bow tests thus far

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

I have been selling quite a few bows of late and wanted to reshoot most of them and take down my own personal notes and thought on them from a non bias stand point.. as hard as that might be for some of you to believe.. yes I love hoyt but I can admit when a bow does something as good or better... so here we go..

This week I reshot-

Hoyt Alphmax 32 and 35
Pse bow madness and X force gx
Martin Firecat
Matthews Reezen 6.5 and DXT
Bear Truth 2

all bows were 29 in draw at 65lbs....


Hoyt Alphmax 32- ($850) I like the feel of the 35 better for myself, but this bow is nothing short of amazing..... the only thing that some might not like is the new XTR cam draws somewhat harsh, but it is as smooth harsh if that make sense... the bow it super smooth, little to no hand shock and whisper quiet..... it was one of the quiestest if not the quietest of the bow I shot.

Hoyt 35-($900) same as the 32 just 3 in longer and .2 lbs heavier.. this is the one I own.... just a great all around hunting/3D bow..   

PSE Bow madness ($500) This bow is a great bow in the price range, it is very light, fast and very quiet. the drawback however are it draws harsh, especially from a single cam and it has a decent amount of handshock in the shot.... but for a mid range bow its about as good as it gets....

PSE X force GX ( $869) This is PSE flagship bow, it has very radical cams that let you know just how radical when you draw.... If you creep at all with this bow the cams will snap you back down really fast. Overall it shoots alright...... fast, fairly smooth, still some hand shock in the bow.. the 80% let off is nice and feels like you are holding nothing. The bow is quiet but not as quiet as the hoyt or matthews IMO... Its a good bow, just not worth the price tag IMO...

Martin Firecat ($580) I have been very dissapointed all the way around this year with the martin line up, and before hoyt this is what I shot. The firecat  has a smooth draw, as smooth as any bow with the exception of the DXT, but the smoothness does not make up for the loudness of the bow and it has a bit of handshock and kick upon the shot..... I think most of the noise is coming from the holowed out rollergurad..... either way im not very impressed in any aspects other then the smoothness of the draw.. a good beginer bow but nothing to exciting.... 


Matthews Reezen 6.5-($869) Not at all impressed with this bow, it is quiet like all matthews, but it draws like a horse, especially for a solo cam, it has plenty of vibration in the shot and a not so enlightening 6.5 in brace height.. everyone that has shot it next to the DXT at the shop says its a pos compared to the DXT and I would agree.. its overpriced and way overhyped....

Matthews DXT-($859) I am not a matthwes Guy, but this is a awesome bow, It is the smoothest drawing of all the bows, it is as quiet if not even quieter then the hoyt and equally as smooth.. at 31 in axle to axle it is small and compact and super light.. its a great all around hunting bow.. IMO it is still the best bow matthwes makes along with its bigger brother the Drenalin.....

Bear Truth 2- ($700)  I have never been a big bear fan and after shooting this bow again I recalled why, its not super quiet, has almost a "tang" sound to it... I hate the grip, its not ergonomical at all.. and it has a TON of hand shock and vibration, especially for a singnature bow from a well known company.. I was blown away at how much this bow vibrated after the shot, I let 4 other guys shoot it and they also said the same thing.... not impressed at all, and for the same money you can find a much much better bow....


I would rate these bows in this order

1. Matthews DXT/Hoyt alphamax- Both are pure pleasure to shoot, super quiet, fast, little to no hand shock and very accurate..
2. Pse Bow madness - for the money it has more performance and aside from the harsh draw a nice shooting bow.
3. Pse X force GX- A good bow but overpriced IMO for what you get.... but speed still sells..
4. matthews Reezen 6.5- the last 3 in this list are all about the same for me, bows I would never shoot, the only thing that put this bow here is the quietness of this bow compared to the remaining 2.
5. Martin Firecat- The only good things about this bow are the smoothness of the draw and its under 600 bucks.... but the noise and hand shock do not make up for it.
6. Bear truth 2- awful bow for a supposed "top line" bow, tons of hand shock, not super quiet or fast and its not good to look at either... much better bows for the money are out there....
 

There you have it a review of the bows I reshot this week, if you have a chance shoot them all and compare what you think....

6.

[Bird_Bagger]

Are all good bows this expensive? I thought of getting a compound bow but I don't want to spend allot of dough. What would you recommend I look at? And do you know of a good sight to look for a used bow? Don't mean to hijack the thread but thought you might be able to help.

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

depends on your price range.. what are you wanting to spend fully set up?

[bucklucky]

Man , I shot the Reezen and loved it. I thought it drew really nice at 70. Maybee your just a weiner  , just kidding man! I cant beleive a@ a 27 inch draw length I shot 297 fps with a 390 grain arrow, and 290 with a 410 grain arrow! The vibration to me was minimal and for a hunting bow it really doesnt matter to me. I started with a Z-Max  I was going to go to bowtech this year but wasnt really liking there heafty draw. Made me feel like a wimp

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

If you shot a DXT you would notice a serious diff..... the reezen draws harsh for a solo cam and as you said it has some hand shock, more so then a high end bow should, the DXT and alphmax have none in comparisson..... IMO

[bucklucky]

I wonder what the speed diferance would be on a 27 inch draw.

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

what do you shoot? draw length wise

[Bearhunter]

Hoyt, shoot a couple of the new Bowtechs and give us your review, it would be interesting to see how the stack up to to mathews and hoyt....

[archery288]

Hoyt, shoot a couple of the new Bowtechs and give us your review, it would be interesting to see how the stack up to to mathews and hoyt....

Paul is too afraid....  He may like em...

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

I would love to, but we dont carry bowtech.. their customer service was awful at best from what I was told

[Bearhunter]

My Sentinel is supposed to be here sometime this week, Im not holding my breath though.  Jon did you ever end up getting one?

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

Hoyt, shoot a couple of the new Bowtechs and give us your review, it would be interesting to see how the stack up to to mathews and hoyt....

Paul is too afraid....  He may like em...

Lol Jon thats not what im afraid of.. I have shot a few, shot my buddys captain.. nice bow, pretty smooth and quiet..... I wouldnt say it was any better then the DXT or alphamax.... I personally dont like some of the enginering they do in thier bows..... lots of people love em.. I havent shot one yet that blew me away enough to sway me from hoyt....

[archery288]

It was still on order as of last week when I talked with them...  So I ordered an Admiral so I'd atleast have something to shoot in the meantime until the left handed ones are available!!  

[Bearhunter]

Nice, I just cant get used to shooting that short of a bow, after years of shooting the Ultratec.  To much string angle for me with the shorter bows like the admiral, very sweet shooting though!

[archery288]

When you are only 5'6" and only have a 27" draw, the string angle isn't as steep and the bow seems like it's the right size and not a 2x4...