I agree with the above....I always tell people to shoot as many different bows as possible before pulling the trigger on one. We are all different and like different features and aspects of different bows. You never know what you'll end up loving in the end. If your set on Mathews though then you have a good basis of what to try out, but I would add the Heli-m to that list as well. I LOVE mine. I shot many bows before buying it, but between the Mathews line I shot that, the Creed, and Z7. Left that day with the Heli-m. The draw cycle is so smooth, bow is nice and lite, and just super quite....can;t forget fast!!! I'm drawing 70lbs like its 60. Love this bow! Next bow will prolly be a Monster Chill of some sort if it I like the draw cycle of a dual cam. Or maybe see what they come out with for next year. Good luck!!!

That is the soundest advice anyone can give you. If the bow feels good in you hands and you can shoot it well you will have more confidence in it. One more thing. Don't get too hyped up on the speed fad. A fast bow that you can't shoot will mean that you just miss your mark faster.
Don't over look the Mission line of bows. My friend just bought a Ballistic and that looks like a great deal for the $$.

I have/did have all 3 of these. From a pure hunting perspective, the Z7 was my favorite hands down. Im still breaking in my Creed XS.

I also had a Bowtech Experience last year, what a shooter.

I do not own one and never will but i shot my nephews hoyt carbon spider and really really liked it.

which one costs less than $800.

Quality don't come cheap.

I think there are some real nice high dollar bows out there but I also think the Notion that you have to spend $800 to get a quality bow is very wrong.

The prime defy feels better to me than anything else Ive shot but there are certainly some very good bows to be had on a budget.

Obsession.

Those are definitely good ones.

I'm still on the Switchback XT. Just recently had new cables & string put on it. What will I gain practical wise by upgrading to a newer model? I'm not excited about a 20 fps increase.