Fred Bear Team Realtree Extreme (TRX)

~36" Axle to Axle, I really like mine--

I bought it from Gander for 350 bucks but they are like 299 now. Plenty fast, worth checking out...

http://www.realtree.com/community/fe...tail.tpl?ID=87

Them Diamond bows are great bows. I shoot the poison. They don,t make that model any longer but I love mine.

I own this bow and, in fact, was just shooting it down at the local shop last night. It will be my hunting bow for the upcoming season. Accuracy with it, in my hands, is very good. Truth be told I think it is very accurate for a relatively short axle to axle length bow. I had no problem shooting similar size groups with it as I do with my Bowtech Old Glory and that is a much longer bow.

Speed is very respectable as I am getting around 265 fps with a 440 grain at 65 pounds with a fully loaded bowstring....and it is extremely quiet.

Don't rule it out just because of the axle to axle length. This bow is a shooter.

Last night I shot the Martin Orion, Diamond Rapture (agian), and Parker Hunter Extreme. Of the three I liked the Diamond Rapture the best. For the money that I plan to spend I do think that I will be going with a Diamond bow....now I just have to decide which one. I have shot all 3 bows that Diamond makes, Rapture, Triumph, and Victory, but I only got to shoot the dual cam Victory. I would like to shoot the single cam Victory before making a decision. However the Victory is a little over the $500 limit that I had originally set. I did notice in the brochure that the main differnce in the Victory was speed, and pivoting limb pockets. I wonder if the pivoting limb pockets are really worth the extra money?

I'd suggest shooting the Martin Cougar III also. I was very impressed with that bow and the price was pretty low also.

Check out reflex. They are like the hoyts same company. And they shouldnt break your bank too bad.

good luck
Jim

Hoyt Ultrasport and Ultramag would by my suggestions. They can be had for around 400 bucks I think and shoot excellent. Very comparable to the hoyts that cost twice as much or more.

You could also look at the midpriced dartons, they are nice for the money. Or a Parker huntermag. Keep in mind the less expensive bows are not going to be perfectly shock free and spit arrows out at amazing speeds. If you want the best of everything it costs some coin my friend. Also don't go by what a bow feels like bare in a show room. After adding a decent stabilizer, some limbs savers and string silencers most bows tame waay down. Also the proper arrow makes a difference as well.

As for the shorter bows. I own a bowtech mighty might at around 31 inches and it shoots pretty good for me. I am small though. If you can get used the string angle they shoot pretty darn good. I think it is because of the longer risers. I have a 35 inch darton, a 37 inch martin and the 31 inch bowtech. The bowtech has shorter limbs and a longer riser (4 inches longer!) then both the other bows. I think this is why they shoot just as well. The longer riser helps them feel more stable in your hand. I actually shoot the small bowtech better to be honest.

And I think diamond is made by bowtech now, am I right?

And reflex is basically a hoyt, so you can't go wong there either.

Good luck,
Paul