Image | Length | Bow Weight | Draw Weight | Takedown? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Martin Freedom Bow See on Amazon.com | 60 inches | 2.75 lbs How to: choose arrows, draw weight, and tune your recurve | 25 to 55 lbs. | No |
| Pros - Excellent, generous brace height - Beautiful exotic hardwoods and Eastern hard maple - Smooth draw | Cons - No bushings for accessories - No bow stringer included |
| Also recommended: Best Martin Bows |
Package Contents
Hi there, and welcome to this review of the Martin Freedom. Each package delivered by Martin Archery includes the following items:
- The Martin Archery Freedom Bow
- Traditional arrow rest
- Dacron B-50 Bow String
- Owner’s Manual
- Warranty card
Assembling The Bow
Assembly of the Martin Archery Freedom won’t take you long, since there is not much to assemble. The Freedom does not, unfortunately, come with a bow stringer—make sure you have one on hand when you get ready to assemble the bow.
The Martin Archery Freedom is a non-takedown recurve, so you won’t need to attach the limbs to the riser. You string the bow and install the traditional arrow rest, and then you can move on to fine-tuning the bow to your preferences. Martin has designed this recurve with a very generous brace height of 6-3/4” to 7-3/4”, so the bow has exceptional forgiveness and accuracy when you start fine-tuning it.
How Powerful and Accurate is the Bow?
The Freedom is a true joy to shoot, because it is so readily fine-tuned to archers of all capabilities. It is available in a wide range of draw strengths, from 25# to 55#, so the power and accuracy of the bow is dependent on what draw strength you buy. For the purposes of this review, I’m shooting a 55# Freedom.
The bow draws almost effortlessly, and as smooth as butter, so it feels more like you’re drawing a 45# bow instead of a 55# bow. The accuracy was dead-on, and you can feel how accurate the shot will be before you even cast the arrow. The limb action is terrific in both directions, and the bow just feels as accurate as it truly is.
Is The Bow Suitable For Hunting?
The Freedom is designed with both recreational shooting and hunting in mind, and is available in draw weights that will allow you to harvest pretty much any game legal for hunting in North America. Pair this bow with high quality carbon arrows and expandable broadheads, and you’ve got a winning combination for the hunt.
Is The Bow Suitable For Beginners?
There are a number of bows that are just flat-out fantastic for beginners, and then there are some that are okay for beginners. The Freedom falls into the “Okay” category, because it is available at lower draw weights and it features a generous brace height. Unfortunately, the Freedom does not take any accessories, and the price is a bit on the high side for someone who is not sure if they’ll stick with archery or not. There are definitely better options out there for beginners.
Does This Recurve Accept Accessories?
The Freedom does not come drilled/tapped for accessories, so the only “accessory” you can install is the traditional arrow rest that comes with the bow. If you want to use the bow with a sight, stabilizer, or Berger button, you’ll have to get the bow drilled and tapped, and bushings inserted, for those accessories.
Arrows For The Freedom
You can spend weeks upon months researching for arrow selection before you ever buy your recurve, but it all comes down to your draw length and the draw weight of your bow. With my 55# Freedom, I had fantastic results with 525-grain carbon arrows by Easton, but your preferences might be different. For a detailed walkthrough on arrow selection, we’ve put together this excellent guide for you.
Is This Bow Comfortable To Hold?
The Martin Archery Freedom is lightweight, at just 2.75 pounds, and has a very fine balance to it. The bow almost becomes an extension of your body, it is so well balanced and constructed. I shot the Freedom for several hours, and experienced absolutely no ill effects of fatigue, pinching, or muscle cramps.
Materials And Durability (Riser, Limbs)
The riser on the Freedom is made of exotic hardwoods, the limbs are Eastern Hard Maple laminations with black fiberglass, and the limb tips are made from Bubinga and black fiberglass. This bow is very durable and well-constructed, and features reinforced limb tips for use with any type of string material. The bow does not suffer from limb twist problems, and the included string, while just a standard B-50 Dacron string, is well made and durable.
What String Fits The Martin Freedom?
The Martin Freedom has an AMO length of 60”, so it will gladly accept any string made for a 60” AMO bow. Since the limb tips are reinforced, you can even upgrade the string to a FastFlight or Flemish string, and should experience outstanding performance from the bow.
Is The Freedom a Heavy Bow?
At 2.75 pounds, the Freedom is not the lightest bow I’ve ever shot, but it’s still fairly lightweight. It just feels right in your hand, even with the weight, and I love shooting the Freedom.
How Loud Is The Martin Freedom?
With its generous brace height, the Freedom can be tuned to be one of the quietest bows you’ll ever shoot. I was able to get the sound level down to a whisper with some dedicated time to fine-tuning the brace height and the addition of cat whiskers to the bow.
Recurve Bow Review – Summary
Thanks for reading our bow review of the Martin Freedom. This bow is excellent for recreational shooting or hunting purposes, and is beautiful to look at to boot. You may find lighter-weight bows out there, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that feels as right in your hand as the Freedom.
Take a look at Today's Amazon.com price if you’re interested.
