Long story short...I use to be a bow hunting fanatic but got out of it because of deer leases(long story) about 10 years ago. My 11 year old son wants to bow hunt,got bit by the bug bad and about 2 weeks ago took his own money and we went and he bought a Mathews craze. Sweet little bow by the way. Well, that bug has been nibbling at me now so I've been pricing bows, specifically Mathews,(I thought it would be cool if we both shot the same brand and I've been impressed with the craze). Holy crap have bows gone up since I quit!! What gives? Are bows that much better now than they were 10 years ago? What makes them that much better?
Plus when looking at Matthews...you're looking at the Caddilac of bows. The bow I shoot, Diamond Infinite Egde is priced at $350 and is ready to hunt out of the box. Just add arrows and braodheads.
Good marketing mostly. The manufacturers tweak a few things each year, hype it up, and enough people convince themselves it is gonna be so much better, that they create the demand. Can't fault the manufacturer for selling it at a price where people are buying the volume he wants to produce. As far as whether new bows are that much better, you will get answers both ways....my own personal experience...no. Buy a used one if you don't want to spend that kind of money. I own three bows,a Mathews FX that is around 15 years old...a little more hand shock, but just as effective, a Mathews LX that is about 10 years old and a Hoyt Alpha that was the latest and greatest about 5 years ago. The Alpha is faster but the LX is smoother, but all three are more than adequate if I hit where I am aiming for.
Shoot one and see! All I had is a diamond Razor edge youth bow, then I shot the Bowtech Experience and wow was I missing out. I was shocked how smooth the draw was and how dead in the hand it was after the shot. Pretty awesome. I bought one and picking it up Tuesday. I spent $900 for the bare bow, but it's worth it to me. I do think they are asking a little too much, but people (myself included) will still buy them.
Look at Mission bows like the Craze (made by Mathews). They start at a much lower price point that the new Mathews or Monster bows do. Otherwise, buy one that's a couple years old
The Mission Ballistic is a great bow for a great price. I think it runs around $499? Not too bad and seems to be in the category of what you are looking for.
Market demand. The bows are so high tech at this point they have to be designed using computers with special software in which lisences are crazy expensive. Then you have to pay good, experienced design engineers to figure out how to get blazing fast speeds and shootability from a rotating sliver of metal. That's not even to mention the limbs that have to be able to take tens of thousands of shots without damage or wearing, because the market demands a lifetime warranty. Now you have to move on to the riser. Sure it takes less R&D for this, but if you want to put out the lightest and strongest, it takes a lot of work. That is just the 3 main components. This doesn't take into account any dampening, or string rollers for increased feel in the smooth department. Above mentioned is just the design portion. Now let's move to the manufacturing. You need an army of people to produce the numbers in which are needed to supply the demand of today's market. Next, you need machines. These must be capable of holding highly precise dimensions and tolerances required in today's bows. If one piece is just a few thousandths off, the whole system fails. Now you need to be able to do that a couple hundred thousand times in a year, and quickly, you have people waiting. Oh, and the materials are basically aero grade at this point also, gotta keep it light and strong! Next you have to make them look good, not just good, perfect, these things cost. You're not going to sell a $1000 piece of killing equipment that looks awful, image is everything. Next, everything must be assembled and tested. Each one must be perfect. If you let one slip out, you have an entire internet full of people ready to pounce. Also, the overhead of employees is on the rise. People are demanding higher wages and the government demanding insurance costs, it shrinks the profit margins the board must see in order to make their investments fruitful. So you have this awesome new bow that will revolutionize hunting and target shooting. If nobody knows what it will do, all you have is a multi-million dollar paperweight. You have to get it out there, and that costs. Sure they're not buying super bowl airtime, but you have to get it into the hands of pros. You have to get it in magazines. You have to make someone who has a perfectly good bow think they can't live without the new one you just made. When you think about all that has to happen for you to get the latest and greatest technology from a block of space grade metal, to your hands... not a bad deal really. Am I defending prices? Not really, I think there are some areas that are unnecessary that you pay for. They could reduce some. However, I have many years of manufacturing experience and I know that it's not easy to meet the market.
Why are you people paying full price for new bows? Just ask the shop owner what's the best price they can give you on the bow you want and go from there.
Everything is more expensive than it was 10 years ago. You noticed the huge jump in bows because you haven't been following them regularly. Just like when losing weight it might not look like you are losing because you see yourself everyday, but a friend or relative that hasn't seen you in a month notices immediately. I agree bows are expensive though. You can save a lot by buying used, or looking for leftover models. Or not buying "flagship" models. I went with the Assassin for this reason. Like others have said the Mission bows get great reviews and are priced reasonably.
Region plays a factor as well. The creeds here are $799 but most people on here are talking about them being $1000.
Bows are no different that any other product. Take guns for example you can buy a $450 semi-auto shotgun and have a functional gun, or you can pay $2200 and have the top of the line, best functioning gun with the best fit and finish in the market. Same rules apply to bows. You can get a bow that does the job for fairly cheap, or you can get one that shoots smooth, shoots fast, has a good draw cycle, and looks great. Either will do the job, it's up to you to choose what you want.
Wow this site moves fast. 13 replies already. Indynotch..good post, I hadn't looked at it from that perspective. I'm heading out today to take the wife out,get my daughter a birthday present...and maybe do a little bow shopping. A couple of guys mentioned the Mission,I'll check into to them. I've got a bow,a Hoyt tenacity so its not like I don't have anything to shoot. It was top of the line bow back in the day. Its even still got a TM hunter rest and a quiver full of 2413's. You cant even find aluminum arrows now LOL.
I've been in manufacturing for a long time and have been responsible for the design of products, all the way to the reliability in the customer's hands. Mission is a good brand. It uses a lot of previous years Mathews technology and sometimes new technology. They do a great job keeping costs down. Bowtech has the diamond brand which is the same. Hoyt doesn't have an "off" brand, but they have some great deals like the charger. If you like your hoyt, check that bow out. There are so many bows on the market in all different price ranges. My brother just got a month old assasin for $450 and that thing is a sweet shooting bow for a sweet sweet price. Happy hunting!
Mathews really isn't top dog anymore, they still advertise like it though. Don't get me wrong, they make great bows, they just don't dominate the industry like they did say 6 years ago. To the OP, there are a ton of great bows out there, you just have to shoot a bunch and find out what fits you. Bear makes some awesome mid price range rigs, as does PSE. The Hoyt Charger is also a great mid price point bow. Also don't shy away from Elite, even used Elites have a full warranty. Check the AT classifieds for some great bow deals.
Bowhunting has become a very commercial sport. IMO bows have not improved enough in the past 10 years to justify spending the prices being asked. I would recommend buying a used bow that is a few years old. You can buy a bow that was top of the line just a few years ago, and get it fully loaded, for less than half of what you would spend just for a high end bow today.
OK,I shot a Creed today...that thing was freaking awesome. Man that thing was quite. All he did was put a whisker bisket on it and we shot it. Nothing but smooooth. I was surprised at how little vibration was in my hand after the shot. Run it over the chrony and it got 292 twice. Run my old cluncker over the chrony after we got it set up with a new QAD drop away rest and some Beman arrows and it got 286. But there was big difference in how smooth it was compared to the Creed. I don't know if that Creed was $900 worth of smooth. Someone mentioned the Elite bows. I tried out one of those to. Nice bow,no doubt about it. But it was only $50 less than the Creed and the Creed was camo.
