Duse500

Personaly I wouldent buy one unless I shot it first.
Got any friends?
If your in my Neck of the world( S.Jersey)you can shoot mine.
Switchback,Ultratech
If your on a low budget,buy a used one .
Some of these guys buy a new one every year and sell the old one at a fraction of the cost

JFergus7

I would definetly find some other shops that will let you try them.

L. Clement

Yeah I just wanted to try the general and the vertex and maybe marquee. I will ask them one last time and see what happens.

Roskoe

Take your time and try them all. Many bows will not reveal their best (and worst qualities) until you shoot them a little bit. And try to find (I know this is difficult) bows to test that are the same draw weight. A lot of shops that offer bows to demo will turn the limbs down to the lowest setting - knowing that customers will think "Wow, that pulls really smooth for a 70 lb bow". Not knowing that they were really only pulling 58 lbs.

bigbuckOO

Just went through the process of buying a new bow a few months back. It was my first new bow purchase in almost 12 years. Needless to say, every bow i shot was a huge upgrade over what i had and they all can do the job. I ended up buying an 07 Fred Bear Code. Might want to give the Bear bows a look. They make a solid bow for the money. I got the bow, a ripcord rest, stabilizer, peep, string loop and a dozen arrows for less then 600 bucks. I went 2 for 2 this year on whitetails after only having the bow for about a month. It tunes super easy and i had it sighted in in less then a half hour. The doe i shot did not make it 15 yards and the 8 point i shot didnt go 35. I'll be honest too, when i first got into the hunt for a new bow, i was not expecting to end up with a Bear. But, im glad that i did.

paka

Welcome to bowhunting!!!!
Ive bein hunting with a bow now for 12 years and never had a new bow. Infact only two bows in the 12 rears. The second bow I bought a year ago and it was a 2000 Martin Jaguar in like new condition, $200 bucks with accesories. Love it.
What Im trying to say is you dont have to buy a 600 to 800 dollar bow to put meat on the table. If I could , I'd like to have a Hoyt, Mathews, or High end bow but its never reen an option.
Martin and Fred Bear seem to make some great bows in the lower to mid range price zone. And a great coment is " Get high quality accesories"" , Cause its garuanteed youll want to upgrade them if you dont
Anyways good luck.
P.S. My friend shoots deer and goats like a champ with his 1988 High Country .

MeanV2

All the top companies make quality bows. If you are looking for a Quiet, Quick, Hunting bow then the Bowtech Allegiance, Airborne 82, Airborne 101 are very strong contenders. Also shoot the Guardian and General 2 bows that while not as quick as the Ally or Airbornes are not slow by any standard and they take noise, and hand shock levels to new lows. They are a pure pleasure to shoot!If you are looking for a bargain check out the Tomkat, a proven winner that can perform. Also the Diamond line has some outstanding offerings such as the Marquis, and the Black Ice

Dan

L. Clement

Thanks for all the information everyone! You all have good points to add. The tomcat I thought was great package and the bow is nice and compact. So that one is on the list aswell.

Yes I thought buying a less expensive bow and adding high quality add on’s then when I sell or trade take them off. I will ask the if they can make all the bows the same draw weight because yes I was thinking that some were not as heavy as stated.

I spoke to a different store and I asked if they would have a good selection set up for me to shoot and they said yes come on in and we will take care of you. This is the local Scheels which have treated me very well when I bought a recent muzzle loader. Has anyone bought a bow from a Scheels? And if so how was your treatment?

I like to try and support a local archery shop but if I can’t try the models I want to then I can’t really make a decision.

Again thanks for all of your input; I will let you know how things go.

armedic1

In my very inexperienced view point (2nd yr bow hunter) I have used Bear, Ben Pearson, and Hoyt. The Hoyt Trykon XL is what I'mcurrently using and will probably stick with for many years. I have shot severalmakes and IMO the Hoyt Vetrik is a very smooth drawing bow. I like my Trykon but there is a definite difference in the draw. Like others have said, shoot as many different bows as you can and choose the one that feels the best and you can afford.

BGfisher

Luke,

Another thing. Make sure the draw length is the same on all the bows you try. And be sure it is measured. Don't rely on what the limb sticker says. Many bows draw longer than marked. This can work your muscles differently thus making some bows seem to draw easier. They don't have to be exact, but should be close. Then as you mentioned, set them for the same weight.

As I mentioned before, I'd look for something adjustable for draw length.Your optimum draw length does not come from some magical measurement. For some of us it has taken many years to learn and then tweak ours down to the last 1/8" It's actually the most important requiement of a compound bow.

Take notes of what you are looking for in a bow. Keep notes on those you shoot or otherwise choose so you can narrow the field. Then once you make a decision never look back or bend to any peer pressure. Enjoy your choice for it is yours.