Mid-range vs High end bows
Equipment
I got back into bowhunting last year, after about 10 years of little activity, due to family and work commitments. I bought a Diamond Carbon Cure, and have been pretty happy with it, with a few small gripes and one concern.
I have really gotten back to it, and am shooting every day. I am considering upgrading to something like the Prime Rize or Elite Impulse...I'm just curious what you get for the extra $$?
I know I need to go shoot a bunch of bows, but wanted to hear thoughts from those that have been there before.
Thanks, Mike
Mike, those mid-range bows are a lot closer to the top end bows than they use to be. The differences in my opinion are better machined components, improved fit and finish, and the latest and greatest technologies from that particular bow manufacturer. The best bang for your buck is actually picking up one of those top end bows on the used market a year or two after their introduction. You can generally get all the best/latest and greatest bows for the same or less money than mid-priced bow.
+! Brotsky
Top end bows that are 1-2 yr old used or NIB vs. a new mid-range bow. More bang for the $$$$. Plus, you have got better sale or trade value when you are ready to upgrade again.
Most mid-range bows are 3-5 yr. old technology/features. And have low resale value.
Agree with above, you can buy a bow NIB that is two years old and save 400 bucks. That said you can spend 100 on an old recurve and still kill deer! Your older bow is just fine!! Shawn
Very subjective question. Its like asking a golfer the difference between a VX1 and a TopFlite golf ball. No matter how good you are both the golfer and archer will say feel. As you said you still need to shoot some "better" bows, go shoot one, if you can't feel the difference then theres no need for you to upgrade. Of course it can be broken down further but again very very subjective.
I for one am partial to mathews. Been shooting mathews since 92' and for the most part their bows are comfortable to me.
The bow you have is probably better than my 2011 Invasion CPX which I have had for years. It gets the job done every single time. If and when it ever fails I may upgrade but it has been a killing machine for me. So what are you getting in a new bow, well I figure it is like taking a placebo (all in your head as to the extra value)
Get serious, shoot a Hoyt Charger.
Second Brotsky and Buffalo 1. I bought a slightly used E35 for $650 a couple years ago when new ones were going fo $900. You couldn't tell it from brand new.
The disadvantage of buying a used bow is you can't shoot a few different bows and buy the one that feels the best.
IMO, spend the money once and keep the bow for years. Still shooting my 2011 Bowtech Invasion CPX as well Matte. It's a damn good bow.
I'm a lifelong trad guy who has been dabbling with wheel bows for the past 7 years. Back then I bought a Mathews that cost $1000 set up (sights, rest, quiver). Hunted with it for a couple years, went back to trad for four, back to the Mathews for last year.
I'd never shot any other wheel bow besides that one. This year I picked up a lightly-used two year old Bowtech Fuel from a buddy for a "backup" bow. It's a mid-entry-level outfit that I upgraded with a Black Gold sight and QAD drop-away, B-Stinger stabilizer. I honestly like that bow a LOT better, shoot it more accurately than the Mathews. It will be my hunting bow this fall.
About a year and a half ago I decided I needed a new bow. I went to the pro shop and told him I needed a new bow but didn't know what I wanted.
He set out 9 or 10 different bows and I began shooting - A could of them I discounted as soon as I began to draw the string.
As I weeded through them I narrowed it down to 3.
I shot each one 4 or 5 times and picked out the one I liked the best and felt the best to me.
When I was done, the bow I picked and shot the best with was under $700.00, that is what I consider a "mid - to - low" range priced bow.
He told me I shot a couple bows that were over $1,300.00. I will say that had I picked out one of those there is no way I could have afforded it.
So that would be my suggestion - try several without looking at the sticker or the make.
Thanks for all the comments, everyone...much appreciated.
I know my current setup will continue to take game with no problems...but shooting has become a part of my daily life, beyond just hunting, and I was just curious if better was better, and would be more enjoyable every day.
Kind of like a vehicle...a Toyota Corolla will get me where I'm going, but I enjoy driving my truck much more. It's more than just transportation.
I'm going to look on Ebay and the net for some deals, and pop into the shop and try a few bows out...then see what happens from there.
Again, I appreciate the comments.
Mike
Count me in with the "gently used high end bow" crowd. I haven't bought a new "high end bow" in more than a decade. Great deals to be had on high end bows a year or two after each model is introduced.
I got a mission bow a couple years ago. At the pro shop I shot it along side the high-end bows and quickly discovered there is no way that I will ever buy a high end bow again. I got all the bells and whistles for half the price.
Mid-range bows for me. I can spend the savings on other gear.
Plus, all the elk I killed never did care what I shot
Last 2 bows I have purchased were 2-3 year old top of the line.......bought them for half or more off of original price and one was fully set up.
Go to archerytalk and look at their classifieds......tons of great bows for great prices.
I buy 1 or 2 year old high end bows lightly used for the price of the midrange bows.
Like with firearms, it's the man behind the weapon more than the weapon. A Remington 700 will shoot as accurate as a kimber, but the kimber has nicer components and looks a lot prettier, and cost triple the amount. I guess it's a matter of how you want to spend your money. Jmo
You can buy a last year's or earlier top end bow on E-Bay for 1/2 the price of the latest top ender. Most are still on the pro shop shelves so you may be able to try one on before buying it.
I quit shooting compounds decades ago and just shoot traditional. The one thing I can tell you "If you can shoot it before you buy it.". As in Inshart example he weeded them out. I am guessing here for him but: feel of the grip, balance of the bow in "his" hand, how the bow felt at release, how it felt to him as he drew it, how the sight window lined up for him at his anchor. No matter how much money you may save buying last years model, of which ever company, if it really doesn't give you what you want and need, you have just wasted your money. Try the bow WHEN EVER possible to be sure. DANNY
"...but shooting has become a part of my daily life, beyond just hunting, and I was just curious if better was better, and would be more enjoyable every day."
Buy a recurve. IMO, they're way more fun to target shoot than a compound.
Yep recurves are more fun, but hunt with your compound
Thanks, Idyllwild...I have two longbows and a recurve...shoot them all, but in compound mood lately. Especially with Montana tags in my pocket for this Fall.
I'm shooting a 2010 G5 Quest & ain't scared a bit to go hunting anywhere in any company with it. It's one of those things that I figure it's WAY better than the bow I had before it! & I figure it's better than I am for sure! Go hunting with what you have & are good with. If you shoot it everyday you are 20x the hand than anybody that has all 5 of the top bows on the market & doesn't shoot near as much. Confidence kills animals!
I was a long time trad guy and last year I dinged my elbow real good and either needed a compound or no hunting. Picked up a bran new PSE Surge for $299.00 and put on a nice PSE drop away and a decent sight. Whole set up was around 500 bucks and I shoot the day lights out of it. Was sighting it in with a friend of mine who had just dropped 1500 bucks on a new Hoyt and he was impressed when that "cheap little bow" out shot his. Don't think that you need to spend a lot of money on bows.. Save it for more tags!!!
The bow didn't out shoot him, you did.
TMBB
just remember, It is like the Winchester 30-30. They have taken more game than any other. It's not the weapon, it's the person behind it.
The opportunity to get "big three" new in box bows on the internet 12-18 months after they come out, and save 3-500 bucks is just plain good consumerism.
I also went used with a year old bow, paid $550 for a $1100 bow! And it was flawless without a scratch.
Boubound: "good consumerism."
I'm going to steal that phrase. People forget that capitalism isn't all about the seller ... the buyer is half of the transaction.
I never buy anything that's not on sale or in some way that I have an advantage.
I currently shoot a Mathews, but it's likely the last one I will own. The mid-range bows that I've shot shoot as well as I do. I'll likely pick one up in the coming couple years as a backup that will grow into my primary someday.
Rifles are similar. I have a bunch, but when it comes time to pick one out for a hunt, it's the Savage or Ruger -- mid-range but deadly accurate. And I don't mind putting a few scratches on the wood.
I'm shooting a 2010 G5 Quest & ain't scared a bit to go hunting anywhere in any company with it. It's one of those things that I figure it's WAY better than the bow I had before it! & I figure it's better than I am for sure! Go hunting with what you have & are good with. If you shoot it everyday you are 20x the hand than anybody that has all 5 of the top bows on the market & doesn't shoot near as much. Confidence kills animals!
I just picked up a 2015 gently used Bowtech Prodigy for $600 and it arrived looking absolutely brand new. I love it!!! I could never justify spending $1000+ for a bow to my wife... at least not at this stage in life.
I shot the same Bowtech Liberty for 11yrs and killed a bunch of whitetails, 5 pronghorn and a couple elk with it. I tend to wait until I think that technology has really made a significantly better compound before I get serious about buying a new bow.
I can't imagine that I will ever buy a brand new bow - Not when there are guys out there that buy a new bow, shoot it barely long enough to settle the string and then get the itch to try something else!
Good luck with your decision. Count me among the proponents of buying a gently used flagship bow! Pete
You guys that actually get to shoot bows before you buy them make me sick..... or maybe just green...
There are enough folks that bought last year's latest and greatest that are unloading them to buy THIS years latest and greatest to make it very worth while to buy from the lightly used market. Know what you are looking for, what you want, make the effort and have some patience.
Invasion is a heck of a bow. I got mine for less than half the new price a bit over a year later... but it was unshootable when I got it. The folks had screwed up the factory settings and timing so bad I know why they got rid of it so cheap. Once dialed in it is a tack driver. It's still my trusted companion. Black... archery lingerie...
Are "newer" technology bows worth it? The bow it replaced is an '06 (I think?) old glory, known as a very accurate bow. The 2011 Invasion is IMO more accurate. Not to mention much faster, lighter and handier... Yeah, worth it....
As a general rule, I'd bet the newer mid range bows kick the older high end bows all around the block.... but apples to apples... lightly used high end is the way to go IMO.....
TD you don't even have to go "lightly used" to get absolute steals. you can get new in box for savings that are unreal if you don't need the "model of the year" on the day it hits the shelves.
BUT PLEASE DON'T FORGET
it is the guys who need the new high end bow of the year when it is released that makes the market for "waiters" like me work, so guys please keep buying and churning those $1,000 - $1,500 bows........it's really worth it and you should do it each year!!!!!!!!!
My son shot this elk last year using his $400 - 3 year old Diamond Core.
You can get where you are going in a VW or a Porsche. If driving 50 makes you happy (some people may never want to go more than 50) or if just driving around town, you may not notice any difference. Both can get you where you want to go.
Others can tell a difference and want the most performance they can get. They may like to drive cross country. Sometimes just having the confidence in knowing you are shooting top of the line is what makes the difference - one less thing...
Now a lightly used Porsche for the cost of a new VW? Hmmm....
Aren't two/three year old top of the line bows now just this years midrange bows? I may be off, but that is the way I have always viewed it.
Mid range bows are just bows with slightly older technology than the high end bows. And high end/ newer is not always better..... Never has been, never will be. I'm still running a 09 diamond marquis. Why...cause it still shoots better than me and there is no newer technology that will be worth me paying for.
Athens!! Super smooth draw. Great fit and finish and lifetime warranty. Draw is similar to Elites in my opinion. I like them a lot and buy one or two of the new models evrytime they come out with one in athe ATA range I like. I can't seem to part some of my past favoite models. Smoking deals to be had on the used market too so I end up with multiples I can have set up with different arrow/head combos.
Some of my favorites have been Accomplice 32 and 34 (Acc34 has to be the smoothest bow ever on the market). Ibex was about my favorite and you don't see all that many on the used market. Convixtions and Testaments are pretty awesome. The new ACE and Solace are super smooth split limb design.
I'm shooting a 2010 G5 Quest & ain't scared a bit to go hunting anywhere in any company with it. It's one of those things that I figure it's WAY better than the bow I had before it! & I figure it's better than I am for sure! Go hunting with what you have & are good with. If you shoot it everyday you are 20x the hand than anybody that has all 5 of the top bows on the market & doesn't shoot near as much. Confidence kills animals!
I'm shooting a 2010 G5 Quest & ain't scared a bit to go hunting anywhere in any company with it. It's one of those things that I figure it's WAY better than the bow I had before it! & I figure it's better than I am for sure! Go hunting with what you have & are good with. If you shoot it everyday you are 20x the hand than anybody that has all 5 of the top bows on the market & doesn't shoot near as much. Confidence kills animals!
Hard to convince me that there is much of a technology change year in and year out. Parallel limb design was the most recent big breakthrough. I see companies now trying to produce a bow they were making 15 years ago (no Cam). Smooth draw (round cams), easy on the shoulders, larger BH and fairly fast.
Like almost everything in life: You get what you pay for. Take a look at the new Hoyt line and I think you will see what I mean...
Buying a used bow makes me nervous, unless it's from a friend. I have purchased a few from eBay. Old stock, new, but not used. I did lose a few hundred around 8-10 years ago. It was not a guarenteed seller, he never sent the bow, I lost. There are better safety nets in place now.
How often do you purchase a Bow? If every year, or even every other then maybe used is the way to go. Used can be good, but it can also be VERY VERY bad. If your willing to risk it for few hundred bucks every five years or so, all I can say is buyer beware.
Perfect example of the lightly used market is the bow I picked up for my wife last night. I bought a used Elite Spirit for her for $300 with sight and QAD rest. I'll junk the sight but the set-up with rest and new Elite would have been nearly $1k if I went new. That $700 will go towards new MBG sight, TS quiver, and B Stinger for her new to her rig and she'll be set for many, many years. Elite also has a lifetime transferrable warranty so no worries there. The other $450 will go toward our next hunt!
