Following the directions in a great thread by Drew, I plasti-dipped the buttstock and stirrup in black with pumice grit. This enhanced my ability to solidly shoulder my bow and it dampened some vibration from the stirrup. The coating has held up nicely so far.
I opt for the lightest possible components. I do not have a quiver mount for this reason and I prefer a hip-quiver. Before plasti-dipping my stirrup, I rounded all the edges and drilled some holes 1/2 way through it to lighten it up a touch. To me, any excess weight on the bow needs to be reduced, especially weight that is out front of the hands. In keeping with that theme, I went with titanium fasteners for the limb/riser and riser/mainframe for two reasons: weight reduction and corrosion resistance. Obviously, Normous' build was my influence here.
As my signature indicates, I use Boo strings. I also have a TriggerTech 2-stage Matrix Hunter with the red lever. To me, these were the two mods that made the most obvious improvements over the stock components.
Another huge upgrade that I recently added is a Leupold VXR Patrol in 1.25-4x. (The Leupold Mark AR 1.5-4x with SPR Firedot that used to sit atop my Matrix is sitting in a box waiting for a Micro to ride on! I even have a Boo micro string, talk about putting the cart before the horse!). I really like this scope. In comparing the two, the Patrol is a 30mm scope with better glass and much better clarity at point blank ranges. It focuses perfectly at mere inches away because it was designed for tactical use at close ranges. It has the same reticle, but the Patrol has a red Firedot, the Mark AR has a green dot. The Patrol has a shorter overall length but a few ounces more in mass. I find it easier to shoot with both eyes open compared to the Mark AR. Once I finalize an arrow setup for this bow, I'm going to send my data to the Leupold custom shop to have laser engraved turrets made for elevation. Alumina flip caps will eventually be added too. Truth be told, I have just recently made some of these mods and I haven't the chance to experiment, but I plan to have 10y increments out to 100y which should be possible with the greater vertical elevation range offered by a 30mm scope and a bow that shoots in excess of 400fps.
My Matrix 380 is no more. It's a 405 Mega in Realtree Xtra. I modified an old Vixen rail with a 14" powerstroke to accept a matrix stock and riser. I then shipped it off to Dynamic Finishes for hydro-dipping. I think the camo matches pretty well. They warned me that all decorators would have slightly different shades of the same pattern; theirs is slightly darker than what Excalibur uses. But if I didn't point it out, I think most people wouldn't notice. The coating appears to be very tough. I can't honestly review it yet for durability because it's new to me and has only seen about 20 shots, but so far, so good. (I'll update this thread after it's seen a few hundred shots and some days afield.). This powerstroke should give me better than 405fps with a 350gr arrow. I have not yet chronographed my new setup, but I'm dying to find out just how much horsepower I added!
Other minor mods include beefier scope mount screws, a shrink-wrapped arrow retainer and Danny Miller's Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers in place of the stock REDS.
I can't imagine parting with this bow until a smaller recurve platform boasts speeds approaching 400fps. I plan to use this bow for long-distance target shooting, 3D tourneys and early-season archery. The Micro I don't own yet will be my main hunting bow.
I'd like to thank everyone in the community for the info they've shared with me over the past year, in particular Normous, Limbs and Sticks, Boo and Paulaboutform. I have modelled my bow after theirs and they have provided me with valuable insights. Thanks
I would not be surprised to see 410 or more with that rail.
