Stared with a willow branch and sticks( god I miss that old bow), I Went to a bear recurve that I could only get about half way back. From there I moved on to an old PSE compound with wooden limbs. Got my first kill with that. Can't tell you how many times I emptied the quiver before getting that. That was the best deer missing bow I ever owned. From there I went to a newer PSE and shot that for a couple of years. From there I went to a Darton, one of the earlier ones. Compared to todays bows it was a giant. This was the first bow I had ever put sights on and the first time I had ever shot with a release. After owning that for a couple of years I sold it in a yardsale coverded with blood and all. I bought the Mathews Z-light after that, before the big Mathews kick. I shot that for so long everyone was asking me if it was the new model because it didn't look like the more modern ones. Last year I decided to splurge and get the LX. I like the bow alot and got the witches out in the first hunt and landed 300 lbs of boneless meat in the freezer. I am looking at the new ovation for tournament shooting. I agree with a previous post. I too have never shot a bow that I didn't like.............I was Mathews when Mathews wasn't cool.