Non-mainsream bows

[moxford]

Background: Been shooting for a very (very) long time, but on and off. First bow was a Fred Bear Whitetail, then a Whitetail II and I've been shooting a Golden Eagle Predator for last 20+ years or so. Yeah, I'm a bit older. =)

I'm getting back in pretty seriously and I'm looking to upgrade. I used to refer a lot of people to the Fred Bear line back in the day which is, as far as I can tell these days, in flux and I'm not too sure of their quality since (or even since 2003 under Escalade Sports.) I've had a quite few people asking me about what to buy and my honest answer is "I don't even know anymore." We sometimes have a lot of travel/downtime on SAR callouts so all of the people I speak to there ... well, most of those people I never see again so I have no idea if they ever take the time to go check out their local shops or do research on their own. I get the feeling that the sport as a whole is missing out on a lot of "new blood" due to confusion about what's out there. While everyone's going to have different preferences and likes/dislikes, if I can give a very solid, informed starting point maybe (just maybe) it'll get people over that initial hump and get them into a shop. Maybe they'll find something that they like better, maybe not, but at least they're in the shop and might continue with the sport.

So, I'm doing research! The nearest shop is 45-60 minutes away and that limits me a bit.

Hoyt's new stuff looks really, really interesting. Elite Archery's got a nice reputation. New Breed seems to be making some waves just on "shootability." Obsession apparently made a great showing at last year's ATA. Bowtech seems solid. PSE's still around but I'm hearing a lot more interest in other brands (which doesn't mean PSE is bad in any way- they just don't seem to have the marketing buzz around their newer products right now.)

I'm curious if there are lesser-known brands which are putting out quality, field-tested products that I should also look at. At worst case I'll just pick a mainstream company and tell them to go look at "Major Brand X's product Y" just to get them into a shop but I'd like to be able to provide a little more reasoning and better advice than that.

Thanks in advance!

-mox

 

[sodaksooner]

Look at prime too. Very high quality. Great finish and shoot pretty good with decent speed.

 

[rutfest]

Athens archery would be a great option too. There new Solace is awesome!

 

[BSeals71]

Mox

I totally know what you mean. I grew up in the Bay Area and CA is very limited when it comes to archery shops. I use to take BART from Dublin to Fremont carrying a bow (in a hard case) to go shoot at 'Archery Only' when I was 13 years old. Not even sure if Wayne is still around there.

Anyways... You don't have the flexibility to just go try and shoot very many different name brands bow, limiting your options. My dad's friend lives in Groveland, CA and just bought a Hoyt online, has never shot a Hoyt before. Everyone is different and it all comes down to personal preference.

As far as lesser-known name brands that you didn't mention, check out Xpedition Archery. I've heard a lot of great things about them.

Good luck in your find.

http://xpeditionarchery.com/

 

[OR Archer]

We just picked up Xpedition archery this year and I've been impressed with their bows from day one. Fit and finish is top notch. Great performance and tunability. Very accurate as well. All around a solid bow.

 

[timberland]

Forge Bow Co. I have shot them for years.

 

[moxford]

Mox
I totally know what you mean. I grew up in the Bay Area and CA is very limited when it comes to archery shops. I use to take BART from Dublin to Fremont carrying a bow (in a hard case) to go shoot at 'Archery Only' when I was 13 years old. Not even sure if Wayne is still around there.

Wayne is still around and still at Archery Only in Newark, recently expanded his shop too! Great guy from the couple times I've met him. All of the other actual shops close by in San Jose (Trophy Archery, The Archer's Den) are both LONG gone. We still have one shot but they're a tiny place with no range to test on. If I go the other direction I can get to Predator's Archery down in Gilroy but, again, 45-60 minutes out.

Thanks everyone for the mfg suggestions; I'll go check 'em out!

-mox

 

[LaGriz]

go heavy with the arrowmoxford,
I to am an older archer. I was bitten by the traditional bug in 2001 and I'm affraid it's final. I do frequent a local archery shop and see the latest in "string guns" and I am very impressed with the performance of the latest compound bows. The shop owner is a prince, and he is pretty deadly with a long bow when he chooses to use one. Brandon has been a steller Bowtec dealer for years and has now added Mathews to his line up. I shot the Mathews "No Cam" a few weeks back at the "Bayou Bowhunters" facility. It is just not fair that a plain bow with no extras can be so quiet! One of the reasons I was drawn to the trad-bows was their quite operation. The Bowtec equipment is also most impressive. I would opt for a "shooter friendly" model and not get caught up in the quest for speed. They are all fast IMHO. I would lean towards a heavey arrow and believe these rigs would be awesome hunting weapon. LaGriz

 

[moxford]

Nearest Xpedition dealer is ~420 miles away. What a bummer.

 

[Cant hit em]

OK Archery , there is a dealer in Shingle Springs , Absolute Archery is the shops name

 

[moxford]

I made the trek up to Archery Only to see what they had and Roger took the time to help me out with the 2015 CST and NT.

I'll add he OK Archery to my list of things to research, thanks!

-mox

 

[dmjojump]

I started shooting a APA bow this year. I am very satisfied with them , should check them out.

 

[Matt W.]

Nearest Xpedition dealer is ~420 miles away. What a bummer.

Call Xpedition. They have a program that solves this.

 

[E-2]

Darton would be another non-mainstream line to try.

 

[ORROSS334]

Have nothing but great things to say about the 4 New Breed bows I have owned.

 

[boom]

Wayne is still around and still at Archery Only in Newark, recently expanded his shop too! Great guy from the couple times I've met him. All of the other actual shops close by in San Jose (Trophy Archery, The Archer's Den) are both LONG gone. We still have one shot but they're a tiny place with no range to test on. If I go the other direction I can get to Predator's Archery down in Gilroy but, again, 45-60 minutes out.

Thanks everyone for the mfg suggestions; I'll go check 'em out!

-mox

WAH!! i drove to Predator's from Concord. it was a solid 2+ hour drive. being so damn far, i had to get it all done in a day. they were cool enough to order an Energy 35 for me in my size. they put a rest on it and let me shoot it. it was WORSE than buying a new car. it took friggen forever. GREAT bow shop, but they are very popular. getting them to help me set my bow up was a lingering process. phones ringing, walk in customers, small item sales..argh.

they sell Prime as well. i still remember the drive. 94 miles. the other shop is 93 miles in exactly the opposite direction. i am in a friggen archery black hole.

welcome back to archery OP!!

 

[307]

You're a lot closer to a real archery shop than I am.

I picked a solid bow from a good company (Elite Answer) and just bought the damn thing and had it set up. I've avoided shooting anything else. As a beginner, I wouldn't know good from bad or anything in between. I figure any modern bow is a lot more accurate than I am. Had a shop set it up for me and make sure the fit was pretty good, then I've been shooting a bunch over the last year. I still like my bow and have never had reason to look at any others.

IMO (not worth much) it's easy to get far too interested in bows and develop far too little interest/skill in archery.

They're all good, just pick one you like and shoot the thing...

 

[airmanharv08]

I would also throw Alpine Archery into the mix, I have owned Alpine Assault and still have a Alpine F1 Fireball, excellent bows, great draw cycle and valley, smooth....very smooth and to top it off a great price! Have killed several elk and a bear with these bows.

 

[tipsntails7]

We just picked up Xpedition archery this year and I've been impressed with their bows from day one. Fit and finish is top notch. Great performance and tunability. Very accurate as well. All around a solid bow.

I second this, you won't find a better made bow, and the performance is right up there with the big boys, if not better. Prime is also a really well made bow.

 

[tipsntails7]

Nearest Xpedition dealer is ~420 miles away. What a bummer.

Mox call xpedition and they will send a bow to any shop to let you try one, PM me I you want the national sales reps number, Blake is a great dude to work with. I have not been a brand loyal guy sense jennings was bought out, but with the service I've had with xpedition that's slowly changing.