I've been debating on switching brands for a while now. Nothing really wrong, just wanted to try something completely new and different than what I have been shooting for years. A hunting buddy and I were talking on the phone the other night and we both decided to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to Lancaster Archery to shoot as many as we could. I am not married to any company, not sponsored by a bow company and just want to shoot and buy the best feeling bow to me. Here is what I shot and what I thought of each. All bows were set at 65lbs at 29" and were shooting the same run of the mill test arrows that the shop provides. Prime Rize: Fantastic bow. Draw cycle is outstanding, balance felt great and it was absolutely dead in the hand at release. There is some odd noise associated with this bow, which is well documented as a metal ting sound. But loaded with accessories quiets it right down. Grip is great and very comfortable and repeated. Overall I really loved the draw cycle, back wall and shot. Prime Centergy: This bow is very similar to the Rize. I did feel the draw cycle of a bit harsher. By that I mean it was perceived as drawing more weight. Balance is extremely good and of course, this bows MO is about aiming and it really does do as advertised. I felt it was extremely close with the Rize in overall feel and shot. Grip was same as Rize overall. Mathews Halon 32 (6"): This bow really surprised me. Its heavy, blocky and just feels like a load to hold in your hand. Not a bad thing, but I just didn't care for the overall feel of the bow as I carried it around in the range. I never liked Mathews grips and this is no different. Draw cycle... well... I hate to say this as I know this is a Mathews sponsored forum, but it sucked. I went back and forth between the two Primes and it trying to put a finger on what I was feeling. Bottom line, the perceived weight you are pulling is much more than it actually is. Yes, its smooth and there isn't any surprises along the way to full draw, but for me, it just did not live up to the expectations. Did I mention its probably one of the ugliest bows of 2017? Elite Option 7: Its definitely a different beast than what we've seen from Elite over the years. But I liked it overall. It does feel a bit cumbersome or heavy handed, but overall not bad. I liked the grip as it was comfortable and should be repeatable for those who like narrow grips. I really liked the draw cycle but there is something to note here. The valley is not signature Elite on this bow. Now, there is an issue with letoff on these bows when you drop poundage down, but of course Lancaster is one of the first to get the fix so this one had it. But I felt the letoff and valley were definitely different. At the shot, its nice, quiet and very smooth to shoot. Overall, I liked the bow. The price tag is another story. Bowtech Reign 7: This bow is a combination of my current Bowtech Experience, the Prodigy and a little BT-X mixed in. Very good draw cycle, nice valley and aimed well. Overall, I felt it was a slight upgrade to the Experience but probably worth it. Hoyt Defiant Pro: This was another very pleasant surprise for me. I really liked everything about it. Draw cycle was very pleasant, it aimed like all Hoyt's tend to and the shot was quiet and smooth. The balance on them is a little to get used to compared to the others by virtue of the riser design. But its certainly something I can adjust with a stabilizer to fit me better. In the end, it came down to either of the Primes or the Hoyt Defiant Pro. I ended up walking about the door with the Prime Rize. Why? For one, it was eerily similar to one of my all time favorites from Bowtech, the Allegiance. But with adjustable roller guard, no cam lean and overall great feeling bow, I couldn't let it hang on the rack. I would also like to say something else about Primes. The attention to detail is outstanding. The fit and finish of these bows, I would challenge anyone to find better. They just look nice. The one I ended up with is in Optifade EvII and the dipping came out gorgeous in this particular pattern. Combined with the bare metal cams, it just looks sick in person. I chose it over the Centergy also because of the added brace height and between the two, there was not enough of a difference to choose the Centergy with less brace height. Oh, and Prime gives you free strings and cables every two years if you want them. One quick pic of the bow when I got it home. Setup and tuning to come.
I really like the Prime bows as well. Almost pulled the trigger on a Centergy. I didn't because I do not like the draw length specific cams and the fact that the draw length runs long on Prime bows. Wasn't willing to guess on what draw length to order in conjunction with where I would want to place the draw stop. The HALON looks menacing.. Nothing ugly about them
welcome to the prime family! the sound you are talking about is from 82X materiel & has a different sound to it.
That's awesome! I have been hearing and reading a lot about prime lately. I am a Mathews snob I confess but have lately been considering switching back to Hoyt or another brand all together, I shoot a Mathews Chill that I bought in 12 and have yet to find another bow that will compete with how it shoots and feels. I will have to look into the prime lineup Friends don't let friends hunt with guns
I sold my Mathews ChillR, MR7 and Hoyt Turbo Spider and never looked back. Never need to worry about cam lean with the Primes either.
Nice review. Glad you got the one you feel is best. I'm still up in the air about it this year. As for the Halon, I haven't shot it yet, but I think it's one of the best looking bows released this year, and I haven't been a fan of Mathews looks for years (granted, looks are subjective and have less impact on my decision than other aspects of course).
That is a bit of an interesting issue and will be interesting moving forward. Here is the interesting part. I usually shoot a 28-28.5 draw length. This bow was a 29. It felt very close to perfect. I did realize after reading today that the bow is set at around 75% letoff, not the max of 85%. But that does fudge your draw length a bit. So I may end up having to get them swapped to 28.5's to accomodate. But I did check the draw length last night on my draw board it at the middle stop setting, it was 29 1/16". Better than most brands I would say.
It's great that you got to shoot all those different bows and then make your decision. I have heard nothing but positive things about the Prime bows. Congrats on the new rig. Blessings........Pastorjim
I've been shooting Primes since late in 2012 and picked up a closeout 2016 Rival in APX in mid-January for my 2017 hunting bow. Had it setup and tuned in short order.....as Primes typically do. My go-to bow last year was a 2015 black Rival, so it is familar territory but buying new allowed me the Prime warranty, black box and new string set in two years. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a stab wrap from Onestringer to complete my customized look. I'm sure the turkeys will appreciate the additional attention to detail.....
I am very specific about draw length. I actually shoot 1/2 to 3/4 inches short (depending on the bow) of my measured draw length. The Centergy we measured on the draw board was 29 1/4 inches at 75% letoff. So if I wanted to shoot 75% I'd be gtg with 28.5 inch cams. However, if I wanted to add letoff to 85% I would need 28 inch cams because that would add 1/2" more draw length. Just wasn't something I wanted to get into. However, I liked every thing else about the Centergy and Rize that I shot. Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
I would also like to point out that for the most part, any of these new high end bows, the difference starts to become like splitting hairs. They're so close in levels of vibration, noise, etc. It really comes down to draw cycle and how it feels to you. This is what made the choice on the Rize easy for me Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I agree totally with the OP assessment on the bows...I basically did same thing shot all mentioned with exception of the Hoyt. Plus I shot several of the new Xpedition bows. I ended up buying a 2016 Prime Ion Easiest bow I've ever tuned and a great draw cycle If I was to pick best bows of the last few years Xpedition is number one Prime is right up there
I also shot 4 of the 5 bows you tested..didn't shoot the Elite..really came close to getting a Prime but I chose the Reign 7. To me it felt the best..but still might pick up either a leftover or slightly used Rize if the $$permit. Congrats on your Rize and good luck with it!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
