AVOID BOWTECH
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Bowhunter3469
28-Aug-23
First thing I’d like to say is that I was a lifelong BOWTECH supporter and advocate but after my bow tech limbs both failed while sighting in on a trip to Africa, I will never own one again.
It was not just that the limbs failed it was more the fact that after I reached out to my bow shop and bow tech. BOWTECH originally told my bow shop that they would replace the bow because they no longer made the limbs for the Destroyer 340. Then they changed the story to they would give me a discount off of a new bow. Then finally my bow shop was told that I needed to contact BOWTECH directly. I did that just to be told that BOWTECH would not cover any part of my bow because I couldn’t be proven to be the original owner because my bow shop had changed hands.
This took many months of emailing and calling for both myself and my bow shop just to find out bow tech will not stand by their products or supply parts even. In my research and discussion with others I found out that this was a common and known defect with BOWTECH limbs. That just adds to my disgust with the situation.
I just wanted to pass on my disappointment with BOWTECH to all the people in search of a new bow.
Regards,
Former lifelong BOWTECH customer
From: BoggsBowhunts
28-Aug-23
I think this is fairly common amongst blowtechs if I’m not mistaken
From: Bowfreak
28-Aug-23
Their current bows seem to have the limb issue straightened out, but the older Bowtechs we like loaded guns ready to go off. The rigamarole about confirming if you are the original owner doesn't make sense. Was the bow registered with Bowtech?
From: Blood
28-Aug-23
That’s an old bow with old limbs. The new bows don’t have these issues. Whole new limbs now.
From: LBshooter
28-Aug-23
Wow, to replace it keeps a happy customer and good press, now nothing worse than bad word of mouth. I think bow tech thinks they are to big and now don't care. They bought Excalibur so I wonder if their lifetime warranty. I guess the term " beware " when buying bowtech products now comes into play. So the question is , what did you replace it with?
From: patience2spare
28-Aug-23
I shot Bowtech for nearly 20yrs and never had an issue, but do know it was quite common in bows that are as old as a Destroyer 340 must be (maybe a 2008 model?) ... I would guess you have 1000's if not tens of thousands of arrows through that bow. Stuff wears out.
Their warranty is non-transferrable and states that clearly. I think that your disappointing warranty experience maybe reflects more on the former shop owner or on how the warranty was not registered than Bowtech's customer service?
I am sorry that this happened to you. I hope you were still able to have a great hunt in Africa! I now shoot an Elite Kure, so no real dog in the fight or brand loyalty per se - just looking at it from a different angle. Pete
From: LBshooter
28-Aug-23
Wow, to replace it keeps a happy customer and good press, now nothing worse than bad word of mouth. I think bow tech thinks they are to big and now don't care. They bought Excalibur so I wonder if their lifetime warranty. I guess the term " beware " when buying bowtech products now comes into play. So the question is , what did you replace it with?
From: craigmcalvey
28-Aug-23
My brothers bowtech did this last fall. He ordered new limbs from a place in the upper peninsula and has been super happy with them. Now 100% sure of the brand but I believe it’s Barnsdale Archery.
Craig
From: carcus
28-Aug-23
The new ones don't fail, since the realm series they've been good
From: midwest
28-Aug-23
I bought a BT Experience off of eBay and one of the limbs failed after a couple years. This bow was built prior to BT bringing their limb mfg in house which has since fixed the issues they had with quality control as far as I’m aware.
Took the bow to Scheels and they had the limbs replaced under warranty no problem.
From: WapitiBob
28-Aug-23
Anybody with internet would know those old Bowtechs were time bombs.
From: Dale06
28-Aug-23
Hope you had a back up bow in Africa. Your experience says a lot about BowTech. Thanks for the warning.
From: ND String Puller
28-Aug-23
That’s a terrible place to have a bow failure. But like Bob said, it’s pretty well known shooting an older Bowtech is living on the edge. Mathews has the best warranty that I know of. Hoyt used to, or maybe still dry fires their new models 1500 times before production even starts. And Elite has a hunt guarantee where they overnight a bow to use. I take a backup bow with on hunts… I’ve only had to use it once but glad it was with when my bow derailed in camp on the first day. You just never know.
From: Basil
28-Aug-23
I’ve shot only Bowtech since they came out. Never a failure. I’ve heard stories like yours but any time I’ve dealt with them was awesome. You need to register your bow when you buy it. I forgot to do that with one of mine. Three or four years ago I dropped it on a rock lowering it from a tree stand. Took a splinter off the edge of a limb. Sanded it smooth & put a couple wraps of electrical tape around it & finished the season. In spite of not being registered they replaced the limbs at no cost. Hope they haven’t changed.
From: Bou'bound
28-Aug-23
A lot of people not getting it. Apparently I took this post is far less about the equipment which face it even the best of the best he’s going to fail at some point.
What really stands out is terrible customer service both in their end decision as well as the fact they couldn’t provide clarity immediately on what they would or wouldn’t do which is just sloppy
Their cost on replacing that bow is probably 300 bucks
If even one person somewhere in the world at some point in history would read this post on the Internet and decide not to go with that brand they’ll lose four times that
Really stupid
Come on guys it sounds like people are trying to make themselves feel better that their new model is great and won’t ever fail but that’s really not the point
The point is when something does go wrong or you gonna be treated well are you gonna be treated poorly or are they not gonna treat you at all?
From: 12yards
28-Aug-23
You can replace those limbs with Barnsdales. I don't think the price is outlandish either.
From: KHNC
28-Aug-23
That is a really OLD bow. Bowtech has changed ownership since then , and everything is in house from my understanding. Limbs are not the same as they were way back then. Limbs blowing up are NOT a common issue in the last 7-8 years. All companies have few limb issues from time to time. Good luck with some other brand not doing the same.
From: Lee
28-Aug-23
Bou’bound for the win!! Got nothing to do with the bow, imo.
Lee
From: JohnMC
28-Aug-23
Sounds about like a similar situation I had with Elite. Will never own another Elite do to their piss poor customer service.
From: Bowhunter3469
28-Aug-23
Thank you bou’bound, you hit the nail on the head.
From: RnE-Texas
28-Aug-23
Come on guys. It's a 13 year old bow. They admitted they didn't have limbs for it any more so not possible to warranty it. So they should really just replace it? Unfortunately in today's times too many morons would break theirs on purpose just to get a new one.
Reminds me of a post from back in the day where a guy admitted he bought boots from Cabelas because they advertised a lifetime warranty. He was proud of the fact he returned them when they wore out for new ones. Heck I would be embarrassed to carry the smelly jokers into the returns center.
From: KHNC
28-Aug-23
Exactly RNE ^^^ Lifetime of a bow does not equal Lifetime of the Owner IMO. I have a Tru-Ball copperhead release that is 15 years old and it started sticking. Sent it back to Tru-Ball after buying a new Copperhead. They called me personally and said they didnt have parts anymore. Sent it back to me, but i kept it to remind me of critters ive killed with it. Just buy a newer model bow and carry on.
From: KHNC
28-Aug-23
I just saw you posted this crap on Archery Talk also. I also saw that you got told EXACTLY how things are over there as well. Maybe you will take heed and not try to get something for nothing from a 13 year old bow now. Buy a new one and stop looking for handouts. Hell, that bow is so old the owner of shop that sold it is probably dead by now.
From: JohnMC
28-Aug-23
I don't think comparing wearing out a pair of boots to limbs blowing up as a good comparison. I'd agree at some point expecting a bow to last a lifetime is not realistic. With that said a bow company should not offer a lifetime warranty if they don't planning on honoring it. If ten years is reasonable offer a 10 year warranty or 5. But if you offer a lifetime warranty it should be honored.
If you are going to purchase a business and they sold products that have a reputation of breaking and they offered a lifetime warranty you better take that into account when looking at purchasing the business. The Elite I had was about 3 years old when limbs split and they didn't honor.
From: Boatman71
28-Aug-23
Never known a dealer to handle bow warranty registration cards other than supplying them when the bow is sold new. The cards are sent by the new owner to the factory not, to the dealer.
From: Blood
28-Aug-23
Bou, it IS the point. It’s an old Bowtech with known issues on the limbs. Shouldn’t be any surprise to that bow or how he tried to get it remedied. Upgrade to a newer Bowtech and he should be fine.
From: MoBowhunter
28-Aug-23
Athens has a lifetime transferable warranty. Problem solved.
From: WapitiBob
28-Aug-23
His rant only lasted a couple hours on Rokslide. As was mentioned before lifetime warranty doesn’t mean in the lifetime of the user and that bow is well past lifetime.
From: 32Timbers
28-Aug-23
I have had good luck with their customer service. My CPXL limb split a while back. Talked with them directly. I was originally just calling to buy some new ones since I knew I had not filled out the warranty card. They said they would just send my closest shop a new set for free. Truball was awesome too with a release I had that had a glitch. I have been lucky with pretty much all customer service people in the outdoor industry.
From: Mhg825
28-Aug-23
Replaced my allegiance with barnsdale limbs , best money spent
From: Bou'bound
28-Aug-23
Well limbs that do that are a major risk to the shooter and to others who may be standing nearby, could lead to a horrific accident if the boat has a shelflife, they should tell you what it is not expect different people to arrive at the same factual answer on that
Then warrantee the bow for whatever they say, the shelflife is where it should be safe to shoot and stand near
For people to say, these things should explode because they’re old with no definition or quantification of old makes no sense whatsoever
From: NM highcountry
28-Aug-23
I feel your pain. In 2010 I bought a brand new diesel pickup truck, in 2022 a glow plug broke and was sucked into the #5 cylinder…. Cost me $5500 and it wasn’t my fault. The motor company wouldn’t pay to repair the damage. I told them I was the original owner and always buy their brand…. So sorry was all I could get out of them.
From: Bigdog 21
28-Aug-23
HOYT. My buddy bought the same bow. And he was so proud of it after I argued with him to get a Hoyt. Well one evening after he shot and missed a buck by 3 feet we looked at his bow, same problem delamination . Well the 35 min. Ride to archery shop. And 30 back to the house had to be the longest day of his life lol. I never let up .
From: LUNG$HOT
28-Aug-23
This equation is simple. Old bow with lifetime warranty to original owner if the product is registered to said person. Registration is always the responsibility of the buyer (at least in my experience). Not registered… not Bowtechs fault. You’re lucky they offered a discount on a new product. They didn’t have to do that. I understand the concept of good customer care and word of mouth reputation but they’re certainly not outside of the lines on policy. Hopping on the interweb to bad mouth the company because they won’t break policy…ehh.
From: Blood
28-Aug-23
Bou, it’s an old Bowtech - when the limbs had problems. The problem isn’t that it’s OLD - it’s that those older bowtechs had issues. Age of the bow has nothing to do with it. Go start a new thread like you always do.
From: Hoytman2
28-Aug-23
I usually don't wade into issues like this, however, Bou'bound isn't wrong here. Every one of you know Bowtech had issues with their limbs back then. Bowtech knew they had issues with their limbs back then. I don't care if the bow is 30 years old, age has nothing to do with it, this is not an anomaly, it's a known fact their limbs sucked for a long time back then. Bottom line is their limbs were defective products and should be replaced N/C to the consumers that purchased or wound up with these defective products. If limbs are not available, then they should work with the consumers for an amicable solution. Burying your head in the sand and telling consumers to suck it up is not very wise. It's a proven fact, 80% of potential consumers avoid a particular establishment or product based only on negative word of mouth or negative reviews. They never even give the company or product a chance or a second look. The OP didn't only post on this forum, Bowtech has been foolish with this scenario. It has cost them many new Bowtech owners. I will give Bowtech some credit, they definitely stick to their motto, "Refuse to Follow", that's exactly why they will never be talked about in the same breath as Mathews, Hoyt, PSE, Elite, and even Athens in regard to customer satisfaction. The above companies mentioned aren't perfect, but if they put out a defective product, they would man up and fix it. In this case, they should follow and learn how to take care of the customer or owner of their products. Everyone makes mistakes, were human, it's a given, how you deal with those mistakes is how you will be judged. Step up to the plate, admit there was a problem, then fix it. Until they do so, they won't be a bow I will consider, no matter how good their new bows are. I'm sure, I'm not the only one who feels this way.
From: LBshooter
28-Aug-23
Leaving a bad taste in a customers mouth is never good, it will always cost business. I bought some gear from a traditional seller who has a great rep in the industry. After using the product ine time to see how it worked I return it. The guys son thought it necessary to only give a partial refund and we are talking a matter of 5 dollars. I was shocked that they would cheap out and left a sour taste In my mouth and to this day have never spent a penny with that warehouse. Plenty of others and if your not treated right why continue to do business. BT screwed the pooch with giving the OP the run around.
From: Grunt-N-Gobble
28-Aug-23
This guy is blasting out about his issues with Bowtech everywhere he can. Has the same post on any FB hunting page that will let him. It's an old bow that wore out and he should be glad it lasted as long as it did.
From: non typ
29-Aug-23
I have had 3 limb failures in the 20 years I have shot Bowtech. The 2nd one happened 2 weeks prior to an elk hunt and service was great and they got me taken care of for my hunt. The last one was this past Dec on my Realm. The limb splintered on the inside of the bow when I shot at a deer. I was going to move on to a new bow but with them replacing the limbs I guess I will shoot this one a bit longer.
From: PECO2
29-Aug-23
Diamond is Bowtech. I had a limb split on my 2008 Black ice in 2020. They sent new limbs to the local shop, said it was the last pair they had. I paid for the install of the new limbs. I thought of it as a tune up. I had bought the bow from a big box store, not this small shop. I registered the bow myself. If I had not registered the bow myself, things would have went down differently. I will look to Bowtech/Diamond, and also look at other companies should I ever buy another compound. I may not ever replace this bow and just stick with recurves, when the time comes.
From: carcus
29-Aug-23
If I went to Africa it wouldn't be with a 10+ year old bow very well known for failures, hell I got rid of my bowtech rpm 360 before I went on my flyin moose hunt as this model was also known for limb failures. Why even chance it? It takes about 3 minutes to get used to a new bow
From: Pop-r
29-Aug-23
And then they fixed Basils when they really shouldn't have. It wasn't their fault he dropped it. Whoever makes the decisions needs to get some sort of policy and stick with it sounds like.
From: GFL
29-Aug-23
Wow….extremely old 2nd hand bow with the old carbon inlay limbs. If you like that bow so much then buy some Dave Barnsdale limbs for it. You actually need proof of purchase for warranty work assuming the bow was never registered in your name.
From: Bowfreak
29-Aug-23
I agree with what others have said about lifetime warranties not being your lifetime. That is the case for every manufacturer except Mathews. They still make every single part for every single bow model. I don't hold onto bows long enough for that to matter, but if you are someone who squeezes every ounce out of a bow, you might want to consider this.
From: BIGERN
29-Aug-23
Do you know that Elite has a hunt guarantee? If for ANY reason your bow breaks they will send a rental overnight built to your specs. Not much better than that. I backed over mine, got home made a call and had an Elite Kure delivered to my house next day....fully set up, peep,draw length, and poundage. Just saying!
From: midwest
29-Aug-23
Regardless of how you feel about the OP's situation, I have zero sympathy for a guy who never made a single contributing post here and jumps all over the internet just to bash a company he's mad at.
From: Jethro
29-Aug-23
Amen, midwest. Guy joins all the hunting forums in a single day to rant about how Bowtech wouldn't honor a warranty that he couldn't take 5 minutes to register.
From: fuzzy
29-Aug-23
Midwest agree
From: smarba
29-Aug-23
Ditto
From: Lee
29-Aug-23
So curious what the bows “lifetime” is? A lot of mention of known defects and should have just bought a new bow. That’s what recalls are for in my opinion. I don’t think I’ve ever replaced a bow that wasn’t a minimum of 10 years old. Once I find one I like I’m not buying a new one.
From: Lee
29-Aug-23
So curious what the bows “lifetime” is? A lot of mention of known defects and should have just bought a new bow. That’s what recalls are for in my opinion. I don’t think I’ve ever replaced a bow that wasn’t a minimum of 10 years old. Once I find one I like I’m not buying a new one.
From: smurph
29-Aug-23
I say great post/thread! Lots of good information on stuff I have never thought of or dealt with. Good points from both sides of the debate. Tim
From: Trial153
29-Aug-23
Agree Midwest. Considering he did that same thing on like four other forums as well. Imagine how the outcome would have been different is he took five minutes of adulting and registered the bow when he bought it. That’s if he even bought it new with a warranty …which I honestly doubt. Could bowtech have handled this differently, yes most likely. However we really don’t know the whole story, either side. I am sorry, it takes a special type of vindictive person to go to greater lengths to lambast a company or another person, when you’re at fault originally. All he had to do is register the bow and there would have been some type of resolution, though I doubt no matter what it wouldn’t have been enough for OP.
From: Tracker
29-Aug-23
If you bought that bow new you got your moneys worth. Surprised those limbs lasted that long. The old Bowtech limbs are notorious for breaking.
From: Matt
29-Aug-23
Midwest +++, not to mention the OP expecting Bowtech to warranty a 13-14 year-old bow (which it sounds like he didn't even register properly for warranty purposes) and acting like a petulant child when the manufacturer didn't.
From: wyobullshooter
29-Aug-23
LUNG$HOT & midwest X2. The old 350 Destroyer that I gave my son finally did the same thing a couple years ago. I was the original owner and had all the required paperwork, but I didn’t even consider asking for a replacement. I figured it had thousands upon thousands of shots through the years and killed lots of elk. I’d gotten my money’s worth and then some, but I understand not everyone feels the same. That said, the fact you couldn’t prove original ownership is on you, not BowTech.
From: WV Mountaineer
29-Aug-23
If it’s not a lifetime warranty, then don’t advertise it as a lifetime warranty. Wording such as lifetime of the product. Expected lifetime, etc…. Covers you implies it isn’t a lifetime warranty.
But, I think it’s stupid to assume a company would warranty a bow for 13 years. It truly makes zero sense.
However was ford make sense the way bow tech advertised their bow is original owner. That’s the catcher. Because rarely does a modern bow hunter carry a 13 year old bow.
From: Pop-r
29-Aug-23
Lee there are those who think 10 months is a long time to keep a bow and have to have the newest greatest thing out. They cannot out shoot you with your 10yr old bow but they have a brand new expensive as you can buy bow. It makes them feel good and your bow is inferior to theirs and it's lifetime warranty is much past it's time.
From: Bou'bound
06-Sep-23
A lot of people not getting it. Apparently I took this post is far less about the equipment which face it even the best of the best he’s going to fail at some point.
What really stands out is terrible customer service both in their end decision as well as the fact they couldn’t provide clarity immediately on what they would or wouldn’t do which is just sloppy
Their cost on replacing that bow is probably 300 bucks
If even one person somewhere in the world at some point in history would read this post on the Internet and decide not to go with that brand they’ll lose four times that
Really stupid
Come on guys it sounds like people are trying to make themselves feel better that their new model is great and won’t ever fail but that’s really not the point
The point is when something does go wrong or you gonna be treated well are you gonna be treated poorly or are they not gonna treat you at all?
From: WapitiBob
06-Sep-23
Bowtech handled it exactly as they should have; the product is no longer made so a discount on a new in production product was offered. All the op had to do was show proof of purchase. When I was at Golden Eagle, also an OR company, we could not legally refuse a warranty issue because the warranty card had not been returned. We could and did require proof of purchase, and required purchase from an approved retail dealer that provided personal instruction (back in the bowhunter discount warehouse mail order days). As far as Bowtech knows, this bow was found in a dumpster somewhere.
From: pirogue
06-Sep-23
What WapatiBob said. That bow was waaaayy too old, to expect anything.
From: Lee
08-Sep-23
Again don’t advertise it as lifetime if you don’t mean it. So curious what all of your answers would be if he had registered it? Agree if he didn’t then it is on him - must have missed that part - but let’s say he did?
I’m shooting an Elite E35 2015 model right now. Damn thing is lights out - can’t even imagine replacing it unless I absolutely have to…
From: WapitiBob
08-Sep-23
They already offered him a discount on a new bow, then he couldn't provide proof of purchase.
From: DConcrete
08-Sep-23
Actually, industry standards for just about everything is this:
Lifetime warranty means the expected life of the product. It doesn’t mean forever.
I’d say this bow reached its expectancy and then some.
