Ragim Impala Recurve Bow Review

Image	Length	Bow Weight	Draw Weight	Takedown?
Ragim Impala See on Amazon.com	60"	~2 lbs. How to: choose arrows, draw weight, and tune your recurve	35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 lbs.	Yes

Pros - Inexpensive starter bow for either a beginner or someone looking to customize a bow - Brass inserts included to install a sight, stabilizer or Berger button	Cons - Rough finish, prone to bubbling and cracking - String nocks are sharp and can cause string blowout
Also recommended: Best Ragim Bows

Compare With Other Recurve Bows

Package Contents

It’s time for another recurve review, and this time we’re looking at the Ragim Impala recurve bow. Ragim’s Impala is a pretty bow, and the price is definitely right for someone who is either looking to get into traditional archery or start a “project” bow. Each package delivered by Ragim includes the following items:

• The Ragim Impala bow, including riser and limbs
• String
• Brass inserts to install a sight, stabilizer or Berger button

Assembling The Ragim Impala Recurve Bow

To assemble the Ragim Impala, you just attach the limbs to the riser and then string the bow. The Impala is designed as a takedown bow, so the limbs detach and reattach easily using bolts and an Allen wrench. My Impala didn’t come with an Allen wrench, but that may just be an oversight. It also didn’t come with a bow stringer; fortunately, I already had several. If you don’t own a bow stringer, make sure you buy one as it makes stringing the bow much easier and consistent.

If you want to install a Berger button, stabilizer, or sight, the included brass inserts are well made and easy to install within just a few minutes.

How Powerful and Accurate is The Ragim Impala?

The power of the Ragim Impala depends on what draw weight you use. The Ragim Impala comes in draw weights ranging from 25# up to 60#, in 5# increments. The heavier the draw weight, the more power you’ll be using to fling your arrows to target.

I found the bow to be decently accurate, and was able to shoot 3-inch groupings at 45 yards. Installing a sight, a stabilizer, and/or a Berger button would certainly improve this accuracy.

Is This Bow Suitable For Hunting?

Ragim includes the Impala in their “Traditional Hunting Bows” product lineup, and I’d say the bow would server pretty well for the beginning bow hunter. The Ragim Impala is pretty well made for such an inexpensive bow (amazon.com price), and comes in draw weights that should satisfy the legalities of bow hunting. Since it’s so inexpensive, you also won’t worry about it taking a bit of a beating in the bush.

I haven’t personally taken mine hunting yet, but I would expect the 50# draw weight on my Ragim Impala to be perfectly suited for taking down a deer or bow fishing. I’m not sure I’d trust it for smaller game, however, unless I found that installing a stabilizer or sight brought my groupings down under 3”.

Is The Impala Suitable For Beginners?

The Ragim Impala is most definitely suitable for a beginner to either target archery or bow hunting, as long as an experienced archer inspects the bow first to make sure the string is centered on the bow and there aren’t any problems with limb twist. These manufacturing problems will lead to damaged strings and accuracy problems, which would only frustrate someone new to archery.

Does This Recurve Accept Accessories?

Yes, the Ragim Impala does accept accessories, and Ragim even includes the brass inserts to make installation of a sight, stabilizer or Berger button fast and easy. I always recommend beginners invest in a sight for their recurve bow, because it helps alleviate problems with accuracy that are caused by poor technique. Of course, if you want to learn from your mistakes and have a good mentor, then by all means stick with instinctive shooting and forego the sight; the Impala won’t mind!

Arrows For The Ragim Impala

To decide which arrows you should use with the Impala, you need to think about your own personal preferences and what you want to do with the bow. For example, you’ll use much different arrows for hunting deer than you will for backyard target shooting. To help you with this, we have an excellent guide on picking out the right arrows for your needs.

Is This Bow Comfortable To Hold?

The Ragim Impala isn’t the best to hold, but it isn’t the worst, either. It’s an inexpensive bow, so it isn’t made to be the lightest in the lineup of takedown recurves. That being said, I was able to enjoy several hours of target shooting without too much fatigue.

Materials And Durability (Riser, Limbs)

Ragim constructs the Impala with a laminated riser and black fiber limbs. The majority of the time, Ragim’s Impala is well made for such an inexpensive bow. I found mine to be pretty well done, but had to sand down the string nocks a bit; they’re really sharp out of the box, and can easily chew through your string.

Probably because the bow is so inexpensive, Ragim doesn’t employ good quality control on the Impala. As a result, some Impalas have been reported as being poorly constructed. Make sure you don’t have any twisted limbs when you assemble your bow.

What String Fits The Ragim Impala?

Any string that fits a 60” recurve should work fine on the Impala, but make sure your bow doesn’t have sharp string nocks before investing much money in a string. The included string is decent for target shooting, but once I’m sure that I’ve eliminated the problem of the sharp string nocks chewing through my bowstrings, I plan to install a string better suited to hunting, most likely an FF.

Is The Ragim Impala a Heavy Bow?

Surprisingly, I found the Impala to be fairly lightweight for such an inexpensive bow. I don’t know the exact weight, but the fiber limbs Ragim chose to use on the Impala make the bow much lighter than you might expect.

How Loud Is The Ragim Impala?

This bow did sound a bit loud to me, and there was quite a bit of vibration at first. Once I tuned the bow, though, and retightened the limbs, most of the vibration went away. I haven’t put whisker silencers on my string yet, and I expect that adding them will make the bow quiet enough for hunting deer.

Ragim Impala Recurve Bow Review – Summary

Thanks for taking the time to check out my review of the Ragim Impala. If you want an inexpensive bow as an introduction to archery or bow hunting, this bow would be a good choice as long as you have someone knowledgeable to help you ensure you get one free of manufacturing defects. Check out Today's Amazon.com price on this bow.