I get asked a lot of gear questions, and I love it. I think it’s the school teacher in me. After graduating college with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Creative Writing, I went to work at a local elementary school. I loved it. I loved the kids. I loved their questions. But most all, I loved it when I had answers to their questions and felt I could really point them in the right direction.

Recently I’ve received the same question four different times: Will a new flagship bow make me more accurate? Talk about being put on the spot. Of course, before I could answer, I reached out to each individual and asked them about their current bow setup. While each differed slightly in draw weight, draw length and arrow choice, all had one thing in common: each was shooting a bow that was at least 5 years old, and at the time of purchase was considered a “budget bow.”

That Was Then

Here’s what I know: In the 1970s when bows like the PSE Presidential Citation, 33 to 36 percent let-off Bear Tamerlane II and Allen’s Model 7303 Brown Hunter featured slightly-bigger-than-silver-dollar cams and wheels, awkward grips and not-even-close-to-parallel limbs, bowhunters killed lots and lots of game. Bear with me here.

According to many individuals I’ve spoken with, hunters who shot the above-mentioned or like-the-above-mentioned models, told me they were a nightmare to tune broadheads with and often produced in-the-field complications. As for the noise and vibration produced at launch and post-launch, one gentlemen simply shook his head and said, “You don’t even want to know.” However, all managed to down multiple big game species with these rigs. One individual whom I respect very much, told me he killed his last deer with his original 1984 Darton SL50 in 2015.

This Is Now

I tell you all this because I believe an intelligent question deserves an intelligent answer. Today’s flagship compound bows, ones such as the Mathews TRIAX, Hoyt Carbon RX-1, Prime Logic and Bowtech Realm to name a few, are, simply put, amazing. These and other 2018 flagship models are smooth to draw, fast, balanced, sport torque-reducing grips and produce minimal hand shock and virtually no post-shot oscillation. Because of the perfect marriage of cams, limbs and riser, the energy is effectively transferred to the arrow. These bows are lightweight, maneuverable and when compared to the rigs of the 1970s and ‘80s, extremely short. Today’s compounds really are modern-day engineering marvels.

While shooting a 3D tournament not long ago, I had a second-round meltdown. I was toting my most-trusted-for-2018 flagship, a bow that gives me confidence, is fast, efficient, balanced, you name it, but I still managed to miss two targets completely (one was a Rinehart Caribou) and shot four 5s. Ouch. Two of the gentlemen in my group were shooting rigs that with all mounted accessories cost them less than $1K. They beat the crap out of me.

So, here’s my final answer to the question posed to me: In terms of efficiency, purposeful technology and the amount of confidence one can glean from toting a hot-to-trot flagship, yes, a new flagship can take your accuracy to a heightened level. However, any bow on the market today, if the shooter takes him or herself through their pre-shot process, settles into a solid anchor, is strong in the front and strong in the back, breathes and trusts the shot process, will have arrows land in areas that create that stupid-silly grin. A grin I love to get. If you don’t have a pre-shot process, a solid anchor and let your nerves and the like get the best of you, you will simply be sending projectiles downrange on a prayer. That’s not what we want.

If you’re in the market for a new bow, my advice is to shoot a lot of them — flagship and budget models alike. See how they feel in your hand. See how they shoot downrange. See if they fill you with confidence. Once you make a decision, go to www.alphabowhunting.com and click on the Coaching Tab. Find the course for Building Blocks 2.0 and jump in. If you want to experience accuracy like never before, my good buddy and owner of No Limits Archery in Denver, Colorado, Phil Mendoza, will help you get there. Oh, and if you follow Phil’s system and take time to master it, then it won’t matter if you’re shooting a flagship or a budget model. You’ll be “trusting the process” and having more fun shooting your bow than ever before.

Enjoy shooting my friends.