20 Year Old Bow vs. New

[bigbassin]

How much better will a new bow be over one that’s 20 years old? Current bow I’m shooting is a 2006 Reflex Compound, 50-70 pound draw. No clue on draw length, maybe 27”. Bow was a gift that someone else wasn’t using.

Shoot at most 10 times per year (every weekend leading up to now season, once or twice during) and use for whitetail stand hunting.

Looking at the last season the string on the bow will still be good, need to restring next year. Does the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mindset apply here, or if I’m already $100-150 in the hole for the string I may as well just get a new bow all together?

 

[Taudisio]

How much better will a new bow be over one that’s 20 years old? Current bow I’m shooting is a 2006 Reflex Compound, 50-70 pound draw. No clue on draw length, maybe 27”. Bow was a gift that someone else wasn’t using.

Shoot at most 10 times per year (every weekend leading up to now season, once or twice during) and use for whitetail stand hunting.

Looking at the last season the string on the bow will still be good, need to restring next year. Does the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mindset apply here, or if I’m already $100-150 in the hole for the string I may as well just get a new bow all together?

It’s honestly your choice. If you have the money and want something new, go shoot a few bows at a shop in the price range you want to spend.

Your bow isn’t magically going to stop shooting if you have taken care of it. You can definitely get a setup that is smoother and quieter and probably faster. That said, people still kill stuff with stick bows, so a fairly recently manufactured compound bow model will still “outperform” one.

 

[summs]

New vs 20 years old. Big improvement.

New vs 10 years old... 10 fps? Not much has changed in the last 10. The Mathews triax of 2018 to today uses pretty much the same cam.

You can get a used bow and see much improvement. Lately they haven't focused on performance, just selling accessories.

Just looked it up 2018 343fps, 2026 348.

 

[blackveltbowhunter]

Reflex had a few models in that era, and knowing what components are on it and if it fits you well are all variables in the "is it better" equation. Based on your stated level of practice time and hunt use, my first instinct is that a new bow won't "shoot better" for you. It will likely be more quiet, faster, probably easier to shoot and tune. But not necessarily stack anymore arrows into an acceptable group.

If your current bow is not tuned well, doesnt fit correctly, your components are wore out and failing, those could have big impacts. However, if all that is as it should be, then improvements at 20 yards on deer size target with limited practice time is probably not going to net a big gain from a purely killing efficiency payoff.

 

[doc holiday13]

2010 is roughly when bows had their last big jump. 2025+ all the bows are becoming user friendly in terms of tuning. A newer bow will shoot much better, but its your money so spend how you deem necessary