Bow Reports

Any bowhunter seeking high performance in a moderately priced bow should put the Mission Blaze on a short list of bows to consider.

For the bowhunter who shoots regularly enough to be well-conditioned, and who likes to take advantage of maximum speed for flatter trajectories and longer range, or added penetration when hunting big, dangerous game, the PSE Full Throttle is a bow well worth test driving.

If accuracy, smooth and pleasant shooting, and quiet are high on your list of priorities, and if you are among the many bowhunters who find there is nothing to match the feel of a single-cam bow, you’ll find a lot to like and nothing to dislike in the Mathews Creed XS.

The Hoyt Carbon Spyder 30 features a carbon riser, unlike the previous Hoyt Spyder series, which did not. And though it somewhat resembles Hoyt’s carbon bows such as the Carbon Element G3, the fact is, the riser itself differs in design.

Nothing radical about the Alloy—Prime’s Parallel cams are innovative, but the design is too obviously sensible to be considered radical.

For 2014 Mathews has introduced the Chill R. At a glance, it’s a little longer than its predecessor at 33 inches axle-to-axle compared to 30.5 inches, and the limbs appear to have a slightly sharper angle of take-off from the riser.

At the heart of the Agenda 6 is Bear’s now-familiar hybrid system, the H13. It is a hallmark of Bear’s cams that they allow draw lengths to be adjusted without use of a press and, in most (though not all) cases, without changing modules.

PSE has tweaked the aggressive Core Hybrid Cams on the original DNA to produce the DNA SP (Smooth Pull). The new CS Cam powers the DNA SP and, by shaving 7 fps off the top speed, achieves a significant softening of the shot cycle.

This year Elite boasts some new technology that boosts the speed of its new Energy Series bows without compromising shootability. In fact, if anything, the design of the Energy series bows enhances shootability.

The Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo compound bow will impress archers who likes smooth, pleasant shooting and speed.

Updated technology and some important new features aside, and granting that the Bear “look” has evolved somewhat over the years, appearance-wise everything about this bow says “Bear Archery”

Hoyt’s Spyder series, including the Spyder 30, Spyder 34, and Spyder Turbo appear to be natural successors to Hoyt’s Vector series of bows.

The Covert SLS is one of four Carbon Express crossbows currently in production, and the most compact of the three Covert Series crossbows.

A casual glance at the Charger hanging on a rack would not distinguish it from most of Hoyt’s other offerings, including the popular Spyder series bows.

The 410 boasts significant improvements over its predecessor, most notably a mass weight that is a full pound lighter at 7.2 pounds, and two inches narrower at 22 inches.

There is no denying that the design and overall appearance of Oneida bows are radically different from more conventional compound bows. Many shooters like it, some find it off-putting.

Driving the Ballistic is the same aggressively smooth AVS dual-cam system that Mathews developed for the McPherson series of bows, and at 330 fps it generates roughly the same speed as Mathews’ popular new Chill.