Second bow - go high end or mid range?

[Hart6065]

I'm looking to get my second bow after having my Parker Pioneer XP for 6 years. Is it worth it to buy the big flagship bows (Bowtech/Mathews/Hoyt), or has the quality come up so much that the cheaper bows (Diamond/PSE/Bear) are good enough not to justify paying extra for the high end bows? I plan on using it for target, western hunting and maybe some stand hunting. I plan on going to some shops to check out bows soon.

If I did buy a more expensive bow, I'd get cheaper accessories and vice versa.

 

[Beendare]

The big flagship bows of a couple years ago can be found used at good prices today.

AT is a good place to look.

________

 

[Jellymon]

Bows haven’t changed much since 2010-2015. The majority of them have actually gotten heavier. For example, in my opinion Hoyt’s 2012-2015 bows are better than thier 2016-2020 bows.
If you know your specs (draw weight, length, etc) I would buy a used high end flagship from around 2015. All of as good or better than new offerings for a huge discount.

 

[Planopurist]

I went down the same path.

First of all, I think there’s less difference than you think from the “top” three you mentioned to the other three, plus Elite and others.

I bought a surplus (prior model year) Elite Option 6 as my primary hunting bow 2 years ago and accessorized it with fairly high end stuff.

I recently bought a 2016 Elite Energy 35 as a backup hunting/3D/target bow. I’m outfitting it with high-end accessories. You can see that I put more stock in the accessories (incl. arrows and releases) than the bow itself. You’ll spend $600-$1000 on good-great accessories and arrows regardless of the bow.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[calreef18]

All those companies have some good flagship and mid-range bows, look at mid-range that share components with their higher end cousins. There are also usually good deals on used but check condition of the string etc. Spend more on some of the nice accessories.

 

[Billy Goat]

I think everyone makes a good bow at this point. Need to find something you like.

I have owned Hoyts, Mathews, Elites, and Bowtech in the past decade. Still have a few of them, but I have a bear Kuma that I hunt with. That bow is just easy to tune, shoots good, and fits me well.

Shoot several and find what you like.

 

[Hart6065]

Thanks for your responses! I'm going to find a shop to shoot a few and go from there.

I can kind of see myself going down a rabbit hole trying to find the right bow.

 

[calreef18]

Yes most important is the feel of the bow and how well it fits you. Secondarily the looks...although sometimes it seems that feels like the most important factor haha.

 

[Tradchef]

Man....I shoot trad all the time but wanted to get another compound to mess around with for shooting and testing. All the new ones are really nice but prime felt good to me. I found a deal at LAS on a new in box rize for 499 shipped. I didn’t feel like I needed to drop 1500 for what I was looking for. If it’s your main bow and you have the money to spend....pony up. But like these guys said above.....lots of great deals to be had out there so you can save a bit of money and get some accessories or tags.

 

[Joe Holden]

I'm a bit of an odd ball, but i will wait for the right deal after i know what i'm looking for. My 2013 Hoyt Sypder Turbo was purchased bare bow for $200 in 2017. 5 weeks ago, i picked up a 2015 Elite Syngery with a 8" BeeStinger and a cabelas instinct 1 pin for $200.

I agree with Planopurist as i will spend a bit more on accessories. So much so that right now, aside from the string and quivers, the bow's I've purchased have been the cheapest part of the rig!

 

[nphunter]

I would buy a high-end bow for one of the top manufacturers, honestly, I would avoid a used bowtech, they had a lot off issues there for several years with limbs.

A good used Hoyt Spyder, Nitrum, Alphamax would be a great bow that would last a really long time and could be picked up very cheap. I buy a lot of used bows for my wife and boys and have found 5yr old bows can be had for very reasonable prices.

I would also buy a fully set up bow, people don't want to mess around with pulling accessories and you can get them for not much more than a bare bow, just change the things you want to at that point. One thing about buying used is you really need to know your specs, exact draw length or range you need, draw weight, etc. if you don't know this stuff it could really cost you.

If you know your exact specs, prime makes great bows, they can be had for cheap used because the draw lengths are not adjustable so there isn't as many people looking to buy that exact setup as an adjustable bow.

If you don't know your specs either find them out or buy a bow with adjustable mods.

Some other really great bows are the Strothers bows, they were great reliable bows, Strothers went belly up so the bows are super cheap but very high quality. Moxie archery bought out there bows and currently make a lot of the parts that are exactly like the old Strothers stuff. I recently bought my oldest son a like-new Strothers bow for $150 to my house, there isn't a scratch on it and it was a $900 bow a few years ago.

 

[Planopurist]

I can kind of see myself going down a rabbit hole trying to find the right bow.

Not to come across as too much of an Elite fanboy, I bought a used 2016 Elite because that was the last year of their transferable warranty.

I feel fairly confident in buying used bows without shooting them because the market price for used bows seems fairly stable. Moreover, there’s always a market for bows that are only a few years old. AT is loaded with people looking for used bows just like you. You could buy one, outfit it, try it, and sell it without the accessories if you don’t like it. No problem.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hart6065]

Thanks for all the input, guys! I do know my draw length and what poundage I want. Now I just need to go try out some bows.

I think I found a new addiction checking out bows on AT...

 

[Hart6065]

I decided to go with a new Elite Ritual 33 from huntersfriend.com for the warranty and the assurances that come with a new bow

 

[camelcluch]

Shoots all the bows you can. Buy the one you like most. That makes it worth it no matter the name or price.

 

[torysavage]

I'm looking to get my second bow after having my Parker Pioneer XP for 6 years. Is it worth it to buy the big flagship bows (Bowtech/Mathews/Hoyt), or has the quality come up so much that the cheaper bows (Diamond/PSE/Bear) are good enough not to justify paying extra for the high end bows? I plan on using it for target, western hunting and maybe some stand hunting. I plan on going to some shops to check out bows soon.

If I did buy a more expensive bow, I'd get cheaper accessories and vice versa.

I keep it mid range but step up.

 

[D.Rose]

What you will get in top tier bows is a tighter tolerance in machining and assembly. Your biggest issues you will have in any bows accuracy comes from:

#1: Limb Pocket- If the tolerance isnt very tight here you will see your impact shifting a bit now and then and especially through rough use.
#2: Bearings in the cam: Enough can not be said about quality bearings they are a must!
#3: String Quality: High end strings are given. Everyone understands the importance of a string settling and not moving after the bow and strings are broke in. You can put good a good string and cable on a mid level bow and get pretty dang good performance.

 

[Jblodgett]

There are great used, high end bows that you can buy for half the price of a new bow.