JeffB

Yup I remember the Challengers . I had one of the wheel bows (the 3D or whatever it was called) and one of the ultra-somethings..briefly. I was big into HCA at the time, and the Mountaineers just were not fast enough for me....hey!! sounds like nearly 20 years later I'm still struggling with the "not fast enough" thing

Those Carnivores are some sick shooting bows. SUPA-smooth shooting...I really like that bow- barring the grip, which is too square feeling for me. Its no speed demon, but just a pleasant to shoot, smooth drawing hunting bow. Firecat is really nice too, though not nearly in the same class as the Carnivore for "smooth draw". But the cat has about 15-20 FPS on the Ross. I'd reccomend the Alien X if you like the firecat-it's quicker, quieter, has smoother transitions in the draw force curve, balances better, AND has laminated limbs without being all that much more expensive than the firecat. Both the Ross and the Alien are great $ values, IMO.

gromage1

Jeff,
I was considering an Alien X but I'm more comfortable with something a bit longer in the ATA department, that's what drew me to the Carnivore, although the Firecat really didn't seem short, I may go shoot the Alien anyway before I buy just for sh*&s. Have you shot a Captain?

Gary

JeffB

Well the actual ATA diff between the Cat and the Alien is about 1/2"- string angle may be a bit tighter on the Alien but it's not significant-I like a bit more A2A as well,33-35" is optimum for me, but between the 2 bows, IMO the Alien is clearly the superior design.

I have shot the Captain a fair bit- I have two issues with it-

1) I don't like the draw cycle on the 09 Center Pivot bows-period. Even the 08s/07s load up less at the back end. The SWAT & Air Raid have the nicest draw force curve out of the 09 BowTechs by far, and fall somewhere between the 09 CPs, and the Ross.

2) The sight window on the Captain is angled sharply downwards at the top which cuts out the effective length of it and because of my build and where I anchor, I need all the sight window I can get. It blocked the top half of my sight. Not an issue for many, but an issue for me.

That said, the thing shoots with even less recoil/noise/vibe than the Admiral I had. Really nice. I still prefer the Guardian however-smoother to draw at my draw length, and less inherent torque in the entire bow system-roller guard is more trouble than it is worth, IMO.

LKNCHOPPERS

That is a really good post. I felt like I had to get a new bow after reading some posts and listening to the marketing hype. I tried a bunch of bows and found that most of the new bows felt very harsh to draw. I decided I liked how my 2007 Black Ice shot and felt. I'll be sticking with my Black Ice for a long time.

gromage1

Anyone know what the going price isfor Alien X? I just got of the phone with the closest guy to me that deals them and he says 800 and they are backed up on orders. He actually tried to talk me into coming in and shooting a Elite GT500, opinions? I know you messed with one didn't you Jeff?

JeffB

Gary- I *think* MSRP on the Alien is $699 (camo) but don't quote me on that.

The GT500 was a great shooter- Rev cams are probably the nicest/smoothest drawing slaved dual out there (don't want to use the "B" word discussing another brand's cam system ). Pretty quiet, fairly fast (but mine even 'supertuned" was about 10 FPS shy of what it should have been doing). Real nice bow overall, but they vary too much for my tastes- some will make speeds, and some won't-no matter what you do to it. If Bowtech could smooth out their top end bow Binaries to feel like the Rev cams, that would be something- and maybe get me back into a BowTech again.

gromage1

Thanks Jeff,
This shop is really pushing the GT500 and thats just over the phone, plus he's an hr away, I'm not sure I even want to deal with somebody who wants to really push one brand on me.(of course its all about the $$$). That Carnivore just keeps drawing me back, I was telling MeanV the other night when I ordered strings from him how the Ross set a 70lbs felt like a heck of a lot less to draw. I can't even find an Alien to shoot, Wonder why ?

BowTech_Shooter

Ya know Jeff... Knowing you as well as I do I really don't believe the title of this thread...

Sagittarius

Great thread, Jeff.
Good to see you here again at HuntingNet too !

JOE PA

Gotta agree with Pat here, Jeff. The title might have been more believable if it said, "Lesson Learned, for now." Something to that effect.

You have to look on the bright side of this. You have a bow that is shooting very well for you and is forgiving and reliable. If you can stop worrying about what it looks like or how fast it is, you should be fine.

I seem to recall a thread earlier this year. Something like "If you could have just one bow for the next 5 years..."