5. What is better to get, a Hoyt or Mathews bow?
 

My family most shoots Hoyt, but my wife wants me to get a Mathews. I’m not looking for the latest line up, I could do with bows that are a season or two old, I’m looking more for good performance than look. I’ve done a bit of research, I found that in terms of pricing (https://hunthacks.com/), the Hoyt is definitely less pricey than the Mathews, and the Hoyt seems more adjustable, whereas the Mathews also needs additional purchases, like new cams.

Do you guys have any more things that can help me consider either of the two better, or other brands that you think are better than Hoyt or Mathews? Please let me know. Thanks!

i think all the major bow makers are really close.......i mean if its just a hunting bow they will all do what you need them to do. Figure out whats the most important thing to you (weight, speed, price) and go from there

Go shoot some at a pro shop. You don't have to buy anything there, just get a feel of what you are comfortable with and look at buying used if you want to go that route. I personally found that I enjoyed PSE, when I was set on buying an Elite. You might have to buy different mods to set up your draw length, and do some tuning if you buy used, so that will increase the price a bit. Good luck, Happy hunting.

Any of them will work just fine. None of the main companies are putting out junk these days. Also, many of the more recent bows are made with adjustable cams so that you can change the draw length without the need of a bowpress...pretty convenient. After yet another shoulder injury, I have had to give up on anything other than a handicapped model (read: crossbow), but the last bow that I shot was a Bear Anarchy HC, and I loved it. I had narrowed my list by researching (when I say researching, I mean actually shooting about 15 different bows) down to the Bear, and an Elite Energy 35. I really liked them about equally, and couldn't tell much of a difference between them. I liked several of the bows that I shot, but these two were a little longer axle-to-axle, which I like, and shot like a dream. I ended up being able to buy the Bear for a little less money, so I went with it. Put several deer down with it before the shoulder got cut on again.

Moral of the story, as others have mentioned, make sure you get a good dose of "real-world" research done...go shoot a bunch of them and see what feels the best to you. They all work just fine.

And, definitely consider the used route. There's a slew of people that just have to buy a new bow every year for some reason, and you can buy their old ones at a heavily discounted price.

Why do you listen to your wife ? Is she a pro Archer ? Is She an Olympic Archer ? Does she dress you and tell you what you can and cant do ?

when buying a bow, FIT to YOU is one hugely important factor
DON"T just go by brand name or fancy marketing
a deer doesn't care what brand bow kills them, and they ALL kill deer if you do your part and place an arrow in the right place
and KNOW what helps make that happen
a BOW that fits you best!
the better the bow fits you the better you will shoot it,!

Buy the one your wife wants you to. How many guys have a wife that encourages them to buy a new bow? Take advantage of it. :)

lol good point.

Below I have included photos of all the bows my wife wanted me to buy

That's a good one right there Rockport. Took me a second to get the joke. minihunt83, don't listen to BarnesX.308. His wife has obviously clipped him. Tell your wife this and it will more than likely be just fine, "Honey, you shoot what feels right for you to shoot and I will shoot what feels right for me" If she is okay with you spending the outrageous amount Mathews asks for their bows then she should be even more happy to let you spend even less money for what feels best to you. As the others have pointed out, if a bow doesn't feel absolutely perfect to you, then you won't be anywhere near your potential in repeatable accuracy. Archery is a game of feel. You don't fit yourself to a bow, you fit the bow to yourself. Sometimes it can be something as simple as the shape of the grip. Sometimes the shape of your hand will throw the balance of one bow off making it feel top-heavy in your hand while another bow feels absolutely perfect. A lot of little things add up to one big thing.

that or tell her,
let you get the BOW you want and and if its any cheaper than a Mathew's, she can have the difference in a gift LOL

lol!!!!!!!!!

The main reason that Mathews bows ain't got a mile of adjustments ranges is you cannot buy a new Mathews online, and it's not a problem whatsoever. Ever notice you almost never see Mathews bows for sale in Pawn shops? Because Mathews bows are ordered/sold for the buyer only, and custom fitted/specced out for the buyer. That apparently has something to do with when somebody buys a Mathews, the dealer will set it up EXACTLY to fit the buyer, so the percentage of people happy with Mathews bows and are less likely to sell them. If you have a bow set up to fit you perfectly, I really see no reason why it has to have a million adjustments capable.

I agree with you
BUT I think the reason many bows are wide on adjustments, is, so, if they ever wish to resell it has more options to others, and well, if your a kid and grow, you have that option to adjust as you do

pro's and con's to all things

the biggest part of any bow is it fitting the shooter, and the shooting liking the feel of it
the best bow in the world won't do a person any good if it doesn't fit them, or they dislike how it feels.
its why its said, best advice is GO shoot a bunch of bows before you buy, name alone means CRAP , all top line bows are GOOD today! and even most bottom line bows are still solid bows to be honest!

Yeah any of the current crop of modern bows will kill a deer if you do your part. About 60% of exact brand/model of bow selection is splitting hairs, assuming they're specced out to fit the buyer. It's kind of like choosing color/brand/make/model/options on a new truck, with most being subjective personal opinions/preferences. But as you said, the single most important issue is to make SURE it fits YOU. Just like the single most important aspect of being competent with a bow is FORM.You HAVE to have good, consistent form in order to be able to shoot a bow best. That means doing it exactly the same way every time. Also when I shoot a bow, or am teaching/coaching a new bow shooter, is to unleash every arrow or shot, as if it's the ONLY shot you're going to take for the rest of your life. My final thought is to only shoot a couple dozen shots at a time, but as often as possible. It's extremely tempting to keep shooting, especially when the bow fits, is tuned properly, and while you're shooting with superb accuracy, but if you keep shooting so long/as many shots that you start to have a hard drawing/shooting until getting shaky, you're doing more harm than good, promoting target panic (punching the release when the sight happens to wander in the vicinity of the center of the bull). It's MUCH more effective, and helps with muscle memory, to shoot at LEAST 2-3 times a week, but not over a couple dozen shots at a time. Your form starts to deteriorate rapidly when you start getting tired, and that's when the bad habits start.

MATHEWS....I've had mine for over 8 yrs. and love it.

My question is why just look at Mathews and Hoyt? What about Martin or Bowtech? All are good bows and will do the job. With the price of bows these days I'd try as many as possible and get the one that feels best to me. Confidence in your equipment carries a lot of weight when shooting a bow.