Ok I'm pulling on a 2012 PSE Brute X, I really like my bow(it's my very first bow) but I'm noticing on the forums people are shooting equipment that's easily twice what I paid($500 ready to hunt package). I've never held a thousand dollar bow nor shot an arrow with one. What am I missing ? Is my bow equal in every way except price ? I'm worried my arrow is going to bounce off a deer like some crazy cartoon or something. Should I sell a kidney and pick a new bow off the top shelf ?
No need to sell a kidney, your rig will put down deer just fine and in fact is a nicer unit than what I used for my 1st bow :-) Long as you’re happy with how your bow and setup is shooting, I don’t see any need for you to do anything different. Far as your question on what is different between bows in different price brackets, it really depends on what two bows you’re comparing. I’ve never shot the PSE Brute so my thoughts are more general comments… Just like anything in life rather you’re comparing boots, cars, computers, etc – there can be some subtle differences between various price levels – some makes/models more than others and some of those differences matter to some shooters/hunters while not to others… Some of the higher end bows may have a better stock set of cables/strings, finish may be a little nicer, little less noise or hand shock/vibration, they may be slightly faster or more efficient, newest technology/improvements, etc.
PSE's are great bows, yes. So are Mathews and Hoyt. Anytime a new bow comes out it is usually priced around $1000. Then after awhile it drops to $500 fast. As long as you can hit a grapefruit at whatever distance you plan to stalk within, your bow is good enough.
I think I'll be able to shed some light on this topic for you because in 2011 I shot a pse bowmadness xs and this year I'll be shooting a Mathews z7x. My first bow ever was the fore mentioned pse bowmadness xs. I killed 2 does and a 153" Kansas 10 point with it. It certainly got the job done and was worth every penny. This year my wife got me the Mathews z7x for Christmas so the pse got sold. Not because of poor function on the pse's part by any means. But because there's some things a 1000$ bow offers over a 500$ bow. The main things I notice after shooting both are as follows: the Mathews is dead quiet. My pse sounded noticeably louder when shot after my Mathews. Smooth smooth smooth draw on the Mathews. The pse was just smooth. The Mathews is truly dead in the hand after the shot. My pse did have noticeable hand shock even with a good stab and split limb dampeners installed. Lastly, Maybe this is just mental, but I feel like my groups at 30 yards are tighter with the Mathews than the pse. With that said, both bows are surely capable of killing a deer, I just feel that one product is a little higher quality than the other. Is it worth the extra 500$? That's up to a man and his wallet. Look at it like this; a Honda civic will get you from A to B just fine. But you'd feel a lot better about the drive if you were in a Bentley.
I paid about $600 for both of my Mathews used but fully set up. Honesty I just like the way they looked when I first got into bow hunting but now I see and feel the quality. Love the one your with. It's all personal preference.
No matter what you buy or what you spend, it all really comes down to practicality. Honestly, your $500 bow will make a deer just as dead as the $1K bows will. I absolutely disagree with the comment that a $1K bow is quieter than its cheaper counterparts. Noise, vibration, smoothness is all in design, not how much it costs. What you're paying for is the latest, greatest technology, design and sometimes materials. Oh, and in Matthews case, advertising dollars. (sorry, couldn't refuse) I had a 4 year old Bowtech Allegiance that I would put up against many of today's offerings. It didn't have any rubber hanging off it it, no harmonic dampener devices, etc. It was very quiet, fast and very shooter friendly because it was designed very well. Not to mention it was at least $300 less than todays top shelf bows. I decided once the top end bows crossed the $800 mark, I would never buy a brand new one unless I hit the lottery or had a lot of money laying around. I can not justify spending more than that on a bow. I just bought a 2011 Destroyer 340 (top end bow from last year) for $525. It was well maintained and if you hung it on a shelf, it would pass as brand new. I am more than happy with it. If you really have the itch for a new bow, I highly recommend buying a 1-2 year old used bow from a reputable guy. You'll save tons of money and still get to shoot the latest tech.
Last years $1000.00 bows are going for 500.00 used almost every where. why by new? Bows are the worst investment ever. shoot what feels good to you the rest is fluff and ego
Like others have said it's not the price of the bow that kills the deer better. You could take a 15 yr old bow and kill a deer no problem, alot of the people im around are just trying to keep up with the jones's, do they need a new bow every year to kill something? No not really as long as you are comfotable with the bow your shooting then good on you, because like the other guys have said bows depriciate in value faster than anything I have owned. Most of the time the 1 or 2 yr old bows have upgraded accessories anyways such as strings and sights and such, let the guys with the deeper pockets pay out the a** for the brand new ones and then you can reap the benifits. So do what you feel is right
Aren't those improvements in "technology, design, and materials" that you mentioned what make the proshop bows quieter, faster, and smoother? I don't think you're gonna find many guys on here (guys who've owned and shot both varieties) who will agree that a bow off the shelf at cabelas or bass pro will be as quiet as a Hoyt, Mathews, bowtech, or elite. Those big 4 all Put out a higher quality product than what is offered at the big box stores that's why they each sell a flagship bow costing 800$ or better. My pse was decked out with fuse accessories, and limbsaver split limb dampeners and it is nowhere near as quiet as my z7x. Or the carbon element, or the crx 32, or the maxxis, or the z7, or the assassin, or the destroyer, or the pulse all of which I shot before deciding the z7x was the one I wanted. Heck, even the proshop offerings by pse (dream season evo and axe 7) were both quieter than my bowmadness from cabelas.
That's a smoking deal! Like Muzzy and many of the other posters, I've also started to buy gently used instead... Just recently bought a blacked out Z7 with a bunch of upgrades - looked brand new for $600 - probably close to half what the bow and upgrade options went for new not that long ago...
It's a no brainer to buy a less then a year old bow at 50% of its " new cost" ....I been doing about every year for the past 10 or so......that said I bought a new Answer this year...
This! My buddy shoots a bowtech assassin that has monkey tails stab with harmonic dampeners basically the same stuff that is one my Heli-M. And it's no comparison in the noise between the two. Heli-M is hands down the quieter bow. With that being said your bow will kill exactly like mine. Just all in what you prefer.
I agree with everyone else. More money doesn't always mean better. It has A LOT to do with the person holding the bow. We see many hunting pros using the latest and greatest. They swear by it until another sponsor comes by and offers a sweeter deal. I have seen many switch bows and the ones they used to hunt with are now so much more inferior. All of the bows today are capable of harvesting a deer. I waited over a year to buy my NEW Mathews z7x and I saved a lot of money. I could have paid full price, but why. My oldest Mathews Bows (FX4 and Drenalin) are still as deadly as the day I bought them brand new. I won't spend a $1000 on a new bow again. I take the same approach as when I buy a truck, let someone else eat the depreciation.
While I can agree that the newer technology advancements CAN make a bow quieter, I don't think its the deciding factor a lot of times. For example, Bowtech has Diamond, which is nothing more than 2 year old Bowtech technology for the most part. Those bows are typically every bit as quiet and shootable as their more expenisive counterparts on the Bowtech lineup. I've also owned several bows in the past that are every bit as quiet, smooth and fast as the bows put out today. The new bows typically have a few bells and whistles on them that the average shooter would either never notice or never gain the benefit of. For me, the new Destroyer I bought was a culmination of me just wanting something newer to play around with and wanting a bow that was more tunable. Most guys aren't going to spend the time yoke tuning, or creep tuning, etc. The added benefit to this would never be realized by those guys. These new "top shelf" bows are absolutely not worth the 1K price tag on them, material wise. I would love to know what these things cost to produce. I bet most of us would be shocked.
There's some great advice in here StringPuller. If I were you, I'd shoot your PSE for the next couple years and spend time & money learning how to tune your rig yourself. Then by the time you're ready for another bow, you'll have a much better idea of what's important to you. Then shoot as many different bows as you can. One will stand apart, and it might be the one you're shooting now
You can put a $2000 sound system, $1500 rims, $1800 lift kit and a $800 muffler kit on your vehicle and it still rolls on 4 tires....brand and year don't change that fact.....get my drift? FYI my 05' Ford truck doesn't have any of those things but if it doesn't roll down the road just fine compared to those that do, or your "higher priced" brands
Don't worry about it. Hell, I shot a PSE Lazer Magnum for about 20 years. It killed probably 50 deer It had one thing that made me leave PSE... it was one noisy sucker. first off I got it before the days of let's make everything faster. Then along came the over draw. Duhhhhh... I fell for it and my bow became noisier. A couple years later I got rid of the light arrows, then I did away with the over draw... then I did away with the one piece quiver etc etc etc. Every year I was doing something to try and quiet the bow. One day I went into Len in Marylands shop to buy a climber. I left with a Darton. I had shot PSE for 25 years. Now I have Bowtech Guardian. It's whisper quiet. Now PSE makes some near whisper quiet bows. Don't worry about which bow you have. If you like it.... that's what makes it shoot straight. My Guardian is now ...???? .... I don't know.... maybe 10 years old. As I replace a bow, I give the old one to some newbie. It doesnt happen often. I tend to hang on to things I like to shoot. If it makes you happy.... it's a winner. Bow envy is just letting some guy who may or may not know what in the hell he's talking about get in your head. There are a lot of those people around. I gave up on light arrows and now shoot about 500 grains. I've taken my Bowtech that is rated at 314 or something like that and slowed it down with the heavy arrows to about 255. I love it... it's deadly quiet. Every kill with it has been a pure passthrough. Yes... that's because I shoot fixed broadheads.
all the above: i've shot pse for years now and never had a complaint, shot some of the other brands when buying my brute and they shot fine but in the end it was what felt best in my hand, took my biggest deer ever with it last season ,154'' 8 pt, so I couldnt be happier , heck only I want to change is the factory string
