Review: Bear LS-6 Compound Bow
Lucas Cooney 10.21.17
The Bear LS-6 is one of six bows I have been testing for ArcheryTalk.com’s Hunting Bow Project. I outfitted the LS-6 with a Trophy Ridge React H5 sight, QAD Ultra LD rest, Bee Stinger Counterslide stabilizer and a 1/4-inch peep.
Specs for the Bear LS-6 include an axle-to-axle length of 32 ¼ inches, brace height of 5.0 inches, IBO rated speed of 355 feet per second and mass weight of 4.2 pounds. The bow has an MSRP of $899.
I am shooting this bow with a draw length of 29 ½ inches (more on that in a moment) and draw weight of 60 pounds. My test bow is painted in Bear’s Shadow Black.
Fit and finish on the riser are great, and strings & cables are holding up well (although there is some serving separation at the D-loop). And while the strings look great, I am having trouble getting my peep sight to stay centered. At rest, the peep is pointing left, but it takes a hard right turn at full draw. If I center the peep, it points right at full draw. It’s odd, but it ultimately works.
Another oddity with the Bear LS-6 is the draw length. I initially set up the bow with the modules and draw stops in the 29½-inch settings, but when I put it on a draw board I found it was just over a full inch long. I ended up having to move everything to the 28½-inch settings to get the draw length where I wanted it. Some of that added draw length may be a result of tuning the bow down to 60 pounds from its 70-pound maximum. I only wish I had discovered this before I did the speed test video, as the 309 feet-per-second speeds I was getting with a 398-grain Gold Tip Valkyrie arrow should come with a Barry Bonds-sized asterisk.
The grip of this bow is pretty comfortable and has a nice flat front, though the screws on the side do stick out a bit. Overall, though, I am a fan of the grip.
When it comes to shooting the Bear LS-6, the draw cycle is quite stiff. It starts off fairly smooth, but ends in a hump before the valley. The valley is also very short and feels ready to jump if you relax at all and stop pulling into the wall, which is on the soft side. This bow only comes with a 70% letoff option, but could really benefit from more. It’s not a bow I like to shoot many arrows with in a given practice session.
I didn’t have any issue with the short five-inch brace height, which I found a bit surprising. The string never slapped against my sleeve and accuracy has been really impressive, with nice groups out to 40 yards and beyond. I do notice some vibration after the shot, but it’s manageable. The LS-6 is not particularly quiet, so I’d consider adding some additional dampening if I owned it.
Tuning the Bear LS-6 hasn’t been as easy as some of the other bows I’ve been testing. I haven’t been able to get good tears through paper. However, as with so many test bows, I haven’t had time to really dig into the problem. I imagine a good tuner could sort it out in short order.
The Bear LS-6 is worth checking out for anybody looking for a flagship speed bow for well under $1,000.
