Summary
The SAS Courage is an attractive good quality traditional barebow that shoots well. Not as easily upgradeable as others in the same category like the Sage or Spyder but if you are looking for a bow to shoot field/target or hunt traditionally with no added extras this may be the bow for you.
Table of Contents
Intro
Southland have only been in the industry since 2007 which makes them newer than a lot of their competition but the SAS bow called Courage is a good bow. The SAS in the name of the bow may lead you to think that it has some some sort of relationship with an Elite military force based in Hereford in the UK (the Special Air Service), but alas… you’d be wrong, the SAS stands for Southland Archery Supply and I’m not sure the real SAS would have much use for a bow and arrow these days, I’m pretty sure they favor guns, explosives and hand-to-hand combat 🙂 Anyway… Let’s take a look at how the SAS Courage stands up….
Ratings, Pros and Cons
What we liked:
- Left and right hand models available
- Usually supplied with 3 year limited manufacturer warranty
What we didn’t:
- Limb tips not reinforced for string upgrades
- Old iterations come without pre-drilled attachment points for stabilizer/sight.
Features / Specifications
| Draw weights (lbs): | 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 |
| Weight (lbs): | 3 |
| AMO Length (inches): | 60 |
| Riser: | Wood, laminated bitangor, makore and chuglam |
| Limbs: | Laminated maple and makore, black fiberglass finish |
| Price Range: | Low |
| Handedness: | Left and right hand models available |
| Warranty: | 3 year limited manufacturers warranty |
In-Depth Review
Riser
A laminated wood riser, feels nice solid and durable in the hand and is comparable in quality to other risers in the category like the Sage.
The most recent iteration of the SAS courage comes with pre-installed brass bushings for a plunger, stabilizer and sight / quiver, be careful here because we’ve seen older iterations on sale without any of these fitments pre-installed meaning if you get one of those you’ll either be stuck with a barebow or you’ll need to drill the riser (which will probably invalidate your warranty).
Limbs
The limbs are of laminated construction using 2 different woods Maple and Makore, and the face and back of the limb is coated with high strength fiberglass in a matte black finish. These limbs are not reinforced at the end to allow the use of upgraded strings.
The limb length on the Courage give it an AMO length of 60” which is shorter than some others in the same category like the Spyder, Sage and Razorback, if you’re a beginner (and unless you are small in stature and you need a 60” bow) you may want to look at something with a longer limb length which will give you a more forgiving experience.
Shooting
If we’re taking the Samick Sage as the benchmark shot in the entry level recurve bow market then this bow shoots comparably to the Sage, there is some vibration but not enough to be overly noticeable and wouldn’t present a major issue with this bow.
The slightly smaller AMO length on this one means it won’t be as forgiving when shooting as vs the Sage or Journey as the limbs just aren’t as long.
Styling
Attractive, good looking bow with a nicely styled wooden riser.
Assembly
The limbs are located onto the riser using metal pegs to stop limb rotation and then secured using a hex wrench or allen key which should come with the bow. This design is neat and tidy, relatively easy to assemble but due to the tooled assembly not something you’ll want to be performing day in day out and unless you remember your tools, not a bow you’ll want to be taking down when on the road.
Accessories
In the box you’ll find this bow should arrive with a string and stick on rug style arrow rest which is great if you don’t want to shoot directly off the shelf, there’s usually also a reasonable quality bowstring included.
See the ‘Riser’ section for information on accessory fitments for this bow.
“How does it compare?”
SAS Courage vs Samick Sage
The Sage is longer than this bow at 62″ AMO. The Sage is however slightly heavier, but has a higher quality finish, a bigger range of draw weights, and the benefit that you can also disassemble it without tools.. Checkout the full review here.
Courage vs Razorback
From the largest US archery manufacturer comes a great beginner bow available for juniors (PSE Jr Razorback) but only up-to 35 lbs draw for adults, that draw weight should be fine whilst you are learning, but if you want to go higher you’ll be stuck with the Razorback. Another downside to this bow (for some) may be the white limbs with the PSE logo making it look like a target shooters bow. The Courage has an advantage here over the Razorback as it has a far greater range of draw weights, however the Razorback is slightly lighter. More in our full review.
SAS Courage vs Jaguar Elite
The Jaguar is only available for right handed shooters, the supplied arrow rest is also a little on the flimsy side and the assembly and disassembly is slightly more fiddly than the Courage however the Jaguar does have a metal riser, comes in black or camo and can be accept ILF limbs should you wish to upgrade it to that level and is again slightly lighter than the Courage.. In-depth on the Jaguar here.
SAS Courage vs Spyder
The ‘Sage killer’ or ‘Sage v2’ is designed by the same people (but not sold by the same company) as the Samick Sage and it lives upto the hype, it’s lighter, more polished and has slightly better build quality than the Sage. A good looking bow with a wide ranger of draw weights than the Courage and available in 62″ or 64″ AMO lengths, it is also lighter than the courage by 0.7lbs. Hard to beat this bow on face value. Full review.
Our Comparison Tables
Take a a look around all the bows we’re reviewed in our comparison tables and make your own informed decision!
About the Manufacturer
From an 11,000 sq foot facility in California, Southland Archery Supply focus their efforts on hunting and target archery and make both compound bows, crossbows, and recurves. They field test their bows and are fully aware of what their target market demands and understand hunters and competitors. Southland have been doing this since 2007.
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