Forgiving smooth drawing bow
Equipment
I am looking to buy myself a new bow. Last year I shot just about everything I could find on a rack finding a bow for my son and daughter. He settled on the Diamond Carbon Cure she on the Bear Cruze. Smooth draw, forgiving Valley, doesn't jump out of your hand both fun to shoot and the kids are consistent as all get out. I recalled several others I liked better for my shooting style but I didn't pay enough attention to the brands and models. What I liked most in those was the dead in hand feeling and the forgiveness at full draw. Having previously held at full draw on an elk for about 20min many moons ago with my Jennings Buckmaster (boy do I miss that bow) I have come to appreciate that level of forgiveness. That and I will still on occasion switch to fingers even on my Bowtech Allegiance, something you can't do without a forgiving bow.
It seems from everything I have read here and elsewhere, Elite is the Gold standard everything else is compared to. I haven't shot one so i don't know. Most shops out here don't carry them.
Which bows do you suggest I go try this time around? An price range including some of the lower cost models. always hated the jumpy hoyts but a few pro shops have been telling me they have a new model that aint so. Which model? The low cost Mathews brand, Mission, definitely a no go. That much I remembered from last year.
Last year I shot every bow (5 dealers) within 60 miles of my house. I bet I shot over 20 different bows. Some with only one shot I knew it was not for me. Others I when back to shoot a 2nd and 3rd time. I bought a Mathews HTR. Smoothest, quietest, shockless bow I tried. IMO Elite is not close to the "Gold Standard". The draw was ok but it seamed loud, I didn't care for the grip, and the over all "feel". I had 4 bows I would of bought before an Elite.
Try all you can. It is a personal choice. And don't rule out Mission until you try one.
If you like to occasionally shoot fingers, I think the Elites to try would be the E35 or V37. They are longer ATA bows and in 2016 they both come with either the standard grip or what is called a V grip. A lot of guys that didn't like the standard grip really praise the V grip. If you could find a used Pure, that would be a great choice as well. I have a Synergy and absolutely love the smooth draw, solid backwall, and generous valley. It is no speed demon, but without a doubt it is the quietest and most shock free bow I've ever shot (after coming from Hoyt Vectrix XL and Hoyt Maxxis 35).
Shot the Defiant Turbo from Hoyt and it was the jumpiest bow I've ever pulled back. Ended up going with the Mathews Halon and have 0 regrets.
Hoyt Defiant ain't too bad. Check out Xpedition Archery if you can, or at least go to their webpage. I've conversed with them a little. I beleive they can help you out even if there is not a dealer close by.
2 weeks now with my Halon 6 and love it more each time I shoot.
X2 on Xpedition. The Xcentric is quite smooth and forgiving for as fast as it is. I'm really happy with it. I also shot the Xception, it was damn nice too.
I would say the No-Cam would be a great way to go and they can be had used for half of a new one. Shawn
Shot the NoCam and the Halon 6 at the same time this spring trying to decide on which bow I liked better? Both shot about the same. Halon is faster and "looks" to be a more heavy duty bow. So, I went with the Halon. I love the bow. Shoots smoother and much faster than my Z7 extreme. Mathews finally made a better bow than the Z7
I also had the Z7 extreme and was shocked at how much better the Halon is. The rigid riser makes a huge difference in forgiveness IMO
A recurve or longbow will draw the smoothest of all .
Round 1:
Tried the Halon yesterday. Your right very smooth pull. 70lbs felt like 55lbs. Narrow Valley makes it feel a little jumpy.
Shop had Prime branded bows I tried too. 60lb felt like 70lb. Could hardly tell 70/60 apart. Quiet sweet shooting not jumpy at all. Fairly short peak snd long fast drop off to valley. Shop couldn't stop themselves with all their praise. I kind of liked it but didn't have that ah ha moment i recalled from last years go around. Whole story about prime/elite business fiasco.
They had an elite that was not the Synergy. Forgot the name but the bow was very forgettable. Hard pull short Valley loud.
Tried a Diamond Deploy. Its the new 2cam version of my sons Carbon Cure. Noticed they fixed the grip on the Knight riser for these. By far the smoothest and least jumpy. Quiet too.
Also tried Bear Escape. Felt similar to my current BT Allegiance. PSE madness was to short of a valley but really quiet. Could have sworn the one I liked most last year was a version of PSE.
If the Elite had a short valley, the shop didn't know how to set it up.
I tried everything as well, and was totally shocked with the 2015 Bowtech Prodigy. It came home with me in the good old end. What a bow. Have had several people shoot it and they just look at me with eyes bugging out of there head after they shoot like "Did it go off?" Pretty smoking fast too. Main reason I bought it is it was the #1 quietest bow to my ear. If anything I would have been bias against it. 2nd for me was the Halon, but they are just so dang top heavy that it wasn't enjoyable for me to shoot.
You can't go wrong with any of these (no particular order):
1. Elite Synergy;
2. Mathews No-cam;
3. Mathews halon.
I've been shooting a Athens Afflixtion for a few years now. When everyone in my hunting group shot one they went out and bought one.
APauls, I agree. I shot one on the comfort setting and it was nice!
Try to shoot an Xpedition if can... it will really surprise you.
I tried 3 bows before i bought one, hoyt defiant, elite energy and mathews halon , choose the mathews.
Elites are very smooth with lots of let off, and fast enough, but they lack yokes, so no yoke tuning, if I had issues with my shoulders I might look at the elite, I've owned 4 of them in the past, always had issues bh tuning them. I've owned a lot of bows in recent years, kinda a bow junkie, got my first bowtech in august 2014, sold my chillr and my bear motive and make room for a rpm, couldn't be happier, bowtechs are fast quiet and most importantly they have static yokes!
