You’ve got to say this for PSE—the company that has been building bows for 40 years doesn’t do anything halfway. For 2011 PSE announces no fewer than 21 new bows in its line-up. We’ll look at five, beginning with the Omen Pro, which is this year’s incarnation of the Omen and which PSE boasts is the fastest bow ever made at an eye-popping top speed of 366 fps. There’s something to be said for raw speed. A bow with a 5.5-inch brace height arguably isn’t for every bowhunter out there, but consider this: If your shooting form is such that low brace heights aren’t a factor, with the Omen Pro you can back off on the draw weight by five or even 10 pounds and still shoot faster than most of the other bows out there. And many pro staffers who’ve had the opportunity to hunt with this bow use a single sight pin out to 40 yards. Available in draw lengths from 26 to 30 inches and draw weights from 50 to 80 pounds with a 70 percent letoff, the Omen Pro is a manageable 33 5/8 inches axle-to-axle and weighs 4.35 pounds. Built around the UF Hybrid Cam System, the Omen Pro has all PSE’s newest technology including Centerlock Pockets, 4th Generation X Tech Split Limbs, the Planar Flex Riser design, and B.E.S.T. RAPTOR Grip. The same past-parallel limb design that PSE introduced to the market five years ago, combined with Vibracheck limb bands and other vibration-dampening features, keep recoil and noise to a minimum for a bow this fast. Suggested retail price on this bow is $950.
Bowhunters looking for speed but who also want a bow that is a little smoother, a little more forgiving, or a little more compact will want to consider the Dream Season X-Force Evo. At 345 fps this is still very much a high-performance bow, but the 6-inch brace height and new Axe + Hybrid Cam System make it a tad smoother and a little more forgiving, and the 32.5-inch axle-to-axle length will appeal to bowhunters who prefer today’s shorter risers. The Posi-Lock inner cam module, standard on the Evo, allows draw length to be adjusted from 25.5 to 30 inches in half-inch increments very easily. Letoff is 75 percent, and the Evo features the new Planar Flex Riser and Centerlock Pockets. The Dream Season X-Force Evo comes with a suggested retail price of $850.
Another new X-Force bow, the Axe 7, offers the same Axe + Hybrid Cams as the Evo, but with a 7-inch brace height and a top speed of 335 fps. The trend here, which you may have noticed, is in the direction of bows that are slightly less fast, but a little smoother and more forgiving. Everything is relative, though, and 335 fps is still one rocket of a bow. Other features are similar to the Evo, including the 32.5-inch axle-to-axle length and adjustable Posi-Lock Inner Cam System, though the Axe 7 does not offer the newest 4th Generation X Tech Split Limbs. The Axe 7 is slightly lighter than the Evo, weighing in at 4.2 pounds compared to the Evo’s 4.4 pounds. We like the SLT grip on this bow. The Axe 7 carries a suggested retail price of $750.
For those bowhunters who come down on the single-cam side of the best cam system debate, PSE offers several single cam bows. The one getting the most attention is the Bow Madness XL—not surprising, since a top speed of 340 fps is fast by any measure, but certain to turn heads when the bow generating that speed is a single-cam. The riser and limbs have the now-familiar long-riser-with-short-past-parallel-limbs look (and feel) common to PSE bows, not to mention a few other manufacturers. Though the cams are Pro Single Cams they still feature PSE’s Posi-Lock Inner Cam System for easy draw length adjustments over a full 6-inch range. The pre-loaded split limbs are also a familiar PSE feature, along with the Vibracheck Limb Bands. A reasonable brace height of 6 inches and a slightly longer axle-to-axle length of 36 inches make this among PSE’s more shootable bows even at the high speeds it achieves. The Bow Madness XL is available unaccessorized or with PSE’s Field Ready or Ready to Shoot packages. The bow itself retails for $700
Most of the bigger manufacturers are offering something in their line-up for today’s budget-minded bowhunters. PSE’s contribution is the Brute HP, promising “all the bow, half the price.” Another single-cam model, this one is built around the new HP Single Cam and generates very respectable speeds up to 320 fps, and that with a very forgiving 7-inch brace height. Despite its relatively low cost, the Brute HP offers some familiar PSE features including the Posi-Lock Inner Cam, the Vibracheck Backstop string suppressor and Limb Bands, and the new Raptor Grip. It’s 32 inches axle-to-axle, weighs 4.2 pounds, and is available in draw weights of 60 or 70 pounds. Adding more value for the budget-minded, the Brute is also available unaccessorized or with the Field Ready or Ready to Shoot packages. The Brute HP retails for $400. www.pse-archery.com
