Well as the title says I finally bought my new bow for the season. Went to my local shop and bought the new Mathew’s Arc 34 in Kodiak brown. It’s still a work in progress but I’m very happy with how it is so far. I’m looking forward to purchasing more items for it and becoming more efficient with it.
Bowtech just dropped their new '26 Alliance (30" and 33") .... well, it looks like I'm heavily leaning towards the Elite Varos now .... the 4 things I wanted to see from BT was a timing system and a brace over 6.5" and a IBO of 335+ and 1/4" draw adjustments .... this 2026 Alliance has none of these, it does have the Deadlock tuning system.... yup, BT lost me this time around ... if the new '26 Elite Varos shoots anything like my Elite Ritual 33, it will 'prolly be my new bow this spring, it has what I want at 32" A-to-A ... plus, the Elite is about $200 less ...
New Varos is on the way (heck with waiting till spring ) .. shot one this past Sat. ... good draw cycle, dead in hand, quiet .. I liked it !! ... didnt have a chance to chrono it ... should be at the shop in about 2-3 weeks ...... Vuni pattern, 60lb peak ......
Sounds like a good bow. Get it decked out, practice and put some venison in the freezer this fall. Might even need a bigger freezer.
outfitting the bow with new stuff is fun (and usually expensive), I will use existing sights I have now/ MBG and HHA, will need a new stab set/quick detach, QAD HDX rest, wrist sling, etc. ... tuning is fun and hopefully goes smoothly .... this will make 5 ... 3 Bowtechs and 2 Elites ....
picked it up in the AM ... did a basic set up - will start tuning after I get 50-100 arrows thru it and play with the letoff some ... shot about 20 today to help settle it in after the set up...
shot another 30 this AM, peep is holding solid, I'm now at a very comfortable 30.5" (on the Mod.) draw length .. some time this week, I'll check timing and measure brace and AMO draw vs actual draw lengths ... then need to decide which spine arrow .... either Gt Velocity XT 300's or 340's, 'prolly gonna cut them to 28.5", w/ 150 grs up front (100gr tip+50 gr. insert, maybe add weight screws to the 340's if needed)), 58-60 lbs draw weight ..... Ive got plenty of these arrows but they are 28" for my SR 350 and Ritual, I need that extra half inch on the arrow 'cause of the new tad longer draw length ...
That's a sweet-looking rig! I like the tuning system Elite uses, and the new cable-length adjustment system is pretty slick. I hate pressing and twisting cables to get the cam timing set. Also, you can pick up an adapter from HHA to convert your sight to use the pic rail mount. They're cheap, and it will help save some weight, plus I like the way it looks. You'll just have to flip your infinite adjust bracket around to get enough windage to push your scope over far enough. Definitely worth the upgrade IMO. https://www.hhasports.com/products/pic-mount-kit-for-tetra-optimizer-sights/
just sent an emil to their tech, I want to know if the Micro-Splitters (timing thingies) can be adjusted while at full draw on a draw board ... THAT would be sweet .. I'm basically thru with set up/set timing/letoff/draw length/loop/peep/cam lean, 13/16 center shot with the 300's and all that jazz ... got over 50 shots thru it now... will paper tune sometime this week .. stilll need to measure AMO draw and actual draw.... at 58lbs and 30.5 draw length (mod length, not measured ) ... then to shoot the heck out of it, check speed, BH tune, set sight/tape, more to do ....... addendum : Elite tech said do not adjust timing splitters at full draw (draw board) ... FYI ... Addendum: well, heck, I had another Elite Tech say you CAN make adjustments at full draw on a draw board, even thought it wasnt designed to be adjusted that way ... go figure Hello! Although you can still adjust the yokes at full draw it is not how they are meant to be adjusted. Sincerely, Nathan Mitchell| Customer Service Team Lead (w) 585-201-5396 | 877-503-5483 http://media.togllc.com/ Customer Service Hours of Operation–
I hate breathing on my bow when it's in a draw board let alone turning wrenches and changing cable lengths.
yea, tuning is fun, but it can be a pain in the dupa ... double checked the timing, all is good, shot a bit in the house... cut one Velocity XT 300 to 28.5", added insert and 20gr wt ... this will be my bare shaft for the paper ... once tuned I'll check speed and the two draw lengths (actual and AMO) ..
well, paper tuning is done --- bullet holes ! ... took about 10 shots, no press or cable twisting needed, the SET system does work ... now to build some arrows so I can finalize the tune w/ broadheads .... looks like it will be the Goldtip Velocity XT 300's/ cut to 28.75"... 436 grs and 285 fps at 30.5" draw/58lbs .....
finally had a chance to shoot at 20yds out side, to windy to try farther ... if I do my part, she groups great ... still need to set/check the 3rd Axis, I'll do that from a stand at 10 yds/15ft height .. still a bit before I'll do the BH tune, will be using Exodus and Black Hornets again ... maybe toss in a mech. .. BTW, dont think I'll need a back bar on it, which will lighten the carry in .. need to shoot differing distance (20-50yds) on a calm day to get my sight tape correct .. I'll be using my B3 Hawk Hook/Flex wrist strap instead of my Onnex thumb ... I think by fall, she should be ready ...
checked it out .. the bracket is $39.95 .... there is a vid showing how to convert a Tetra to the pic mount .... does look interesting, I like the idea of keeping every thing inline with the riser ..... once in a tree, my quiver comes off, I practice with it on just so I know the feel, but generally when hunting/shooting it is off .. also, no back bar this time (I hope) addendum : adapter ordered from HHA ......
got the HHA pic adapter in, very easy to switch mounts around ... I like it ... pulls a little weight off the side and centers it more which is what I wanted ... once this weather clears out, and I can get outside on a calmer day when I'm not shed hunting/scouting, I'll have to set the 3rd axis and distances ... BH tune will be forth coming after that and later this spring ..
