I can't believe I am the first to post this.... but I got an e-mail today from BowTech about the release of a new bow "Fuel" on May 12th. It states is will be bianry cam and a package deal at $499. The rest of the stats are blurred out but it looks like it may say 7.125" brace height, 31.5" ata, and 330 fps but its hard to tell. Interesting to see them making mid year models and prices coming down on good bows.
That's what I'd guess...They've had the Assassin in the lineup for a few years now, probably just a revamed version of it...Specs sound about the same.
The Carbon Knight dropped to $550 at my shop shortly after they were released, then they came out with the Carbon OD. But I assume this won't have the "carbon" riser?
Got the same email today. Not very excited though. I went to check out the new Bowtech line last week and I was not impressed. It seemed to me they feel 'cheaper' than the '08 Equalizer I currently own and shoot. My next bow will probably be made by a different manufacturer. I liked the Xpedition line and may wait on a new purchase until after the new Martin bows come out.
Mathews has 2 more they are releasing also. 2 new versions of the Chill. A shorter ATA with a much faster IBO and a longer ATA bow. BowTech needs to release a new bow to replace the Assassin. Sounds like the perfect replacement.
I love my Assassin. People call it an entry level bow but I have been hunting 30 years and it works well for me. It really is a great shooting bow. I wouldn't mind a new bow a little longer but doubt I'll replace it with something as similar in specs as this Fuel is.
It was my understanding that the carbon knight was the replacement for the assassin, since the price was lowered to be more competitive at "entry level". I'm very interested to see the mathews bows though. I have no plans on replacing mine, but I like to see what they come out with. Coop, my brother has the assassin. It's a great bow. He shot all kinds and that one was still his favorite.
Looks like Bowtech and many other manufacturers are subscribing to the Wal-Mart mentality that selling more bows at cheap prices beats selling less for more. They are making bows for Cabela's now too in the $400-$500 range. I remember when Bowtech was cutting edge and just a couple manufacturers were putting out bows above and beyond the crowd. Not even sure if there is such a thing as an upper scale bow company anymore. You can find a great bow in ANY lineup these days and the overwhelming majority of bows today are separated more by personal preference then they are by quality or performance. This is just another entry in the long list of low 30's ATA 320-330fps and 7ish brace height bows that are literally a dime a dozen now. The upside is a nice bang for the buck to avg archers with the downside being stagnant if not regressing technology.
Atlas - I'd argue that many manufacturers that offer budget minded bows absolutely still have top end technology available and new things coming out regularly. The market for $500 bows is just too large for them to ignore though. They would be foolish to not capitalize on this huge (majority) chunk of the market, they are a business and while innovation and producing flagship bows will always be important to them...........so is making money. Don't be fooled......BowTech's flagship bows are still top of the food chain and so are many other manufacturers bows that have a budget minded option too. Every few years I regretfully upgrade my hunting bows. I tend to find one I really like and keep them for a while. First one like this was the 04' Patriot, then the 07' Allegiance, then the 10' Destroyer 340. Now it's the Experience. It's simply the best hunting bow I've ever shot. It draws like the D340 and is just as fast, but it's significantly quieter. The RPM 360 is very similar just a LOT faster, but unfortunately they don't make it in my draw length otherwise I'd have one. I'm pretty sure you are shooting the D350, the RPM 360 is producing similar to slightly faster speeds and is quite a bit smoother and quieter. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you can shoot one side by side with your 350.
Oh, I certainly don't blame them for catering to the mid price range crowd....as you pointed out they would be crazy not to. I just remember when getting a Bowtech, Mathews or even Hoyt for that matter was a step above the average bows that could be found nearly everywhere else.......still good but not in the same league. It took me from 2003 SC Patriot all the way to the Destroyer 350 to actually find a Bowtech worth "upgrading" to. I also owned a few more out of boredom but sold or gave them away. I just never found a bow that wowed me enough until the Destroyer and the speed/draw combo is what sold me. Honestly I didn't even know the 360 existed. Looks a little PSE and Monsterish for my tastes and 10 fps isn't even noticeable but it's been awhile since I have shot some new bows. I will let you know if I shoot it......dad needs a crossbow and we are gonna go shoot the Stryker Solution soon anyways.
I think what may hurt the bow market more than anything is people being able to sale bows like the Diamond line out of their garages being drop shipped straight from the factory. There was a guy last year that sold 659 Diamonds and never laid a single eye on them. He sold them for the minimum which was only a $50 profit for him on each bow. That's still $32,000.00 he made without making contact with the bow. That's not including the accessories, arrows and what not he sold. Who will service them? Many will never see a pro shop and some will. The shops may end up servicing them for a higher cost than if they had purchased from the shop but, those are sales that would have been to local shops if they had not been able do this.
I think what we are really seeing is a plateau in bow technology. From 06ish through about 2011 Bowtech was making some of the biggest advancements in bow design. In my opinion some of their greatest came from that era (Allegiance, Guardian, Admiral, Destroyers). There is no doubt the speed race has, for the most part, stopped now. With that, though, forgiveness and efficiency have absolutely gotten better. Nearly everyone has improved over some of the first 350 fps bows...well, except PSE Short of some extreme technological break through I'll doubt we will see much new in the forth coming years.
See a lot of that anymore, but I don't blame the buyers at all, especially if they can save money. I do all my own work on my bows, some don't. When I buy a new bow I have two dealers which are actual Archery shops I will buy from. Neither is even in my state though, they just ships the bows after I call and buy them. The bad part for me is the few local shops around me don't have a tech that knows anything and their prices are worse than Bass Pro. That is what has put a bad taste in most local people around me. I understand that not al areas are like this. I'm sure some have great shops around them.
It's essentially the Cabela's regulator made by bowtech in their diamond line, but wit binary cams. Its the same riser and limbs, different cams.
