Chad,
The small axle to axle may or may not be a problem for you. I shoot more consistantly with a small a.t.a. bow, as well as several other guys on this board, but, there are a bunch that shoot much better with a long a.t.a. bow. That is a preference. If you are accurate with a short a.t.a. bow, then the 8" brace height of the BlackHawk will help out alot, if you aren' t accurate with that small of a a.t.a. bow, then the brace height isn' t going to do much. The shorter a.t.a. bows are easier to torque to the side for some, but, for me, it is easier to handle than a big bow because there is less center of gravity.
The BlackHawks are very nice bows, but I won' t rate them as the most forgiving bows. They are still very good, but not to an outstanding level.
You have to decide what you want in this bow. The BlackHawk is a screamer in a TINY package that would be awsome for hunting. I am sure that you could easily get good patterns at the ranges you suggested. Now, on the other hand, if you are wanting a supremely forgiving bow that is still small a.t.a. then, check out the TomKat by BowTech. 31" a.t.a, 3 pounds, 9.125" brace height, and still speeds at 292 IBO.
Speed ISN' T nessecary (yes, this is comming from someone who shoots the 9th fastest production bow), If you want something that will easily kill deer and do so very very comfortably, the TomKat is the way to go.
The generalization that BowTech bows are loud and have alot of handshock is based mostly on specs of the bow by alot of guys. I can tell you with 100% honesty, that my MightyMite, shooting a 419.9 grain arrow at 302 f.p.s., is the quietest and most shock free bow that I have ever had in my hands. Alot of people just shock and sound by the speed of the bow, but that isn' t what they should judge on. Last year, I was shooting a 2002 Hoyt MT Sport with Versa-Cam. I was shooting a 387 grain arrow or something like that at a WHOPPING 244 f.p.s. I had a Carbon Impact Fat Gel Stabilizer (with Simms Stabilizer Enhancer), Simms String Leechs, Simms Split Limb Limb Savers, Simms Virgin Teflon Cable Slide, and a peep sight (with tubing) along with a nock on the string. By these peoples standards, this should be a very quiet and shockfree bow, but, it was much worse off than my MightyMite. The shock was the biggest thing. It felt great to me last year as I had been shooting a 10+ year old Browning Mirage Hunter dual cam, but, now, after shooting the MightyMite, I realized that it wasn' t that great. It wasn' t bad, but, my MightyMite still kills it. The MightyMite has a 7" Doinker Stealth Hunter Stabilizer, Simm Limb Savers, Simms Virgin Teflon Cable Slide, Simm Cable Rod Dampeners, and one nock on the string. It isn' t even set up as good as my MT Sport was. I can' t wait to get my peep in, along with my Simms String Leechs, Simms Mini Accessory Limb Savers (on sight and arrow rest), and my Simms Insulator Wrap. After those are one, I am seriously going to have to TRY to listen to the bow.
