dohcrxl

I've got a grand and wanna spend it on either of the following two:

1) Matthews black max 2

-or-

Bowtech black night 2

Both are pretty competitive in the speed department and that's my main selling point. I'm new to the whole scene so would appreciate any feedback on either of those two bows. If you had to choose, which one would you and why? Among other things, I know I can get the Matthews for about 700 but am not too sure about pricing on the Bowtech. The other things I'd like to know about are things like reliability or supremecy of one bow over the other. I know this might be a loaded question but I'm really just beginning to figure out what's what and what I want. Again, any help would be appreciated. TIA

Buck Magnet

First, speed isn't everything! Don't buy a bow just because it is fast as it usually won't be as pleasureable to shoot or as forgiving. With that said, out of the two, the BK II is more forgiving while also being faster! When I say more forgiving, you have to remember that these are both bows built for nothing but speed and will lack in the other aspects that should be looked at, such as smooth drawing, forgiving, quiet, shock-free, ect..

Rob in VT

I am also looking for a new bow and want to go with either a BowTech or Mathews.

I am leaning towards the BowTech Mightymite VFT. I do most of my hunting from treestands and it is short axel to axel (30 1/2"), light weight (under 4lbs), a forgiving brace height (7 5/8"), and relatively fast at 318 fps. My buddy has one and it is super quiet as well. The Defender VFT has also caught my eye.

Anyone have any thoughts on these two bows?

. . . Rob

Buckfevr

Neither.
Pick one of these 2:
Bowtech Allegiance
Mathews Switchback

500 fps

Take the above advice very seriously. I'm a big a speed freak as anyone, and I have fun shooting fast bows, but if ultimate accuracy is your goal I would opt for a milder set up. The speed you might give up will only be noticed on a chronograph. I have a BK2, and have shot a Black Max on many occasions and they have a way of convincing you that shooting shooting short brace height bows is easy. Sometimes I'm shooting nocks off at 30 yards consistently at 350+ fps but the next day I'm lucky to have pie plate size groups. Everything about your form as to be perfectly consistent from shot to shot and day to day and even then even the best shots (a group into which I do not fall) will get fliers.

All the speed you could ever need can be had in forgiving, plesant to shoot configurations from several manuf. Of the ones you've mentioned I would say look at the Liberty by Bowtech or the Outback by Mathews. I've shot both and they are smooth, recoil free, quiet and forgiving to shoot. There are several other manuf who make bows that will fall into this category as well. I would shoot several and prioritize smoothness, noise level, and overall comfort of shooting over speed. For me the bow that fit that bill was the Bowtech Liberty.

But, I still love to pull out the BK2 and sling a few downrange at 350+ fps every now and then.

dohcrxl

Thanks but why for each of the two you suggested?

500fps... the two you mention are about how quick? Also you say that sometimes you can shoot off knocks from 30yds at 350fps but the next day it's not the same story anymore. Wouldn't this be a form or conditions consistency problem and not a bow consistency problem? If you can make a bow perform like that one day, it should still perform like that the next day unless you dropped the sucker or are shooting in the wind/rain right? I humbly ask yours and all of yours' replies.

Rob in VT

The Allegiance has a brace height of 7" and the Liberty is 7.5". Why do you recommend these two? The Mightymite seems to be more forgiving than the Allegiance and is faster (318fps) than the Liberty (304fps) with about the same brace height (7 5/8").

Here are the stats for BowTech http://www.bowtecharchery.com/QRG_2005_scn.pdf

. . . Rob

Buckfevr

You said that speed was a motivating factor. Each of those two bows will provide the high end of the speed spectrum for each company respectively, while providing a stable, forgiving, shootable platform.

dohcrxl

Does this necessarily mean that the two bows I originally introduced as standing options are unstable, not forgiving, and unshootable to such a high degree?

500fps said he can shoot off knocks at 30 with his BM2 on a good day. Could a bow with a less than desireable mix of characteristics do that?

Bear with me as I'm learning from you guys.

Buckfevr

"Does this necessarily mean that the two bows I originally introduced as standing options are unstable, not forgiving, and unshootable to such a high degree?"

For most archers, yes.