cbanman,
Ditto on what Bowtech Shooter stated. Browning designs their own bows but uses PSE's manufacturing plant to produce them.
I hesitate slightly about sharing my true opinion of Mathews bows only because such discussions usually end up in a useless debate that cannot be proven one way or the other. So why bother? <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> There are several very knowledgable folks on these forums who will not get into a debate about Mathews, (or some other companies for that matter) simply because emotion tends to get mixed in and people get out of hand.
If you want my "bottom line" take on the issue...for what it is worth....
They do tend to be quieter with less vibration and recoil than the norm. I don't think that they offer any special high quality components more so than some of the other companies out there that charge less for their bows. Mathews has been the leader in innovative designs for the past 7 or 8 years...first with the solocam...then the perimeter weighted solocam...then the shortest bow for a time...then the long riser/parallel limb design...then the harmonic dampeners in the riser and finally the integrated roller slide/cable dampeners. I don't think many, if any, other company can boast of so many "breakthroughs" (for lack of a better word) in such a short time period.
But, I believe their innovativeness is slowing down. Other companies such as Bowtech seem to be more on the cutting edge of what people are looking for....Fast, accurate, quiet designs. That is what Mathews had 6 or 7 years ago with their Zmaxs and Ultramaxs which is why they were so big. Bowtech basically picked up the ball that Mathews started to kick and went with it to another level.
Ofcourse, we still have the perennial favorites...Martin, PSE and Hoyt...who continue to sell solid, quality bows on a yearly basis and who continue to refine and somewhat innovate small design changes from year to year. I really think that Hoyt is making alot of heads turn with their lineup this year but I don't want to go into that though as I have already bored enough folks with that issue...<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Hope this answers your question.
Edited by - PABowhntr on 11/19/2002 19:25:47