Finally ready to buy my second bow

[PaulB84]

So about 15 years ago I decided to get into archery. I bought a used PSE Bow Madness XS, watched YouTube and read until my eyes bled, and got pretty decent. I have killed a pile of whitetail over the years, and when a friend jumped into archery with both feet (he bought 3 flagship bows, spent used car money setting them up, and sold off what he didn't end up killing) I thought maybe it would be time to consider an upgrade

I'm drawing 70#, 30" DL (I generally turn that weight down for the season but it's good practice). In doing some research I've found that I'm doing a bunch of, well, weird shit. Like having a draw length longer than my axel length. Im running a $40 Truglo sight and a $60 QAD rest, iCS bowhunter arrows, slick trick heads etc. Basically, I'm slumming it, but i love this bow. It's insanely quiet, unreasonably fast (441 grain arrow at 290 fps) and I shoot it well. It has an 8" BH which is crazy long compared to a 6 1/8" on my buddy's ARC. But is this a "you don't know what you don't know" situation? My sample size is exactly one bow for w very long time. If it sucked, I probably wouldn't knows

I finally went to a shop and shot some new bows. The ARC 30 and 34, and the Tritech 31 and 33 really stood out. The valley and letoff and overall smoothness are amazing. But the $ to upgrade is crazy. I'm very torn. Any advice? Would I immediately see a big upgrade in accuracy by getting a longer a2a length and better let off/valley?

The shop pro who runs the league I shoot at with my kids watched me shoot and said "you'd be nuts to get a different bow" lol so there is that

 

[jjschuh]

I personally don't think you would see a huge upgrade in accuracy but you would probably see some. There is a chance you would see some improvement, but maybe it's just that it feels better in your hand or your pin floats less or you're able to get anchored and set and leveled a bit quicker etc. Really what you gain with new bows in todays market is that it's a bit easier to work on your own equipment on your own at home, some cases without a press even. If that's something you're interested in.

I don't really think you can go wrong with any of the flagship bows out there either. Everyone is close to the same specs it just comes down to how it feels in your hand and when shooting.

I'm personally planning to upgrade to a new bow this year but that's just because I like to work on my own stuff and if there's something out there that will make it easier for me I'll do it. But then I don't see myself upgrading again for quite a few years until something new catches my eye.

 

[PaulB84]

I personally don't think you would see a huge upgrade in accuracy but you would probably see some. There is a chance you would see some improvement, but maybe it's just that it feels better in your hand or your pin floats less or you're able to get anchored and set and leveled a bit quicker etc. Really what you gain with new bows in todays market is that it's a bit easier to work on your own equipment on your own at home, some cases without a press even. If that's something you're interested in.

I don't really think you can go wrong with any of the flagship bows out there either. Everyone is close to the same specs it just comes down to how it feels in your hand and when shooting.

I'm personally planning to upgrade to a new bow this year but that's just because I like to work on my own stuff and if there's something out there that will make it easier for me I'll do it. But then I don't see myself upgrading again for quite a few years until something new catches my eye.

This makes sense, but I guess I don't understand what needs tinkering with on a bow. I had a reputable shop set me up initially, and haven't touched a thing in over a decade. I had a string replaced. That's it. (Now, this is coming from a guy who simply can't stop buying, selling, modifying and messing with guns, so I totally get it. Fortunately for me, the desire to mess with archery equipment on that level hasn't bit. Yet...)

The let off and valley of the new bows blew me away. I could hold either at full draw far, far longer than my current setup

That said, I do really like the idea of the Darton which is 100% pressless. And the Mathews is pretty close to that, just need a press for a couple major things like changing a string but I have a good shop for that and don't see myself back country hunting anytime soon.

 

[jjschuh]

Once it’s setup there really isn’t anything you’ll end up tinkering with, most have the ability to choose your let off amount which is nice. Unless you swap strings or get shot variations and even then it's up to if you want to do it yourself or just take it to your local shop and have them do it. I'm sure they appreciate the ease of working on newer equipment but it's definitely not a must.

Another thing to look into is if you like having the integrated quivers, stands, sight mount type. Like Hoyt and Mathews and other brands have the low profile quivers and limb legs/ go stix and whatever else they offer. If any of that stuff is something you'd like it's also something else to look at for what each company offers and even what aftermarket stuff is out there. But if none of that stuff matters to you then it's fully what feels the best.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I'm drawing 70#, 30" DL (I generally turn that weight down for the season but it's good practice). In doing some research I've found that I'm doing a bunch of, well, weird shit. Like having a draw length longer than my axel length. Im running a $40 Truglo sight and a $60 QAD rest, iCS bowhunter arrows, slick trick heads etc. Basically, I'm slumming it, but i love this bow. It's insanely quiet, unreasonably fast (441 grain arrow at 290 fps) and I shoot it well. It has an 8" BH which is crazy long compared to a 6 1/8" on my buddy's ARC. But is this a "you don't know what you don't know" situation? My sample size is exactly one bow for w very long time. If it sucked, I probably wouldn't knows

I finally went to a shop and shot some new bows. The ARC 30 and 34, and the Tritech 31 and 33 really stood out. The valley and letoff and overall smoothness are amazing. But the $ to upgrade is crazy. I'm very torn. Any advice? Would I immediately see a big upgrade in accuracy by getting a longer a2a length and better let off/valley?

The shop pro who runs the league I shoot at with my kids watched me shoot and said "you'd be nuts to get a different bow" lol so there is that

Longer A2A might help the bow feel more stable and might make the string angle fit your face a little better, but I doubt you would see a "big upgrade" in accuracy. Most newer bows will have a higher let-off and shorter/steeper valley than your current bow, both of which factors can hurt (not help) accuracy.

It sounds like you shoot your current bow well and have been very successful with it. If you've got the itch to try something newer/different, go for it, but don't expect a vast improvement in accuracy or performance. You would gain 15-25 fps with most newer models, but your current speed is more than adequate. Most of the real improvement would be in ease-of-tuning features such as press-less cam/limb/timing adjustment, but those are only relevant if you actually use them. IMO many of the so-called improvements in recent years are minimally beneficial ploys designed primarily to sucker the buyer into spending more on proprietary accessories (e.g., Mathews' Bridge-Lock system, Hoyt's Picatinny rails).

But the $ to upgrade is crazy.

There's a lot of middle ground between a 15 year old bow and a brand new flagship bow. You could get 99% of the performance/features of the current flagship models and save a significant amount of money by buying a flagship model that's a few years old.

I guess I don't understand what needs tinkering with on a bow.

When tuning, cams often need to be shifted left/right and timing often needs to be adjusted to align the string path with the arrow rest. Over the past 5-ish years, bow manufacturers have increasingly added features (e.g., Bowtech's Deadlock, Elite's SET, Mathews' Limb Shift) that allow those tuning adjustments to be made without a bow press.

 

[dyrtnappn]

I was in almost your exact situation exactly 1 day ago. 15yo PSE vendetta. Went in to get a new rest and sight(I had the old trophy taker drop away) and string. My buddy was looking at new bows and I walked out with a 29.5 lift. Out the door I only spent an extra $580 due to what it would cost for a new string, rest, and labor. My speed did increase an “astounding” 25 fps with a new bow. I also put the 80# cam mods on to hopefully squeeze out a bit more speed due to my short draw length. The speed was the biggest selling point for me. I was shooting 260 with my PSE and then 286 with the lift at 70lbs.

I was hesitant to upgrade just because that bow was and still is the smoothest drawing bow I’ve ever shot. But the speed, tunability, quiet shooting, and so much less vibration sold me. I also don’t really adjust anything once the pro shop sets it but he showed me how to tune it on my own so it does save me a 45 minute trip to the shop for anything minor.

It was the right call for me to upgrade but I’ll still keep my PSE as a backup and let my wife shoot it too. I’m pleased with the lifespan of that PSE.