Opinions on Different brand bows.

[Jerseybassnbow]

watch for crack limbs

That was from my understanding a very small amount of bows. I've had mine for 4 years now with no issues and love it.

 

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Edited October 18, 2016 by Jerseybassnbow

[Jerseybassnbow]

Go to Sportsman's Center Davis or Simon Peters and they'll definitely shoot you in the right direction. They have ranges up where you can shoot a few

 

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Edited October 18, 2016 by Jerseybassnbow

[LPJR]

Every so often I contemplate the possibility of a new bow.

 

As soon as I shoot my 2005 Mathews Switchback, that thought quickly disappears.

 

I like it too much and cannot justify the $1000++ for a new one, lol!

 

Good luck in your search  

[not on the rug]

Just saw the 2017 lineup from Xpedition and the specs on the Denali look sweet.  I'm putting that bow at the top of my wishlist.  Gonna have to stop by Strictly Archery and shoot it when they get them in  

[P&Y BUCK]

Have you ever looked into an Elite bow? I shoot the energy 32... 2016 bow is called the impulse I think elite makes an awesome bow..

[outdoorslife]

If it were me, these are the companies Id look into...

 

Xpedition

Elite

Prime

Athens

PSE

 

I used to think it was only a Hoyt and Matthews world...until I realized they are "Ranger boats" and just market the heaviest and have the longest past time following, along with Skeeter, so its what everyone was generally used to as the "best". Yea a Ranger is a bad a$$ boat but we only know of them because of marketing and popularity along with a huge figure in the sport with Forrest Lee Wood. Now, if your not hard headed you realize Bass cat, Champion, Stratos all make/made just as good of a boat now and many handle better performance wise, rough water, rough water and speed etc. Just an example. Almost to a point that they are ALL comparable in some ways and ALL should be looked into if your wanting to purchase a bass boat. Archery is very similar in that regards.

 

These other bows shoot just as well if not better. It still DEPENDS ON THE ARCHER 100%. For me I was able to repeat my grip better, without thinking, with the bows I mentioned vs Matthews or Hoyt. t was a "just feels right" decision for me in the end. Although I heard the newest Hoyt finally changed to where there is no spongy back wall/cable stops and I believe a change to their grip as well, but not positive on the latter. I know their old grips, many guys would take them off and/or have a custom grip. They were too wide for my liking...which doesnt means its not perfect for another individual. 

 

Shoot as many as you can. Dont become loyal to any one because of the name until one tells you to, because YOU loved the way it felt/shot.

[Hitemnasty]

Was a Hoyt guy for a while but after having cam lean and tuning issues I left them. IMO the one company that is actually coming out with new innovative technology is Prime. The other companies just keep making the same bows year after year while tweaking maybe one little thing that doesn't matter all that much and marketing it as the end all be all...till next season. I've never shot a more forgiving bow than my Prime and what a easy bow to tune. Prime has a side by side cam along with a flexible cable guard that just about eliminating any kind of cam lean and if you watch high speed footage of different cams compared you can see a huge difference. They also I believe are the only bow with draw stops top and bottom cams making the back wall rock solid. They have great customer service along with free string replacement every two years for the original owner which in the long run is hundreds of dollars of savings! it comes with a Hoyt like handle that can be removed to use just the riser as I did with a little hockey tape. Whoever shoots one doesn't look back, it's that awesome.

[Haskell_Hunter]

I have one bow, and it's a Darton.  Not the biggest, baddest name out there.  But I can put arrows into a silver dollar at 25 yards during the season.  I could probably do 30 yards, but I hunt out to 25.

 

Very happy with the bow, had it for at least 15 years.  It does the job I ask it to.

[JHbowhunter]

I am now on year 7 with my 2010, 65# Matthews z7. I could not possibly overstate what a sweet (heavy) bow that has been. Perfect blend of speed, accuracy, forgiveness and ease of tuning. Not many things in life far exceed their initial investment, but the ROI on this fine instrument is off the charts. I would feel less confident with a rifle in my hands to be honest. I often think about an excuse to get a new bow, but then I shoot it and say "why" ?

 

If I were on the market, I might lean toward brand loyalty and would certainly give the latest suite of Matthews bows a shot, but I would focus on these points and these points only (cost not being one of them, because like the z7, it's a very long term investment - I am buying it for at least a 7-10 year run).

 

1) Ease of shooting / forgiveness (over speed). Not gonna split hairs over 10 FPS. Today's modern bows are so freakin' fast it's not an issue. Generally speaking, a shorter brace height helps a bow generate more arrow speed. ... The bow with the shorter brace height pushes the arrow longer than the other. A bow's forgiveness relates to accuracy. A longer brace height will be more accurate. A forgiving bow minimizes an archer's mistakes, while an unforgiving bow magnifies them. A longer ATA will make a bow more forgiving as well.

 

2) Ease of tuning and keeping tune - I am not interested in every having to deal with cam lean, or yoke tuning or wherever else might necessary to get optimal tune. I am buying a bow that factors all that in and eliminates all the tuning BS.

 

3) Grip / hand torque free - part of ease of shooting / foregiveness I suppose, but the grip can make a HUGE difference. I don't want anything that will contribute to hand torque. My pretty rosewood handle Matthews grip SUCKED until I put a new FOCUS grip on it. Not as pretty - but oh so deadly.

 

4) Pro shop support / convenience - even when traveling out of state. I don't want some niche bow that could very well be the best feat of modern engineering, but it better be common enough that if I need a pro shop, I can find one within reason.

 

That's it. Don't get caught up in the IBO speed race - trust me the deer don't care if an arrow zips through them at 280 fps or 360 fps, that arrow is still stuck in the ground most likely (unless you shooting rage LOL). I just want to make sure when my arrow zips through it's in the vitals!!!

Edited October 18, 2016 by JHbowhunter

[outdoorslife]

Xpedition just came out with their 2017 lineup today. Some impressive specs across the board. They have their new Denali model with an almost 7" BH, 34" A to A and 348 IBO. The explorer ss is a small A to A bow (30") pushing up to 358 IBO. Thats haulin. From what Ive read, a lot of bows lose a lot of speed/performance when switching to a heavy arrow but supposedly Xpedition numbers stay up there from all of the threads Ive seen. PSE holds extra weight well too. I know I saw a bunch of Obsession threads where guys speed would drop significantly, too much, as they tried to increase arrow weight. I dont remember which models though. And with that being said, Im not a speed guy by nay means(otherwise Id be shooting 70lbs and trying to get every last inch of draw length that I could), but if I can get "decent" speed with a heavier arrow, thats what I want. Im not looking to shoot a 360 grain arrow over 300 fps. Give me 420-450 grains at 270 plus and Im happy and getting the best of both worlds. I know my X7 @ 60lbs with a 422 grain arrow is still at 270fps. 

[BHC]

I like a bow that is 30" axel to axel so I'm limited .

 

I had the Z7 and loved it, my Z2 I have now I think it's better. It has the Z7 riser with the Z7 Extreme cam

[outdoorslife]

BHC, check this out....

 

http://xpeditionarchery.com/xplorer-ss/

 

 

I have no affiliations with the company, no pro staffer here  but the customer service is bar none and they make shooters( a lot of companies do). You can talk to one of their main guys on a forum, through text, email, phone whatever. Pretty cool.

[BHC]

They make excellent bows if that bow was available when I got my new bow it would be on my short list, thanks for posting

[Huntingdude]

I've shot many bows and my last bow was a Hoyt, I ended up buying a Obsession Evolution and I don't think I will switch to anything else!!

[P&Y BUCK]

Was a Hoyt guy for a while but after having cam lean and tuning issues I left them. IMO the one company that is actually coming out with new innovative technology is Prime. The other companies just keep making the same bows year after year while tweaking maybe one little thing that doesn't matter all that much and marketing it as the end all be all...till next season. I've never shot a more forgiving bow than my Prime and what a easy bow to tune. Prime has a side by side cam along with a flexible cable guard that just about eliminating any kind of cam lean and if you watch high speed footage of different cams compared you can see a huge difference. They also I believe are the only bow with draw stops top and bottom cams making the back wall rock solid. They have great customer service along with free string replacement every two years for the original owner which in the long run is hundreds of dollars of savings! it comes with a Hoyt like handle that can be removed to use just the riser as I did with a little hockey tape. Whoever shoots one doesn't look back, it's that awesome.

Yes I believe G5 makes the prime it's not just called prime...