First let me say that I'm new to the BB and bowhunting. So, take everything I say with a grain (or ten) of salt...

I recently shot an Outback, an Xtec, an 03 Extreme VFT, and an 04 Justice. The guy at the proshop (LA Archery in Pineville, LA) set them all up the same (naked with a Bodoodle rest) and didn't say a thing about the bows until I was done shooting all of them. I really wanted to hate the Mathews since they seem to pay everyone to shoot their bows. Guess what? I liked the Outback the best. I thought it was the smoothest drawing, most hand-shock free, most comfortable, quietest bow of the bunch. I'd be proud to own any of them and I'm pretty sure I could shoot accurately with any of them. Still, I liked the Mathews the best. And I don't own a Mathews.

It's funny to a newbie how polarizing the whole bow debate is. Mathews folks seem to think every other bow sucks, Hoyt folks may be more rabid than Mathews folks, and everybody else says Mathews and Hoyt are crap. I've found that all the "high-end" bows have many redeeming qualities and I think just about anyone could be successful (hunting and 3D) with any of them if they were properly set up.

I've been shooting my AR a ton since I bought it last fall. Haven't hunted with it yet (deer, anyway, I've killed a hog at 22 yrds) but I can't wait until 9/11 for GA archery season to start. I may not rifle hunt at all this year...