best bow?

[JPSaxMan]

Must be nice...Switchback...Mathews, all you guys with $$$!!!!

   

[Redhawk1]

You know what they say, the only difference between men and boy's is the price of there toys.  

I don't drink, smoke or run around chasing tail. So I treat myself to good hunting gear.  :-D  Plus my wife don't mind, she knows where I am at.    :-D

[JPSaxMan]

You know what they say, the only difference between men and boy's is the price of there toys.  

Yea, yea, sure thing...keep tellin yerself that  

[Nebraska Kelly]

The best bow is whatever I have in my hands when I am drawing down on my target. Whatever I take out hunting has always been more than adaquate for getting my deer. I have used bows from BROWNING, PSE, MOUNTAINER, JENNINGS, BEAR RECURVE, BROWNING RECURVE and DARTON. The darton is my current bow. It is model year 2000 and it is a split limb maverick. I judge a bow by what fits me best. I am a short draw lenght of 28 inches. Any bow that fits me can be shot well. They are all exceptional pieces of equipment. I used to get caught up in needing the latest and the fastest but discovered I wasnt killing my deer any quicker or shooting any better.  At least not for hunting. Maybe some benefits for 3D shoots with newer and faster but I am not conviced that is true either. I also stopped bying into the hype that you need MORE MORE MORE of whateter the bow makers were selling. Be happy with what you have and shoot it well. A diffrent bow wont make you a better shooter. I kill just as many deer with my model year 2000 darton maverick as any 2005 bow made by anyone. I save a lot of money now too.
Nebraska Kelly

[Buckskin]

Kelly,

Its interesting that you went from compound to recurve then back to compound.  Most guys when they leave compounds and go to stick bows stay there. There must be something about the newer bows that tickle your fancy.  Also a new bow can certainly make you a better shot.  Most of the newer bows are much, much more forgiving than the older bows from just a few years ago.  Not to long ago almost all of the hot bows had an overdraw which makes the arrow shorter, and the projectile faster but usually hinders forgiveness.  Nowadays there is no need for an overdraw with the shorter style of bows, keeping the rest in line with the wheels, helping forgiveness.

[Nebraska Kelly]

Hi Buckskin. I like to shoot compound and recurve. I like the lite weight of a recurve. I like the exersize from pulling it and shooting it well. I like my compound for serious hunting. I prefer the compound to the stick bow for most hunting. But the bear super kodiak is fun to shoot. I shoot my recurve with fingers. I shoot my darton mavrick compound with a release. I take exception to the fact that a new bow can make you a better shooter. I honestly believe that getting the feel for your bow and practice will make you a better shooter. If you cant shoot an old bow well why would you be able to shoot a new bow any better?  Now having said that I will admit that my old PSE LASER ll bow did not shoot as fast as my newer bows. But it was every bit as accurate. It was not as hard hitting because of the speed when I took longer shots. But it was still accurate and it got the job done. The bows I have used over the years all shot well. Some were what I call "more stable" than others. Meaning they were easier to tune and felt good when shooting. But the diffrences seem to have gotten much smaller in the past 8 years or so. Once the speed of the average bow with hunting arrows reached around 220 fps with my short draw lenght of 28 inches I never saw much advantage over one bow or the other I purchaced. I thought I would shoot it better or it would somehow be better because the advertising said it would be.  But the real truth is the diffrence was very very small. I am not saying dont buy new bows if you want them. But I think most of it is hype to sell more bows.
Respectfully  Nebraska Kelly

[Redhawk1]

Nebraska Kelly, now wouldn't you find hype in all things bought. It is not just in the bow world. So why get bothered if bow companies want to hype up there bows. I could care less about the hype, I know by shooting a bow if I like the performance,  that is what makes me spend my money on the newer bows.

But Buckskin is correct in saying the the newer bows are more forgiving. I have introduced new shooters to bows and in no time with the newer bows, they become very good shooters.  

[Nebraska Kelly]

I must take exception that newer bows are more forgiving. My round wheel old compound bows were the smoothest and most forgiving of any I have shot over the years. When cams came along and speeds increased the tuning got harder and the feel of the bows was harsher. This is in my opinion. I understand if you don't agree. That is why there are so many different choices in bows. Everyone evaluates a bow differently. For ease of shooting I still prefer a round wheel or soft cam but I don't like the slow speeds. I have not had a new bow in the past 5 years. I don't know how the matthews shoot or any of the other new bows. I don't feel the need to get a new one until my darton maverick becomes unusable. I still think the reason new bow models come out every year is to increase sales. Not because they are substantially better. I offer my comments to those who may think they cant be effective bow hunters unless they have the most expensive or latest model. Be happy with what you have and practice.
Respectfully Kelly.

[Redhawk1]

Nebraska Kelly, you make a lot of valid points. You are 100 % correct, that a new bow does not make the shooter.  But bow manufactures are in the business to sell bows.  

I normally keep my bows for several years, but sometimes I break down and try something new.    :-D

[Norseman112]

There are a lot of good bows  around and its all personal preference that prevails in the end. I won't cut anyones bow down. I have been bow hunting for 26 yrs and I have had martin,bear,york, pse, darton( Each one was my favorite at one time). I now have a Mathews, I do service work on there boilers in the same town I live in, Sparta, WI.  I didn't get any special deal I paid full price.  I can also tell you that the employees there seem to be in a happy professional environment and are paid decent (helps quality). I also see them make a lot of there own parts.  They have also done excellent marketing(some call hype). They give bows to schools to let kids get into archery(that helps everyone to) . Plain and simple they are a class act company that puts out a great bow. You like your bow thats great   I really love my LX from Mathews to, its the best bow I have ever owned and I know there pro shops will take care of me .  Again the best bow is the one you are happy with and now you know what mine is.

Norse

[Nebraska Kelly]

Hello again gentlemen. Thank you for your comments. There are so many good choices for us bow hunters. We are all lucky to have such great equipment at our fingertips. I was only trying to help the new person who can be overwhelmed by the choices. As experienced archers we know what works for us. It has cost me a lot of money and and lot of hours spent shooting my bows to learn what works. Early in my archery days I asked the same question. What is the best bow? I met a long time archer who told me the best bow is whatever he has in his hands at the moment.  That stuck with me and I realized it was a true statement. I like new equipment as much as the next guy. I would love a new mattews bow. When I need to change my current bow I will invest a mathews or whatever feels good at that time.  I just wanted the person asking this question to know that the "best" bow is an elusive dream. The bow you shoot well is the best bow. The bow that gives you confidence is the best bow. The bow you have the most fun with is the best bow. The bow you choose is not the number one factor in enjoying the sport. There are LOTS of GOOD bows out there. I dont mean to knock anyones choice. I know there are diffrences in weight, length, ease of tuning, general feel of bows. We have never had it so good.  
Nebraska Kelly

[Redhawk1]

Well put Nebraska Kelly