Bearmaster-

The Shadow is a nice bow for the money, but it is by no means comparable to their top of the line stuff. I have a friend that shoots the Shadow for hunting, and likes it alot, the extra brace height is nice, and it gets good speed. They are all late 1999 models, as Merlin no longer builds the Shadow, it has been discontinued along with the Tempest and original Storm. The Lite Storm mentioned above is one of the "new generation" Merlins, and one of their top models as well. If you found it for decent money it is probably one of the better buys on the market. Good shooting, P12