Hi, I'm selecting a bow for for hunting. I'm a 5' 11" 210Ib guy. Friends have recommended getting a good bow to start with and I can totally understand why they are saying this. So how do these bows compare: - Mathews Creed - Bowtech Experience As I said.. I'm inexperienced so a forgiving bow is important :-) Thanks!
Honestly, no matter who gives the advice OR what the advice is ignore it if it isn't "Shoot all you can and pick the one you like the most and can afford."
My Advise: If you can find someone to let you shoot there bow some to get the hang of it, it would be a good thing. Think of it as never driving a car (or riding in one) and them trying to test drive them for handling, comfort, sound, etc. Once you have shot a few hundred arrows go shoot every bow withing 60 miles of your house. Don't look at the brand. Almost all bows today are a huge step up than 10-15 years ago. Some, you will know the first shot, some before you shoot it if it's not for you. Narrow it down to a few bows and go shoot them again. O yea, if a dealer doesn’t let you shoot some bows or gives you a "bad feeling about it)" go somewhere else. Don't shoot to much in one day. You will not judge the bow the same if you are shooting the 5th arrow or 65th arrow of the day. The bow WILL PICK YOU. Things to consider: IBO Rating (speed): Don't worry about the speed of the bow. All bows are fast enough today. My first bow was fast for its day (1976). It shot a blazing 180 fps and I killed lots of stuff with it. You will notice most bows with a high IBO (330 fps+) will have a harder draw and more of a hump than 290-330 IBO. They gain speed by having you pull the max draw weight for longer length and then the drop off is shorter. Draw length: Find your comfortable DL. Start by wing span divided by 2.5. This is a starting point. Remember the DL the bow says may not be actual. Lots of reasons for this but its a conversation for another time. Some bows have easy to change DL (Mission you mentioned is one). Then you can fine tune your DL as your skill/comfort increases. Some require cam changes to change DL which you could have your dealer do. Draw weight: You don't have to be a gorilla. Today's 60# bow has more power than a 70# did 15 years ago and more than an 80# did 20 years ago. You can kill any animal in North America with 60#. Bow length: Referred to as axle to axle (ATA). If you hunt a lot from a blind, 28"-32" ATA is good. Otherwise 28"-40" is good. Most hunting bows now are 28"-34". Cost: Figure your budget them be prepare to add $100-200 because the bow you really want will be more than your budget. Get quality accessories including arrows. Figure close to the cost of the bow again for rest, sight, quiver, stabilizer, arrows, broadheads and release. Warranty: Once you get it narrowed down to 2-3 bows think of warranty. Some companys have lifetime warranty to the original owner. Some companys have transferable warranty. Some companys have real lifetime warranty. Mathews has parts still available for every bow they ever made since 1990. Mission does too. Some company's lifetime warranty is until they discontinue that model and run out of parts. I know a guy that could not get a cam from the company for a 4 year old bow. Dealer: Check out each dealer. Is the place a pig pen (dirty)? Are they willing to help? Do they try to force you to a brand/model? Are you comfortable with them? Tell them you are just beginning. You are looking for guidance and are not there to buy that day and see how they react. My current dealer is 45 miles from my house. I drive past a dealer only 5 miles from me. A walked in there a few years back and asked him if he would put my bow back into manufacture spec. They dealer I had used for many years refused. He put in in spec, had me shoot it, adjusted my peep height and charged me a whole $10. A few months later (the next time I was there) I was bow shopping. I knew which bows I narrowed it down to. I shot both and asked if you would order me one in my DL that know one had ever shot. He said not problem. Now I had only been in his shop once before and spent a whole $10. He called me when it was in. I went there and he brought out a box and a knife and asked me I if I wanted to open it. He got my business from that moment on. Guess what....I bought 3 bows from him since and had 2 buddies go there. FWIW: A few years ago, I was looking to get a new bow. My last bow was 8 years old, I went to every dealer within 70 miles of me. I shot 17 different bows from 8 companys. One dealer told me to come back because I shot to many arrows. He thought I would not get the right feel of a bow after 40-50 shots that day. I told him I was thinking ahead. I had been shooting my current bow every day and was shooting 120 arrows a day at 80# before I went shopping. OH...now I own a 60# bow. Some I knew after one shot or before I shot them that they we not for me. But I shot several arrows from them anyway. It came down to 2 bows, the same brand. I chose the slightly shorter one, since I hunt from blind over 1/2 the time.
Go to as many shops as you can and shoot as many bows as you can before you throw down any cash...Let the bow pick you, not your buddies pick the bow.
There is an article on huntersfriend.com about bow selection. I read through it this last week and it really helped when I went to Cabela's to test shoot this last weekend. Here's the link: Compound Bow Selection Guide - Archery Help - Hunter's Friend
Best bang for the buck. PSE Revenge, $650 complete on ebay brand new. 300 fps@60lbs with hunting arrows, short axle length.
Like everyone else said, shoot as many types of bows as you can and pick the best one for you that you can afford.
