Bow Choice

[Jon]

Well after a long anscence from bow hunting, I decided about two weeks ago to get another compound bow and get back into it. I started hunting with a new Martin Hunter traditional recurve. Killed plenty of deer with it and also had a Whitetail bow also. Good bow, did the job, but was to me kinda crued and tempermental. I put an overdraw on and thats where my trouble started. Sold it and only have my recurve now, but want a high quality compound bow.

I'm looking for a high quality bow fairly new or new at a good price. I've done alot of searching and read a few reviews and have decided to go with a Ross Cardiac. I looked at Mathews, Pearsons, PSE's, bowtech's and liked what I read about Ross bows being smooth shooters not to mention the nutty arrow speeds out of these bows. I understand Bowtech bought Ross Archery so who knows whats in the future. But I've found a few Ross bow localy I'm looking at pearchasing one of them.

What Bows do you guys shoot and why? Give me some info on your bows, what you like and don't like.

Jon.

[bobw]

I shoot a Mcpherson made by Pearson. My first bow was a Reflex. I wanted to get into bow hunting but didn't want to spend a ton of money on a bow. I wasn't sure how much hunting I would be able to do, so I went to Bass Pro and bought a package deal on the Reflex. I used the bow for 4 years, when one morning I climbed into my deer stand before daylight and tried to nock an arrow. The string had broken and need to be replaced. I went to the local bow shop in Branson to get the srting replaced. While Jim was looking for the replacement srting I was looking at some of his new bows he had hanging up. I found the Mcpherson which was very reasonably priced. When I ask why it was so cheep, Jim replied it was a demo bow the Person rep used to show bow show owners. I didn't have the string put on my Reflex, instead we took the rest, sights and stabilizer off and put on the Mcpherson. This is the 3rd year for it. I like it because it's short and lite. Very easy to manover in a tree stand and won't ware you out carring it. In the 3 years I have been shooting it I have killed 3 deer and 3 hogs. I was amazed at how much faster and quieter the Mcpherson was over the Reflex. And my Reflex was heavy. I ended up giving my Reflex to my nephew last year. He had a string put on, a nwe set of sight and a whisker biscut and took his first deer with it this year. Bows have come along way in the past few years. Seems like they are all concentrating on speed any more. But go look and feel abunch of bows. You will find one that feels good to you and that is what matters. If you like it you will shoot it better than something you by because it's trendy or more expensive. I think any more most all brands shoot well. Get something you like.

[bclift65706]

I shoot a Mathews Switchback I was shooting targets at a mathews dealer in springfield picked one up and fell in love on the spot. Went home that day a happy guy $1200 lighter in the wallet but was worth every penny.That was 3 years ago now I hunt with a coustom built long bow I had made this year just got it 2 weeks ago. It is neat shooting wood shaft arrows that I fletched with wing feathers off of a turkey I killed this fall.I am aso twisting my owne strings and going to start cresting arrows. I think this is the neatest thing I have ever done now I am thinking I am going to sell my Mathews I posted it on craigslist today wanting to trade for a small honda generator for my gigging boat.

[billynwtf]

I shoot a bowtech and it is by far the best bow I have ever shot. I have been threw the rest and the bowtech is the smoothest bow I have shot. And its fast.

[slider]

I shoot a McPhearson as well when I started shooting it they were the first bow that had 75 or 80 percent letoff. Had one fore a few years and the limbs started walking out on it so I retired it and bougth another that was a lot shorter, hadnt hunted much the last 2or3 years but went back hard this year and killed 3 deer and 1 turkey with it. I think this could be just like a vehicle some like fords some like chevy. My fix is if you get used to a bow and like the performence of that bow thats the one to shoot. slider

[bobw]

Another thing to keep in mind,go to a bow shop and buy the bow. There are some great deals on ebay right now on some new bows. But what do you do with it when you get it? A good bow shop will help you set up your new bow like you want it. And believe me, there is alot to setting up a bow so it will shoot properly. From paper tuning the arrows to getting the sights and peep set, to adjusting the rest. I know more about it than I did when I got my first bow. But not enought to set it up with out help from someone who does it every day. You will be much happier and shoot with more confidence when your bow is set up and shooting correctly.

[TroutBum4wt]

I bought a Hoyt a couple a years ago. The Hoyt's had the x-factor for me. This was my first compound bow. Looking back, I think just about any new compound bow on the market today will do great in the deer woods and 3-D range. You don't have spend $500 to 700-plus for a good bow. The speed thing is sometimes overrated. Have fun looking for a new bow.

[Seth]

I shoot a Mathews Drenalin. This bow chose me because of it's silky smooth draw and zero hand shock on string release. It's plenty fast for shooting game out to 40 yards without much pin gap.

[mo_bowhunter]

I shoot a Mathews as well - all I can say is go out and shoot as many bows as you can get your hands on and figure out which one feels the best to you. I was almost deadset against a Mathews because all the marketing hype - but at the end of the day and shooting it three different times, to make sure I was making the right decision, I went with the Mathews and have been very happy with it for over 5 years.

[Seth]

Which Mathews are you shooting mo_bowhunter? I had a Feathermax before I bought my Drenalin. It's a 1999 or 2000 model and it's amazing how far along their bows have come. The max cam on the Feathermax just about ripped your shoulder out of socket each time you drew it, even set on 60 pounds. My Drenalin is maxed out at 70 lbs and it's still much easier to draw than the 60 pound Feathermax.