Brand new Mathews Black Max 2 bare bow, what do I need to hunt?!?!
 

I have the chance to buy a brand new, never setup Mathews Black Max 2 for $350. This is a bare bow and was a raffle prize and was never used, just stored in a closet for the last couple of years. It is 60# draw weight, 29 draw length. My two questions are is this a good deal for a discontinued bow and what would I need to add to this bow to hunt? Obviously I need a sight, quiver, rest. What else? I am new to bow hunting and would appritiate any help you can give me. I will be hunting out of a 17' ladder stand in a pine woods. I know that this bow has a short brace height but it feels comfortable to me. I'd like to make a cheap hunting rig out of this, hopefully stay under $500 total. My father-in-law just spent $1400 on whatever the newest, fastest, coolest Mathews is (Monster I think) and I think he is loony! I think I want a Truglo Pendulum single post sight and a Treelimb 3 arrow quiver. Are Carbon Express Arrows any good? What kind of broadheads for hunting whitetail deer in thick cover? Any other suggestions to get me started. Thanks for all the help.

Scott

I would not pick a Black Max 2 as my first bow.

The very aggressive draw cycle and the short brace height make this bow more difficult than many others out there to shoot accurately. It is a speed bow and was designed for a more advanced shooter.

Take a look at the classified section in Archery Talk. I am pretty sure that you can find a complete setup in good condition for the same price as just your bare bow.

OK, let's pretend I'm not buying a Black Max 2 and say it's a bare Switchback or FX, now what do I need to go out and hunt? Sight, quiver, rest, what else is essential? Peep sight, vibration damping gadgets, Limbsavers, leeches, what do you really need without going all ghetto pimp with the thing? Looking for any help you can offer. Thanks.

Scott

You need a good quality rest, good quality arrows spined correctly, a sight, a quiver, a rubber loaded stabilizer, and a knocking point(loop or string nocks), peep or kisser, a release....

Now we're talking, how about brand suggestions. Are Treelimb quivers good? I don't really wanna spend alot on a Mathews two piece, it's just a quiver after all. How about the Truglo Pendulum sight for treestand hunting? What is a good rest to look at, stabilizer? I think I like the loop style of nocking point. Peep sight?

Scott

Coming from a Mathews shooter who has the Mathews 2 piece quiver - pass on it. I'd recommend an Alpine Soft Lok quiver. Easy and quiet on and off, two clip points so you don't have to stick your broadheads into foam. Not too expensive.

Definitely a peep sight and a string loop.

If I were in your shoes and didn't want to spend a ton of money, I'd also buy: (remember - just my opinion)

Arrows: Gold Tip XT Hunter 5575 arrows (assuming you're around a 29" (+/- 1") draw length)

Fletch with wraps and blazers. If you ever end up stripping and fletching your own, you'll come to love arrow wraps.

Broadheads: 100 grain broadheads of your choice and field points. If you intend to shoot mechanical heads, you still need some fixed blade heads to tune your bow with. That is important. I shoot Grim Reaper mechanicals, but my bow is tuned to shoot fixed blades.

A good release. There are a lot of good ones out there. I use a Scott Sabretooth

A target. You've gotta practice before you can hunt. Well, you've gotta practice before you can hunt effectively anyway.:s3:

If I were you, I wouldn't skimp too much on the rest and the sight if at all possible. If you do, you'll probably be buying another before too long. Personally, and again it's just my opinion, I like a good drop-away. There are too many choices to list for good sights. Just don't shortchange yourself. My Drenalin has a Mathews Convertible HD dropaway rest and I have a Viper H1000 sight on it. Nothing outrageous, but not bad at all.

Personally, I know nothing about stabilizers. I don't even know the brand name of the one on my bow off the top of my head.

Whatever you end up with, I wish you the best of luck.

Great info, thank you very much. I like the idea of the Alpine quiver, that sounds like a winner. I was leaning towards a Mathews rest. Are Truglo sights pretty good?

Scott

I really have no experience with them, so I can't say yes or no.

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers with my last post. Just trying to ensure you have all of the info before moving forward.

As for a rest, you will find it hard to beat a Whisker Biscuit. It simply is hands down the most reliable hunting rest ever made. If after you get more farmiliar with things you want to change to something else, go for it, but I still know many very good hunters who rely on the Biscuit....one less thing to worry about.

A good trigger on your release is paramount to keeping target panic at bay. Take a look at the wrist strap releases from Carter (Like Mike, Two Shot, Quickie, etc...) or the TruBall Short-N-Sweet. Their triggers are probably the best in the industry and break cleanly with no creep or takeup (like a good rifle trigger).

Sights are a funny thing. There are a ton of good ones out there and what you get really depends on how much you are willing to spend. I would initially pick a 3 pin sight (once again, you don't have to think about moving your slider when the moment of truth comes). Beyond that I am not sure where to direct you. I am partial to Spot Hogg sights, but they are mucho expensive.

The stabilizer you get is based very heavily on your particular shooting style. You want to pick one that will provide just a little bit of forward weight bias on the bow (bow will slowly roll away from you if your loosen your grip). The vibration absorption properties should be a secondary concern. As a start, the Sims S-Coil is a good value.

if you are gonna drop that kinda money for a rest find a vital gear dealer and get the forest vital pro. full contain, fallaway that stacks up to the limbdriver.
check out viper sites, gt something with a .019 pin and a g5 meta peep site