I shot some bows today at a bow shop.

I do not think I have any bias or favoritism toward any one brand.

I was leaning toward the Bow Tech or a Diamond because of the Crimson Trace grip option, but do not plan to baise my choice on that option alone.

All bows were set at 60 lbs.
I shot 3 different Hoyt's, a Bow Tech General, a PSE, and a Mathews DXT.

The PSE was a discontinued model It shot and handled good.

One of the Hoyt's was a 2009 model. It pulled back smooth and shot good.

The Bow Tech General was very smooth on the release. However it was quite a bit harder on the start of the pull back, then it broke rapidly.
I had a lot more shooter movement woth this bow than the others.
Also it seemed much bigger than the others. It seemed to have a lot of weight on the ends of the bow. It was not a well handling as the other bows.

When I first picked up the Mathews DXT, if felt very good. To me it is the best "handling" of all the bows. By "handling" I mean its balance, and how it carries.

The first DXT I shot had too short a draw length, but as I liked the way it shot he got out a new one for my draw length and set it at 60 lbs.

It has a smooth draw back, breaks over smoothly as well, and seems to have a firm back wall to me. [I hope I am getting these bow terms correct].

It shoots very good, smooth, not jerky, very little hand shock.
Not quite as smooth as the General shoots, but close.

When the DXT and the General were fired by the bow shop Tech person, with me facing away, both were quieter than the other bows.
I cannot say which one was quieter, but they do sound different.

Every thing considered I think the DXT is the best choice for me.

It handles way better for me, and I much prefer the its smooth draw over the General.

I plan to go back to the Bow Shop on Friday and shoot some more and make my decision then.

I am still open for ya'lls advice.

There were two employes of the shop helping me as well as a couple of the other experienced customers got involved, so I recieved a lot of info.

I will talk about the bow accessories in another thread.

Try out the Dream Season XForce before you make up your mind. It is very quiet, very fast and very still in the hand.
Take good care,
Dave

It sounds like you're taking the right approach! Glad to hear that your pro shop is fairly helpful. Enjoy your bow (when you figure out which one you want)!

gd

That is by far the best way to pick a bow IMO.

I shot the General, DXT, Drenalin, and Switchback XT in jan. walked away with the SB XT, it had the best feel to me, so that's what I purchased. I actually shoot that bow better than any I've owned and I've had Bowtechs, Mathews, Pearson, Bear, and High Country. It's crucial to have a bow that feels good and comfy.

Good Luck

Reloader