Used Bow recommendation

[Dled]

I really appreciate the insight and time everyone has given on this thread. It truly gives me a direction and aspects to look at. I’m headed to a big bow shop in our state and I’ll shoot as many as I can. If anyone has any more technical aspects I should be looking for please let me know.

 

[Holocene]

Lots of good advice here.

It would be hard to beat a Mathews Halon 32 with 7" brace height. Look to spend ~$600-800 bare bow. Most shops will switch draw mods for you at no cost if they have the mods in stock -- or at max $30 for the part. Get an HDX dropaway rest, whatever sight makes sense for your hunting situation, stabilizer and go hunting.

3 years old, many guys switching to the newest Mathews bows and you can tune this one with top hats, which makes that process gloriously painless (older Mathews you cannot top hat tune).

Might need new strings. Lots of options out there. String stretch is an especially annoying and surprising phenomenon for some. The GAS Ghost strings have no dye in them, and because dye is what deteriorates the string matherial, these strings stretch less than any other string I've tried. If you do get a used bow, strongly consider putting on new strings and cables.

 

[Dled]

Holocene- I appreciate the insight, especially pricing and bow specific tuning. Exactly what I’m looking for.

 

[darcytribe]

Great suggestions for you here. There are lots of guys who get the latest year model every year. Many of the sell their one year old bows every year. I have purchased 2 bows that were one year old off of the archery talk forum classifieds. Both have been like new bows, one had a brand new string set on it. These were top end models for close to half the price they sold for new. I will never buy a new now again when they are sold like this at a such a deep discount.

Make sure you research the feedback of the seller. Request the bow be packed for shipping using bubble wrap. When you test and find the make and model that feels best to you, have the bow shop measure your draw length for that bow. I’ve found depending on the model that length can vary some. I say this because some makes require specific equipment related to the length.

Happy hunting!

 

[mrgreen]

I've found this website to be great for comparing specs on most bows. It also gives a good idea on prices.

compoundbowchoice.com

 

[JoeDirt]

I was in the same boat I wanted a used flagship bow.

I ended up finding a new 2018/2019 Bowtech BT-X 31 for $775 (2016 flagship bow) at a local bow shop. Sure its $200 more than what you can find a BT-X used.

For $200 more I got:

A new bow
Local bow shop warranty
Factory warranty
Free coaching
Free practice
Free bow comparison (shooting)
Tuned bow out the door
10%-40% off accessories