New bow thoughts

[bracer40]

I just went through the process of trying a bunch of bows. After missing a bull last year when he dropped and spun around (wouldn’t have believed it if my son hadn’t filmed it and we watched in slomo), I vowed to find a quieter bow. Upon landing a new job, I decided to do something I rarely do, spend top $ for the best. Shot the following flagship bows: Bowtech, Prime, Expedition, PSE (not the carbon Levitate), passed on Hoyt due to reading about past problems others experienced. Also passed on the new Matthews due to the proprietary design of their ‘22 bows (requiring their $200 quiver!) though ironically I still dropped that sum on a tight spot 🤣. I thought the Matthews would have been a strong contender based on many of the reviews I read regarding its shooting performance but the proprietary thing stuck in my mind…in hindsight I would encourage anybody shopping to put that on the back burner and just shoot one to judge against the rest.
They all were ver smooth draws, a pleasure to shoot and it came down to personal preference on how the back wall felt, the grip designs (& ability to modify the grip) and it’s overall feel when shooting.
I did my research over several weeks. Brought my old bow in to shoot first as a reference point. Then returned several times to repeat the process. After making my decision I didn’t skimp or try to shop the components mounted to it.
Shout out to the guys at Archery World in Portland for their help and patience and ultimately to Denton @ Rock Creek Archery in Tukwila who set up my bow.
I’m sure I could have saved money and through patient and careful shopping, found a year or 2-3 flagship bow at a fraction of the cost.  But I’m happy with my choice.
Good luck shopping!

So what bow did you end up going with?

PSE Evo xf33 ( with the so called comfort cam) MBG ascent verdict sight, Ripcord Max rest and Tightspots adjustable quiver. Haven’t decided on the stabilizer setup yet. Likely go with the conquest system.

[Mudman]

No Mathews?  I been out of loop on new tech but I still love my ol Mathews.   

[Mtnwalker]

A few of my Mathews buddies have switched to PSE lately. I always swore I'd never shoot one but I may have to go check them out if they've gotten as good as I hear..

[PacificNWhunter]

I just went through the process of trying a bunch of bows. After missing a bull last year when he dropped and spun around (wouldn’t have believed it if my son hadn’t filmed it and we watched in slomo), I vowed to find a quieter bow. Upon landing a new job, I decided to do something I rarely do, spend top $ for the best. Shot the following flagship bows: Bowtech, Prime, Expedition, PSE (not the carbon Levitate), passed on Hoyt due to reading about past problems others experienced. Also passed on the new Matthews due to the proprietary design of their ‘22 bows (requiring their $200 quiver!) though ironically I still dropped that sum on a tight spot 🤣. I thought the Matthews would have been a strong contender based on many of the reviews I read regarding its shooting performance but the proprietary thing stuck in my mind…in hindsight I would encourage anybody shopping to put that on the back burner and just shoot one to judge against the rest.
They all were ver smooth draws, a pleasure to shoot and it came down to personal preference on how the back wall felt, the grip designs (& ability to modify the grip) and it’s overall feel when shooting.
I did my research over several weeks. Brought my old bow in to shoot first as a reference point. Then returned several times to repeat the process. After making my decision I didn’t skimp or try to shop the components mounted to it.
Shout out to the guys at Archery World in Portland for their help and patience and ultimately to Denton @ Rock Creek Archery in Tukwila who set up my bow.
I’m sure I could have saved money and through patient and careful shopping, found a year or 2-3 flagship bow at a fraction of the cost.  But I’m happy with my choice.
Good luck shopping!

So what bow did you end up going with?

PSE Evo xf33 ( with the so called comfort cam) MBG ascent verdict sight, Ripcord Max rest and Tightspots adjustable quiver. Haven’t decided on the stabilizer setup yet. Likely go with the conquest system.

Solid choice. I have the EVL 34 with almost the same set up. They shoot awesome.

[pianoman9701]

My Matthews Halon 32 is the first top-of-the-line bow I've owned, so I don't know much about higher end bows. I've shot a few others. The Hoyt Carbon RX-7 was incredible but the price tag was way over my limits. I'm so impressed with my Halon. It shoots flat and fast, fairly quiet, solid back wall. I love it.

[blackveltbowhunter]

IMO, it depends alot on what YOU want in a "hunting" bow. I like good string angle, longer ATA if possible, history of reliability, and quiet solid quivers that attach to bow. I have had 3 TS and cannot like them. But lots of guys will have different wants and scenarios that need different style setups.

   All of the major brands shoot well on the shot, and draw cycles are easy to get used to. Not alot of bows come with limb stops anymore as co centric, and binary systems offer very solid walls along with generally very good nock travel at perfect time.

   Mathews and Hoyt have a decided edge in hunting packages IMO. Both offer good options for BH and ATA, reasonable speed, Reliable, quiet, and well built. 2 piece, quiet and low profile quivers, in line sight bracketing, integrated rest options, all combined with typically less stabilizer needed to make a well balanced system. The other manufactures need to take notes. Down sides: mathews stock grip sucks, hoyt is refining the new binary system, and prepare to spend dollars for all the upgrades.

Bowtech is flat lying about speed this year and not the little white lies all the manufactures use to advertise. Lack of grip options is a bit frustrating. Binary system is easy to tune, and Tuning them is very easy for an in home tinkerer as no press needed for cam adjustment, draw cyes do vary widely depending on model,  dl, and setup. But on the shot and backwall are consistent.
 Decent setup options,  but no two piece options for quiver or inline sighting. I tend to find them more difficult to balance overall.

PSE: best aiming bow, very comfy valley and backwall, good speed advertising. Good factory threads and finishes improve every year. Be prepared to tune with an arrow. Adjustments require lots of steps, and replacing cam spacers requires the entire bow be decompressed.  Easily has most out of box mistakes from factory. A shop should catch them but not always.

Prime: most improved. Excellent aiming, good shot feel.

Prime, PSE, and  bowtech all have similar setup options for quivers, sights etc....

Darton and expedition, I shot both, both shot great and have similar fit and finish. I preffered
the darton.  nether really offer setup options that I am looking for. Namely quiet quivers, ability to balance easily, and grip options to get maximum forgiveness.

[Dukalr]

Vote for the new Mathews here.  I purchased a V3 last summer from Lucky Shot Archery in Chehalis and couldn’t be happier.  Awesome shooting bow, smooth cycle and good back wall.  This thing shoots bullets! Got a new Spot Hogg sight and I’m shooting tighter groups and farther distance than ever.  Hands down a phenomenal bow!

[vandeman17]

I am for sure excited to shoot different bows to see which one  scratches what itches. It will be my first time building a bow from scratch which hopefully along with consistent shooting like I normally do all spring and summer will increase my proficiency at the longer yardages. It won’t matter when I kill my bull this fall at 12 yards but it will be nice knowing I could have smoked him earlier. 

[bracer40]

I am for sure excited to shoot different bows to see which one  scratches what itches. It will be my first time building a bow from scratch which hopefully along with consistent shooting like I normally do all spring and summer will increase my proficiency at the longer yardages. It won’t matter when I kill my bull this fall at 12 yards but it will be nice knowing I could have smoked him earlier. 

Or put him down at 80 with a second shot!😜

[vandeman17]

I am for sure excited to shoot different bows to see which one  scratches what itches. It will be my first time building a bow from scratch which hopefully along with consistent shooting like I normally do all spring and summer will increase my proficiency at the longer yardages. It won’t matter when I kill my bull this fall at 12 yards but it will be nice knowing I could have smoked him earlier. 

Or put him down at 80 with a second shot!😜

Truth. Anchor him out there so he doesn’t go father into the canyon. Good thinking!