I shot the Patriot side by side with a machete at the same #ege (theres a new word).
The patriot was a tad (read being nice) smoother on the draw, but what happended after the shot was not even comparable. BUT the BT has all the rubber dohickies and the machete didn't.

I love the smooth feel of the JUstice VFT and you can adjust valley any way you wish.

I have the Outback and also thought I would want to shoot it at 65%,but tried both 65% and 80% before I ordered one.Thank God I did,65% felt like a whole different bow,wanted to take of right out of my hand,the 80% feels awsome,but still keeps you honest as far as creeping.Definately suggest you shoot one both ways to determine what feels best for you,but my bet is on 80%

Now if I could only find a Merlin dealer...

Rangeball,

Call or E-Mail Kevin (Pinwheel 12) @ Merlin Archery
He is very informative and goes the extra mile in helping find the right bow for you

After test shooting a Merlin Max Extreme, My first word was "Unbelievable". I shot this bow (keeping my eyes closed)with no stabilizer or sting silencers, and, yes, all I could say was, "Unbelievable".

I shot this bow last week, after just recouperating from an elbow replacement. I am looking for something more forgiving and less weight than my 8 year old PSE
SLR-1000 @ 70#/28"draw. I have shot other bows but so far this bow fits everything I am looking for in a hunting bow.

I'm a hunter,I don't shoot 3D.
I shoot with an open grip and no sling. Even flinging many different size & weight arrows, the Max Extreme (@ 59#s & 28" draw) did not jump out of my hands
No recoil, No shock, No Noise ! SMOOOOTH !!!!!

What an unbelievable bow.

.

You won't be disappointed. Just search other archery sites and you won't find one Merlin Owner complaining about their bow or the service they received.

"Thanks for the review -bohunt, and it was sincerely nice to meet you and discuss the bows.

For anyone interested in viewing the bows, go to www.merlin-bows.co.uk They are built in England, but we now have the Merlin USA office right here and all sales along with an warranty issues that may arise are dealt with swiftly on 'this side of the pond'. Watch for upcoming technical reviews and head-to-head tests of the Max-Xtreme in various archery publications in the coming weeks and months also--it's a sleeper, and many other manufactuers are going to be very surprised I think. Good shooting, Pinwheel 12"

DaveC,

I prefer #age....

Would you care to comment more on your statement regarding what happened "after the shot"? I, for one, would appreciate it.

-bo, thanks for your input. The Max Extreme is definitely a bow I'm interested in. I've discussed it extensively with Kevin, and am still waiting for him to post some sort of review about it (hint hint if you're peeking ).

Unlike you, as of now there doesn't seem to be a dealer anywhere even remotely "close" to me. I wish I could shoot one, like you did.

They were the same #age as seen from the proshops eyes. I asked for 62# each and he supposedly tweaked them to that. I took his word for it as the scale wasn't facing me.

I hope both the bows being 70#ers dropped down to ~62# each didn't alter their ease of draw or shot experience. My luck the VFT I get will be a bear to pull[:-].
I know your supposed to shoot them maxed out for best "performance" and that's why I ordered the heavy 60#er.

As far as what happened after the shot. The Machete had a lot more buzz from the string and vibration in the hand. I don't want to sound as if I'm talking it down as it was "naked" and would have been my second choice. But I didn't notice the sit in your hand and not move after the shot as I did on the Patriot. (it was btw $210 cheaper)

The more I shot them back to back- the less I shot the machete.


p.s. I was shooting my arrows at 395 grains and 400 grains.
The Patriot had a noticable speed advantage (as well it should).

Another p.s.- I know I keep saying the Patriot VFT has a Smooth draw, but you have to consider the source- I just sold my 2002 mighty (hard to pull back) mite. For some reason (in my experience) it was a bear to pull no matter what #age.
After watching the number it produced on the chrony at 63#, I wasn't quiet ready to take a 20fps loss. Hence my fondness of the Patriot over the others.
My shoulder- mostly my left- told me I had to get rid of the mighty-mite.
My 59# stalker posses no problems even after considerable shooting time. But talk about after the shot jump, it took a leap into the grass before it got strapped!

Dave C

I think if you shot the Machete with the "rubber dohickies" on, you'd find it as quiet and vibration free as anything on the market. At least I have.

Rangeball, tonight I shot a couple of the bows you seem interested in. The Merlin Max Extreme arrived at the local shop. They just came in and 6 of us got together with the shop owner as he set them up and we shot them side by side with other bows. The shop also sells Diamonds, so I got the opportunity to shoot it side by side with the Machete and the Gladiator.

First impressions of the Max Extreme - Heavier then the Diamonds, but very well balanced. The Merlin had a smoother draw, but was about 15 fps slower then a comparable Machete (actual measured draw lengths were with 1/4" of each other). Gladiator was even faster. The Merlin did have about 1/2" more brace height and the Machete was an inch shorter. The Max Extreme and the Machete both had cable dampeners, string leeches, identical stabilizers and the Machete had limb savers (merlin has rubber limb coverings). The six of us all rated both the Machete and the Gladiator as slightly quieter. We all thought the Merlin had slighter better balance and was completely without recoil. Recoil on the Machete was about the same, but the balance was not quite as good. A different stabilizer would probably correct this. Neither had any vibration to speak of. The Machete has a harder wall, but had a more drastic "roll-over" on the cam when dropping into the valley. They had completely different feels and I'm sure some will prefer one over the other (the six of us were split on preference of the draw cycle). I felt the biggest difference between the two bows was the $200 lower price on the Machete. Hard to ignore this bow at the price they sell for. However, I'm sure many people are going to fall in love with the Merlin and will be willing to part with the big bucks. I'm sure Merlin's carbon limbs and locking limb pockets will attract many buyers. Personally, I don't like locking limb pockets and don't keep bows long enough to wear out the limbs on even the cheapest bows, so those don't mean as much to me.

I encourage you to shoot them both and determine for yourself if the price difference is worth it to you.

Thanks Straightarrow, those are very helpful and interesting observations.

I think I'd prefer a slightly heavier bow. I really liked the mass weight of the Outback, which was extremely easy to hold steady. The 3* offset grip of the Merlin intrigues me, but for the jack and inability to return it if it's not love at first sight, I sure would like to hold, fondle and shoot one first. I'll keep my eyes open. Thanks again.

I guess it all depends on what your looking for.
The lightness of the diamond bows are what had me intrigued in them. I've read where one of the diamond guys- Paul Pickering- commented how there bows were more geared towards bowhunting and bowhunting ranges.
If I ever shot 3-d or target I'm sure a heavier bow would be better. But for me, I like them to start at least somewhat light as they are only going to get heavier when the excessories are added to them.