RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

The reason the grip fits you is cause you have the fattest fingers I have ever seen........

Dink is Love

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Why not go back to the pro shop and ask him? This time of year bow shops are crazy, maybe you completely read the guy wrong?? I know an owner of a small shop, mostly Parker and PSE bows. He made a deal with another small shop that was a Mathews dealer who was having trouble selling his quota of bows. He traded a few Mathews for what ever so each bow shop had more brands to compare and sell. This didn't fly well with Mathews and now neither of the bow shops can carry Mathews. IF the guy has an attitude towards Mathews, I'd bet it has something to do with the dealership issues that my friend went through and others have mentioned here.
Seems every body is affiliated with someone else now days, the local bow shop had Scent Blocker Products last year but since the bow shop doesn't sell Hoyt, they can no longer sell Scent Blocker. Makes no sense.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

i know a few shops that has had lots of problems with mathews..not the bow the company..the company is a pain in the as_s to work with....my thing is i like to be a little differnent than everybody else so i shot a browning illusion....i could have bought a hoyt or mathews but everybody else has one....each top of the line bow from each company is just about identical...they shoot great....mathews just has alot of advertising and sponsers lots of people...lots...thats why you see them on tv everywhere and at the shoots....if you were givin a free new top of the line bow from any company wouldnt you shoot it and say it is great....i would... though i have found some people with mathews that think there bows are god...and then i out shoot them and they have every excuse possible...i say buy what looks pretty to you and is comfertable.....i was reading and a guy said he swithced to mathews and he shoots better...well he probaly finalyhas a tuned bow. like my buddy he final got a brand new bow(mathews) and guess what he all of a sudden shoots great he thinks...i let him shoot my bow and wow he shot dead center with 3 arrows. a tuned bow is what to have...........maybe the shop owner has had problems with mathews and thought you were the stereo type with mathews...its not the bow its a mathews type...maybe he might just want to see the bow tomake sure everything is tuned up in order to figure what type of problem you are having with the arrows.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Thanks for all of the posts...I'lll try to answer some questions.

Bloodcreek,
No, not yet. my arrows fly fine even with fixed broadheads but I still think I'm underspined.


PreacherTony,
Yep,

It's funny, like I said I've talked bow stuff with this guy on more than one occasion and of course the question of what you shoot comes up. Every time I told him what I shot he didn't blink an eye and we just kept on with the conversation, I mention Mathews and he gives me the "oh" with that frickin look on his face. There was not doubt his attitude all had to do with the word Mathews.

Wack.......Uh...not a chance, he knew what he was doing.

That's entirely possible but still does not give a Pro Shop owner the right to dis someone does it? Don't get me wrong he can do anything he wants but I suspect his customer base will shrink pretty fast if he keeps it up.

mus stang,

Well he didn't ask to see the bow, he just asked what I shot. It was only when I said Mathews that he changed his whole attitude and said "oh"then gave me that look like "well there's you problem right there". Plus I didn't tell him my bow was out of tune I just felt that at my draw length and bow weight combined with myarrow length I think I'm underspined. The bow shoots fine but I'd like to see how a 300 spine shoots as opposed to the 350's I'm shooting now.

I wasn't in a tizzy about my bow or anything like that, I told him everything was shooting fine and that I was ready for the bow season to open and that I would probably not change anything till after the season anyway. I just wanted his opinion on what i was thinking about moving to a stiffer arrow.


Believe me SuperRedHawk I wanted to but I figured it wasn't worth it. I just cut off the conversation real fast and left. I was going to shoot a little on the range but I figured another shop would get my money that day.

I shoot between a 31 & 32in draw at 70lbs. I'm 6'4" but I have a pretty long wingspan at right about 81.5 in. The Mathews has a 32in draw cam and it fits just fine.

I haven't chrono'd this set up yet but I will when I get the chance. I usually pick up about 10-15 more FPS with the longer draw, but as you know it depends on the bow. Itseems to zip them down range pretty fast,probably right on par with mostof the bows I shoot in the 270fps range. The arrowsweigh in at about 470gr.


The bottom line guys is pretty clear, this guy had "issues" with me shooting a Mathews, why I don't know. But since owning one it seems like either folks like them or hate them AND the people who shoot them....and that's the part I don't get.[:'(]

Shooting a Browning most of my life I'm used to people saying my bow is junk:Dand I should buy a "good bow" but never have I seen this type of ugliness until I bought the Mathews.

I'll tell you what, they must be doing something right because this bow flat out shoots great. All the advertising inthe world isn't gonna help if your trying to sell a turd. Sooner or later folks will stop buying it if it don't work.

It's just interesting the way some people react to them.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

It is probably something along those lines or maybe he's just an idiot.It sure as heck isn't because there is anything wrong with Mathews bows. Sadly I run into a lot of people like thisin sporting goods stores. They like to make bold radical negative statements about this product or that one even if it cuts against conventional wisdom. What actual facts or experience these comments are based on (if any)I cannot say but I guess they think it makes them seem like one of the few who are really "In the Know." What I can say is that they are very often dead wrong.If I stopped using every gun or bow that some supposed or self appointed expert told me wasn't worth a flip then I'll have to give up the sport of hunting for lack of a suitable weapon.

I hear this a lot and I can't speak for where some of you guys are buying bows but in my neck of the woods there really is very little difference in price, if any, between a Mathews and the other top of the line bows from companies like Bowtec or Hoyt. I think the genesis of this myth is perhaps this: Mathews pretty much just sells top end bows while companies like PSE and Hoyt sell cheaper econo models in addition to their top end bows. I think some are comparing these cheaper models to a Mathews. But thats really an apples to oranges comparrison. Compare a Mathews Switchback to the best bow Hoyt or Bowtec makes and there is no significant difference in price in my area.

In closing I would also like to say that it is another myth that Mathews bows are just hype and people only buy them as a status symbol. Marketing hype and celebrity sponcers may get someone to buy something once but if it sucks or doesn't live up to expectations then people won't buy it again. All the people I know that have bought a Mathews, guess what? When they got ready for a newbow they bought another Mathews. That's a pretty clear indication of customer satisfaction. I have personally shot the best bows from Browning, PSE and Hoyt. None of them IMHO compare to myMathews.And when that new bow bug starts gnawing at my @$$, I'm getting one of the newer model Mathews.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

bigj, i get an awful feeling in my stomach when i hear about mathews bows - don't know why - and i shoot one - an apex7 right now - want to shoot a nice bow that'll make you mind your p's and q's - try an apex 7 - frikkin' thing is awesome - but i'm still a mathews hater - even though i'll probably get another one so i have 1 for a backup.

i love bowtech, but every one i get - it breaks or i break it - its like dating a girl you think is the greatest - but can't get along with her for squat. go figure.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Without reading all of the replies, I see brand bashing all the time in the shops around here, not only Mathews. The local Bowtech/Marting shop doesn't care for Mathews.......Mathews shop doesn't like Bowtech. I take it with a grain of salt.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Not that I care, but I thought I would respond.

Dealers that I walk into always try to sell you a bow that they are pushing, and if you shoot anything else, well they give you a confused look. I own a Mathews Drenalin, I am not going into the shop to buy another bow, I just want to look around. I ignore them from the moment I walk in. I don't care what the dealer thinks, only what I think. The Drenalin in my area is priced very competetively with the Guardian, Vectrix and Vulcan. They all are a lot of money, thats no lie. The dealer prices the bows, Mathews probably tells them they cannot sell for less than this much, and not more than MSRP; if someone here is unhappy with the price locally, go elsewhere. I paid $799 for my Drenalin, and many people 100 miles away are paying $150 less. The geography of where your at plays a huge role.

Mathews can make a break a shop, especially if the shop is in an area dominated by Mathews shooters.

There is any number of factors that could persuade a dealer to be like yours, for us to sit here and deliberate that is useless...

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

that would be my guess

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

JeffK....

You have to admit (Jeff and I are both members of the Mathews board).....that Mathews DIE HARDS are a "bit" over the top, sometimes. Now before anyone thinks I'm bashing....I OWN ONE. I'd buy another one if I needed a great bow. I just happen to like something else a "little" better, right now.

Being from NC......the big rivalry here is Duke/UNC. I've been a duke fan since 1980. I have nothing against UNC (in general). I like their campus (heck....every time I ever played against them we beat them.....lol). I like their coach. I like a great majorit of their players. It's their FANS that rub me the wrong way.

Methinks Mathews (and all bow companies.....but the public perception is Mathews has a BUNCH) has some unruly "fans".

But..."I" am a fan of their bows (not a FANATIC, though;)).

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

There are a few that can be, and then there are those who constantly dog them and say they lie to the public, both are bad, which one is worse? The on sticking up for Mathews in a fanatical sense, or the one spreading the rumors?:D

I am a fan, not a fanatic as well, I shoot what I like, others don't dictate my choice!

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Alright here goes my little $0.02.

First. I do not deal with ANY dealer that puts down other brands. To me, it is plain out bad profesionlism.

When Iwas in the market for a new bow last year Mathews was my first choice, but I stillkept my mind open toall the major names and a few smaller names. This quickly changed because every time I checked out a Mathews dealer, I would get a weird feeling in my stomach. It was like if you didn't have on a pair of kahkkis, a $500 pair of sunshades around your neck, hair gel, andpull up in a $50,000 truck yougot "overlooked".Sure the dealer would talk to you, but it was like their minds were already made up, "This guy is in a pair of jeans, t-shirt and driving a Tacoma...Whats he in here for". This made my mind up that I didn't want to be recongized as a "mathews shooter". I have seen what others on here have stated. A lot of the guys around here who shoot Mathews shoot them for the name and like to "brag" about their Mathews, but can't shoot a 4'' group on their best day.

I am not bashing Mathews b/c they help set the standard for today's bows, but I do think that some of their shooters are ruining their image.

Someone stated that its like this with all bow names, but its not. Not around here anyways. I've never seen a BowTech, Ross, or Martin shooter prance around at a range like heownedit andwhen it came time to shoot, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. The BowTech, Ross, and Martinshooters were the ones out there kicking ass on the score board.

I think that at one time in the bow world that Mathews was the best bow, but that day is gone. You can buy a bow that is just as quite, fast, smooth, and forgiving.

Prime example. One of my hunting buddies has three bows, a Drenlin(sp), a Patriot VFT, and a Q2. He will tell you that theBowTech is just as good as the two Mathews are and most of the time the BowTech sees more time in the treestand.

I was shooting side by side with him yesterday afternoon.MyBowTech is just asquite andsmooth. His bow is setat a higher draw weight than mine and heavier arrows and I was still sinking arrows2'' deeper into the target than he was. This would be fine and gravy if Iwas shooting a higher endBowTech thathad an identical price tag, but I'm not. I am shooting the cheapest bow that BowTech makes, the Tomkat.

Am I saying that BowTech is the best? No.

Today'sbow market has a lotto offer. Look at it. Mathews' pitch issmoothness. BowTech's is speed. Hoyt is their amount of wins.

If you look at the recent polls and recent comparisons done by independents, Mathews isn't on top anymore, espically since the Guardian came out.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

It's like this:

The local pro-shop here in town got turned down by Mathews when they first opened, but they had Bowtech and Hoyt. I would go in there to shoot my Mathews, and the guys would rip on me..calling my bow junk/over-priced/over-rated/etc...

Last year a Mathews dealer up the road from me closed..and the one in my town got the ok to be a Mathews dealer. Every one of the staffers shoot Mathews to date.

I now drive 35 minutes to a different pro-shop, instead of 5 minutes. It was funny last fall seeing the local guys have their pictures on the wall in their shop..Mathews in hand next to their animal. Fools.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Despite that the Drenalin is the MOST efficient bow on the market, 2nd being the Iron Mace. 87% for the Drenalin, the Guardian does not even come close to its 86% mark...:eek:

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

If I shoot a $200 bow and kill with itevery time I release an arrow, what improvementswill an $800 bowmake for me?

On a recent trip to New Zealand, I was confronted by a fellow from Canada (he was very proud of his Mathews). He was there hunting fallow deer. He had been huntinghardfor five days straight-no luck (so he said). As I began assembling my bow (I shoot a PSE. I paid exactly $2 for it-won it in a raffle) from its case, this fellowINSTANTLY began talking down to me. I have learned over time to bite my lip!, For me, actions speak louder than words. Little did he know that this bow had, just days before, handled some of New Zealand's most coveted trophies and didsowith ease ( red deer, chamois, and tahr-all free ranging). Again, as I was being lectured, I simply held my tongue.I politely asked him what he found so challenging about the fallow deer he had be hunting. I'm always "all ears" for tips. Long shorty short, I could have killed five different gold medal fallow deer within the first hour of hunting. I was covering the same ground this guy had been on for five days prior.

It's not the bow...

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Markup on a Mathews is just about exactly the same as most bows on the market. This is not an accurate statement at all. Trust me I know..........and it's not as much as you probablythink.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

One other thing to add as well...............

I have seen a lot of people mention that Mathews buys up all the shooting staff/hunting shows. They do invest in this heavily, however if/when you look around you will see there are many other companies out therethat do this MUCH more than Mathews. Hoyt has probably more professional and amatuer level "National Shooting Staff" membersthan any of the bow companies out there, and there are many other brand names that also have a tremendous amount of amatuer level shooting staff as well that push bows on the local grassroots level and on the internet.

If you add up professional hunting staff/shooting staff as well as amatuer level sponsored staff for the top 5 brand names of bows out therethe total number of sponsored people for Mathews would be near the bottom of that list..............they don't havethe amatuer level shooters and simply don't sponsor them.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Its Not all marketing but that is a great deal of the problem when people think their bow is better than someone elses. I work in retail furniture and its the exact same thing. Its called "product knowledge". Its not just Mathews, its all the companies. You put you name out there in as many ways as possible in front of people. But thats not all. You have to have a good product as well.

But I can almost gaurantee he got burned the mathews and has some disdain towards them. My owner did the same thing. the sales rep burned him and he quit selling them all together even though it was a quality product. it took us almost 5 years to change his mind..

And you have to remember this guy is trying to make a buck himself.If he can change someones mind about mathews and get them to buy one of his bows all the better for him. Ultimately it will begin to hurt his business but i know his mentality. The same as my boss.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

I know at least one former dealer who sold a pile of Matthews bows each year that would tell you differently.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

I don't necessarily want this to be a brand wars type thread although I know it can't be helped that folks will give there opinion about Mathews Hoyt, Bow Tech or any other bow manufacturer for that matter. So speak your mind it's ok with me.

That said, I just found it strange how he never said a word about ANY other brand bow I shot. I even had my Fred Bear Code there a few weeks after I bought it to shoot at his range. We got to talking about stuff before I went to the rangeand he asked "what ya shootin?" I said a Code, he never blinked an eye and we continued on with the conversation. He doesn't sell Fred Bear so obviously hedidn't get this sale from me.

Fast forward a few weeks later, here we are talking again only this time I brought my Mathews to shoot and the story goes as I've outlined before on this thread. So I know it was the Mathews that got his goat. I just think it was in very poor taste for a Pro Shop owner to pull something like that.....no matter what brand of bows he sells.

Again, I've owned this bow for a short period of time and have gotten moresnotty remarks and looksin that time than I have in all the years I've been shooting archery with many different bow brands. Is it a coincidence that ALL of the folks whohave beensnotty have either shot or were affiliated in some waywith the two other big name bow companies who's names will not be given,;)what gives?

As far as the whole "Mathews cost too much." That's been dismissed as there have been plenty of folks herewho have chimed in about the selling prices by them. To the "It's all marketing" frame of mind people....What's wrong with marketing?? Owning a small business myself I'm all about marketing any chance I get. But with marketing comes responsibility too. I put my brochures out there and make claims about what my company can do. Let me tell you, if I don't do what I said I was going to, I wouldn't be in business too long!

If Mathews was "all marketing" and didn't put out a great product, after a while no one would buy it!

You know marketing is a strange beast....you can haveaproduct and tout it as being all this and all that, but if you don't market it well not many people will know about it and you can pretty much continue onwith your claims uncontested. Same product, same hype butnow your marketing isnation wide and getting to lots of folks. You'd better be able to back up your claim about how your product performs because if it doesn't as advertised someone is going to call you out on it.

We are seeing this example right now with this legal action against Scent-Loc.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

People fall prey to marketing schemes all the time. I take all those ads andcommercials with a grain of salt. I know enough about bows (I had a small bow shop for some time),physics, mechanics, and how to do research to make a good decision on what to shoot. A manufacturers reputation also plays a role in my buying decision.I also access how the bow feels, sound/vibration and speed. All the wannabees fall to the back of the pack pretty quick at 3D tournaments, Indoor Shoots, and in theField regardless of the brands they shoot. I am not one for a lot of talk just results. It is pretty obvious that just about every manufacturer makes a good bow these days.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Yes but there is an old saying...."Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me!"

If the product didn't work as advertized, eventually (some take longer than others) people would figure it out and stop buying it. Mathews sells a ton of bows every year for a reason.;)

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

I know this one. matthews just doesn't usually if every sells to retailers. this way they make more money by skipping the middle man

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

I don't understand why we all are wasting our time/energy arguing about this-if we put the same energy toward fighting anti-hunters or securing hunting land,we'd be a lot better off.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Well.....this is the bow hunting forum, and Mathews makes hunting bows. Just because we debate certain things on this site that others may not feel important does not mean we don't also put energy toward fighting anti-hunters and their movement, I know I do.

I think this IS the place to talk about this because it's from OTHER HUNTERS that the disdain is coming from. How can we fight the good fight when there is decention in our own ranks...

(Que patriotic music)

By ignoring these problems you will only cause more....causing more problemswill only weakenour countryand I for one will not stand here and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America....gentlemen!!

Lighten up stalkingbear...it's all good.:D





I have a sneaky feeling there will be those who will not see the sarcasm nor myfeeble attempt to rip off a great line from an even greater movie.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Perhap yer right but sometimes it seems like some of these guys are willin to come to blows over such stuff

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Myself after putting my Browning to rest many yrs ago the only bow that had a good feel to me was a mathews,and I tried 5 other bows again and the Drenalin got the vote,it just felt better to me and it was 749.00 with a free WB(50.00 value)..Bow bashing around here isjust more of a fun thing.
Anyway the two dealers around here sell afew differant brand including Mathews and from my experiance dont push any of them,they are good at letting you decide,not unless they know you then they are good about getting you set up......Not like afew of the bigger chain stores in the area(Fargo)....But then again its the person you frist see/talk to in the biger stores that ether push a bow or just shows you all of them.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Man this is one long post. Anyway this is my two cents,why should someone care what kind of bow I shoot. If you like PSE, Mathews, Bowtech, Martin, Fred Bear ect. who cares, as long as you like this bow.It sounds like if you know someone who shoot a Mathews and I don't I can't associate with them, bull$hit. I have a good friend heshoots a Mathews and I have a Bowtech, both are fine bows and I have nothingagainst any other bow.The dealer that we both deal with sells bowtech but he has no problem if you own a Mathews or another brand.Go back and spit in the guy eye, see ifhe can catch you now. My two cent are up.

RE: What is it with Mathews???
 

Now as a preacher, I can't condone that type of activity ........ but I'm not there :D