I AM LOOKING FOR A NEW BOW. I HAVE A HOYT RAPTOR THAT IS ABOUT 8 YEARS OLD AND IS GETTING OBSELETE.THE LIMBS WERE 70# LIMBS AND I HAVE THEM MAXED OUT AND THE SCALE SAYS 54#. I BELIEVE ITS TIME FOR A NEW BOW.I HAVE A BUDGET OF ABOUT $500.00 MAYBE $600.00

MY LOCAL PRO SHOP RECOMMENDED 2 BOWS BOTH BY BOWTECH (SORT OF) WHICH IS FUNNY SINCE THEY ARE USUALLY HUGE HOYT AND MATTHEWS FANS BUTDONT HAVE BOWS IN MY PRICE RANGE.
#1 DIAMOND RAPTURE BOW ONLY $359.00 PACKAGE $459.00
SPECS: ATA 33"
BRACE 7.5"
IBO 295-300
WEIGHT 3 LBS 6 0Z

#2 BOWTECH TOMKAT PACKAGE $469.00
SPECS: ATA 32.5"
BRACE 8.5"
IBO 295-302
WEIGHT 3 LBS 12 OZ

THE PRO SHOP LEANED ME A LITTLE TOWARDS THE DIAMOND BECAUSE I HAVE A SHORT DRAW LENGTH 26" HE SAID THE SHORTER BRACE HEIGHT WOULD MOST LIKELY GIVE ME A LITTLE MORE SPEED.

HAS ANYONE SHOT EITHER OF THESE BOWS AND HAVE A RECOMMENDATION ?

HE SAID THERE WERE A COUPLE OF MORE EXPENSIVE BOWS IN THE $600 RANGE, BUT SAID THESE TWO WERE THE BEST, I WOULD NOT GAIN ANYTHING BY SPENDING THE EXTRA $$ BOTH BOWS FEEL GOOD I THINK I LIKE THE DIAMOND A LITTLE MORE, BUT THE TOMKAT DOES HAVE A LITTLE SMOOTHER FEEL MAYBE BECAUSE IT HAS A MORE PARRALEL LIMB DESIGN.

ANY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE APPRECIATED

To tell you the honest truth both these bow's are good choice's ,i think you just need to go with your gut on this one .Either way you'll be a happy camper .Good luck with your choice and be sure to let us know what one you choose .

nubo

Chances are that the string and/or cable have stretched, causing the loss in draw weight. It's not likely that your limbs lost that kind of draw weight, unless they are broken. It's likely that the old bow can be brought back into spec. However, it is fun to get a new bow and that reason is as good as another.

I just had new stings and cables put on the bow thats when the pro shop pointed this out to me. I took the bow to 2 other shops and they said the same thing. The first few yearsI had the bowI did everything you shouldNOT do to the poor thing. It rode aroung in my truck all summer in the sun andheat and was stored in a garage etc. etc.
I have wanted a new bow for the last few years, so here is a great excuse.

Both of those are very good bows. I agree with your shop about the draw length. I have the same short DL and can get away with a little less brace height.

I shoot the Bowtech Justice. It's a very smooth bow, but I only get about 220 fps with a 392 grain arrow.

I agree that either would be a good choice though you may also want to consider the Diamond Triumph. It has an 8 inch brace height and an IBO speed rating between 302 and 310 fps. Sounds like you could get some forgiveness coupled with a decent amount of speed/energy to compensate somewhat for the shorter draw length. Price is in the mid $400s bare bow...IIRC.

Check out the Pearson line of bows. Very good bows for the money.

Check out the REFLEX line--they've got some very good bows at a price that won't make you feel the need to sit down and take a deeeep breath.

used 2003 patriot dual cam on ebay

I am trying to stay with a bow that I can get locally. I have never got into working on my own bows so I would like to stay with something that my pro shop is familliar with. I also have the worst luck with used stuff and two friends that bought used bows both got "screwed" [:@]. In my area most guys seem toonly sell a bow unless there is something wrong. One friend had a limb that would twist at full drawand themanufacturer would not warranty it since he was not the original owner, the other could never get it to shoot rightand the pro shop said the cam was the wrong one,someone had changed it andd there was something wrong with the bearing and axle.
The only god used bows I have seen areat the Mathews only shop but they want $575 for a used Outback and $600 for a used LX both 2004 modelbare bows. They want $850 for a nice set up Outback. All way out of my price range, but he said he would warranty the bow for 30 days.Since I am still clueless I could not really tell if something was wrongwith a bow until itwas too late.

I have 3 locals shops one only sells mathews, the other only PSE/ AR or Hoyt but these guys are quite rude if your not one of their regulars that spend major $$ with them. If you ask a question they act like your asking them to cut off an arm. The third is by far the best, they carry Mathews, Hoyt/ Reflex, Bowtech/Diamond, Parkerand Whisper Creek. They do mainly just stock bows from about the $500 and up range. They only two bows below that priceare the ones I listed; Rapture and Tomkat. I asked about a Reflex but they did not have the Grizzly the lowest one was a Super Slam which I believe was $469.00 which with the accesories I want would really top out my budget. He did not seem overly impressed with the Grizzly he said they brought in 2, sold one and sent the other back. He really did not say why, just recommended the other bows more.

I will try to go in again Saturday and shoot them both again. Then the wait begins for my refund from the tags I failed to draw again, thats the amount of my budget.

Thanks for all your opinions.