I finally had the chance tonight to wrap my hands around the Guardian. I also shot it side by side with the 07 Allegiance for comparison. Some here were asking for my thoughts so here goes. This is by no means a complete and detailed review.
The bows: Both bows were the standard, 29" 70lbs. Both bows were bare with only a TM hunter rest. I shot them with 30" Easton Carbon Excel arrows with 100gr points.
The Guardian: When I picked it up for the first time, I was absolutely amazed at the machining in the bow and how "beefy" the truss was. The thing looks flat out cool. Also, cams on this thing are very beefy as well.
I started shooting it and was totally blown away by how quiet it was and how there was almost no felt vibration in the hand. It did have a very slight bottom kick to it. However nothing that a stabilizer wouldn't take care of. It held well and felt very nice on release.
The Allegiance: As I mentioned in my previous post, I really, really like this bow. The 07 is slimmed down and the weight savings are very noticable. Machine work on the riser is excellent.
The shot of the Allegiance does yeild a bit of handle vibration, definitely more than the Guardian. But, IMO, nothing that a good stab won't help alleviate. The Allegiance holds and shoots excellent.
My Choice: I might raise some eyebrows here, but I think I'm going with the Allegiance and here's why. I did not like the draw cycle on the Guardian at all. I normally don't shoot 70lbs, but the Guardian at least to me holds peak weight an aweful long time. After about a dozen shots, I was really struggling to get it back. However, I must say, the Allegiance did have the smooth mods in it. I shot it after I shot the Guardian and immediately noticed how much easier it pulled. That was the single most deciding factor for me between the two. I personally feel its pulls stiffer than my 05 Allegiance at 70lbs.
Looking at the cams on both side by side, I can see exactly what I was feeling. The Guardian cams are a bit more "harsh" so to speak and the Allegiance's more rounded on the backside. Couple that with the smooth mods and I personally feel the Allegiance pulled much like a Switchback, which I think is the nicest puller of the bunch. For me, the benefit of the 07 Allegiance is the modules. Speed and smooth for 3D and hunting.
I want a hunting bow. I look for smooth, quiet and little to no handshock. The Allegiance fits the bill for me. The Guardian will definitely raise a lot of eyebrows and sell very well. If they tame the draw cycle down in the coming years, sure, sign me up. I'm going to sleep on this for a bit, but I'm pretty sure I'll be going back to pick up my Allegiance in the next few days.
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My Remington rifles -
Model 7's a predator 243 Win. and Stainless/synthetic 300 SAUM.
Model 700's- SPS stainless 7mm RUM, XCR II 300 RUM and 338 Win mag
I've got both coming as soon as they get caught up a bit with the customers, but at this point I really expect my feelings to mirror what you've found so far. That, and I've got an elk trip coming up this fall... so I'm thinking the extra few fps the Ally cranks out coupled with the weight savings is gonna have me leaning towards her right now.
I went down again this afternoon to shoot them both again. I came up with the same conclusion. I"m going to sleep on it, but I told them to put the Allegiance behind the desk for me, I'll be back after Christmas to pick it up.
While the Guardian is an outstanding bow, its just not my idea of a perfect one. It and the Allegiance are about the same length, have the same brace. The Allegiance was faster, about as quiet, shock free and lighter. I'll wait a few years on the Guardian design to see how it develops.
I got an 07 Allegiance mainly because the reduced weight appealed to me. It IS noticeably lighter than my 06. I didn't feel there was any difference in shooting the two bows, other than the weight. I do have a Commander oredered. But that's for 3D.
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Guardian vs. Allegiance....mini review
