Well....Time for a New Bow

[Mark from MA]

My strategy on bows is that I buy a new one every 3 years or so. And by new, I mean a leftover flagship from last year or the year before, that's been discounted by at least 25% to get off the rack to make room for new ones. This generally works well for me as bows require maintenance of new strings, tuneup, etc......usually to the cost of 200 dollars plus and downtime. So to defray this all, I generally dont do any service on my bows at all other than wax the string, and trade my bows every 3 years. Since I'm buying on a discount, its usually 300 bucks with trade in, for a new one, Rinse, repeat, etc. every 3 years.

I like this strategy as I always have very upgraded model bow, that's solid and has never failed me in 25years of archery hunting, and have never been to the bowshop except to setup the newer bow.

Ive been a Bowtech guy for years and the trade value is good, but there's slim to none out there at reduced prices. So now that Mathews has gone back to the reality of dual cams.....I think I'm ready to switch this time out. I've found some at 25% off. As with everything inflation, the price difference is a little more than it used to be....but I'm pretty sure I'll have a 2020 leftover Mathews VXR 28 in my future under the tree. This time I may keep the old Bowtech just incase, its been an incredible bow that I've hunted several states with and taken lots of deer with.

Anyway, as gear queerish as this is.....any of you that have VXR 28's let me know how you like or don't like them. And you serious archers, let me know how long you generally keep your bows? I know some guys that trade every year and take a serious depreciation hit....but they really don't care......some guys just always want the newest and best.

 

[pupchow]

My strategy on bows is that I buy a new one every 3 years or so. And by new, I mean a leftover flagship from last year or the year before, that's been discounted by at least 25% to get off the rack to make room for new ones. This generally works well for me as bows require maintenance of new strings, tuneup, etc......usually to the cost of 200 dollars plus and downtime. So to defray this all, I generally dont do any service on my bows at all other than wax the string, and trade my bows every 3 years. Since I'm buying on a discount, its usually 300 bucks with trade in, for a new one, Rinse, repeat, etc. every 3 years.

I like this strategy as I always have very upgraded model bow, that's solid and has never failed me in 25years of archery hunting, and have never been to the bowshop except to setup the newer bow.

Ive been a Bowtech guy for years and the trade value is good, but there's slim to none out there at reduced prices. So now that Mathews has gone back to the reality of dual cams.....I think I'm ready to switch this time out. I've found some at 25% off. As with everything inflation, the price difference is a little more than it used to be....but I'm pretty sure I'll have a 2020 leftover Mathews VXR 28 in my future under the tree. This time I may keep the old Bowtech just incase, its been an incredible bow that I've hunted several states with and taken lots of deer with.

Anyway, as gear queerish as this is.....any of you that have VXR 28's let me know how you like or don't like them. And you serious archers, let me know how long you generally keep your bows? I know some guys that trade every year and take a serious depreciation hit....but they really don't care......some guys just always want the newest and best.

I picked up the VXR 28 with some dealer prep package (it came with a QAD rest installed) slightly discounted. The smoothness and lack of hand shock were most noticeable. It might not be the lightest bow but I don't see the need for anything smaller - it's plenty small for handling in a treestand. I have no problem keeping it on target at my self-imposed hunting limit of 40 yards, without any stabilizer. I've thought about getting the longer one and doing some 3D stuff with it, simply because the VXR is such a pleasure to shoot with.

 

[Mark from MA]

I picked up the VXR 28 with some dealer prep package (it came with a QAD rest installed) slightly discounted. The smoothness and lack of hand shock were most noticeable. It might not be the lightest bow but I don't see the need for anything smaller - it's plenty small for handling in a treestand. I have no problem keeping it on target at my self-imposed hunting limit of 40 yards, without any stabilizer. I've thought about getting the longer one and doing some 3D stuff with it, simply because the VXR is such a pleasure to shoot with.

Nice....I know it has the dovetail or something for the QAD rest designed into the bow. I usually just use a Whisker as its simple, but I've used the QAD before......on other bows. Since the design is incorporated for it I may go with that this time. I dont mind the QAD as it is full capture to fully hold the arrow when walking, stalking or on stand.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Yew English Longbow, as I just got one delivered from England, 72” overall, great/classic lines, all wood (1-piece) … fastflight string too!
No plastic or metal … sure brings out the ‘Yeoman’ in you!

 

[Mark from MA]

Yew English Longbow, as I just got one delivered from England, 72” overall, great/classic lines, all wood (1-piece) … fastflight string too!
No plastic or metal … sure brings out the ‘Yeoman’ in you!

If your trying to poke fun dude, I used to build my own laminated recurves. Killed many a deer with my own handmade recurves in the 80's and 90's. I had time and could put in the hours for hunting and shooting to stay accurate and I had more time to hunt (worked 2nd shift, no kids yet) Add to that Compounds were "in development and not all that reliable". That is totally not the case right now.

I don't have that amount of time now, and the best, most ethical thing for me to do is shoot a modern bow. Add to that, the herd has gone downhill in my area of MA, so I like to add distance to help myself out as well so if I need to I can make a longer 40 yarder. Where with the stick I'm down to 20 or less. So if I see that one deer or two deer I usually see in MA a year, if they are at 25 yards I'm going to have to let them walk? I don't think so.

I've done my time making archery "harder". I've missed some frigging big bucks with the recurve, shooting under or over them or they jumped string. Most of those bucks, had I had the compound I had today would be on my wall. Back then, i'd just go find another one....now I don't have the time to, and honestly, they aren't around like they were back in the 90 and early 2000's.

When I get to retire, hopefully in a better deer state (which is almost anywhere) , and good lord willing I can still shoot a stickbow, I will dig thru the old bear recurve collection, or a couple of the favorite bows that I've made. Get proficient by shooting a lot, and make sure I can hit at my distance and not wound.

But until then for hunting out of a treestand in MA.......I'll take the modern compound all day long, its a much more efficient killing machine for a guy who doesn't have all that much time to hunt and shoot.

 

[Lefty38-55]

Not poking fun at all, but archery is fun. And I surely understand your reasoning for hunting w/ a compound.

Keep it fun !

 

[Fixxah]

The solo cam is a better design. Zero timing issues. 85% let off. What's not to love.

 

[Fixxah]

You a lefty?

 

[Mark from MA]

The solo cam is a better design. Zero timing issues. 85% let off. What's not to love.

Mathews does not make a solo cam that I know of, a few years ago they relinquished that dual cam is better. Maybe they do still make one...but its not on their flagships. All the new tech is dual cam. Timing is much better than it used to be can be checked easily.

My first Mathews solo cam was a Switchback......good bow, horrible back wall, horrible strings, and I had to shoot 70 to get the same speed and power as my 60# Bowtech. I'm not a speed freak, but I shoot heavy arrows and want pass thru power. I think I got a DXT after that, then went 100% Bowtech for years as their designs were better. And though they had some limb issues I never did with any of their bows.

Thing with Bowtech was......it was always adjustable, usually by yourself without taking it to a shop if you wanted to sell/trade, or change draw length, Mathews, you had take it to a shop, break it down, put new cam on the bottom for the new draw length. It was a PIA, and always cost a few hundred to do, as you had to buy the cam. Some shops would switch them for free, but Mathews parts aren't exactly cheap.

At least Mathews finally has come up with user installed modules now. And with this bow I will buy a 29" draw module for 70 dollars in case I ever give the bow to my son. Because in 3 years....yeah...I don't want to go have to find modules for a 4 year old bow. Still, I have to buy an additonal part.

But Bowtech had that tech way back, now Bowtech has fully adjustable without buying any modules. So if i want to give this older bow to my son whose a 29'' draw, I just pull out a few screws, rotate the module to 29" and set the string stop post in the prescribed place and give it to him.

 

[Mark from MA]

Not poking fun at all, but archery is fun. And I surely understand your reasoning for hunting w/ a compound.

Keep it fun !

It is fun for sure. I'm not trying to be a dick. I love shooting the stickbow.

But when it comes to killing an animal, its rather serious and I don't want to chase wounded animals. My hope is that any stickbow shooter limits themselves accordingly or just uses training wheels and a sight.

But there are guys I know that can shoot a stickbow really well out to 30 yards, and would have no problem hunting with them. Those guys didn't just pick up the trad bow to be trendy, they've been shooting it for years.

 

[arlow]

New toys are always fun. However I often just by "new to me" toys. Flagship bows have gotten crazy expensive.

Feb 2020 I bought a 2 year old Hoyt RX-1, with a QAD, CBE Tek Hybrid sight, gas strings, carbon quiver, and fuse front and rear stablizer for 800 bucks. Brand new the bow listed for 1800 bucks, the accessories close to another grand. Took me about 6 months to find that deal and I missed on two others similarly outfitted and priced.

 

[Mark from MA]

New toys are always fun. However I often just by "new to me" toys. Flagship bows have gotten crazy expensive.

Feb 2020 I bought a 2 year old Hoyt RX-1, with a QAD, CBE Tek Hybrid sight, gas strings, carbon quiver, and fuse front and rear stablizer for 800 bucks. Brand new the bow listed for 1800 bucks, the accessories close to another grand. Took me about 6 months to find that deal and I missed on two others similarly outfitted and priced.

Got that right Rob. I see the over 1K prices of the new bows and its like no thanks. This thing was 1100 last year.

With the trade......I'm paying 350 and keeping all my old accessories to just bolt on the new bow. Not a bad deal for something new in the box.

But yeah....same with bows that are a few years old.......smoking deals. Never buy new, or same year flagship ever..

 

[rocket500]

I have the VXR 28 it’s a great bow. Very smooth & quiet shooting bow. I am very accurate with it. Zero complaints. Mine has been through 2 seasons now I will be re-stringing it this winter.

 

[Mark from MA]

I have the VXR 28 it’s a great bow. Very smooth & quiet shooting bow. I am very accurate with it. Zero complaints. Mine has been through 2 seasons now I will be re-stringing it this winter.

Shot 100 times to stretch the strings before I even set it up.

Got the peep put in yesterday, put on a whisker biskit and sight I had already. Paper tuned bullet holes right away. Now just sighting in the pin.

Didn't think it would be any better than my BT, but I like how short it is, and it seems super solid and shock free. Draw cycle a little stiffer, fricking no valley, which after shooting a bit, Im getting used to and kinda liking it, but I like the wall better and the bow seems faster for sure.

 

[Mark from MA]

Well...it was time again to resurrect this thread. While I didn't replace the VXR........I do love that thing.

I typically have a backup bow that is easily draw length adjustable, for my son's occasional use, and his was getting pretty old and time to restring, so I did some shopping instead of restringing and ended up with a new bow.

They had some new '22 Bowtech leftovers hanging at KTP for 40% off the rediculous price they wanted new........... Traded his old bow and an old recurve I had lying around, and got the new bow for 200 bucks, with a 75 dollar gift card for the tax. Was going to go with a Solution, as its a longer bow, but I'll probably be using it more, and my DL is short...so I stuck with the shorter bow as the Mathews was a hit with me in the treestand. Got the CP28.

I brought it home and set it to my 27" DL and its pretty impressive for a short bow, left it on comfort, threw the old rest and sight on, and it draws nice and holds solid. Not as fast as the VXR, but that's OK with me, its more comfortable to draw. Could flip the disc and get few more FPS, but I like the draw cycle too much. These are WAY easy to tune for cam lean by yourself with the new locking cam setup they use, already tuned it thru paper, it only needed a half turn on each end, and rest tweak and it was bullet holing thru paper.

As much as I love how Mathews is built like a brick shithouse. The Draw Length adjustability without having to buy mods, and easy cam tuning of the Bowtech just sells itself.....

Just need to get the peep tied in and will be good to go. I think I'll be using this one this year in Kentucky and PA.......

 

[Dante231]

I am totally jealous! I taught myself at 50 years old. Bought a Bear from Dicks over 10 years ago. Replaced everything - IQ sight, drop away rest, new strings. I spent hours tuning the thing - not an easy task on that bow. But I killed a few deer with it - I was so proud. Now I live in Boston and haven't sat in a tree stand for 5 years! It's still in my basement with no where to go. I keep thinking that I'll buy a piece of property up north and get back at it . . .

You all have me wound up listening to you!

 

[milktree]

OK, I know (almost) nothing about archery. Just enough to sound smart to people who actually know nothing.

What's the deal with single vs dual cam bows? What should I google to get good pictures of the differences and why one is or might be better than the other?

 

[Mark from MA]

OK, I know (almost) nothing about archery. Just enough to sound smart to people who actually know nothing.

What's the deal with single vs dual cam bows? What should I google to get good pictures of the differences and why one is or might be better than the other?

Mathews was like the single cam marketing genius for a while, and sold tons of bows, by blaming twin cam bows for having poor tuning, coming out of tune, cam timing issues, shitty harsh draw, loud, ...you name they shit on dual cam bows every way they could. Some of it was true, some of it wasn't. Mathews did always make a solid, smooth drawing quality finished bow. But they were the cadillac.

Then Bowtech came in and introduced the binary cam, which stayed in tune, and kicked the single cam's ass. Those in the know, started to shoot Bowtech and Elite bows over Mathews. Not only that, they made it draw length adjustable with modules, without a bow press. So when you went to sell or change Draw it was much easier. Where Mathews you had to swap the one cam out totally, needed a bowpress, and they would charge you for the new cam as well. Bowtech and others that made similar copies (Elite) started to eat their lunch.....

Mathews eventually ate crow and came out with twin cam bows, now they are all twin cam. And with todays string materials...pretty much stay in tune that way. Now that most string cam timing is a thing of the past, they now focus on cam lean and tweaking, and super tuning these things. Mathews is still behind as they use a system that requires what is called a top hat, and the bow needs to be pressed and messed with to super tune, Mathews also still requires modules you have to buy to change draw. Though that can be done without a press. But they make a solidly built, well finished, bow at the top of the market. Their bows are more weight adjustable with the system they have, and that is an advantage as well.

Where Bowtech is still slightly behind, but they still have advantages of an easier tuning twin cam for cam lean called the flip disc, which is basically as smooth draw when set in comfort mode, and a more harsh draw but faster when set in performance mode by just flipping the same disc on the cams. Dead lock, where you can loosen screws on each end and adjust cam lean, by yourself without a press. And their bows are fully draw length adjustable from 25" to 30"....without a press.

Im not familiar with other bows, but these two companies have been the front runners in tech for years. However, mbost other companies have followed somewhat, and if you have a 20 year old bow and shoot these newer bows the tech, lack of hand shock, and speed are amazing. However, if you switch bows every few years like I do....there is very little difference until something wild comes along.

Hence, if you want a solidly built bow your gonna keep a while, not adjust or tweak, and never sell......Mathews is probably the best. If you want something adjustable you can tune, tweak, change draw length, go with the Bowtech, or Elite or similar. That said, most of the cheaper bows are really good nowadays, like Bear, etc....because they've used the tech that Mathews and Bowtech have put out there as well.

 

[milktree]

Mathews was like the single cam marketing genius for a while, and sold tons of bows, by blaming twin cam bows for having poor tuning, coming out of tune, cam timing issues, shitty harsh draw, loud, ...you name they shit on dual cam bows every way they could. Some of it was true, some of it wasn't. Mathews did always make a solid, smooth drawing quality finished bow. But they were the cadillac.

Then Bowtech came in and introduced the binary cam, which stayed in tune, and kicked the single cam's ass. Those in the know, started to shoot Bowtech and Elite bows over Mathews. Not only that, they made it draw length adjustable with modules, without a bow press. So when you went to sell or change Draw it was much easier. Where Mathews you had to swap the one cam out totally, needed a bowpress, and they would charge you for the new cam as well. Bowtech and others that made similar copies (Elite) started to eat their lunch.....

Mathews eventually ate crow and came out with twin cam bows, now they are all twin cam. And with todays string materials...pretty much stay in tune that way. Now that most string cam timing is a thing of the past, they now focus on cam lean and tweaking, and super tuning these things. Mathews is still behind as they use a system that requires what is called a top hat, and the bow needs to be pressed and messed with to super tune, Mathews also still requires modules you have to buy to change draw. Though that can be done without a press. But they make a solidly built, well finished, bow at the top of the market. Their bows are more weight adjustable with the system they have, and that is an advantage as well.

Where Bowtech is still slightly behind, but they still have advantages of an easier tuning twin cam for cam lean called the flip disc, which is basically as smooth draw when set in comfort mode, and a more harsh draw but faster when set in performance mode by just flipping the same disc on the cams. Dead lock, where you can loosen screws on each end and adjust cam lean, by yourself without a press. And their bows are fully draw length adjustable from 25" to 30"....without a press.

Im not familiar with other bows, but these two companies have been the front runners in tech for years. However, mbost other companies have followed somewhat, and if you have a 20 year old bow and shoot these newer bows the tech, lack of hand shock, and speed are amazing. However, if you switch bows every few years like I do....there is very little difference until something wild comes along.

Hence, if you want a solidly built bow your gonna keep a while, not adjust or tweak, and never sell......Mathews is probably the best. If you want something adjustable you can tune, tweak, change draw length, go with the Bowtech, or Elite or similar. That said, most of the cheaper bows are really good nowadays, like Bear, etc....because they've used the tech that Mathews and Bowtech have put out there as well.

Holy crap, now I know even less than I did before!

Or more precisely, I now realize how little I knew.