for fun

Question:
Who makes a better bow, all around

Choices:
Hoyt
Martin
Mathews

 

Hoyt, IMHO. They are much easier to keep in tune than the Martin; or especially the Matthews.

Rich
DRSS

Your poll was incomplete. There should have been a "None of the Above" catagory as well.

I did a lot of research before I bought a new bow. Of your three choices, I didn't like any of them, finding that they seemed overpriced for the features.

I ended up getting a bow made by Forge Bow Company. These bows are made with high quality components, are very durable, accurate, quiet and pleasurable to shoot, for quite a bit less money that Hoyt, Martin or Matthews.

I was able to buy a Forge Woodsman bow that is shorter, lighter, faster (real world/chrony checked) than the Drenelin, and when I put a sight, QAD dropaway rest, stabilizer AND half dozen carbon arrows, spent less than the price of the Matthews alone.

I'm sorely tempted to buy the new Forge Ventilator. This is a legitimate 330 feet per second bow that has an unheard of eight inch brace height, making it a very easy bow to shoot. And with a price of $679, it's quite a bit cheaper than the big name bows in the same speed class.

The problem is though, my Woodsman keeps killing animals so well that I can't justify a fourth bow!

Of those I would go with Hoyt for a compound and Martin for a recurve or longbow.I have a Bowrech General and Martin Hunter recurve but I prefer my custom made Scorpion longbow over the recurve.

BOWTECH and DIAMOND

The Matthews bows are always a pleasure to shoot. shot a Hoyt the other day and its a bastard to shoot. Its got more of a recoil than a 458. Matthews make much better quaility bows in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by fgulla:
BOWTECH and DIAMOND

In your opinion they are the best. Can you tell why they are better?

must agree with trigger steve Mathews make a bow out of anyones league. the transition from your full poundage to your let off is exceptionally smooth though I hear that bowtech are making some really nice bows to. But i will stick to what I know which is Mathews. I am shooting a drenalin at the moment which is awesome no problems whatsoever. Mathews have come out with a new bow recently called the mathews Monster xlr8 incredibly quick shoots at over 360 fps

All the bow companies today have quality equipment available.

They all are fast and accurate.

Its all a matter of personal choice of what bow shoots the best for you.

Its like the Ford vs Toyota or Volvo vs Mercedes argument.

They all do the exact same job. (to get you from point A to point B) Its up to you to decide how you want to get there...

For me personally....

Bowtech has always produced the bows that shoots comfortable and very accurate.

I have had Hoyts in the past. I still have a Hoyt hypertech as a backup bow. I liked Bowtechs; Never a Mathews fans.
A nice bow I have grown very fond of is my Elite Archery Synergy. I have had it 2-3 years and it fits me like a glove. I like the draw curve and I shoot it very well. Very nice bows. The company is not anywhere near the size of the big boys but puts what money they have into product quality and design and not advertisement and marketing like Mathews and Hoyt.
If you find a shop that has the bows, they are worth a try. Their new GT500 is very well respected in most archery circles.
These IBO speeds advertised are silly (350 gr arrow @ 30" + DRAW LENGTH). A hunting arrow (425 gr) at 280-290 FPS is very flat shooting out to 55 yards. Believe me, 290 FPS is fast! Most guys I shoot with (all hunters) are amazed at the speed of my bow ( I chrono it through a Oheler 35) and it is a 292 FPS @ 72# ; 28" draw . They all thought theirs were exceeding 300FPS; They all swallowed their pride.
Even the new PSE's and Monsters will not sling a 425 gr arrow any faster than 310-315 FPS.
PSE's and Mathews Monster are not forgiving bows.
Your best bet is a 35" axle bow. The shorty's are convenient and handy (I had a Hoyt Razortech 32" bow and gave it to my son) but more difficult to shoot. He shoots it great; not me!
Try them all and buy the one that instills the most confidence.
Quite a few years ago, I bought a Mathews MQ 32. Without a doubt the biggest "DOG" of a bow I have ever owned (SLOOOOOW and difficult to shoot). That put a bad taste in my mouth regarding Mathews. I need to get past that. I know they are a excellent bow manufacturer.

EZ

Reviews of most bows. http://www.archeryevolution.com/reports.php

Personally I shoot a Bowtech Admiral. My wife uses a Martin Bengal, which she considers an upgrade from the Hoyt she had. Personally I can't tell much difference in Martins and Mathews single cams, but Martins cost 1/2.

You mean to tell me there's other bows out there besides Hoyt. Honestly there all good in there own ways.

When I carried both Bowtech and Hoyt, Bowtech outsold Hoyt nearly 8-1. This is in Hoyt's homestate. The Hoyt is a solid bow. Maybe too solid, it feels too heavy. Right now I shoot a Martin Firecat. I get a new bow every year. Last year I shot a limbsaver and my three bows before that were all Bowtechs.

You could ask the same question every year and get different answers every year. It depends on the particular model of the year. I don't think you can beat Martin for the price and they have the best customer service in the industry.

I had a Martin Cougar II years ago I sold it to my cousin after I messed up my back. I used it to shoot at an indoors archery range. I also used it to bow fish that was a blast. I don't think I will be able to use a X-Bow to shoot fish here in Kansas. If I could still shoot a compound I would like to try one of the new Mathews.

I'm new to bowhunting and just finally made the plunge. I pulled back all the big names and determined ELITE was the smoothest so I went for a 2009 Z28 model.

Can't wait to hear the smack on a whitetail!

If I had to pick one of the above Martin's machining quality is top notch. I shot 1 for 7 years but now I'm a Bowtech guy and will never turn back.
Ben

Shof

I paid less than half price for a leftover Diamond Black Ice, new in box. Its light, compact, accurate, shoots like a dream with little or no hand-shock. This bow completely set-up cost me about half the price of a comparable Matthews.

Today there are a lot of really good bows being made and i will always suggest to buy the one you shoot the best. Price doesnt always indicate quality or superior accuracy. For this poll to list only three company's is ridiculous especially since Bowtech has a huge chunk of the market. Im not complaining because i own a Bowtech product but because there are a ton of really good bows out there, Elite is another one thats really good.

I think I'm getting old. I was looking out in the shop and I have a PSE I bought new with four wheels, and they are all round!!

Gramps

You left out ELITE bows, I just love my Synergy and GT500 but must confess I just can't get myself to sell my Hoyt Cybertec.

Anyone try the new bows from Strother Archery?

Everyone is going to tell you what they shoot is the best. I suggest you go shoot them and make a decission.

Personally I like Mathews bows. Been shoot them for 10 years now.

After watching hundreds of hunting shows on TV and seeing 6" or less penetration on deer, you fellas can keep the super fast toothpick shooting abortions.
Has anyone shot proper hunting arrows out of the new bows? Or does everyone believe in velocity only?
I find it funny that a 180 fps stick bow will shoot through a deer yet the new bows barely make it through the skin. Don't you think you are going backwards with the light arrows? Next they will weigh 50 gr so they shoot flatter and faster.
Then the 80% let off, I almost ruined my shoulder letting down a friends bow, I had it back and said "OH OH" what do I do now? It still yanked the hell out of me as careful as I was.
Nobody making a new bow will ever get my money unless I can get 55% to 65% let off max. I also want to shoot HEAVY arrows so they penetrate any animal I chose to hunt. Velocity means nothing unless the arrow is heavy. When they get a 650 gr arrow to 300 fps or more, then they are doing something. Now all they do is make a bow strong enough to be almost dry fired.
Now just how great would all the bows listed here be if shot with real hunting arrows?
Naw, all of you want one pin to 60 yards--- real archery has gone in the dump.

Come on BFRshooter.
I have kill almost 100 deer with my bow, and every one has been a pass through shot. That is with my fast toothpick arrows.

Now my 50Lb Recurve bow has not always given me complete pass through's, most went just enough to hit the vital zone. I use two blade Zwikey and now use 2 blade Magnus.

One thing you must remember, some of them people on them shows may use new bows, but Ted Nugent only uses 50 lbs of pull and his wife only uses 38 lb's of pull. So don't think everyone is using 70 lb of pull.

So calm down and quitbashing other people's choices of the bows they choose to use.

I have been drawn to the Dark Side...

I just shot one of the new Mathews Monster 7.0's and I have one ordered. The one I shot was set at 80% let-off and 72lbs. 430gr arrow went 330+fps and pretty smooth. The 7" brace height has a lot to do with that, the 6" one was pretty "Rad" as the young dudes say.

I had 5 arrows in a group the size of a golf ball at 40 yards with about fifteen minutes of shooting and tweaking it.

Rich

I love my XForce. I tried a lot of bows before I settled on it and a big part of the decision was how quiet it was. when shooting with a group at the range there are always comments on how quiet it is. I find this to be very important along with the arrow speed. Pass through are not a problem and I don't mind losing ten or twenty feet per second to gain a bit of arrow weight.
Take good care
Dave

Non of the above, you missed PSE.

I have lots of bows but the three I have set up for hunting are all Parkers. I've killed a lot of deer with em.

There's a lot of fine bows on the market but I wouldn't buy any of them 'new'. The used or leftover market is the best bang for the buck.

U left out Elite. Do yourself a favor and pull one back. I love my 2009 Elite Z28. Looking at the 2010 judge.

Amazing how smooth. I pulled them all back before I bought.

quote:

Originally posted by JD:
Personally I shoot a Bowtech Admiral. My wife uses a Martin Bengal, which she considers an upgrade from the Hoyt she had. Personally I can't tell much difference in Martins and Mathews single cams, but Martins cost 1/2.

Amen to that!

I have owned several bows over the years. Compounds, recurves, long bows and crossbows. My absolute favourite is the black widow recurve that I have owned since the late 70 early 80s. I still own it and it still shoots fine.