As few as 10 years ago, if you were contemplating buying a new hunting compound bow and thought you could get durable high performance at a reasonable cost, odds were you had a better chance of buying a winning lottery ticket. Today, that’s all changed. Here are five new bows introduced this year that do everything bowhunters need a compound bow to do without demolishing any bank accounts.
Talk about “crazy”—this new Mission compound offers a draw length that adjusts from 19-30 inches and a draw weight adjustment range between 15 and 70 pounds (no, that’s not a misprint!) without the need of a bow press or changing limbs or cams. This dual-cam bow is just 28 inches axle-to-axle yet features a forgiving 7 ½-inch brace height and an IBO speed rating of 305 fps. While this bow works well for any archer, it’s a great design for young or novice archers looking to grow into their bow. The suggested retail price is $299. missionarchery.com
This single-cam bow is only 30-inches long axle-to-axle, yet sports a 7 ¾-inch brace height, making it extremely forgiving to shoot. The perimeter-weighted cam has an inner cam system to adjust draw length without modules or a bow press, and the zero-tolerance limb pockets significantly help reduce vibration and noise. It has 80 percent let-off, draw length between 26-30 inches and an IBO speed rating of 305 feet per second (fps.) The suggested retail price is $299. beararcheryproducts.com
The dual cam Blazer is 32 ½-inches axle-to-axle with 80 percent let-off, 7 ¾-inch brace height, and has adjustable draw weight ranges of either 45 to 60 or 55 to 70 pounds, with both of these options available in draw lengths between 26 and 31 inches without a bow press. It has an IBO speed rating of 295 fps. A Blazer Outfitter package comes complete with three-pin fiber optic bow sights, Whisker Biscuit arrow rest, four-arrow quiver and a peep sight. The suggested retail price is $429.99. parkerbows.com
Martin Archery has been known for high-performance compound bows for decades, and the new single-cam Exile is certainly no exception. It’s only 30 ¼-inches axle-to-axle, but has a 7 ¼-inch brace height and 80 percent let-off. It has a draw length adjustment between 25-30 inches and the let-off is also adjustable. The Accu-Trak single-cam system is smooth and quiet and sends arrows off with an IBO speed rating of 320 fps. The suggested retail price is $349. martinarchery.com
With an aggressively designed riser of machined aluminum and a single cam featuring a Posi-Lock inner cam that allows a full 6 inches of draw length adjustment in half-inch increments without using a bow press, the Stinger HP is designed for serious bowhunting. Other features include Vibracheck rubber grip to soak up vibration and recoil, asymmetric idler wheel, 7 ½-inch brace height, short 30 ¾-inch axle-to-axle length, 75 percent let-off and an IBO speed rating of a very quick 316 fps. The suggested retail price is $399.99. pse-archery.com