Matthews VXR owners- Any dislikes

[Diesel]

Considering this bow and looking for some feedback. For those who have one, could you share any complaints or changes you would like to see.

 

[5 shot group]

The draw cycle for some people is pretty aggressive.

You should definitely shoot one for a bit before buying and see if its something you like

 

[Billy Goat]

The factory strings and cables made it about 450 shots on mine before they started to creep. Pretty disappointing for a bow in that price range.

I'm not huge on the engage grip, I really don't like the side plates, they put a big knot on my knuckle from the riser contact. A little more angle would work well for me, but I do shoot it well. Maybe someday I'll buy a fancy aftermarket grip.

I'd like to see more sizes of the top hats, tho with rest adjustment I was able to get everything dialed in.

The cutouts in the riser around the Berger hole don't allow many of the set screws on rests to contact.

I haven't yet seen a recommended torque rating on the screws for the mods or the axles, I know the range they should be in for the size. However I think a manufacturer should have a recommended torque listed, especially with the axles as it seems overtightened axle bolts might be burning up the bearings. I don't know that I have seen a company yet say what the torque specs are for their mod screws to be fair.

A complaint that some will have, especially with a tension release is the cams using cable stops rather than a limb stop. The backwall isn't as hard as it is on some other bows. It doesn't bother me.

The q-lite quiver will only hold petite broadheads, if you go that route, probably need to be careful what rest you use with it as well, it's tight to the bow.


Overall I'd definitely buy again, been very pleased with it.

 

[Zac]

I will never own one again based on the garbage strings and cables Mathews insists on using. Mark Hayes and the marketing strategy really bothers me as well. Solid platform with very little nock travel however. I would definitely get the V3 instead of the VXR. That little change with the cable guard was pretty genius.

 

[Husker Buck]

So far, very happy. I've only had mine for a month, but still have shot daily. Overall, no complaints. Coming from an Alphamax 35, the draw cycle is definitely different, but it was very easy to adjust to. I went with the 31.5, and the string angle is fine.

 

[Mauibowhunter]

I have the 31.5. Love it. Easy to tune and keep tuned.

 

[Arctic Hunter]

My 31.5 shoots good. Speed and shootability are great. Very quiet, and dead in the hand. Easy to tune and holds well.

The two things I can’t stand about Mathews is the grip and that the top hat kits are not included with the bow. The grip is something I can get used to, but they really ought to send a top hat kit with the bow for those of us who do all our own stuff. Rather than making a guy pay $50 for a kit.

 

[Fullfan]

No problems with my 28. Purchased it last July, killed a bull in Sept and a whitetail in Oct.

 

[Ranger 692]

Not yet, only a couple hundred shots through it though. Can’t believe how dead and quiet it is. Also, the back wall some say is mushy I have the opposite experience. Nice solid back wall. Don’t mind the draw cycle either.

 

[Tyrus001]

Hunted with a 28 this past year. Love it. As mentioned above completely dead in hand and very quiet. Shoots great.

 

[Brizzle]

One of the best bows Mathews ever made, I put over 5000 arrows through it with 0 problems out of the bow or string. Top quality strings, if you’re bow is set up properly and had a D-loop attached well you’ll get little to no peep twist. If your D-loop is spinning most people assume it’s the string. I’m now shooting a V3 and it’s even better. The center guard makes tuning a breeze, especially with the integrate rest, it comes pre tuned for Mathews bows, all you need to do is tune for knock height. The only tuning issues I’ve ever seen are from people torquing the bow. They shoot bullet holes out of the box. No bow will tune well if the person shooting has form issues.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

I've got the 31.5 and imo, one of the best bows of the past decade. I came from a speed bow so the draw cycle to me didn't seem aggressive at all. The strings are typical zebra, so I'd upgrade to a better string. Im extremely happy with it and shoot it lights out. That's all that matters.

 

[Diesel]

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Reburn]

I disliked the zebra stings that came on the bow. Easy to replace but I wish mathews would up their string game.

 

[Diesel]

Since I see alot of negative on zebra strings, what is a really good string?

 

[Billy Goat]

I like BCY 452x for a material. There's other stuff out there that is similar and might be better, but I have been happy with what the 452x is for a while now and I haven't experimented. I have a buddy who builds my strings for me so it's been a dozen years since I have purchased any from an actual company. I'd think any of the reputable companies would give you a good string, I'd like to know what the materials are tho. I'd rather them say what they are using then giving you some smoke show on their special material.

 

[7raptor]

Considering this bow and looking for some feedback. For those who have one, could you share any complaints or changes you would like to see.

It’s a great bow. I bought a VXR 28 and a PSE EVO NTN this year. I love them both, but find myself hunting with the longer bow more often because I’m currently focused on killing deer in the 60-80 yard range. The Mathews is a great bow, I shot mine yesterday for an hour just working on my skills with a hinge release.
If you want a completely dialed in VXR 28 in Ambush Green send me a DM and I’ll ship it your way.

 

[AkRyan]

I'm not a fan of the strings, cable guide is to close to arrow vanes, top heavy. I fixed all those issues and I would not trade this bow for anything else atm. Dinner plate groups at 100 with no magnifier...they shoot

 

[7raptor]

I'm not a fan of the strings, cable guide is to close to arrow vanes, top heavy. I fixed all those issues and I would not trade this bow for anything else atm. Dinner plate groups at 100 with no magnifier...they shoot

I’ll second the accuracy. Shot about 60 arrows with 3 different hinge releases today through my VXR today and broke 3 knocks off shooting groups.

 

[KS2MOHUNTER]

I had always shot a Bowtech. In the fall of 2019 I bought the new Realm X Bowtech. 1 week before I was to go to AZ for the OTC muley hunt my back window was smashed and my bow was stolen. I had 6 days to get a new bow and get it dialed in. I am left handed to boot.......the only options in my area I could get and get setup in a day or two was a Hoyt RX3 and the VXR 31.5. I went with the VXR simply on cost because I had just got a new bow. I got it home and shot 2-3 hours for 4-5 days before I left. ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT BOW. The draw cycle was so much better then the Bowtech. This is all personal opinion of course but I love the even/constant draw with a lack of a strong breakover point. The back wall is nice..........and the most impressive and important thing to me is the stability at full draw. The long riser i think allows for a rock solid hold of the pins. I can shoot that bow at 60-70 yds much more consistently then I could with the Bowtechs. I attribute it to the long riser and past parallel limbs that the Bowtech lacked. The bowtech tunability was head and shoulders better and the Matthews folks need to step it up on that end.......get rid of the top hats and need for a press..........otherwise, love it.