the Adcock Cross Section adding strength, some considerable amount of weight has been taken out of the limbs and they are very fine indeed. Whilst we are chatting about the finish I would say that it is a little delicate and with careless handling will mark and scratch easily - the good news is that they can always be returned to A&H for re-finishing if damaged.

The limbs are held to the riser by a pin and Hex screw affair which is quite standard in take down bows.

There has been much talked and written about ACS bows, in particular the speed and power, of course this did initially attract me to looking in to the bow but for me a bow is all about the shooting, I have shot some which have been what might be called under powered but they shot so sweet you could hit whatever you wanted. An incredible feature of the bow is that it is cut 3/16" past centre, this gives you an almost limitless range of spine, she will shoot almost any arrow and is very easy to tune.

The bow draws very sweetly and being only 40# feels quite light, this could easily fool you in to thinking that it doesn't shoot hard, the power comes right on straight away and builds smoothly, because of this folks with a draw shorter than the measured 28" will find that they get a lot of power even with a short draw.

The shot itself is shock free and very little noise, that's even with out all the "stuff" I have put on it - truth be told I only have the "stuff" on there because I like how it makes it look good to my eye.

It's all quality to hold and quality to shoot, and every time you do you will be surprised at how much speed the arrow has as it leaves the bow, this feels like a little bow but shoots like a big one.

Over the chrono this is what I got

445gn      11.12gn/#      166fps

500gn      12.50gn/#      162fps

530gn      13.25gn/#      151fps

565gn      14.12gn/#      145fps

All the arrows were shot at 28" draw. The test was conducted with 12 shots with each arrow, the 2 highest and 2 lowest readings were discarded and the rest averaged, in fact the readings were all very consistent within 2 to 3fps.

 

This bow is a joy to shoot, it really does have no vices and if you can get your form close she will forgive bad looses and short draws

 

Rating
Features & Design
This bow was designed from the ground up, in a radical departure from the standard accepted design of a longbow, Adcock has taken his lead from nature - check out a blade of grass and it's inherent weight to strength ratio
Performance
Make a note of the speed of this little bow and refer to other tests of other bows using the same arrows
Value for Money
I guess only you can decide if $1250 is worth the extra speed and handling, I have 4 of these in various configurations, the premium above and beyond what you might pay for another quality bow must be measured against the average of about 5# you won't have to draw to get the same performance - for me this is a 5* bow
Overall
I don't think there is anyone who would fail to be impressed by a bow that will out shoot another bow with a 5# weight advantage.

 

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Steve Nicholson and Andy Gilfrin, are real archers interested in the best archery suppliers have to offer. In our search for the very best bow, arrows and equipment we have shot, used and worn pretty much everything on offer.

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Essential Details
What : A&H ACS CX 3pc 40#@28" on an ST 14" riser Price : $1250

Check out the tiller

From both angles..

Tips are fine and will take high performance string material.

The riser

Curves in all the right places.

 

 

 

 

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