Zingnut

I found the funds this year to get a new bow for deer season. So I went shooting, ended up shooting: Reflex Super Slam & Timberwolf, PSE Vengence both cams, Primos STL, Firestorm Lite, AR 31, Hoyt Vtec, Bowtech Allegiance, Defender, Liberty, Old Glory, and Patriot SC, Mathews Switchback, Q2, LX, Outback, and Ovation.

All the bows felt pretty good compared to my older Browning Adreniline. I narrowed the field down pretty quick to the Swickback, Outback, and the Allegience.

I narrowed it further after bringing in my stablizer and arrows to shoot with, down to the Switchback and the Allegience. The Two bows were at different shops. I asked the Bowtech dealer if I could buy te Allegience and bring it to the other shop to shoot head to head with the Switchback and they said no way you buy it you keep it. I still could not determine which was perfect for me unless I shot them together. I then called the Mathews dealer and he just gave me the bow and said you will be back (no out of pocket cost). I went to the Bowtech dealer with the Switchback and asked to shoot them head to head. They let me and I ended up picking the Switchback.

Reasons why for me:
TheAllegience grip felt better but the Switchback felt more balanced
The Allegience with the hush kit was slightly noisier and with very slight (Once again very slight) bit of vibration at shot , the Switchback there was nothing, no noise and no vibration.
You could tell the Allegience was faster, but I felt they both shot faster then my older bow that has killed many deer.
The Draw cycle on both was superb, with the nod going just slightly to the Allegience.
The Switchback just fit my style better, and very smooth thru the entire shot.

I went into this really wanting a Bowtech, since my buddy shoots one and have heard a great deal positive about them. I even feel that this forum made me very pro Bowtech without even shooting them. It just comes down to shooting all different kinds of bows from a variety of shops and finding out what fits your style better. It took me about 3 weeks of shooting 18 bows to get to this point since it is a great deal of money for me. I decided to buy the switchback, which I pick up next week from the shop.

Just thought I would share.

buckmasterg2xl

Good report, thanks for the info. What did you think about the Reflex Superlam? If you don't mind, how much was the Switchback at your dealer?

Justin

I've gotta hand it to you, you did more personal research and testing than most people do when buying new equipment. Personally I only shot the VTec, Switchback, and Allegiance before making my decision. However, I couldn't be happier with my decision, much the same as you I'm sure. Getting the bow that suits you the best is the key in being happy with and having confidence in your equipment.

silentassassin

Sounds like you went into it with and open mind and did all the testing etc. and came awaywith the best bow for you.That's usually the start of a good relationship

maliburacing

Congrats on buying a new bow! I will have to agree with the others i definetly sounds like you did all of your homework before you bought the bow. I only shot the v-tec, vipertec, and the allegiance before i made my mind up. But i couldnt be happier with my vipertec!

TerryM

Well you certainly went about the process the right way. You are also lucky that you had access to so many bows, most wouldn't. Also I would say that the dealer who lent you a Switchback to take over to a competitors shop went way beyond good salesmanship and gave you great service and hopefully you will support him in return. Congratulations on your Switchback I would love to try one myself but they are not popular around my neck of the woods and the ones I have seen in shops are all too long for me.

nodog

Savvy! Most, buy a bow based on how they feel, to them. You couldn't help but to feel, good about the switchback with this kind of approach. He trusted you, you had little choice but to trust him when he said "you'll be back".No doubt it's a great bow, but if the tables had been turned I wonder if you would have taken the bowtec.

Congrats on the new bow!

silentassassin

No doubt, that is the kind of folks that I like to do business with. If it were me and both bows were pretty close, I would still buy from that guy even if I liked the other bow equally well or maybe a little better. If there was a big difference you got to go with the obvious choice but in most cases with the upper end bows it's more about shooter preference than anything else because they are all quality bows.

Zingnut

The reflex super slam was very similar to the feel of the V-tec. If it was between the two I would buy the Reflex considering it was much cheaper. The Switchback cost me $655.00 w/o tax. The dealer who lent me the Swichtback was a guy named Mark from T&L Archery. Top Notch place to do business. He told me he would have no issue setting up the Bowtech if I had bought it. He helped me setup my first bow that I bought on ebay, so hes way cool and I spend all my money there on accessories and such so he makes a couple bucks off of me.

~Jeff

zak123

Wow, you did try some bows out. I bought my Allegiance without drawing it back! The guys at the shop couldn't figure out how to put a rest on so I could test it, so I asked them if I could buy it, take it home and test it, then return it if I didn't like it. I took it home and shot it and didn't even think about taking it back.