I thought I knew which bow I wanted.. Now I'm on the fence!

jm1607

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Jul 26, 2013
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1st off, sorry for the longer read. I deleted alot of it that didn’t matter as much to make it more tolerable lol..

I thought I had my new bow all figured out, but now I’m more lost than ever..

What I’m really looking for is long range accuracy and forgiveness (I’m not a pro archer so any amount of forgiveness I can get is good. Would much rather have forgiveness than a short/light bow or a short brace height). Those are my priorities. I want to practice out to 70-100 yards or so and do some 3D shoots and with practice try to put some good groups together. So ya, I’m looking for a taller ATA (32-33.5”) and a longer brace height (6.75-7.25”). I’m a 28” draw. I’d like to pull back about 65#s. I’m planning on shooting solid broadheads (not out to 100 yards but possibly out to 50-60).

Speed isn’t as important as other factors, but it is important since I’m running heavier (450gr) arrows and don’t have a very long draw. Draw cycle is not as import to me. If it’s not super duper smooth but is fast and extremely accurate that sounds better to me. I do want to be able to hold it without it being super jumpy though. Tunability (both ease of and amount of) is also very important so I can dial it in without banging my head on the wall. My last Hoyt was a nightmare to tune…

I don’t have any brand loyalty. My last 2 bows were Hoyts and I’m looking to get away from them. On top of that I don’t really like the stats on the new Redworx at all.

I was dead set on an Xpedition Xcursion 7 because of the stupid fast ibo. I know I said speed wasn’t too important to me but a lot of the bows have very similar stats so I have to compare something lol and the ibo is insane on them. Unfortunately, each Xcursion 7 I’ve shot (2 of them) as well as every one I’ve seen chrono’d on Youtube (4 of them) is shooting way under ibo.. All about 8-12fps under.. So with really only having an ibo of 338-340 or so it’s nearly the same as every other bow I’m looking at stat wise and really isn’t a clear favorite any more..

So.. the bows I’m looking at in particular are the Bowtech Reign 7, Prime Rize, Halon 32 7, Xpedition Xcursion 7 (haven’t counted it out), and possibly an Elite Ritual (although I’ve had major customer service problems with Elite in the past)..

They are all in my ATA and BH range. The ibo of all them are between 335 & 340 so that’s a wash, no need to nit-pick. The weights are pretty similar except the Halon is a little heavy.. To be honest, weight doesn't really matter to me..

So back to the original question.. What I’m looking for is what is the easiest to tune to shoot accurately at longer distances and be as “forgiving” as possible..

Does anyone with some real world experience with any of these bows have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
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Funny......you want a "longer ATA of 32-33". Those would seem very short to me. The shortest compound I've ever had was 36 3/4" ATA, and long range shooting is not a problem.
 
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jm1607

jm1607

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Funny......you want a "longer ATA of 32-33". Those would seem very short to me. The shortest compound I've ever had was 36 3/4" ATA, and long range shooting is not a problem.

Eh, I guess longer compared to most bows nowadays ;) Everyone seems to be playing the short/fast game..

I guess I would like a "medium" ATA, just nothing super short
 

Btaylor

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Based on the feedback from guys I know and trust their evals on bows, you might want to try the Bowtech Realm and Elite Revol. I have not shot either but if I was looking, I would definitely be giving them a test run.
 

codym

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You really need to add the Realm X to your list. I'm not gonna hype it, just shot it. I shot all the bows this year and this checks all the boxes you are needing to check. I'm at 28' 72lb draw and I hit 305 on comfort. I could probably get a few more in performance but why if it is so freaking nice to shoot in comfort. I shot the redworx and the triax and the Realm was the total package. Stability, quiet, smooth, tons of let off and faster than the other bows I shot. The triax had a little less vibration and is a heck of a bow but short ata isn't what your looking for. Really happy with mine.
 

geriggs

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Jul 9, 2013
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I own the Reign 7. Had an evolve 35 and kick myself everyday for selling it. I will have another one at some point. Both of those bows are awesome. I took a mule deer buck at 65 yrds this year with the R7, my longest ever. Its just damn accurate. Draw is smooth but nothing in my opinion is as smoothe as the Evovle 35. I can easily draw 5 pounds over what i usually draw with other bows. A little less BH but that did not seem to affect my accuracy with it.
 
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Eh, I guess longer compared to most bows nowadays ;) Everyone seems to be playing the short/fast game..

I guess I would like a "medium" ATA, just nothing super short

That's still really short. You are starting to see manufactures get away from the sub 32" bows that Mathews brainwashed everyone into thinking they needed it when really it saved them on materials and thus gave them a bigger profit margin.

I would recommmend at least a 33" ata and preferably a 35-37" ata especially for longer range practice. What people don't realize is while bow engineers have worked to make these short bows less torque prone you can't change the geometry enough to reduce the steep string angle. These small bows have such steep string angles that pull your peep away from your eye which makes it much harder to come to a consistent anchor point which is critical for long range shooting.

Of the bows out there if I were to get a new one this year I would be looking at a bowtech BT Mag, Elite X , Prime Centergy and the new Hoyt Double XL They all will be much better for long distance hunting and target shooting than any 34" or shorter bow. Two are about 340 IBO and two are about 330 IBO.

Good luck in what ever you choose!


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Gumbo

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Apr 26, 2015
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It is tough to beat a Reign 7. I shoot the specs you listed perfectly. 28 inch draw, in comfort setting, with 455 grain arrows (BE Rampage w/ 75 gr HITs and 100 gr tips, 4-fletch w/ X nocks). The bow shoots and holds very well out to the ranges you specify (70-100) and the string angle is fine, no tipping my nose to the string. A pretty easy bow to tune as well. If I was going to buy a new bow this year though, I'd look at a Realm X, it has a nice flat grip and pretty similar specs to the Reign 7.

FWIW, I did just buy a used centergy hybrid to play with though too, I've wondered about Primes for quite awhile and am curious to see how they shoot and tune.
 

WJS23

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Dec 18, 2017
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I would go with the centergy hybrid I have had mine for almost two seasons now and have not had any problems with it. Just shoot all the ones you think you might like
 

Fishn4eyes

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Mar 19, 2013
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You really need to add the Realm X to your list. I'm not gonna hype it, just shot it. I shot all the bows this year and this checks all the boxes you are needing to check. I'm at 28' 72lb draw and I hit 305 on comfort. I could probably get a few more in performance but why if it is so freaking nice to shoot in comfort. I shot the redworx and the triax and the Realm was the total package. Stability, quiet, smooth, tons of let off and faster than the other bows I shot. The triax had a little less vibration and is a heck of a bow but short ata isn't what your looking for. Really happy with mine.

I would 2nd this. I just bought a Realm X and I really like it. I also have a Halon 32 which I like but I wanted a 2nd back up bow and was considering the Bowtech Realm X and the Prime Centergy.

The Realm X got my vote. It's fast, quiet, and pretty forgiving which is what i like in a hunting bow.
 

ontarget7

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Apr 5, 2013
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I go through a lot of bows and the Realm series did surprise me this year. Completely overlooked them early in the release.

Just glad I have two now

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chuckq777

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Jun 7, 2018
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Realm x was at the top of my list til I checked out the Elite Ritual. Went with the Ritual but either of them are very nice.
 
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I'd skip the Xcursion and go with the Denali or even the old model Perfexion. I've not shot the Realm but I have the Halon, Rize, and Xcursion, and I still prefer longer ATA (34"-36") bows. I've been completely happy using my Perfexion for the past few years and won't be parting with it in the foreseeable future.
 

Kilboars

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I've got my #65 Prime Centergy Hybrid for sale on AT. Primes are Fantastic bows. Sold all of my Mathews and Hoyts and now own 4 Primes.


For Sale Centergy Hybrid in Recon Gray. 55-65# limbs, TRK #1 Cams, 2017, come with 2nd set of strings for back up. $675 TYD
For Sale Prime centergy hybrid 65# 30"dl
 

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