Martin Archery Cypress Review – a Recurve Bow Inspection

Image	Length	Bow Weight	Draw Weight	Takedown?
Martin Archery Cypress Review See on Amazon.com	64"	Unspecified How to: choose arrows, draw weight, and tune your recurve	35 to 55 lbs.	Yes

Pros - Beautiful zebrawood riser - Powerful and accurate - Darned near silent	Cons - No bow stringer included
Also recommended: Best Martin Bows

New for 2015, Martin Archery has crafted a quite distinctive takedown recurve bow in the Cypress. Made from zebra wood, the bow is lovely and has the traditional dark Martin limbs. Let’s take a look at the Cypress and see how well this takedown recurve stands up to the Martin name.

What Comes With the Martin Archery Cypress?

When you open the box, you should find these items within:

• The Martin Archery Cypress bow, including riser and limbs
• Assembly hardware
• 2015 Martin Archery catalog
• Assembly instructions

Unfortunately, Martin does not ship a bow stringer with the bow. I already had one, but you should make sure to purchase one if you are new to the sport or simply don’t have a bow stringer in your tool box already. The box also doesn’t include an Allen or bow wrench for assembly, so make sure you have that on hand.

Will I Have A Hard Time Assembling The Bow?

The assembly instructions that ship with the bow are quite easy to understand, and assembly of this recurve is quick and easy. You attach the limbs to the riser with the included hardware. You’ll need a set of Allen wrenches or a bow wrench, since one doesn’t come with the bow. Once the limbs are attached, string the bow using the bow stringer you purchased separately. Not using a bow stringer for this part will make the job more difficult, more dangerous, and leave you with a bow that is not nearly as accurate as it should be.

What Accessories Work With This Bow?

Right after assembling the bow is the perfect time to install your accessories. No accessories come with the Cypress, but it is predrilled for your sight, stabilizer, or Berger button. You will need to supply your own brass inserts, unfortunately, since those don’t come in the box.

Many veteran archers will shoot without a sight or arrow rest, a style known as instinctive shooting, but I don’t recommend this for beginners. If you are new to archery or have been away from the sport for a while, I recommend installing an arrow rest and a sight, at a minimum, to help you get the feel for archery.

Before you start shooting, even if you choose not to install a rest, sight, or stabilizer, there are some things you need to do to tune your bow. This includes placing your nocking point, which you’ll have to purchase separately, and tuning your brace height. For a complete rundown of how to tune your bow, start with part one of our four-part guide to bow tuning.

How Powerful And Accurate Is The Cypress?

Once you’ve got your bow ready to shoot, you’ll naturally be ready to find out how powerful and accurate the bow is. The Cypress is available in draw weights from 35# to 55#, with the heavier draw weights naturally being the more powerful. The 64″ Martin Archery Cypress is quite powerful if you choose the higher draw weights.

Accuracy of a properly tuned Cypress is fantastic. From 40 yards, I was able to hold 1.5“ groupings with ease, using a sight. Instinctive shooting, my groupings were more in the 1.75” range, but still quite respectable. This might not be a competition target recurve, but it is certainly accurate enough for most recreational and hunting purposes.

Can I Use The Martin Archery Cypress As A Hunting Bow?

Absolutely! It is a bit long for close-quarters hunting, at 64 inches, but I still found it to be relatively easy to move through the brush and swing to bear in my tree stand. With draw weights up to 55 pounds, you can easily get a Cypress that will be deadly enough for hunting any legal game in North America, with the exception maybe of the grizzly bear. Then again, I wouldn’t recommend hunting grizzly with a bow anyways, even though there are those who love the thrill of such sport.

Is The Cypress Beginner-Friendly?

The Cypress isn’t designed for young beginners, with a minimum draw weight of 35#, but if you are an adult just getting into the sport you’ll hardly find a better bow. The Martin Archery Cypress is very forgiving of poor techniques, and it easily accepts sights and stabilizers, along with a Berger button, to trick out your bow and make it as accurate as possible. With a suggested retail price of under $200, the Cypress also isn’t a huge investment if you aren’t sure you’ll take to archery.

How Can I Find The Best Arrows To Work With This Bow?

Everyone asks this question, expecting a quick answer. Unfortunately, this is a really tricky question, because there are so many factors that go into choosing a good arrow for your bow. Are you just target shooting, or are you hunting, too? Will you be hunting large game, or just small game? Do you plan on using the same arrows for both practice and hunting? These questions are why we’ve put together a guide that will help you select the best arrows; make sure you check it out.

How Durable Are The Limbs And Riser On The Cypress?

Martin Archery is known for high quality bows, and the Cypress is no exception. Properly cared for and disassembled between uses, you’ll find the recurve will last for quite some time. It’s too early to tell, but after a couple of months with the Cypress, I haven’t noticed any signs of limb twist or any other problems.

What Strings Will Fit This Recurve Bow?

The limb tips on the Cypress are reinforced, so you can use Fastflight or Flemish strings with the recurve without any problems. The included dacron string is quite good, but I prefer Flemish and quickly replaced my string with one.

Is The Martin Archery Cypress Heavy?

Martin Archery has moved away from providing as many details as they used to, but my educated guess pegs this bow at around 2.5 pounds. It isn’t the lightest recurve on the market, but it also isn’t so heavy that it will weigh you down a lot when you’re moving through the bush. I found it to be very friendly for extended use, and have spent several full days of shooting without hand fatigue or arm cramps from holding and shooting the bow.

How Quiet Is The Bow?

For a sub-$200 takedown recurve, the Cypress is surprisingly quiet. Add in whisker string silencers, and the bow is almost silent when you shoot. I expect this recurve to do quite well during archery season, and see no reason why a deer would string jump on me when I’m using this bow.

Recurve Bow Summary

Thanks for reading my review of the Martin Archery Cypress takedown recurve. This bow is well made, and beautiful to look at. It’s quiet, powerful, and accurate. The only real downside to the bow is that it doesn’t come with a bow stringer. Take a look at Today's Amazon.com price on the Cypress if you’re interested.