Martin Jaguar Elite Recurve Review

Martin Jaguar Elite Recurve – Buyers Guide

What Exactly Do You Get?

You will receive your package with the bow nicely package, as the Martin Jaguar is a takedown bow you will find the limbs detached from the riser. In the box you will receive;

• Riser
• Limbs
• String
• Bow Stringer
• Brass Riser Inserts

The Riser

Martin Archery have been producing bows for years, this includes both recurve and compound. In fact this bow uses the same riser as their compounds. When it comes to the riser, you want it to be lightweight. The lighter it is, the easier the bow is to hold and therefore the longer your can aim and get a better shot. This riser is made from a combination of aluminum and magnesium to help it be as light as possible but also durable.

The riser comes in two different colours, a matte black finish known as Black Flame or their camouflage effect called Mossy Oak. I like the fact that Martin Archery have included a Thermal V grip on the riser, this makes it much more comfortable than just holding bare metal. Don’t forget you will potentially be holding it for a long time, you therefore want the grip to be as comfortable as possible.

Like most if not all metal riser, it comes with all pre drilled accessory fitments. You can therefore install accessories such as sights, stabilisers and arrow rest.

Summary of The Riser

• Grip designed to fit comfortably in your hand
• Made from lightweight metal
• Pre-drilled Accessory Slots
• 2 colours available

The Limbs

If you have looked at any of the other Martin Archery ranges such as the Saber, Panther and Jaguar BF, you will probably have seen these limbs before. That is because they use the same ones. I do like these limbs as they are interchangeable with the Samick ones, as well as others so you are able to upgrade easily.

Design wise the limbs are laminated wood with a nice black fiberglass coating. On the front of the limbs are the Martin logo in white, helping it to stand out against the black.

Summary of the Limbs

• Interchangeable Limbs
• Made from laminated layers of wood
• Coated with black fiberglass

The String

The string that comes with the Jaguar Elite is pretty decent quality and will do most beginner/intermediate archers. If you do decide to upgrade or replace, it works really well with Flemish or FastFlight bowstrings.

NOTE: It does come with a bow stringer, make sure you use it to prevent damage to the limbs.

How Does It Shoot?

I personally found the shooting okay and it did provide a lot of fun, the draw was smooth with just a little vibration when releasing the arrow. The release was fairly quiet and I thought the accuracy was really good.

The Look Of The Bow

I think the look of the bow is nice, its one of those types of bows that you either really like it or you hate it. I think it’s the way the limbs go over the riser, instead of position at the top or bottom of them. The black riser with the black limbs looks really good and I think this is the better of the two finishes.

NOTE: if you go for the camo style, remember it’s only the riser that has this style as the limbs will still be black.

Assembling Your Bow

I like my bows to be as simple to put together as possible and allow me to get them up in as short time as possible. The Martin Jaguar is not hard not put up and takedown but it’s just very fiddly and takes a little longer, until you get used to it.

The limbs basically screw to the riser with the use of an allen key. It takes a bit of time trying to locate the nut, the bolt and then the washer.

PROS

• Comfortable To Hold
• Lightweight
• High Durability
• Excellent Accuracy
• Beautiful Design
• Low In Cost
• Ideal For Both Hunting & Target Archery

CONS

• Right Hand Only
• Cheap Plastic Arrow Rest

Accessories

If you do decide to buy the Martin Jaguar Elite Takedown bow, it does come with a couple of accessories;

Arrow Rest

You do receive a arrow rest, which if just starting out is enough. It is however not the best quality and will probably want to be replaced. It’s made of plastic and when shooting I did notice it did have some movement.

Stringer

I really like that you receive a bow stringer, many bows dont come with one and even though they are cheap, it’s nice to not have to buy one. It’s actually a pretty decent stringer, so should last you awhile.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Martin Jaguar Elite has been around for some time, I continue to receive questions via email so thought i’d add the most common below. If you do have any that are not covered, please feel free to post in the comments at the bottom of the review.

 Are The Limbs Reinforced?

Yes they are, you can upgrade the strings to FastFlight if you want to.

Is This Bow Suitable For Beginners?

If you are new to Archery then the Martin Jaguar is a very good bow to learn with, although also suitable for experienced users. I know of clubs that use it as their training bows because it is not complicated to use but also because of how durable it is.

Can I Hunt With This Bow?

It is a fairly light bow at only 2.6 lbs, so ideally for carrying around in the wild. Depending on the size of the hunt, you would want to go for the 40 lb or 50 lb draw weights. Personally I do think there are better bows for hunting but this does make a good option if on a budget.

About Martin Archery

If you are wanting a bow from a reputable company that has been in business for many years, Martin Archery is ideal. They have been in business since 1951 and they really know what they are doing. Martin don’t just focus on one type of bow but manufactures compound, recurve and traditional bows. Its reassuring that you are buying a bow from such as well-known company.

Conclusion

Overall I do think this is a great recurve bow and you will have a lot of fun shooting it. For the price I think it is really good value and the quality of the bow is high. As I mentioned before some people will like the bow, whereas others won’t, as it does look very different (which is not a bad thing).

My only complaint really is the lack of left hand option, as it does restrict those that can use it.

Alternatives

If after this review  you feel this is not the bow for you, take a look at my complete recurve bow guide. This features a buying guide to help you learn what to look for but also includes a top list of the most recommended bows.

Click Here To See My Recommendations

I really hope you have found this Martin Jaguar Elite review useful, please do comment below if you do have any questions. If you already have this bow, I would love to hear what you think about it as well.