My Bowtech Commander showed up yesterday afternoon and I felt the urge to share my initial impressions of it with you folks. I know the new Bowtech bows have been heavily reviewed so far this year so I will keep this fairly brief (no promises that a longer, more detailed report won't show up later
). Overall the bow seems to be everything it isadvertised to be.
Build Quality and Design:
It seems they did not cut any corners with the quality level of the components or the level of machining that went into this design. The latter really is quite impressive. The bow looks more like a work of art. Every time I give it the once over I notice something that I did not see on a previous occasion.
I know the issue of durability with the center limb pivots has come into question but just looking at them I have a difficult time believing that they would be a weak point in the design. The steel axles that hold the limb pivots to the limbs are even thicker than the ones utilized to hold the cams to the limbs.
The cams do seem to roll over fairly stiffly. They are not nearly as stiff as the dual cams found on the previouslyavailable Black Knight or Patriot Dual Cam but they do feel a bit stiffer than something like the Pinnacle single cam found on the Diamond Black Ice that I have been recently shooting. I want to clarify "stiff" though. What I am trying to convey hereis that the bow goes up to peak weight sooner and maintains it a bit longer over the entire draw force curve. It was not difficult to draw at the 61.8 pound peak draw weight the bow was set at. At 70 pounds, and with a bit of an ailing shoulder, it might be more of an issue for me.
As for the cam system, everyone is aware that the cables are placed on opposite sides of the cam to balance out cam lean, etc.. What I found interesting was the draw stop now integrated into the modules. What an excellent idea for this cam design! This should greatly aid in checking such things as cam timing at full draw. I know these cams are advertised as always being in synch with one another by design but, like most other bow nuts, I prefer to always have reassurances in one form or another.
Shot Feel:
Despite all the current postings on the subject this one came as a bit of a surprise. I put a GKF Golden Premier rest on the bow and centered the arrow via one of the laser centershot devices. I checked nock height via a bow square and a set of the leveling devices. I left the factory installed brass nockset and rubber eliminator button on the string for now but will be tying a string loop and nockset in eventually.
The bow does not offer very much opportunityto torque it at full draw. It feels decidely more like a straight or deflex risered bow in this regard. In which case hand placement did not seem quite as critical on it as it is in comparison to something with a more traditional reflexed riser. I am sure this will equate to a big benefit for the bow's accuracy level. The back wall of the draw cycle feels very firm but not as abrupt as that found on some bows that offer a similardraw stop design.
The Commander I was shooting was set at a 61.8 pound peak weight, an advertised 29 inch draw length with 370 grain Easton Excel 400 arrows. At the shot the bow displayed no recoil whatsoever. It truly does not move in any direction during the shot. There was a small amount of felt vibration in my hand though with this "bare bow" setup. It was not substantial and will probably be eliminated once I put all of the other accessories onto the bow.
The speed on the bow's birth certificate listed 293 fps at this draw weight and draw length and with an arrow weighing approximately 5 grains per pound (300 grains in this case). The bow's advertised IBO speed rating is 311-319 fps if I remember correctly. With an inch shorter draw length and an 8-9 pound reduction in draw weight the 293 fps speed listed on the birth certificate falls on the low end of the speed spectrum I would expect to find from this bow with this setup. Shooting it through the chronograph with the arrows mentioned earlier produced speeds of 269-270 fps.
With that bit of testing in mind I greatly look forward to picking up a set of modules for my 31 inch draw length. Hopefully I get a set before the next 3D shoot so I have time to really put this bow through its paces.
All for now....
Bowtech Commander
