Welcome from Iowa. Both look like great bows. I looked at the specs on each. Without handling one and certainly shooting one, it's gonna be hard to say which one I'd go with. Just looking at the photo's and specs I'd give the Mission the nod. Where are you in the process of this? Have you tested any bows yet? These two in particular? More information is needed.
I'm actually just getting into bowhunting..........I'm shooting a bow of my father in law's that is a Parker. This year will be my first year. I haven't gone out and down any shopping. So I'm just in the looking stage of the process now.
PSE is a very trusted company and i have shot the bow madness and that bow is hot on the money and fast
I recently purchased a PSE pro series Vandetta xs. I am totally blown away at the quality of this bow. It is fast, quiet, and accurate. I am also new to the sport and found this bow to be extremely forgiving and easy for me to dial in. I have very little experience shooting a bow and within just a few weeks of practice with this bow I feel very comfortable with my groupings at 30 yards. I am actually shooting the same pin out to 30 yards. I am going to start shooting greater distances now that I am comfortable inside of 30 yards. I can't wait to kill something with this bow this year.
I shoot the 2009 PSE Bow Madness XS, For several years I've shot Hoyt's from there MT Sport, Magna Tech, X Tech, Turbo Tec, and there Trykon. I alway liked there draw, the smoothness & that "Valley" but over the years the weight of a Hoyt became a issue for me. Last year I shot several makes & models of the 2009 bows when I decided to purchase a new bow. What really appeal to me were these new lighter, thinner, shorter bows. Speed aint a thing to me, but I know it doesnt hurt. I end up with 2009 PSE "Bow Madness". There was alot of good qualities this company made. The 28 1/2" axle to axle, 3.5 pounds & 7 3/8” brace height on this bow makes it very forgiving. My groups instantly improved my first day with this bow. It’s very easy to shoot and very adjustable as well. You can get 6” of draw length adjustment without a bowpress, can adjust the poundage, and also the letoff. The bow was great out of the box but with just a little tinkering & we got it set-up perfectly for me. The bow is extremely smooth on pull-back and has a very solid back wall. It even has a little more room for creep-up built in to the cam than its big brother the X-Force. This is another part that caught my attention about the bow. Personally I believe the bow is under priced for the quailty it is. This Bow is one of the fastest single cam bows on the market. One of the secrets to PSE achieving the speeds that they do on this single cam is the use of pre-stressed limbs. The limbs on the Bow Madness are already stressed to a point, beyond parallel, that a lot of bows are when they are fully drawn. It's hard to believe that a bow at this price can be so powerful and yet so smooth. I have had a chance to shoot my bow out on a chronograph, it sure is shooting much quicker than my old bow ever did. I have a 29" draw length & pull'n 58 lbs, so I know I'm not shooting the 332fps IBO speed, but I know it is shoot'n 267 fps, which is faster than my old Trykon did. This was the reason why I picked the 2009 PSE Bow Madness over all the other several manufactures I shot.
Good review, Don. I have gone back and forth for the last few months and haven't made up my mind yet....I shot a Bow Madness XS...and WOW!!! When you say "undervalued"....that's an understatement. Gotta love bowhunting!!!!!
Great review, Don. IMO, PSE bows are the best bows on the market right now. The more speed, the more kinetic energy provided the arrow weight is there. You can't go wrong with a lot of speed and penetration. I'd go with the Bow Madness. PSE bows are generally the fastest bows right now. The new PSE Omen has an IBO of 366fps. The X Force came out a few years back producing 350fps, which a lot of bow manufacturers still do not have a bow that IBO's at 350fps. If you watch the "X Force challenge" you'll see the PSE X Force go up against a Mathews, Hoyt, and Bowtech and wins in kinetic energy, speed, and came in at 2nd place in quietness; only trailing to the Mathews. Here is the link to that video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBJKCrhqR-M People say "you don't need that much speed that PSE makes". When in reality, the formula to kinetic energy is speed * speed * arrow weight / 450240. That means speed IS important for kinetic energy. More speed, more kinetic energy. The biggest con to PSE models that people don't like about them from what I've been hearing is the draw cycle and the noise. The draw cycle can be pretty rough on a lot of models and the noise the bow produces can sometimes be the downfall. A lot of the times though, they're shooting bows without a lot of let-off vs. a bow with a lot of let-off. If you get a split limb model PSE with a good brace height, then you'll get a pretty good quiet, forgiving bow. You can always add silencers though. And if you feel a lot of hand shock you can always add a stabilizer. I've noticed PSE bows are now coming with what resembles the "alpha shox" that Hoyt bows come with Specs on each bow: Mission Eliminator 2: ATA: 30.25 inches. IBO speed: 319 fps. Brace Height: 7.125 inches PSE Bow Madness: ATA: 32 inches. IBO Speed: 331 fps. Brace Height: 7 inches. The madness is faster and the brace heights are 1/4th of an inch difference, but the ata on the madness is longer, making it generally more accurate down range.
Whatever you buy make sure you shoot a lot of different brands of bows. Find what fits best in your hand and feels best for you.
You gotta try them all man. I shoot a Mission Venture and while I've never shot the Eliminator, I can say that Mission is a great quality bow. Everything to me feels so smooth about it. The draw is incredibly smooth and after the shot it is super quiet with no hand shock. I was blown away by just how smooth everything was. You really have to handle each bow and shoot it, carry it, draw it, everything. This will give you the best idea of what you want. Compare them all and see. I traded in my Parker for a Mission and the difference between the two was simply unbelievable. Give them all a shot.
