New Bow *Bow Shoot Out*
 

I am no pro and this is only my opinion

So today I went in and shot a few bows. Here are my notes on the bows that I shot today. I plan on shooting more before making my decision. I will say the Bowtech Reign 7 and the Prime Centergy made it through for consideration, the rest didn't.

Hoyt RX1 Turbo
- Harsh turn over into the valley
- Moderate hand shock
- Spongy back wall
- Light
- Nice grip

Prime Centergy Hybrid
- Nice draw cycle
- Zero hand shock
- Feels good in the hand
- SOLID back wall

Bowtech Realm
- Nice draw cycle
- Spongy back wall
- Starts off drawing really hard
- Zero hand shock

Bowtech Reign 7
- Very nice draw cycle
- Nice feel in the hand
- Zero hand shock
- Nice turn over into valley
- Softish back wall

PSE Evolve
- feels heavy
- Very wide grip
- Lots of hand shock
- VERY hard turn over into valley

These are just how the bows felt to me and they may feel different to you.

The bows I still want to shoot are:

Mathews Triax
Mathews Halon 32
Prime Logic
Prime Centergy
Elite Revol
Elite Ritual
Elite Option 7 (shot it a year ago and loved it)
Obsession Fixation 7
Obsession Hemorrhage DE
Xpedition XCURSION 7

We have in stock New Elite Ritual, Elite Option 6 and the new Prime Logic. The new Mathews Triax will be in soon. Hope you can make it out to evaluate them. Thanks Lawrence

Bow
 

How’s the new elite seem

So, if you are wanting maximum speed and power, you will be looking at a bow that has hard turnover, and when not properly setup, some vibration, price you pay with hard cams for speed. If you step away from the high power bows, you are into the hybrids and solos, some have softer walls, some you give up very little in power, some you give up a bit more. Solos won't give you power with heavier arrows. Weight can be a plus in the shooting end of things, depends what you want out of a bow and your ability, what you hang on it afterward will make more difference. There will always be a compromise somewhere. Short bows can have steeper string angles, long ones are perhaps a bit heavier, but a bit more forgiving. They are like buying shoes, chairs or vehicles.

Good points

All flagship bows are generally over the 330 IBO mark, so speed is not really an issue. What some guys are doing, is opting to shoot a 345-350 IBO bow at 61-62 lbs as opposed to a 70 lb bow with a 330 IBO. The 60 lb will generally draw easier but will have a shorter valley than the 70 lbs bow. But both bows will be about the same speed due the increased IBO.

I think you have an excellent approach to buying a new bow and good luck with the search. Fit is the most important consideration followed by your physical limitations.... do not over-bow yourself for the sake of a few FPS's.

I only got to shoot the Option 7 and that was last year. No pro shops around me are bringing in the Elite bows this year and I wasn't about to travel 2 hours to go try one out.

I wasn't worried about over bowing my self, my current bow is a 80lb Elite answer shooting a 525 grain arrow.

I wanted to stick with an 80 lb bow but if I did I was limiting myself to 3 bows one of which I was NOT a fan of at all.

I ended up deciding that I would drop down to a 70 lb bow and change over to different arrows and trying to get the weight around 410-420 grains. That way I could maintain a nice 285-300 fps depending on what bow I went with.

Wasn't directing that at you personally. It was generalization that IF you over-bow yourself then it can lead to poor shooting, frustration, and/or injury.

If you are shooting 80lbs comfortable than your limitation is higher than most. If you like the Reign 7, I suggest you try the Reign 6. I tried both and preferred the 6 in the comfort and was still getting approx. a 341 to 342 IBO rating.

When it comes to the RX1 Turbo you shot, I think you shot a dud. I know most things you mention are subjective but the one you tried wasn't set up right. The RX1 Turbo has limb stops, I can't see how a back wall can be spongy with limb stops unless you're pulling back so hard you're flexing the limbs. And I don't think it was timed properly if it was a harsh roll over into the valley, it's much more fluent than my CST, RPM 360, and even my Def Con 6 was. That being said, I shot the new Elite Ritual and that was a smooth drawing bow, but you could sure tell the difference in speed between it and the RX1 non Turbo.

I tried the Realm X a while back but nothing stood out, I'll have to revisit it, along with the Triax and see which one I like better compared to the RX1 non turbo. I might buy another bow before summer.

So here is the precursor to what I was after.

I wanted an ATA of 31"ish-34"ish
If the bow felt right I would go shorter or longer
I wanted a 7" brace height
Again, for the right feel I would consider shorter
Smooth draw cycle and a softer turn over in the the valley
Nice deep valley and not jumpy to come out of it
A nice solid back wall

On Friday I went and shot the following bows and here is my notes on them

Hoyt RX-1
This was not the turbo. Had a better draw cycle than the turbo and was pretty decent compared to the other bows. It was still quite loud at the shot and there was still a lot of hand shock compared to the other bows. I had already decided that I wasn't spending $2000 dollars on a bow and after shooting it there was no doubt that the Hoyt wasn't for me. The back wall was solid and the turn over into the valley wasn't that bad. It did have a nice deep valley and didn't want to jump forward.

Mathews Halon 32 with 7" BH
Right off the bat the bow felt heavy, especially shooting it right after the RX-1. Upon picking it up I noticed that the grip was noticeably wider than the other bows that I had shot. They draw cycle was amazing and the bow held steady at full draw. The turn over into the valley was really nice and the valley had good depth. The bow didn't want to jump forward at all and there was very very little to no hand shock at the shot. The back wall was spongy and you could get 1/4 to 1/2" out of it if you pulled into it hard. I did find that I could never get my hand comfortable in the grip and it was a struggle to find a "home" for my hand. If the grip was narrower and this had a harder back wall I would have ended up buying this bow.

Bowtech Reign 7 & Bowtech Realm
Even though I have shot both of these bows already, I wanted to spend some more time with them and try the "performance" mode as I had only shot them in "comfort" mode. After shooting them for a bit, it was clear that these two bows made the short list. Originally I wasn't considering the Realm as I though it was a stiff draw with a some what harsh turn over into the valley. With that said, the first time I shot this bow I have no idea if it was in performance or comfort mode. The second time shooting it, I can honestly say that I had a hard time telling the difference between it and the Reign 7. Since I had now knowingly shot both of them in comfort I asked to try the Realm in performance to see what that was like. It was a bit tougher drawing and a bit harsher going into the valley; with that said, for the extra 12 fps it was well worth it. BUT then comes the bad with the performance mode... The valley becomes so shallow that if you give this bow a 1/16 of an inch it wants to jump forward.

At this point I have 4 bows that I considered buying.

Bowtech Realm
Bowtech Reign 7
Prime Logic
Prime Centergy

After going back and looking at the specs I decided that I was going to go with a Bowtech since they were equally as nice to shoot as the Prime's but they were a bit faster.

From there it was between the Realm and the Reign 7. I ended up going with the Realm because it is a bit shorter. Now I don't know if I will ever need that little more compactness but I though of a few situations in the past where if I would have had a shorter ATA bow then I would have had a better shooting opportunity.

So I am going with the Bowtech Realm, 70lb in Flat Dark Earth.

Like I said, I am no pro and these are only my thoughts and opinions on the bows.

I never did shoot the following bows

Mathews Triax - was told it was pretty much the same as the Halon 32
Prime Logic - not available in Calgary to shoot
Elite Revol - not available in Calgary to shoot
Elite Ritual - not available in Calgary to shoot
Elite Option 7 (shot it a year ago and loved it)
Obsession Fixation 7 - Didn't want to drive to Aidrie to shoot
Obsession Hemorrhage DE - Didn't want to drive to Aidrie to shoot
Xpedition XCURSION 7

I absolutely understand that if a person is over bowed that it can cause not only physical damage to the body but ruin a lot of good hunting opportunities as animals almost always see the good old "Sky Draw" action

I didn't want to go with a BH of 6 inches since you're more prone to slapping your clothes when you're bundled up in November. I understand it has to do with how you grip your bow, but I'm all about doing what I can to mitigate risk.

I guess I never did answer your question. I really did like the Option 7. It was a nice draw, great turn over into the valley, very little hand shock and super solid back wall.

The price tag did turn me off though

Thanks for the reviews, KyleSS!

I'm purposely avoiding that place! I have a good feeling that the next time I set foot in there, I'll walk out with a lighter wallet and a super nice bow. :D My old PSE is begging for retirement, but I'm too stubborn (and cheap) to let it go!

Plus I would have to do a lot of 'splainin' to IncrediGirl... :eek:

You really should try the Obsession. I am 100% a Bowtech guy to the core but went with Obsession Huracon last year. 80lb 32" draw. Its a real pleasure to shoot.

It was on my list and I had full intentions of trying it. But being as the only place that had them was Aidrie, I didn't want to drive there from Okotoks. Had they been stocked else where I would have.

It's just me being lazy lol

If you see a pse decree hd ti somewhere on a shelf you should shoot that one.

I shot the bowtech realmx and was very impressed but after my prodigy experience i would be taking a few things with me before i bought a bowtech again. One would be the scale, two would be the chrony. If those checked out in the wheelhouse of what they said then i'd consider. The love affair with the decree hd ti though...it'll be awhile before i make a switch so maybe try one if you get a chance.

Tack driver, best drawing pse ever sold, perfect blend of target/hunt crossover type specs and it's strong, will meet ibo range. Peace. The only pse i've ever liked and i don't just like it, love this bow.

This is massively helpful, thanks Kyle. I'll be referring back to this in a month or two.

Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions

I tried most of these bows, some weren't available in a 30.5" draw. I ended up with a 2018 APA Mamba 34 TF. It and the $1900 Hoyt were my two favorites.

Has anyone tried the new PSE line up
I have been looking at the elite line also

If you go with a bowtech and are looking for a more solid back wall, add some Bomar draw stops and you'll be satisfied.
If the back wall is the determining factor to sway you from a bowtech that you'd otherwise love the most, the Bomar draw stops will give you the back wall you're looking for
Have fun with whatever you end up with. You could probably pick any of your top 4 and have a great bow that you shoot really well

Bomar also makes draw stops for Hoyt and PSE. They really do change the feel of the bow. I use them quite often. Have been for about 6 or 7 years.

The key is to shoot many bows, yes the OP's info is helpful but if your in the quest for a bow you must be the one shooting the bow, find the one that fits you and that you are comfortable with....we are all different and so are the bows so shoots lots and find your match.

Tried a bunch of new bows as well.
Wasn’t impressed with the PSEs....didn’t have the smoothness I wanted.
And didn’t like the cam cable lean.
Had a hard time deciding between the Reign 6 vs Realm X.
Ordered with the Realm X with Jimbows

Bow just came in today.

I just picked up a 2018 PSE Evolve 31 a few months ago and I love it.

I got a 2018 PSE Evolve and i am liking it.

can you say where you bought it please?

I won that exact same bow at the ABA banquet this year! :sHa_shakeshout:

Now I just need to get it all set up and get to shooting

DR