Bow | Length | Bow Weight | Draw Weight | Takedown? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
OMP Explorer 2.0 See on Amazon.com | 54" - 62" (depends on draw weight) | 2.9 lbs. How to: choose arrows, draw weight, and tune your recurve | 20 to 40 lbs. | Yes |
| Pros - Easy takedown design for storage and transport - Good bow for intermediate archers - Durable lamination and reinforced limb tips | Cons - Not very quiet; recommend whisker silencers - Draw weights not quite strong enough for hunting |
| Also recommended: Best OMP Bows |
Compare with Other Recurve Bows
Package Contents
Welcome to my review of October Mountain Products’ Explorer 2.0 recurve bow. The Explorer 2.0 is an intermediate-level recurve bow designed for backyard recreational archery and target shooting. Each package delivered by OMP includes the following items:
- The Explorer 2.0 takedown recurve, including riser and limbs
- Dacron bow string
- Owners manual
- Warranty card
Assembling The Bow
Assembly of the OMP Explorer 2.0 is quick and easy, since all you have to do is attach the limbs to the riser, string the bow, and position your brace and arrow rest. Factory-installed bushings are there for your sight, plunger, or stabilizer, if you want to install those. The bow does not ship with a bow stringer, so make sure to have one on hand before you begin assembling the bow.
How Powerful and Accurate is the Bow?
Available in draw weights ranging from 20# to 40#, the Explorer 2.0 is as powerful as most 7-15 year-olds and women could need. I wish it were available at slightly higher draw weights for teenagers, though, since the 40# maximum draw weight is just barely legal for hunting. Upgrading the draw weight is easy, though, since you just need to replace the limbs and not the entire bow. The OMP Explorer 2.0 is a tack driver. I was able to maintain 1′ groupings at 25 yards, and 2′ groupings at up to 50 yards. Overall, I could not ask for a more accurate recurve bow, especially since I was shooting instinctively, without any accessories added on.
Is The Explorer 2.0 Suitable For Hunting?
If by hunting, you mean deer, and then only the maximum draw weight of the 62′ model is acceptable for hunting. With that being said, however, the lighter draw weights are certainly useful for small game hunting, even though October Mountain Products intended this bow for recreational and target archery. I found that I could easily use the Explorer 2.0 to take squirrels, groundhogs, and raccoons quietly and efficiently.
Is The Bow Suitable For Beginners?
While October Mountain Products intends the Explorer 2.0 for intermediate archers, it’s certainly suitable for beginning archers, too. The Explorer 2.0 is well designed and forgiving, allowing new archers to learn the techniques and methods to shoot consistently and accurately without becoming frustrated by bad stances or draws.
Does This Bow Accept Accessories?
Not only does the Explorer 2.0 accept accessories, but it already has bushings installed for a stabilizer, sight, and plunger. While I prefer instinctive shooting (without the use of a sight), a beginning archer can sometimes benefit from having these accessories installed to help them learn the bow.
Arrows For The OMP Explorer 2.0
The Explorer 2.0 fires well with any arrows you might want to use. I’ve found that Easton and Carbon Express are especially nice with this bow, because the carbon shafts resist bending and breaking. Choosing arrows is mostly a matter of personal preference, but our guide on selecting the right arrows for your needs can be very helpful in getting a burgeoning young archer up and shooting.
Is The Explorer 2.0 Comfortable To Hold?
The grip on the Explorer 2.0 is very comfortable, and the bow itself is lightweight and sturdy. After several hours of shooting, I barely noticed I had been holding the bow at all. My hands were completely free of callouses or sore spots, so I would definitely call this one as much of a beauty to hold as it is to look at.
Materials And Durability (Limbs & Riser)
The OMP Explorer 2.0 features multi-laminate wood limbs with reinforced limb tips and a laminated hardwood riser. This bow is constructed from laminated walnut, ash, paduk, and hard maple wood. It ships with a Dacron string and is available in two lengths, 54″ for archers from 7 to 12 years of age and 62″ for 11-15-year-old archers. Draw weights range from 20# to 40# in 5# increments, and replacement limb sets are available to increase the draw weight without replacing the entire bow. The OMP Explorer 2.0 is very durable and resistant to limb twist. Once I had my bow properly tuned and sighted in, I fired at least a thousand arrows without the first hint of limb twist or string fraying. The included Dacron string is very high quality, and will last you quite some time before it needs to be replaced.
What String Fits The OMP Explorer 2.0?
As I pointed out before, the Explorer 2.0 comes with a very good Dacron string that will provide thousands of shots before it needs to be replaced, as long as you properly care for the string (by unstringing the bow between shooting sessions and examining it for proper seating in the limb tips when you’re getting ready to shoot.) Still, the bow does have reinforced limb tips, so it will gladly take FastFlight strings and work very well with them.
Is The OMP Explorer 2.0 a Heavy Bow?
Since the Explorer 2.0 is designed for younger archers, it has been made to be very lightweight. The bow weighs less than 5 pounds, and the grip is slim and ergonomic enough to make it feel much lighter.
How Loud Is The OMP Explorer 2.0?
The Explorer 2.0 wasn’t designed to be quiet, so it isn’t. If you want it to be quieter, you can install string silencers to dampen much of the sound. However, this bow is not as loud as many other bows I have shot; it just isn’t as quiet as the bows that I tend to favor for hunting. This bow isn’t designed as a hunter, but it does serve the purpose of small game hunting fairly well as long as you’re careful to silence the string as much as you can.
Bow Review – Summary
Thanks for reading my review of the October Mountain Products Explorer 2.0. This is a fantastic bow for a beginning archer or an intermediate archer who is mostly interested in recreational and target shooting. It will provide hours of fun, and will help learn the techniques and methods necessary before moving up to a heavier-weight bow. You can get the Explorer 2.0 at Today's Amazon.com price.
