New bow ideas

[Dreaded Archer24]

Got the okay from the BOSS LADY(Wife)  To get a new bow Thinking about getting a Hoyt Vortex not the XT just the Vortex I got about 800 $ I can spend. Any ideas guys ?


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[blackveltbowhunter]

Any experience or is it a first bow?

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Mathews.

[2MANY]

Listen to what Blackvelvet above tells you.
You are already winning by having him respond.

[pianoman9701]

Think about getting a used-in-great-condition bow for that money. I bought a Matthews Halon 32" that was only a couple of years old for $700 and new, I think was around $1400 - not sure. Some guys buy the newest bow on the market every year or two and sell the last one.

[furbearer365]

Honestly, asking an opinion is a good start, but never buy a bow based on brand.  Id have about 5 options to "look" at, then buy according to feel.  If possible, buy from a shop that allows you to shoot it first. If its your first bow, you be surprised how different they all feel. 

[highside74]

$800 I'd look for a used top tier Mathews, Prime or Hoyt. Join archery talk forum. Their
 Classified section is a great place to find a good bow for less money.

The Elite in our Classified section is a great option and less money than you want to spend.
Ebay Prime RVX34 can be bought new for $800 if you aren't set on color or exact poundage. That is a great option.

[Dreaded Archer24]

That’s what I was thinking looking at a used bow instead of a brand new one get flagship quality without the price.  Btw .. Happy new years everybody!!


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[blackveltbowhunter]

Are you budgeting $800 for a bow only? Or entire setup including arrows and release? Do you plan to do your own work and setup or utilize a shop?

The torrex is a solid choice. Finding a package setup in the 800 range new should be easy enough.

If looking used, some prior research can save lots of headaches. If utilizing a shop for service, finding out what brands they are dealers for and prefer can save surprises when it comes to locating parts and/or adjustment and tuning nightmares. If new to archery get an accurate draw length and draw weight, if a shop will accommodate try and get actually fitted.
If planning on doing your own work these steps are not quite as important, but will still get ya in the ball park and save some drama if you end up with a mod  or cam specific draw length adjustment 

Once ready to shop, I would stick to bows 3 to 5 years old and one of the major brands. Bonus for new ( carries a warranty ) bonus for new strings and cables installed, bonus for accessories, double bonus if accessories are ones you actually would have put on yourself.

[Dreaded Archer24]

I have my own arrows and release and I have about 1300 to spend total on a boat. That’s why I was gonna buy a used Matthews and then just put aftermarket pieces on it through my bow shop.


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[hhack]

It’s not the arrow it’s the Indian. I shoot an 18 year old bear with original strings.

[JDArms1240]

Aw man you should definitely go shoot a bunch!  I thought I was going in for a hoyt, shot 4 different bows and the hoyt didnt feel as good as the mathews, so i walked out with a new mathews and couldn't be happier!  I second BlackVelt's torrex recommendation, i bought my wife one and its a real nice bow.  I think we got outta there at a little more than $900.

[WoolSocks]

This is like a random person on the internet asking what kind of shoes they should wear. It’s impossible to answer.

With that said, here’s a few things that help.

1. There is no tangible difference between the accuracy of virtually any compound bow. If you stuck a cheap $300 bow and a $3000 flagship bow in a testing machine, they would both shoot tiny little groups. With that said, cheaper bows are harder to shoot - generally less forgiving and tend to be hard to tune. Theres no correlation between cost and accuracy, but definitely a correlation between cost and frustration.

2. Buying a used flagship bow can be a gamble. You won’t know how quirky it is until you get it set up for you. It’s pretty common to get one that wasn’t strung correctly. It’ll shoot great, then when you switch to broadheads everything goes to the dogs and you wind up putting twists in and out of forks, etc.. the reason somebody is selling it is that they had the same experience, and didn’t want to deal with it. If you have a bow press and know how to use it, you can make it sing. If not, go ahead and factor in $$$ for somebody else’s time.

I’ve had cheap, terrible bows that I learned to shoot accurately through endless practice. I’ve had used flagship bows that spent hours on the bow press, then shot extremely well. Only thing I haven’t done is just walk into a store and buy a mid-line bow like a Hoyt Torrex or something. Guessing if I did it would save me a lot of time fiddling around.

[kodiak06]

You'll get a bunch of "fan boy" answers. Go shoot some bows and pick what feels best

[hughjorgan]

I’d be looking for a used flagship bow. FYI the Hoyt torrex that has been mentioned utilizes cheaper manufacturing to get that price point, such as cheaper components and a cast riser vs machined. You can find good deals on eBay or archery talk. Spokane valley archery recently started selling used bows as well and they come with brand new gas strings installed and fully inspected if your gun shy at buying used bows. Put the link below…

https://www.podiumarcher.com/collections/used-bows

Lots of good suggestions on brands have already been made and I’ll throw a couple more at you to look at PSE with their EC2 cam and the newer bows have the EZ 220 shim system to adjust cam lean, they also can still be yoke tuned. Darton is also another great value with lots of great innovation and tech to make tuning a bow very simple.

[blackveltbowhunter]

I referenced the hoyt torrex specifically because the OP mentioned it ( at least I beleive thats the bow he was referring to as i have never heard of a hoyt vortex or vortex XT). My advice would be to NOT pay 800 for a hoyt  torrex simply because you should be able to locate one at nearly half that with it being discontinued. But if working on a budget it can be an excellent option. Side note:  I much prefer the standard torrex over the XT, and feel the xt is not worth the upgrade cost, but that is simply IMO. The new Enduro ( replaced the Torrex ) is a great shooter and might honestly be the best value if shopping in the brand new arena. With flagships being around 1500+ MSRP, the Enduro ringing in at nearly half that is appealing for the features it offers.

With the OP mentioning an increase in budget more around 1300, I completely agree on shopping for last years models new. A  LIFT X, or AX2 should be coming in around a grand if a shop is actually trying to move inventory, maybe better if your willing to kit it out off their floor.

I tend to disagree with comments about budget bows shooting just as well as flagship bows. As these comments often conflate the ability to shoot accurately with performance. Nearly all bows  are accurate and can be setup to shoot at or above the accuracy potential of a given shooter or machine. But to do that while simultaneously producing as much energy potential as that platform and shooter are capable of? That is a different thing altogether.  Its like saying a honda accord is superior to a Ferrari because it is more trouble free while driving  at highway speeds.
  I have not found a budget platform bow yet that shoots what I would consider "sweet" if pushing the performance envelope.

[Dreaded Archer24]

I referenced the hoyt torrex specifically because the OP mentioned it ( at least I beleive thats the bow he was referring to as i have never heard of a hoyt vortex or vortex XT). My advice would be to NOT pay 800 for a hoyt  torrex simply because you should be able to locate one at nearly half that with it being discontinued. But if working on a budget it can be an excellent option. Side note:  I much prefer the standard torrex over the XT, and feel the xt is not worth the upgrade cost, but that is simply IMO. The new Enduro ( replaced the Torrex ) is a great shooter and might honestly be the best value if shopping in the brand new arena. With flagships being around 1500+ MSRP, the Enduro ringing in at nearly half that is appealing for the features it offers.

With the OP mentioning an increase in budget more around 1300, I completely agree on shopping for last years models new. A  LIFT X, or AX2 should be coming in around a grand if a shop is actually trying to move inventory, maybe better if your willing to kit it out off their floor.

I tend to disagree with comments about budget bows shooting just as well as flagship bows. As these comments often conflate the ability to shoot accurately with performance. Nearly all bows  are accurate and can be setup to shoot at or above the accuracy potential of a given shooter or machine. But to do that while simultaneously producing as much energy potential as that platform and shooter are capable of? That is a different thing altogether.  Its like saying a honda accord is superior to a Ferrari because it is more trouble free while driving  at highway speeds.
  I have not found a budget platform bow yet that shoots what I would consider "sweet" if pushing the performance envelope.

That’s what I meant. The  Enduro I know it’s out on their website for their 2026 lineup but like you said you could get a Matthews for the same price and still have flagship level. Who cares if it’s just a year or two behind.


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[blackveltbowhunter]

 

[WoolSocks]

It’s like saying a honda accord is superior to a Ferrari because it is more trouble free while driving  at highway speeds.
  I have not found a budget platform bow yet that shoots what I would consider "sweet" if pushing the performance envelope.

What are some examples of pushing the performance envelope? Curious to see what it’s like breathing the rarified air of new top-level stuff 😁

My experience with bows has been more analogous to guitars than cars. I buy everything used cause I’m poor but good at fixing things, lol. A few years ago I went from a Bear arena to a Hoyt’s hyperforce. Both of which I bought 5 years old for a few hundred $$. Both bows would put 5 arrows in a softball at 60 yards, but the Bear never tuned well, and was maddeningly finicky. My first thought when I picked up the Hoyt and got it tuned was “oh, this archery thing isn’t so d@$n hard after all”. Suddenly I didn’t have to compensate for all the Bear’s shortcomings, and everything was easier. It’s like playing a $200 guitar for years, then picking up $2000 Taylor and realizing that your fingering doesn’t have to be so perfect - suddenly it’s a lot more fun to play.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Well,  you pretty much summed it up in your earlier post. A 300 dollar bow and a 3000 dollar bow will put arrow in the same hole with a shooting machine. The 3000 dollar bow will do it with a broadhead on the end of the arrow and set at its max poundage and draw length. With a little work it will even do it with a human running the show.

Im not suggesting that anyone NEEDS that ability. I would consider a hoyt hyperforce a flagship bow