Need Advice on Bow Purchase
Equipment
I am in the market for a compound bow. I haven't shot a compound since 1991 and that was a Hoyt Gamegetter. I am considering a Mathews Triax and Bowtech Realm. I need to go with a light draw weight due to age and shoulder issues so looking at 40-50 lb draw weight. I have test shot both bows.
I am not concerned with differences is speed between the two bows. I am not using the bow for target competitions, etc. It will be used for hunting whitetail deer and turkeys. I don't use elevated stands of any kind and all my hunting is done from the ground.
Price is similar at local archery dealer. That isn't a factor in my decision. But I know nothing about modern compound bows. So I would appreciate advice and opinions on which of these two bows I should purchase. I realize different people will have different views. I am looking for solid technical reasons to select one vs. the other.
Thanks for your time.
Hoyt redworx ...the end haha
Hoyt redworx ...the end haha
Whichever one you like best. You're probably buying way more bow than you need but they will both probably be a joy to shoot.
If it were me, I'd go with the longer axle to axle Bowtech. The twin yokes also make the Bowtech a dream to tune.
I think that the Bowtech would offer you more adjustability in draw length which would go a long ways in finding a perfect fit based shooting style and release aid you wind up using. More range of draw length adjustment makes resale much easier also. They are both good gear but I think the Realm would be more forgiving and adjustable.
Gearhead, I love mine. Be different.
After reading your post my Gearhead is perfect for you as it is short and light making it ideal for your shoulders and ground hunting. In fact, I think their is a 50 pound model on EBay right now. Here she is.
Go with the Bowtech for reasons stated above. Bowtech has been around a long time and they stand behind their product. I would even suggest looking at Bowtech's other line, Diamond.
Rather than concentrating on one brand or another, at the top there is very little difference, think about the bow shop you are going to get it from. Are they the kind of people who will take care of you WHEN something goes wrong? Are they the kind of people who will fix your stuff the night before opening day?
Who you buy from is, in my opinion, as important as what brand you buy.
TMBB
I recently purchased an Elite Ritual in 40-50#. I have it maxed out at 52#. It has a 33 1/4" ATA. Extremely easy to draw and very solid back wall. Just another bow to throw in the mix.
Final decision should be on which bow feels the best to you and the one you have confidence in shooting and hitting the target with accuracy and consistency. There are many fine quality bows on the market today. Don't get hung up on the "Dodge, Chevy, Ford, Toyota" is the best truck type talk.
If you are blind hunting as indicated shorter bow maybe the ticket. Take it from me, large bow in small blind can screw up your shot. Plus the Triax is a Mathews- nuff said!
The one that feels best in your hand is the one to purchase.
TMBB has it right. Can this shop tune the bow properly? Not all shops can/do. Are they super friendly and wanting to help? Both bows are great, pick the shop and the bow you like.
I just bought my first new bow in many years, and the shop tech kid doesn't know much. Fortunately I can figure it out.
Like the other guys said, pick the one you like best. All the big guys make good bows and all of them have their problems. So it really boils down to which one you like best.
Not sure what that thing is Spike78 posted a pick of..... Looks like someone striped a crossbow and modified it! LOL
Spike jumped on a fat chick and now he’s trying to get all of us to jump on one too so he doesn’t feel embarrassed! ;)
Ha ha don’t knock it until you try it. The ultimate hunting bow.
Only two places where I live to buy a bow. The store I am dealing with has guys who know what they are doing. Well, that's my take after talking with them and asking questions. They are set up to service what they sell. Guy I am working with went through pros and cons of each bow, as well as other brands they sell. He told me what he shoots and why and didn't try to push one brand or another on me.
The other store, not so much. I checked them out and when I asked the sales guy questions he wasn't very knowledgeable. He deferred to their bow expert who wasn't working that day.
Otherwise I have to travel some distance, i.e. hundreds of miles, to find a bow shop.
Both bows feel great when I shoot them. Both have smooth draw as well as smooth let off. Shorter might be better for ground hunting but probably not much difference between these two. I have used a 68 inch longbow for decades and length isn't really a big issue for me.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Very helpful.
Just like fat chicks it is a fun time! No embarrassment here I will be buying another one of these in the future. Easy to shoot over a tree stand rail, easy to shoot between branches, easy to carry a long ways, easy to shoot in a blind, easy to carry while stalking, quiet, accurate, fast, smooth, damned if I have a con about it!
Spike does it keep you warm at night? And try extra hard? Just giving you a hard time. I’m intrigued.
It doesn’t keep me warm however it is the only bow I have ever owned that still wows me when I take it out of the case. The picture doesn’t do it justice on just how compact it is. I was impressed with my Elite Hunter on smoothness and backwall and this bow is as good or better and way smaller. The OP may have an issue with the Triax being heavy with his shoulder.
I would buy the Mathews, all this about tuning being easy and twin yokes and such seems like garbage to me.. I have owned a Mathews bow in one form or another for over 20 years. 5 or 6 of them I believe in that time, never really tuned a one of them. Set it up, shot it through paper made a couple rest adjustments and my field points and broad heads hit to same POI. Maybe I have been lucky but I do not shoot mechanicals just fixed 3 and 4 blade heads. No other tuning needed. I recently shot the Triax and it is super quiet and shock free as they come. To me it would be a no brainer!! Shawn
You need to shoot every bow you can and you will come out in the end with a much better decision and the bow that fits you best.
JTV they look much nicer and of quality in person. Kinda like a tactical AR.
I agree with Midwest. Go with the bowtech. I'm sure they are both great.
I don't know about BT. But Mathews will have parts or make parts for every bow they have made. So if you plan on keeping it for a while, that may be a factor. I'm not a brand loyal guy. There really are no bad bows made now days.
Do not overthink it. Just buy the one "you" like the best. Get is set up properly and have fun.
Spike, I'm sure your bow is great to shoot. However it is kinda like a fat chick and a moped, fun to ride but you don't want your friends to catch you.
I would recommend that you take a look at and shoot the Bowtech Reign 6. It was the bow of the year last year. In my opinion it is better than this years Realm. I shoot mine on the comfort setting and it is sweet
Don’t forget to shoot an Elite before you make your decision!!
I bet that was helpful "Longhunter"....lol. Asking a question like that is going to make your decision even tougher. At least you know about "doing fat chicks" now.
At the price level you are looking at, they are all excellent bows. The dealer's ability to service and help you, with the bow that shoots best for you, should be your deciding factor. My bowshop is almost an hour away. But when I showed up 10 minutes before closing with a problem, they stayed open until they fixed it. What's that worth? A lot, 3 weeks before the season.
Gota Luv this site. A Guy asks for advise to chose between two different bows, and he gets bombarded with hey look at my bow, "fat chicks" included.
Between the Mathews & Bowtech, it depends on what type of archer you are. If you're the type that will never get your own press, and doesn't want to tune your own bow, and maybe has a good pro-shop that you like using, well-then, it doesn't matter. Get the bow you like shooting. If you can see getting your own press, like tuning your own gear, for any reason, then it's no contest, period. Get the Bowtech. Guys that can't see the difference have never tried to get into the concept of getting a perfect tune. That really helps in getting fieldpoints hitting with most broadheads. But maybe that's not your thing. I know plenty of archers that kill lots of game without getting into the details of tuning. So what type are you? Main thing is, as other have implied, just have fun.
I'd go with the Bowtech. I think their Realm/Realm X are the best bows of the year. After that one I'd go Elite Ritual. Just make sure you get the updated cams.
The realms are the best out there, don't even look at a bow that doesn't have static yokes! Yoke tuning make life easy, set the rest square and level then twist till you got bullet holes, many bows are really nice to shoot until its broadhead tuning time. The other thing I look for is a bow that the draw length can be changed without different cams or mods. Bowtechs are so far ahead of the rest now, also flip the mod and you can change from comfort to performance, I prefer comfort, awesome valley and still faster than most bows! Yoke tuning does require a press, if you have a good proshop that will spend time with you and it doesn't take much like dooner said get the bowtech...
Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate the advice. I am probably not going to get into tuning my own bow. The shop here is equipped and willing to do that and purchasing the equipment needed is not in the picture now. That could change but for the foreseeable future I'll get tuning done at the shop.
If anyone is interested, I will post my decision and rationale for that decision. Thanks again.
My point about the Mathews is I have never had to get into playing with the yoke system, or tweaking this and tweaking that, oh and I can tune a bow if needed. Just never needed to mess any with any Mathews I have owned. Set the nocking point, tune the rest and shoot the right arrow point combo and my field points hit with my fixed blade broadheads as far as I or anyone else i know care to shoot. I have had to mess with a Hoyt carbon Matrix I had and also a Bowtech that I had for a short time, nothing wrong with them bows just not what I like! Shawn
After lots of research and shooting both the Mathews Triax and Bowtech Realm multiple times, I decided to buy the Triax. To be honest, I couldn't tell much difference between these bows. Either one would have worked well for me.
My decision was based partly on bow length. The Triax is a bit shorter and although I currently use a 68 inch longbow, I decided to go with the shorter compound. I hunt from the ground and figured the shorter bow would be a bit better.
But quite honestly, the other factor was the $100 gift card that comes with the Mathews bow. Both bows were the same price but the extra $100 for accessories will be nice as I have to buy everything; arrows, broad heads, sight, quiver, rest, case, and all that adds up quickly.
I do appreciate everyone's input.
If it’s a bow you are comfortable with you made the right decision. Congrats on you decision.
The new cam system Mathews has is great too. It is not as tunable as the Bowtech but the cool thing is once it is tuned it is one of the easiest systems to tune the next time. Once you swap top hats around to tune (if needed) if you leave your rest in place you only have to worry about nock position if you swap strings or have to reset a loop. It's a good system and Mathews in my opinion is only second to Hoyt with regard to durability.
You had it narrowed down to a pair of excellent bows. Now take the Triax and get your deer with it this year. Best of luck.
Between the two you mentioned it would absolutely be the Realm. By faaar the better bow in every single characteristic. You will absolutely love the comfort setting. Let me know if you need any help with set up or tuning.
