Mathews Drenaline?
11-18-2006, 06:19 AM
#11
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 71
RE: Mathews Drenaline?
ORIGINAL: Rick James
Ummmmmm. Apex 7 fits that description nicely and is as fast or faster than just about anything out there with that same description.
Ummmmmm. Apex 7 fits that description nicely and is as fast or faster than just about anything out there with that same description.
11-18-2006, 07:40 AM
#12
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Chesapeake VA USA
Posts: 135
RE: Mathews Drenaline?
Ok, last night I set up and measured/tested/shot the new Mathews Drenalin -- here are the results.
I feel my test is non-biased, but I do have some personal opinions in it, so it is not totally subjective. Disclosure --I shoot the following for my personal bows at the moment: 2 Martin Slayrs, a Martin Shadowcat, a Merlin Supernova, a Bowman Accuriser, a older Diamond Widowmaker (carbon riser) with Hoyt Spiral cams, and a Frankenbow that I put together with various components.
The bow came with a cardboard bow case of sorts -- not sure if all the bows will come this way, but it protects the bow in shipment better and is a nice touch. Add a little foam and you can keep your bow in it. The name "Drenalin" was agreed upon at the stop to leave something desired (to put it nicely).
The camo looks nice, for those who are camo junkies. The only thing was when the limb bolts were backed off a little there could be seen a little bare metal around the edges -- it was due to the limb bolts being crank in so tight froom the factory that it compressed a little of the dip. This is very minor.
The bow came out of the box with the following measurements:
A-A -- right at 33"
Brace -- 6 15/16"
Pounds -- it was bottomed at 76# (quite high for a 70# bow)
Draw -- I measured the draw per the standard and it was 29 1/2", the sticker said 29"
Draw length is a pet peeve of mine and if is says 29" it should be with 1/8" out of the box, IMO. I hate it when they are 1/2 or more off.
The riser looks nice and the bow is definitely a lot lighter than previous offerings. The riser has a lot of cut-outs and many areas are "webbed" (sort of I-beam-like) to remove weight. The new limbs are impressive -- they are thin and widen slightly at the limb tips. The seem to resist twisting well. The new pocket system which is similar to the PSE design places the pivot further from the limb bolt. This allow the entire limb to be used more effectively and it is more of a gradual arc on the draw without theconcentrated stressor just past a conventional pocket. This system seems to work effectively and I will say that I would venture that Bowtechs new system will take this even further.
The cam is very similar to previous cams with no real dissernable differences. It still uses one bearing and one bushing so they achieve the let-off groove. The string is a typical Mathews string (not that impressed, but better than some other stock strings). On a bow of this price, (and with the price of the strings if you buy them as replacements) the endloops should be served -- I have seen where guys get a strand or 2 not on the peg on the cam. The grip is still the same -- I personnally do not care for it -- I wish they would offer a less bulbous thinnner grip.
The draw cycle is nice without and major humps, the wall is pretty solid, but not solid as bow with a draw-stop peg. A prong rest was installed on the bow.
Since we had a 375 grain arrow, the limb bolts were backed off to give 75#. I consistently got 308 with this, however the arrow nock seemed too tight, so I would venture that 1-2 fps more could have been obtained. The only thing on the string was a D-loop. For me, at 75# the bow was stout to draw, but I could do it. I usually shoot 65# in my hunting bows.
The limb bolts were turned to obtain 70# and at this weight I could draw the bow a good bit easier. With a 350 grain arrow with a proper fitting nock, I consistently achieved 308 fps again. Still only a D-loop. I was hoping to get around 312-315 with a 29 1/2", 70# bow with a 5 grain per pound arrow. Add around 5 fps for the 1/2" and another 1-2 fps for a D-loop and the IBO is actually around 315 -- not bad, but at measured specs, not 320. It should be noted that the measuring equipment used typically gets us extremely close (within plus or minus 1-2 fps) to the Bowtech birth certificates, so I am confident it is not off by any significant value.
The bow shot well and the balance was good. At the shot there was only a little recoil. The bottom of the bow kicked forward very slightly. There was no stabilizer on the bow. I was impressed with the way it shot. Others who shot the bow felt it had more recoil than their personal SBXTs. I contribute this to lighter mass weight, however, a little recoil does not bother me at all. The bow was quiet, on par with a SBXT, others though it was a tad louder.
Overall, I was very impressed with the bow and with a different grip, I would not hesitate to shoot this bow for myself. It is the first Mathews bow that I really liked the way it shot for me. I am impressed with the thin limbs and the retention system.
We backed the limbs out more and got it down to 65#. I did not break the bow all the down, but at 65# there is a significant gap between the limb and the riser and we did not want to take any more turns out of the bow. Since the limb bolt is normal to the riser, as it is backed out the limb retention cup to limb bolt become angles on the bevel. It is designed to accomodate that, but without complete disassemble, I am not sure to what extent. At 65#, the draw was very nice and the bow felt nice to shoot.
I did not fully optimize the tune of the bow, but when the centershot was at 13/16" (inline with the "inline grip") I had the "left-tear" through paper which was very prvalent in the XT. It did not seem as bad however and I moved the rest slightly. I did not really try to tune it any further, but with adjusting the rest and idler, I assume the left tear could be removed. I intalled a peep and and a pin-sight and shot the bow. The bow haed well even without a stabilizer and shot well. It diled in easily and was a pleasure to shoot. I think it will be a great hunting bow. Of all the Mathews hunting bows, this one impressed me the most. I feel fully confident in recommending this bow.
I still would like to see a 38" A-A version of this bow with about a 7.5" brace. I know there are guys who say the major market is in the short bows, but I KNOW there is a market for a intermediate A-A bow(37-39" A-A). You will see a ton of bows that length at 3D shoots (Hoyt, Bowtech, Martin, PSE, Ross, etc. all offer bows in this length and they sell -- maybe not as many as the 31-34" bows, but a significant number, and certainly more than the LD -- we sold none of those last year). Some guys will say Apex-7, bit that is not what many people want, the A7 is designed for atarget shooter -- people want the longer riser, parallel limb design in the longer bow with the softer cam.
I feel my test is non-biased, but I do have some personal opinions in it, so it is not totally subjective. Disclosure --I shoot the following for my personal bows at the moment: 2 Martin Slayrs, a Martin Shadowcat, a Merlin Supernova, a Bowman Accuriser, a older Diamond Widowmaker (carbon riser) with Hoyt Spiral cams, and a Frankenbow that I put together with various components.
The bow came with a cardboard bow case of sorts -- not sure if all the bows will come this way, but it protects the bow in shipment better and is a nice touch. Add a little foam and you can keep your bow in it. The name "Drenalin" was agreed upon at the stop to leave something desired (to put it nicely).
The camo looks nice, for those who are camo junkies. The only thing was when the limb bolts were backed off a little there could be seen a little bare metal around the edges -- it was due to the limb bolts being crank in so tight froom the factory that it compressed a little of the dip. This is very minor.
The bow came out of the box with the following measurements:
A-A -- right at 33"
Brace -- 6 15/16"
Pounds -- it was bottomed at 76# (quite high for a 70# bow)
Draw -- I measured the draw per the standard and it was 29 1/2", the sticker said 29"
Draw length is a pet peeve of mine and if is says 29" it should be with 1/8" out of the box, IMO. I hate it when they are 1/2 or more off.
The riser looks nice and the bow is definitely a lot lighter than previous offerings. The riser has a lot of cut-outs and many areas are "webbed" (sort of I-beam-like) to remove weight. The new limbs are impressive -- they are thin and widen slightly at the limb tips. The seem to resist twisting well. The new pocket system which is similar to the PSE design places the pivot further from the limb bolt. This allow the entire limb to be used more effectively and it is more of a gradual arc on the draw without theconcentrated stressor just past a conventional pocket. This system seems to work effectively and I will say that I would venture that Bowtechs new system will take this even further.
The cam is very similar to previous cams with no real dissernable differences. It still uses one bearing and one bushing so they achieve the let-off groove. The string is a typical Mathews string (not that impressed, but better than some other stock strings). On a bow of this price, (and with the price of the strings if you buy them as replacements) the endloops should be served -- I have seen where guys get a strand or 2 not on the peg on the cam. The grip is still the same -- I personnally do not care for it -- I wish they would offer a less bulbous thinnner grip.
The draw cycle is nice without and major humps, the wall is pretty solid, but not solid as bow with a draw-stop peg. A prong rest was installed on the bow.
Since we had a 375 grain arrow, the limb bolts were backed off to give 75#. I consistently got 308 with this, however the arrow nock seemed too tight, so I would venture that 1-2 fps more could have been obtained. The only thing on the string was a D-loop. For me, at 75# the bow was stout to draw, but I could do it. I usually shoot 65# in my hunting bows.
The limb bolts were turned to obtain 70# and at this weight I could draw the bow a good bit easier. With a 350 grain arrow with a proper fitting nock, I consistently achieved 308 fps again. Still only a D-loop. I was hoping to get around 312-315 with a 29 1/2", 70# bow with a 5 grain per pound arrow. Add around 5 fps for the 1/2" and another 1-2 fps for a D-loop and the IBO is actually around 315 -- not bad, but at measured specs, not 320. It should be noted that the measuring equipment used typically gets us extremely close (within plus or minus 1-2 fps) to the Bowtech birth certificates, so I am confident it is not off by any significant value.
The bow shot well and the balance was good. At the shot there was only a little recoil. The bottom of the bow kicked forward very slightly. There was no stabilizer on the bow. I was impressed with the way it shot. Others who shot the bow felt it had more recoil than their personal SBXTs. I contribute this to lighter mass weight, however, a little recoil does not bother me at all. The bow was quiet, on par with a SBXT, others though it was a tad louder.
Overall, I was very impressed with the bow and with a different grip, I would not hesitate to shoot this bow for myself. It is the first Mathews bow that I really liked the way it shot for me. I am impressed with the thin limbs and the retention system.
We backed the limbs out more and got it down to 65#. I did not break the bow all the down, but at 65# there is a significant gap between the limb and the riser and we did not want to take any more turns out of the bow. Since the limb bolt is normal to the riser, as it is backed out the limb retention cup to limb bolt become angles on the bevel. It is designed to accomodate that, but without complete disassemble, I am not sure to what extent. At 65#, the draw was very nice and the bow felt nice to shoot.
I did not fully optimize the tune of the bow, but when the centershot was at 13/16" (inline with the "inline grip") I had the "left-tear" through paper which was very prvalent in the XT. It did not seem as bad however and I moved the rest slightly. I did not really try to tune it any further, but with adjusting the rest and idler, I assume the left tear could be removed. I intalled a peep and and a pin-sight and shot the bow. The bow haed well even without a stabilizer and shot well. It diled in easily and was a pleasure to shoot. I think it will be a great hunting bow. Of all the Mathews hunting bows, this one impressed me the most. I feel fully confident in recommending this bow.
I still would like to see a 38" A-A version of this bow with about a 7.5" brace. I know there are guys who say the major market is in the short bows, but I KNOW there is a market for a intermediate A-A bow(37-39" A-A). You will see a ton of bows that length at 3D shoots (Hoyt, Bowtech, Martin, PSE, Ross, etc. all offer bows in this length and they sell -- maybe not as many as the 31-34" bows, but a significant number, and certainly more than the LD -- we sold none of those last year). Some guys will say Apex-7, bit that is not what many people want, the A7 is designed for atarget shooter -- people want the longer riser, parallel limb design in the longer bow with the softer cam.
