I know the bow I am reviewing is a target bow and all but, I will also reviewing the new Atlas later. I was introduced to Pearson back a couple of years ago when the Tetrick Family bought and moved the company to Monroe NC. I have worked in the industry for a target manufacturer for a couple of years and have been shooting for a little over five years. I started shooting competitively back in 2012 after attending my first 3D event. Since then I have shot many different brands. I knew about the Pearson brand long before I was involved in archery. My dad had an old fiberglass Ben Pearson recurve that I played around with when I was a kid. Last season I decided to get really serious in 3D and shoot an open class setup along with shooting national ASA Tournaments. I had been shooting one brand of bows for a while and stuck with that brand. I struggled all 3D season and could not for the life of me get comfortable with the bows I had. I sold a bow and bought another one made by the same company. Still, I struggled even more. It got to the point that I knew what was wrong but, nothing I did could fix the problem. They had their days where it was lights out shooting but, I was never consistent. My final scores of last 3D season were my best but, still not an even score. My best was four down. At the ATA show 2016 I shot the entire Pearson lineup along with most of the other brands. To me the Pearsons were the best at the show and the most phenomenal bows I had shot to date. Dave and I talked after the show and I ended up with a Pearson Xout in my hands. The day I was leaving for Foley Alabama for the first ASA of the year I went to pick up my Xout. Dave had just built the bow that morning. He installed the threads while I was there. I put a rest on it at the shop, eyeball setup the rest and it shot a perfect hole through paper on the first shot. I went home that evening and bolted all of my accessories on, packed and headed to Foley, AL. The next day I built a sight tape in the wind. I had 30-40 shots through the bow before I headed out to the range Saturday morning. Day one I knew I was going to love the bow. The draw cycle was super smooth, solid back wall and the quietest most solid feeling shot of any true built target bow I have shot to date. With every shot I was feeling more confident. With other bows I have not been able to hold on a 12 and feel confident I would hit it. One reason my scores suffered. I went on to shoot 6 down on day one. Day two, the first shot on target one was a solid 12. I knew then it was going to be a good day. By target ten I was eight up and already had the best score I had ever had in an open class. The last ten targets I shot two eights and still ended up ten up. That put me four up for the weekend and the best open class score I had ever shot. Coming back to the local circuit I have yet to shoot down. We are now six local tournaments into the season and still shooting up. I went on this past weekend to win one of our state qualifiers in K45. I am shooting with the most confidence ever and my scores keep improving every time I shoot the bow. My specs are pretty impressive as well. Shooting 29”, 65 pounds, 376 grain arrow and making speeds of 291-292fps. I’ll take that especially with the points I have gained. I would also like to say that the support from the Tetrick family and the Pearson shooters is like no other. They welcome with open arms at shoots and are there for full support. Going to a national ASA as a Pearson member is like being part of a big happy family. I do not see myself or my family shooting anything else. Oh, my wife is now shooting a Pearson.
I haven't got to shoot the pearsons. But the last tournament I shot at, I shot with a guy that shoots and also works for them. I would like to have one for tournaments, but have a separate bow for hunting. It's really cool that the oldest bow company is so close to home.
I just set up an Atlas yesterday with my target gear. I had it set up before for hunting and it blew me away. A bow with no stabilization on it being as stable as that one was I had to give it a try with tournament gear on it. That thing is phenomenal! I was building a sight tape for it and put together a group at 60yd that looked like my 20yd group. Seriously, 3 arrows touching vanes at 60yd is fantastic. Add to that they are standard sized Black Eagle hunting shafts. I need to play with DL a little to fine tune it but, good word that thing is a shooter!
