Bow Name | Length | Bow Weight | Draw Weight | Takedown? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
OMP Mountaineer 2.0 See on Amazon.com | 62" | 3.4 lbs. How to: choose arrows, draw weight, and tune your recurve | 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 lbs. | Yes |
| Pros - Fantastic price - Includes both Dacron and Dacron Flemish Twist strings - Rugged and solid performance | Cons - Bow stringer not included |
| Also recommended: Best OMP Bows |
Package Contents
Hi, and welcome to this review of the October Mountain Products Mountaineer 2.0. This bow is a Cadillac of hunting bows, but it’s priced more like a Chevy Cruze. This bow is a 3-piece takedown recurve bow designed to withstand the rigors of hunting while maintaining excellent performance on the target range. Each package delivered by OMP includes the following items:
- The OMP Mountaineer 2.0 Riser and Limbs
- Standard limb bolts
- Toolless limb bolts
- Dacron String
- Dacron Flemish Twist String
- Owner’s Manual
- Warranty Card
Assembling The Bow
Putting the Mountaineer 2.0 together is straightforward, but you will have some decisions to make before you start. The first decision will be whether to use the toolless limb bolts or the standard limb bolts. Assuming your hands are strong enough to properly tighten the limb bolts, I would go with the toolless limb bolts.
The next decision is which string to use, the normal Dacron or the Dacron Flemish Twist string.
Once the decisions are made, assembling the bow is simple and easy. Unfortunately, the bow does not come with a bow stringer, so make sure to have one on-hand when it’s time to assemble the bow.
How Powerful and Accurate is the Bow?
The OMP Mountaineer 2.0 is a 62” bow available for right- and left-handed shooters in five draw weights: 35#, 40#, 45#, 50# and 55#. Even the lightest draw weight is almost powerful enough for deer, and the most powerful of the Mountaineer 2.0 lineup should be able to take deer, elk, or even black bear.
Once properly set up and tuned, the Mountaineer 2.0 is a tack driver. I was able to consistently shoot 1” groupings from 40 yards, 2” groupings at 50 yards, and 4” groupings from 75 yards. With this bow, any accuracy problems are caused by the archer, not the bow.
Is The Bow Suitable For Hunting?
OMP designed the Mountaineer 2.0 for hunting. Its rugged design and stellar performance make sure that the shot you fire will be a kill shot, as long as your archery skills are up to snuff.
During one of my hunting sessions, I took the OMP Mountaineer 2.0. We were hunting black bear, which I typically won’t try to hunt with a bow, but I’d seen just how powerful this bow was. We finally managed to stalk a black bear through the woods until I was in position for a good shot from about 35 yards away. I carefully aimed, loosed the arrow, and then got ready to fall down to the ground and pray the bear thought I was dead. To my surprise, though, my arrow went clean through the bear’s chest and out the other side. He lumbered towards me a few steps and then expired.
Is The Bow Suitable For Beginners?
Since the OMP Mountaineer 2.0 is so inexpensive and well made, it would definitely suit a beginner archer well. Even though the bow is designed as a hunting bow, its accuracy and forgiving nature will put even the greenest archer at ease as he or she begins to learn the craft. For some more popular alternatives, see the best recurve bows for beginners.
Does This Recurve Accept Accessories?
The OMP Mountaineer 2.0 comes with bushings pre-installed for a stabilizer, sight, and plunger. While I prefer instinctive shooting, shooting without a sight, it is a nice addition to have the bushings preinstalled. Beginning archers can often benefit from a sight, and the variety of sights on the market can serve hunters well.
Arrows For The OMP Mountaineer 2.0
Choosing arrows depends quite a bit on what you want to do with the bow, along with characteristics of the bow itself. Hunters typically use different arrows from target shooters, and you have to figure out your draw length before you can even think about buying your arrows. To help answer all of your questions on arrow selection, we have written an excellent guide on how to pick out the best arrows for your use.
Is The Mountaineer 2.0 Comfortable To Hold?
The OMP Mountaineer is very comfortable to hold. The grip is slim, which allows your hand to just wrap around it. During my review, the bow almost became an extension of my arm, it was so comfortable to hold.
Durability (Riser, Limbs)
The OMP Mountaineer 2.0’s Riser is constructed from laminated oak, walnut and hard maple. The limbs are crafted with multi-laminate wood limbs with reinforced limb tips and aluminum limb pockets. The overall design is strikingly beautiful, and the bow looks as wonderful as it shoots.
The bow is also very durable and rugged, since it’s designed for hunting. You can drop it in the mud, rattle it around in the back of your truck, or bump it up against a tree without any worries of it being damaged.
What String Fits The OMP Mountaineer 2.0?
The Mountaineer 2.0 came with both a standard Dacron bowstring and a Dacron Flemish twist bowstring. The reinforced limb tips will allow you to use just about any string you might want, as long as it’s the correct length for the bow.
Is The OMP Mountaineer 2.0 a Heavy Bow?
The OMP Mountaineer weighs around 3.5 pounds, heavier than some hunting bows I have used, but its slim, ergonomic grip makes it easy to hold onto. I carried this bow into the woods on several hunting trips, and found it quite comfortable to carry around.
How Loud Is The OMP Mountaineer 2.0?
This bow is quiet. Super quiet. I could barely hear the string when I fired it, even before putting on whisker silencers. I was very surprised that such a powerful bow would be so quiet out of the box, but there you have it. Once I added string silencers, the bow became even quieter.
OMP Mountaineer Bow Review – Summary
Thanks for reading my review of the OMP Mountaineer Bow. This bow is an excellent buy at less than $200 from Bowhunters Superstore International. Quite often, too, local archery shops will have an even better price than online retailers will, if they have the bow in stock. Take a look at Today's Amazon.com price on the Mountaineer 2.0 as well and decide if it’s suitable for you.
Thank you for your thoughtful reviews. I have shot longbows in the past and want to venture into recurve shooting. I am going to purchase OMP Mountaineer 2.0 based on your critique . Thanks for taking the time to build and maintain this site.
You are welcome Mark!
I got the bow and it shoots well. The riser was a little rougher than I expected. The limbs are great and it fits together nicely. My bow did not come with an owner’s manual. It did come with warranty card. I called OMP and they said that there was not yet a manual available for this bow. Thanks.
Hi Mark,
May I ask where you bought the bow from? I definitely got a manual with mine, though I wonder if it wasn’t just printed by the seller and included with the package, rather than being factory-included by the manufacturer. Thanks for pointing this out, I will look into it and modify my review so as not to mislead others.
Greetings Mark! I got my Mountaineer 2.0 from the Bowhunters Superstore. I called them first to ask about th e missing manual and they said I needed to call the OMP customer service number to find out about the missing manual. The OMP customer service rep was friendly and helpful. It was he that said they did not include a manual but were working on putting one together. No worries about being mislead, I appreciate your efforts. I just wanted to keep you in the loop since your reviews are very helpful to others. Thanks and safe journeys!
Mark I love my bow, but I find the 62″ bow(which is great) is a little to big for hiking. I wanted to switch out the arms to 50# and decrease the arm length to about 44″. Is that a possibility with my bow, or will I have look into a new bow?