A new Bow

[panfried]

I am in the market for a new bow. I have been bowhunting for 18 years now and consider myself to be a pretty good shot. I have primarily shot PSE and Hoyt and currently have a Hoyt Ultra Tec. (I felt it was nescessry to state this to avoid all the talk about short brace height and bow length and how much less forgiving they are. I feel that this will not be an issue for me) So with that being said, i have narrowed it down to 4 choices. 1) PSE X - Force TS HF 2) Matthews DXT 3)PSE X - Force 33" Axle to Axle. 4) Bowtech Guardian. They are listed in order of preference. I am really hoping for a shorter bow. But if the short bows don't work out for me i will lean towards the 2nd two on my list. I do alot of treestand hunting and feel that the extra maneuverability will be a +. The other thing i am looking to accomplish is to get my heavy arrows at or over 300 FPS. I am a big believer in Kinetic Energy and would like to have the reassurance that if i make a bad shot and hit the shoulder blade it will still do the job. I am also looking for some better penetration on the longer shots. So i am looking for all opinions, reviews, and thoughts fellow archers may have on my selections. Thanks to all who reply.

[FishGUY]

It all boils down to personal prefference, so shoot each and then pick. I went thought the same thing 6 months ago. I liked the Guardian and DXT that are on your list. I was shooting an old Hoyt and newer Reflex before I got a new bow. I ended up getting a 101st Airborne, the main reason was how stable the bow was at draw, how dead in the hand after the shot, and how fast the arrow hit the target. I liked the Guardian, but the 101st is a little faster. The DXT was nice, I could not get use to the A to A length, it was also not as fast. I have not shoot the PSE enough to comment on them.

My bow is shooting a 400gr arrow at 29in and 66lbs at around 300fps, which will equal enough KE to get the job done. Good luck, let us know what you pick.

[Canuck]

I know U have made a short list but see U have picked a Bow Tec, Guardian and mentioned tree stands, have U considered the General? I believe it is plenty fast and real quiet. Personally I feel quiet is more important than speed and the General is over 300f/s. Just my 2 cents.

Try them all and pick what feels the best for YOU.

Jim.

[koonie]

The Guardian is a [PoorWordUsage] of a sweet shooting bow. NO hand shock at all. Great bow.

[sportfish]

Speed is a little over rated.. My old bow only shot 250 fps and I had no problem get pass throws. I bought a new DXT a month a go and love it. I did not even think about looking at a mathews but I picked it up and it fit great. I'm only shooting 60 lbs. and getting around 275 fps. with a 28" draw. I'll take a smooth quiet bow over anything...

[harvey lee]

Personally, I don't get to hung up on the speed ratings. If one does his homework and gets the bow shooting correct and one is comfortable with the bow, any bow will work just fine.

I would key on the above and not worry about a arrow that will kill in every situation. I agree with the smooth and quiet bow and let the chips fall where they may after that.

[panfried]

I agree with what all of you are saying as far as finding a bow that feels right for me. I also agree with the speed thing. I am not a speed freak. I really don't care about how fast my arrow is going. I am more concerned with packing a punch whent the arrow gets there. My current set-up i am getting around 275 fps with close to around 500 grain arrows. (can't remember exactly what they weigh) It does a great job. I have just had a few instances where i have hit the shoulder on the opposite side of 2 deer and 1 bear. In 2 out of the three cases i was unable to retrieve the animal due to lack of blood. The other was just found by covering alot of ground. So the only reason i am looking for some more speed/kinetic energy is to hopefully be able to punch through the shoulder on the other side if and or when it happens again. Just enough to get the blood to drain out the other (low) side and hopefully give me a blood trail. I am also hoping to get up to canada on a caribou hunt and eventually to colorado for an elk hunt and feel that a flatter trajectory will benefit me on some longer shots. I am going to shoot each of the bows i have chosen and find the one that i shoot well, am comfortable with and hopefully produces a little more power. In most cases i have never had problems getting pass throughs, it just so happens that 2 out of the 3 above instances i lost some very nice animals and would like to avoid that in the future. Thanks for all th opinions and info. I will keep it all in mind while making my decision.

[Scoot]

I really agree with what's been said above. Personally, I don't think that speed is irrelevant (I realize nobody above said that), but I rank it down the list of priorities: 1) noise, 2) arm shock, 3) speed. I see #'s 1-3 all coming together for me to give me a sense of if the bow "feels right" and lets me shoot accurately.

Regarding your list of bows, I'll give you my take on them: I've shot a couple of PSE X Forces and I gotta tell ya- they're fast. However, I HATED them. I found them to be loud and had a ton of arm shock. A ton of people like Mathews bows, but they've never fit me right. I really dislike their bulky grips and the bows just don't feel right to me (not cracking on Mathews here, they just don't work for me). I love the Guardian. I currently shoot the longer version of the Guardian, the Commander. If you want a shorter ATA bow, I'd look at the Guardian and the General by Bowtech. I know a ton of people who have them and everyone I know says it's the best bow they've ever owned ('course, that's what most now bow owners say, regardless of what bow they bought).

BTW, what's your drawlength? The reason I ask is because people with 30"+ drawlengths are having some problems with the Guardian/Commander. It's apparently a complete non-issue at 30" and under, but a concern if you're over 30".

Good luck with your decision and purchase!

[SDbowhunter]

I dont know much about the other bows besides the X-Force. I shot it and hated it. The poundage on the bow I shot was at 65lbs and is what I currently shoot. The power it takes get to the let-off was too sharp for me. I pretended I was trying to draw on and let down at an animal looking at me and my motions were way more jerky then I prefer. It also seemed loud with a fair amount of hand shock.

I've always like Mathews and my next bow will probably be one.

[surewood]

What about the Hoyt Katera. What a bow!

[charliepete2]

I just picked up a Katera XL a few weeks ago. It is truly a sweet shooter.

[Scoot]

I just picked up a Katera XL a few weeks ago. It is truly a sweet shooter.

Yes it is!!! Very nice bow indeed!

[sportfish]

Katera is a nice bow good grip,nice looking but draws Hard.. I guess you have to get use to it..

[panfried]

Thanks for all the opinions guys. I ended up getting the X-Force 6. I am very happy with it. Pulls hard yet smoother than i had imagined. There is some shock there but for the performance it is worth it. I am not an avid tournament shooter or anything so a little kick is no big deal. It does exactly what i want it to do. It is accurate, fast, and packs a punch. 91 foot lbs of KE. 440 grn arrow at 306 Fps. 70# draw. The Guardian was also very nice but just didn't feel right to me. To each his own i guess. Thanks again.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Congrats on the new toy... How about some picts of the new bow all set up?

[panfried]

Will do. When i get a chance. I have never posted any photos on here before so i may need some assistance.