RE: Which Bow?
I have a Matthews Feathermax which I bought 11 years ago. From 1993 until about 2000 most of the bows you see today were based on technology that came out during that period. All the bow companies were experimenting a little. Matthews led the way on most of that technology that all the companies are trying to imitate in some form or another. In fact from 1994 until about 2002, most of the features that are now standard on many bows, were showing up on Matthews bows first.
Now there are a lot of good bows. If I didn't hunt with a Matthews, I would try a PSE. Hoyt and Bear make good bows. Alpine makes a good bow. I have shot a lot of them. But for me, Matthews is it. Its the smoothest bow I've ever shot, its fast, and its compact. If I bought a new bow today, I'd try a Switchback, but my Feathermax is plenty good for another 10 years and I'll pass it along to my son as his first bow.