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Hunting & Fishing 2014 Hunting Bows

Rattler56

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 26, 2013
396
1
Corona, Ca.
What you shooting this year and how do you like it, really like the Mathews Chill-R however my
Bowtech invasion is a killing machine and might wait till next year to upgrade.
 
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O.L. Adcock 3 PC longbow, although if I pull an AZ Elk tag this year may try a Schafer TD recurve for a little more juice!

When I visit the dark side I shoot a Hoyt Carbon Matrix. Just for fun though, I prefer to "hunt" with the traditional stuff.
 
Looking to give the bowtech 360 a try this year...don't mind the chill-r as OP said though either
 
I bought the 2014 Hoyt Faktor30. I am not a brand loyal guy and I've shot a lot of different "BIG NAME" bows over the last 20 since starting into bowhunting when I was 15. I have to say as far as my experience goes this is the sweetest shooting bow I have ever owned. It is like a 5 tool baseball player in my opinion and is the total package.
 
I bought a Monster M7 about 4 months ago...upgraded from my Reflex Buckskin made but Hoyt, I bought new in 2005. I am really loving it, I shoot 3d indoor league and currently holding second place over all and leading the X counts. 60fps faster than my last bow with the same arrows....I killed a lot of animals with that old slow bow cant wait to pull back on a elk this fall with the M7.
 
Just switched from a Hoyt to an Elite Answer. No regrets.
Been wanting to shoot an Elite myself, but the nearest dealer is too far away to justify the drive. Wound up finding an 2013 Answer on closeout (online), and grabbed it!
Shooting a z7Magnum right now and I like it well enough, but not brand loyal to Mathews. If the Answer lives up to the hype in smoothness, balances better and can net the same speed, the z7Mag will be headed down the road...
 
For those that care, you might want to look up Elite and see the history of poaching that the management has. Convictions, not rumors. I realize that some do not care, but all should be aware. Look at Bowsite.com or Illinois DNR page
 
Anyone using Magnus Buzzcuts?.....thinking about trying them for the 2014 elk season. I have shot stingers out of my recurves and like them but have only killed small game with them.
 
Still shooting a bowtech nitrous which is considered old nowadays. But its still over 300 fps and accurate so upgrading now will cost me alot for only incremental gains. I practice to 60 but my kills are less than 15. Hard to justify buying the latest $1000 bow when all your kills are so close. I would rather put that $1000 towards another suppressor.

So is the bow market starting to get near its peak in innovation? Kind of like how the bolt action rifle has already reached the peak of innovation in the rifle. I see innovation in bullets and optics and ballistic software but no changes in the rifle. Where does bow innovation go from here?
 
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My son bought a Mathews Chill-R 60/70 cranked all the way down, so pulling 72 pounds, the crono put a easton excel 340, 29in at 334 to 336 fps with 6 shots.
Its fast, smooth and quite, just a little too much pull for me however now he will leave my bows alone. ;)
 
smaw, the newest Mathews z series bows are basically refinements of the SwitchbackXT's parallel limb design, which was revolutionary around 2006.
The Mathews Chill incorporates the 'dual-solocams' and floating yokes of the Monster series bows into a smaller, more forgiving package.

Elite bows' binary cam system is said to be extremely forgiving, but not known for producing high IBO speed. They've been re-making the same winning bows for a few years now, too.

Bowtech and Hoyt are offering carbon risers to shave weight and offer lots of different bows for particular shooting needs.

PSE still appeals to the speed freaks, netting some of the highest IBO speeds.

Prime bows base their line on a two track, "parallel cam" system that is pretty revolutionary by addressing the issue of 'cam lean' found in many other bows.

And there are several more smaller 'boutique' type bow makers who are trying to compete the the bigger names...Strothers, Athens, New Breed, Obsession, etc.

For the most part, I think compound bow technology is coming to a head...
 
Shooting a hoyt vector 32. Considering a new spyder but the 8 dead deer this year make me reconsider.
 
Still killing the heck outta everything with either my Mathews MQ-1 or my Switchback XT. Old bows but I shoot them great. The MQ-1 is SUPER forgiving. I can still drill a 8" circle at 80 yards without much effort. Its a elk slaying machine. Montana Blackgold sights and Spot Hogs...love them. RG
 
I'm keeping my Spyder Turbo. The new Carbon Spyder and Faktor series by Hoyt are basically the same bow with a little more valley. Personally I've never found that to be an issue for me.
 
Good luck with the new G5! Would like to try one of those as well!

Got this Elite Answer set up and shot it, side by side, with my z7Mag.
Hardly a fair comparison, this Elite is a real honey...
 
Still shooting my bow tech admiral. Switched from pse. Have shot many Matthews models. I will be buying a new bow tech next year. Every time I go to the bow shop I shoot the newest Matthews and the newest bow tech. And I'm hooked all over again. I shot a demo invasion at the indoor range. 2nd arrow I shot knocked of the 1st arrow I shots nock 1st two shots outta the bow with a unfamiliar release. Easy fast quite super forgiving. Bow with absolutely no hand shock at all. I love them.
 
It isn't worth upgrading every year....I'm still shooting my Hoyt Vector Turbo and no intentions of "upgrading" any time soon. This isn't a fashion statement it's a fucking compound bow....don't buy into advertisements.
 
O.L. Adcock 3 PC longbow, although if I pull an AZ Elk tag this year may try a Schafer TD recurve for a little more juice!

When I visit the dark side I shoot a Hoyt Carbon Matrix. Just for fun though, I prefer to "hunt" with the traditional stuff.

You my friend have great tastes. How about a couple photographs of the Schafer? Are you shooting carbon or woodies?
 
Here's the OL Adcock with last buck I shot, last year, before moving to AZ...the Schafer is new to me, no critters yet...but will be soon!, shooting aluminum out of both but switching to carbon this summer. Hard to find good consistent wood shafts without sorting through dozens to come up with a few and the rocks and rough terrain here are a bitch on the aluminum.
 

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Even that deer is laying there admiring your bow and the carbon arrows will hold up a little better in the rocky terrain, or at least in my case, there is no question that there bad when they shatter.
 
I'll be shooting the New Breed archery bow that I have been shooting for a few years. Super smooth draw with a rock solid wall. My wife is shooting a PSE. I don't remember model names on either bow, but for such a low poundage bow, the PSE is FAST.
 
Started shooting PSE Mach Flight4 back in 1989-90...migrated over to BowTech in 2002, then early this year shot a MathewsCreed for the first time, no wonder so many people give great reviews on Mathews bows. The Creed is by far the best bow I've shot to date.


DocJr
 
I shoot a G-5 quest.... I know a little older but one of the most forgiving bows I have shot. Since I bought it never had a reason to up-grade.
 
Prime Defy is my hunting rig. I might get an Elite Energy 35 or a Prime Impact for a 3D target bow this year. Love my Prime.
 
Shooting an ACS Longbow, man I don't even recognize the names of all the bows mentioned
 
Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo. It was my birthday present last year.

However I tested an Elite Hunter model that was just rock solid and beautiful.

My old bow is a PSE Stinger, I am contemplating if I want to sell it, or hold on to it for my son to hunt with when hes older.
 
Still runnin my Mathews Drenalin...don't see a need for a new one yet.

Nate,
I also have a DXT which is similar to a Drenalin. My DXT shoots awesome and is very quite. I switched over to a Prime Defy as my primary hunting bow and I went from 260fps (DXT) to 298fps. (Defy) 27" 73lbs on my DXT. 26.5" 70lbs. on my Prime Defy. I shoot a decent amount of 3D and the extra speeds gives me more room for error with range estimation.