After my first year bow hunting with a friend's bow (the one listed below on my signature) I am looking to get my own. I have been shopping, researching, and shooting some over the past few weeks and have a couple of different ones I am leaning towards, but I am nervous about the bow that so far I like the most, The Mission Craze. I shot it a couple of times at the pro shop and if feels good (I am going to shoot the Riot and Ballistic in couple of weeks when he gets them in stock). I really like its flexibility and size (ATA 28 in). It would really work well for my hunting circumstances, i.e. smaller trees, blinds, and a lot of s&s. I spend a lot of time hunting from my knees out here (visualize crouching behind a ghost blind, yucca plant, or plum thicket). It has the draw length and strength to shoot at the distances I am looking for up to 45yds. My hesitation is most of the reviews I read online, they typically describe it as a beginners bow, youth bow, or woman's bow. All those descriptions make me nervous that it is lacking something for the avid dude hunter, but the specs say it is perfectly capable as any other mission or matthews bow. So what I am looking for are adult dudes who have shot or hunted with the Craze and their general opinion(s). Thanks for the input?
I haven't owned a Craze but did shoot one when I was shopping for my bow. In my opinion the only reason they say its ideal for youths or women is because it is a smaller ATA and the adjustability of it. It should serve u great for all ur needs if u like it. I truly liked it aswell but liked my Bear just a tad more for my budget.
I owned a Craze for a little over a year,and I loved it.Great for the Scrub Oaks that I hunt in the Ocala Forest.It small and easy to get around in highly wooded areas.I'm 6'3" and pull 30" and have the bow set at 50lbs.a Limb Driver rest,Tru Glo DDP sight.And have shot deer at 52 yards with no problem.Most of time I use a one of those small turkey blinds and a small folding stool for light weight and ease of moving around.They call it a womens and youth bow because it will adjust way down without changing cams,modules.But I call it my compact bow.Oh yea it won't break the bank.
Well I also was thinking of getting the Craze for a backup bow I was looking for something compact too as I wanted to hunt out of my blind etc. I shot the craze it felt good smooth draw its was nice I was gonna go for it but then my dealer got a new Ballistic in and I shot that and it was over man did that shoot smooth fast and the wall on it was amazing I can hold it forever and at 30.5 ATA its only a 1.25inch ATA you really cant tell that difference its a super fast bow. If you get a chance shoot it cause I was gonna pop on the craze aswell but once I shot the ballistic youcan def tell the diff, and its not cause I wanted a "higher end" bow over the craze cause for one my main bow is a Creed and I liked the Craze just didnt feel as good as the Ballistic.. Good luck
i got my gf a craze for her birthday and i was so impressed with it it made me want to get a new bow its smoth quite and fast! there is nothing wrong for a full sized guy to shot this bow. i myself am going to shoot a mission ballistic next year
If you wanna save coin snag one. I had one. It shot quite well. I was able to take squirrels with it pretty easily. Just didn't have the higher end features I wanted. For the little extra coin I would check out the Ballistic. If you want short ATA and have a little more money go shoot a Mathews ZXT. Crazy easy draw and so smooth. Whisper quiet on shot with no noise or vibration at all. Hit up a dealer and shoot as many bows as you can. Let the bow choose you.
I own a craze and its awesome. It's every bit a man's bow. They say children and women only because of its adjustability. Two Allen screws is all you need to change to go from, I thin 19inch draw all the way to 30. They are smooth quiet and plenty fast. I shot a ZXT the other day at a shop. Granted it didn't have a stabilizer on it but I think it had some hand shock on the ahot, my craze doesnt. My only gripe with the craze is the grip isn't perfectly shaped for my hand. Is like it to get a little thinner at the top than it is. Its got the same lifetime warranty that all mathews bows have. Craze is a great bow, the adjustibility is part of the reason I got it. When I upgrade I can turn around and set up my craze for my kids.
If you like the Craze get a mission Riot. Its just a bigger, adult sized Craze with the same adjustability.
The riot is a little longer and I thinkk it comes with a string stop installed. But its 100 more. I prefer the shorter bow and mathews string stop is 49bucks. Riot isn't worth the extra 100bucks imo.
Thanks everyone for the input, I am going out next weekend to test shoot one more time before making a decision. I am really liking the "compact" term, it is funny how just changing the description of the bow brings a little more peace to the mind. Probably should not be that way, but all the bows I have tested so far are good quality bows.
