Rick Combs Articles

Despite its new features, the Prime Black Series retains the company’s unique parallel cam and Centergy technologies.

The pleasant to shoot Mathews VXR 31.5 is flat shooting, packed with kinetic energy and has all of the advantages of a speed bow.

The Hoyt Carbon RX4 Alpha is tough, reliable, accurate and forgiving, and it’s an excellent fit for hunters who prefer a compact and lightweight compound.

The Elite Kure should please any Elite fan and will doubtlessly earn some converts to the cause thanks in part to its user-friendly tuning.

The Bowtech Revolt X is a remarkably smooth and fast hunting bow that tunes easily.

PSE’s new flagship bow is clearly designed to appeal to the growing number of bowhunters who place a premium on pleasant-to-shoot over super-fast.

The Quest Centec NXT is a simple, easy, fun-to-shoot youth bow that offers quality at a moderate price.

Splitting the difference between smooth and shootable, the Hoyt Helix will hit the sweet spot for many shooters.

The Realm SS fills a niche for bowhunters who desire high quality and Bowtech accuracy in a reasonably fast, smooth-shooting bow.

Whitetail hunters will like the lightweight, compact Bear Divergent with a budget-friendly price tag.

The Xpedition Archery Mako X is a contender for the quietest speed bow on the planet.

Elite has staked its reputation on the smooth shootability of its bows, and the Ritual 35 can only enhance that reputation.

The Bowtech Realm SR6 offers tremendous speed, while at the same time retaining features that make Realm bows highly accurate, tunable and pleasant to shoot.

Some hunters think the Triax from last year was the best Mathews bow they ever shot. Is it possible for the 2019 Vertix to be even better?

Bowhunters who put a premium on pleasant shooting qualities and maximum forgiveness will be very happy with the new G5 Prime Logic CT3.

At the shot, vibration is all but nonexistent with the PSE Evoke 31, and it’s plenty fast enough for any hunting scenario.

The compact TenPoint Shadow NXT isn’t the company’s most expensive crossbow, but it delivers tremendous dependability, speed and accuracy.

With the LS-6, Bear provides an option for those shooters who like a bow that is comfortable to shoot, but appreciate the feel and the advantages to be offered by a truly high-performance bow.

With "tech" right in its name, Bowtech's new Reign 7 has plenty of technological features to make any bowhunter happy.

This bow is ideal for any bowhunter who puts a priority on shootability, overall quality and value over super light weight and carbon construction.

The new Hoyt Carbon Defiant feels and performs as if it were a 34-inch bow, which makes for a more optimally located peep sight and overall better shooting form and stable shooting.

Designed with versatility in terms and draw weight and draw length, the Mission Hype DT is a must-see for youngsters, beginning shooters and any bowhunters looking for a pleasant-shooting bow.

Few bows generate the controversy that Mathews’ new Monster Wake has stirred. The combination of a $1,700 price tag, a trend-defying mass weight of 5.38 pounds, a 5-inch brace height and an IBO of 352 fps at 85 percent letoff gets a lot of attention. How did the bow perform for this tester? Read on to find out.

The Prodigy reflects Bowtech's commitment to an overall approach to bow design that is reflected in the shape and relative proportions of the riser, limbs and cams, as well as any technologies intended to reduce torque or noise.

With increasing competition spurring rapid progress, crossbows keep getting faster, lighter, quieter and just all-around better.

The 2015 Xcentric is new and, from the looks of things, better than ever. The sleek and curvaceous riser is offset by aggressive past-parallel split limbs and oversized cams

Buy an Elite Synergy and you might find yourself wanting some alone time with it – and not just for its good looks.

The Carbon Spyder ZT Turbo is a screamer, but doesn’t compromise the shootability Hoyt is known for.

The Z5 Cam & 1/2 is touted as producing the same speeds as the earlier Rocket Cam, with an even smoother draw cycle. Anecdotal evidence supports that, as does the draw force curve.

The original Wrath was introduced last year; for this year Strother’s designers set out to make the Wrath both faster and smoother shooting.