So, after a lot of self debate, I have decided to drive an hour away and shoot the entire prime bow lineup for the 2017 season, I have been shooting a original Mathews Chill and LOVE IT! and have not found another bow that feels anywhere as good holding it, shooting it or even just walking with it. I did not want to leave the Mathews bus I am very curious about these bows. If anyone owns one and has owned or shot other bow to compare please let me know what you think of them as well as anyone else please chime in! Thanks Friends don't let friends hunt with guns
I have a 2016 rival that I absolutely love. I had only owned big box store bows before it. I wanted to upgrade so I drove an hour away and tried it and several other but just coming back to Prime.
Well I went to my other pro shop an hour away yesterday and spent around 3+ hours shooting prime bows and the new halon 32. First : I want today that the prime bow line is very nice! A very very good product and shootable bow. Second: I still prefer the marhews, I'm not sure if it because it is what I'm use to but I felt at home and comfortable with it. Third: we noticed that my cams were both bent! And that's why I have had a hard time getting my shot not to kick and my accuracy consistency has dropped .with that being said we called Mathews and the are sending me new cams within 5 days no questions asked. Friends don't let friends hunt with guns
I do not own a Prime bow but I did spend some time shooting the shop owners Prime Centergy bow and compared it to the Hoyt Defiant, PSE Decree and Mathews No Cam HTX. They all have their plusses and minuses but as a whole, the Prime, to me was the best overall bow. The Mathews was quieter but I did not like the draw cycle at all. The PSE had a great draw cycle and was very smooth but felt like it was setting on GO because of the narrow valley. The Hoyt was not rock solid on the back wall and had more hand shock than all of the bows I shot. The Prime was solid in all categories and I loved it. I believe that the Prime bows also come with a warranty where they will replace all strings and control/buss cables every two years at no cost and you can take it to a Prime dealer and they will make all necessary adjustments/tuning needs you have at no cost every year.
Always go with what feels best to you. Everyone is different. Good for you on making the drive and testing for yourself!
When my No Cam blew up I took a whole day at the pro shop. Mine sells Mathews, ELite, Hoyt, Prime, Obsession and Bear. The owner is actually a staff shooter for Mathews. I told him to keep feeding me bows in my DL & DW and don't even tell me price or brand. It got down to two bows that just felt so good and that was the Obsession K34 and Prime Rival. I deliberated a LONG time and the main difference for me was the grip on the Obsession, which is very subjective and personal. I could have been pleased with either of those two bows a long time. My best friend had a 2014 Prime Impact(?) and loved it. He thought my No Cam was so quiet and he sold that Prime and bought a No Cam. He's regretted that decision and tried to buy that bow back. LOL! He sold the No Cam and bought a K34 like mine and 3 days after he got it he was hit in the face with a hard and complicated divorce and hasn't drawn a bow since late July when the K34 came in. But he loved that Prime.
Common sense completely goes out the window when you put a new bow in my hand. As a result I have been avoiding the pro shops. The prime line has definitely caught my eye recently. Let us know how it fairs for you lots of great reviews on the Rival.
I may be able to help you here. I have been a Bowtech guy for years. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wanted a change and shot all of the major brands. Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, Elite and Prime. I walked out the door with the Prime Rize. It really came down to two Primes that day for me. The Rize and the Centergy. They were both so close in feel, but the winner for me was the draw cycle of the Rize just felt awesome. Some things I have learned as I began setting this bow up. Lots of this information came from a guy on AT named Quickcat. The vertical nock travel on these bows is outstanding and perhaps the best out there. Set your arrow dead level to begin your tune. Cam lean is negligible at rest and non existent at full draw. Timing the cams is a snap and overall just really easy to get close. I set the rest level, set centershot to 13/16" from inside of riser, put one twist in a cable to get cams perfect timed and shot an almost perfect bullet hole. Really digging this aspect. The Flexis cable guard is nice as you can turn it in or out to help take out tears while paper tuning. The one quirky thing, at least on the PCXL cams that come on the Rize is the draw length. If you opt to set the cams at 85% letoff, they're a bit long. Almost 1/2" longer than advertised. So, if you are a 29" draw you will probably be better off with either a 28" or a 28 1/2" cam with a string loop. I haven't had much time behind it, but so far its a dream to shoot. It holds very well on target and is very stable with minimal stabilizer weight and is dead quiet at the shot with barely noticeable vibe.. The Rize, for example is rated at 335 and appears to hit IBO. I'm shooting mine at 65lb 29" draw (measured to string). It shoots a 405gr arrow at 285fps. Stock strings seem pretty good so far, but I will be changing them out soon. All in all, I'm very pleased with this bow so far. As other have mentioned, they're track record in terms of durability, tuning and overall very nice shooting bows is worth mentioning. Just don't be surprised if one comes home with you after shooting it.
I've been shooting Prime bows since late 2012 and have found no reason to change brands. I started with a couple Centroids, move to Impact and now am shooting Rivals. I have a 2015 black Rival that was my "go-to" bow for 2016, including hunting. Right after the 2016 hunting season ended in early January, I began looking for a closeout 2016 camo Rival for my 2017 hunting bow and found a pretty solid deal on an RTX version. A dealer was selling the bow so he registered for me, swapped cams to my specs and gave the bow a basic tune. I've had it about 6 weeks now and it is shooting great.....planning on turkey hunting with it this spring and then deer in the fall. Primes have a LOT to offer and are not a fly-by-night operation, as they made Ross bows over 10 years ago that became their Quest line and then develped the Prime line as their own designs.
By the way.....that quickcat fellow on AT.....is my nephew. He is a heck of a bow tuner and taught me a lot about setting up Prime bows down in his basement workshop. Almost a year ago he moved to northern Indiana, so I am now on my own.....bought a used Bow Time Machine press last summer and learning the ins and outs. 30+ years as a stickbow guy, but "old dogs" can learn some new tricks. 8^)
