used vs cheaper?

[jaym_100]

A few questions here. First how much better is a 2023 bow vs a 2013 bow? Lets say high end bow from then vs now?

Do bows degrade over time? I know strings may need to be replaced but does the actual bow decrease in accuracy or anything over time?

Would it be better to buy a 5 or 6 year old high end bow or a new mid tier bow?

I have a couple of older bows and have limited bow hunting experience, mainly because of the property I hunt isn't conducive to bow hunting. So I never got into it. I'm considering trying it for elk in the future.

 

[jimh406]

Yes, the components degrade. It has a lot to do with what temperatures they were exposed to and how much they were shot or dry fired.

You are making a guess how well the bow was taken care of if you buy a used bow. Reliability is better than a bit faster, etc.

 

[Young Blood]

I am currently going through this same decision-making process. I have the luxury of knowing a guy well that had two identical flagship bows from 2019 setup, one for hunting and one for target/3d/practice. His hunting bow has a very low shot count as he mostly used the other one. I also know he takes great care of his equipment. For me, it makes more sense to purchase his "old" hunting setup that has top of the line technology/materials at a fraction of the price of the new mid-tier bow I'm looking at. The technology has only made miniscule improvements over the past several years and is mostly just a marketing gimmick. I'm going to shoot his bow to make sure I shoot it well and, assuming I do, I will buy it set up for half of what I would spend on a new mid-tier bow fully set up. I'm also lucky in that I'm currently shooting a 23 year old bow so I know whatever route I go is going to be leaps and bounds better and I won't be disappointed.

 

[nphunter]

You don't need to buy a 2013 bow to get a good deal. There are dozens of last years flagship bows on the market for 1/2 of what people paid last year. I just sold my RX4 that I paid $1700 for in 2020 for $700, I also just bought a 2023 Mach 34 for $1050 and it was a $1800 bow last year.

As far as the technology I would it hasn't changed much in the last 10 years and honestly I prefer some of the 10yr old models over todays bows. If you know what you like and are after it helps and if you know how to work on your equipment to me used bows are a no-brainer.

If you don't know anything about bows or how to set them up you will be money ahead and way better off paying for a mid-tier bow from a shop and having them set it all up for you.

 

[Slydog]

You don't need to buy a 2013 bow to get a good deal. There are dozens of last years flagship bows on the market for 1/2 of what people paid last year. I just sold my RX4 that I paid $1700 for in 2020 for $700, I also just bought a 2023 Mach 34 for $1050 and it was a $1800 bow last year.

As far as the technology I would it hasn't changed much in the last 10 years and honestly I prefer some of the 10yr old models over todays bows. If you know what you like and are after it helps and if you know how to work on your equipment to me used bows are a no-brainer.

If you don't know anything about bows or how to set them up you will be money ahead and way better off paying for a mid-tier bow from a shop and having them set it all up for you.

Appreciate this response. Been in a few of my local shops recently and it’s starting to remind me of fly fishing shops. The ‘If you don’t want to spend top dollar to buy the brand new model then you should probably just quit” attitude.

 

[bobinmi]

I'm switching to a wheelie bow after 3 decades of stickbows. I had every intention of buying a new flagship bow this season. My old man let me borrow his 2015 prime alloy because I planned to shoot a compound for a couple months so I don't make a fool of myself when I go to test new bows. I moved a couple things to bring it more in to tune for me and now I'm just gonna put new strings on it and hunt with it for 2024. I'm easily inside the vitals on every shot from 60 and the peep isn't even set right. For me, I can't think of a reason to drop that coin on a brand new flagship. Everything I've said should be taken with a grain of salt.