Ijimmy-

Merlin decided to give hunters more forgiveness this year, and an 8" brace will do this along with allowing the hunter to shoot with heavier clothing without possibilty of arm slap. Both the Max 3000 and the Vision have 7.2" brace. We also offered the Quest 35 with rapid cam in 2002 with a much lower brace of around 7" and it didn't sell all that well for whatever reason, so have opted to concentrate on forgiveness, quietness, and accuracy more than the speed factor for huntering purposes, much like most other manufacturers are doing this year. Both bows produce competitive speeds anyway, with plenty of KE to boot, so I see no problem. I'll be carrying a Max-Xtreme on my 2004 hunts. Good shooting, Pinwheel 12