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Many great bows out there. If you want a Martin(my thoughts since you mentioned their name] I suggest trying the Cougar Magnum....its fast, quiet, smooth, accurate and won't break your billfold! I can't speak for the other bows because I haven't really tried many the last couple of yrs.

Welcome to the board! There are a lot of opinions about your question...but they all come back to the same answer: get the bow that fits you and your shooting style best.

I shoot a Mathews MQ-32 and have found no faults with it other than the usual stuff associated with short bows: cable serving wear mainly. I picked up a Parker at a show yesterday and was impressed with the general appearance and feel of the bow although I did not get to shoot it. It had a slimmer, more comfortable grip than my MQ-32. Almost any new bow will be plenty fast for hunting purposes and even the noisier ones can be made quieter with the right accessories like Limb Savers and string silencers.

It is a long time until hunting season. Shoot all the bows that you can get your hands on and pick the one that feels the best to you. Good luck and have fun shopping!

The Mouse

One thing you have to find out, is how much will you budget allow? I went through the same search you did last year. I didn't have a heck of alot to spend, and tried out quite a few bows. I went with a Martin Cougar. I love it and like cougarmag said, it didn't break my wallet. I think martin has the best bows for the buck. Check out their new MV2, it's even better than the cougars puts the matthews and other to shame.

With those bows you mentioned, just about everything on the market will fall into your price range. In that case, I'd suggest trying just about everything you can get your hands on.

I really like the looks of Parker's Ulra 31, I think the PSE Thunderbolt with Lightning Cam is a steal at the price it's offered for, and the Bowtech line is well worth looking at for a lot of reasons. (See Cougar Mag's thread he started about Bowtechs and read Matt / Pa's responses).

Good luck in your search, and -- above all -- enjoy it.

I shoot a Parker 31, and its my vote for best bow PERIOD.......

welcome to the board, glad to have you. Just speaking from what I know about each company, and shooting some models from each, I like the parkers first, then martins, and Mathews last. I was realy impressed with the ultra-lite 35 I shot, and liked the ultra-lite 31, but prefer a little longer bow. By going with a parker or Martin over a mathews you will save about 100 dollers, maybe more depending on the model. I would however suggest you shoot the models that intrest you and choose the one that YOU like best, after all you will be the one hunting with it.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

Guess it depends on your local shop and how much cash you want to dish out. I did the search a couple of months ago myself. Two different proshops(both that sold Mathews) stated the Martin was much quieter. I could not afford a Mathews. I really liked the way a Parker fit my hand, but it was nearly $200 more (bare) than a fully rigged Martin. My buddy also opted for the Martin. Any of the three will serve you well.

these guys all hit it pretty good. shoot em all and pick the one that feels best to you.

HOYT MT SPORT <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>!!!!!!!!!!!!!