# 2013 Bowtech Assassin



## finallyanxer (May 18, 2011)

Congrats on a new bow. I shoot a 2011 Bowtech Assassin and really like it. It is my first bow, probably not my last.. but it works well and shoots straight, as straight as I can anyways. I have upgraded a few things.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

The bow tech that set my bow up said they changed the rest some for 2013 but I am still not wild about it. It works though so I will keep it for this season. I want to change the cable slide too.


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## GRLost (Jul 11, 2012)

so for 2013, we have a double gripper quiver, new rest, and a new camo pattern. hope they put that on the other bows for this year, they look better than last years pattern!


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## bobcat91 (Oct 18, 2006)

Looks great. I really like the MO Infinity pattern on it. I'm waiting to see what Bowtrch and Mathews are coming out with.


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## pabuckslayer08 (Nov 19, 2008)

I like that camo pattern on it, Id really like to see the invelvet hardwoods green comeback. I love that pattern


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

I like the pattern too. I originally thought maybe I wanted a black one but as soon as I saw it I liked it and didn't want black anymore.


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## op27 (Jan 12, 2008)

Congrats, what bow shop did you get it from. Nice to see someone local to me on here.


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## Bryan Thacker (Jan 27, 2011)

GRLost said:


> so for 2013, we have a double gripper quiver, new rest, and a new camo pattern. hope they put that on the other bows for this year, they look better than last years pattern!


Also looks like new strings also...Great looking rig man. One of the only bows Ive had that actually met IBO rating

Good luck!


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## rhythmz (Jan 10, 2010)

I shoot an '11 Black Ops Assassin. Do yourself a favor and get a Saunders Hyper Glide cable slide and save your cable.....


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## hoytman78 (Feb 6, 2011)

yeah the infinity camo is so much better than the treestand . my rep told me that infinity is now bowtechs standard camo pattern which suites me just fine .


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

GRLost said:


> so for 2013, we have a double gripper quiver, new rest, and a new camo pattern. hope they put that on the other bows for this year, they look better than last years pattern!


As I look at the pictures of the bow, I'm also looking at my 2012 Assissin. Mine is the same camo and I thought mine was MOTS??

I do know that the camo is different than the MOTS on the other BowTech's that were on the rack at the dealer. 

At any rate, I like the camo and it's proven to be very durable so far. 

Skeet.


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## Tony219er (Aug 14, 2011)

That camo looks great! Very nice rig man, do the riser cut outs look better as far as dip goes.


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## GRLost (Jul 11, 2012)

Skeeter 58 said:


> As I look at the pictures of the bow, I'm also looking at my 2012 Assissin. Mine is the same camo and I thought mine was MOTS??
> 
> I do know that the camo is different than the MOTS on the other BowTech's that were on the rack at the dealer.
> 
> ...


the mots is lighter in color with more greens and white.

the finish on mine is worn away where a "pro shop" fixed a problem with the cable set screw.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

op27 said:


> Congrats, what bow shop did you get it from. Nice to see someone local to me on here.


Louie D's in Charleroi.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Tony219er said:


> That camo looks great! Very nice rig man, do the riser cut outs look better as far as dip goes.


I never really looked at other years up close, but the dip seems good even in the cutouts.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

I was out shooting this morning. The 5" high I was getting last night must been due to shooting in the dark. In the daylight it was maybe 2" at most at 20 yards. I shot two groups to be certain. I slightly moved the sight and shot back to 35 yards. I tried a couple at 40 yards with the second pin and they were right in there. I don't shoot that far in the woods though, so I didn't spend much time back there. I shot my Bear Element back to back at 20 yards and I can't believe the difference. I really enjoy shooting that Bear but it's very easy to tell the BowTech is a much faster and quieter bow. The Bear has always had a slight "twangy" vibration at the shot and so did my old Reflex Bighorn so I thought that was normal. Guess it wasn't normal because this new bow doesn't have that. 

I think I will give that Bear to my brother after this season because he mentioned wanting to get into bowhunting next year but with 5 kids he doesn't have much extra cash.


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## Stubby'smom (Mar 20, 2010)

Congrats on the sweet new bow!


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Thanks. I was shooting it so well out to 40 yards I took it hunting last night. No shots but it sure looked nice hanging by my stand :smile: .


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## OCHO505 (May 27, 2010)

Very good shooting bow! This bow blew out any other bow in the shop here for sale! Great amount of stuff at a great price! camo looks much better!


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## BOWCHIEF (Oct 6, 2006)

Congrats on a fine bow


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## jjkutler (Oct 12, 2012)

Squirrel, what are the odds? You and I purchased the same bow on the same day! I had been shopping around, trying to figure out what I wanted (first bow of my own; been 20 years since I was target shooting as a kid) and just couldn't pass up the Assassin. For anybody in Michigan, I highly recommend The Hunters Den in Lapeer. I didn't arrive until 20 minutes to closing thanks to traffic, but Ed stayed 30 minutes past close to answer questions & offer advice with the sale (without trying to get me to buy the most expensive of anything).

I've only been able to work at 10 yards so far (bag target in my basement), but I've had my first Robin Hood, and look forward to finishing off the sighting and hitting the woods as soon as possible.


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## N2T (Jan 27, 2007)

Been shooting the heartbreaker since it came out(short draw assassin). Love the bow still and won't be replacing it, killed 3 deer with it and it's never given me the slightest issues. Great bow, probably be carrying it for another year or two as there's nothing out there right now I like better.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

jjkutler that's awesome! 

I can honestly say I've never felt so comfortable with a bow so fast. I usually shoot year round, but even with a new bow I want to be shooting it a month before I take it hunting. I shot this bow 1/2 the day Saturday and and was shooting it so well that I took it to the woods. I then shot most of the day yesterday and really feel like it can be my hunting bow for the rest of the season and I can hang my other bow up for the year. Everything I read about short bows say they are finicky and hard to shoot. I guess it just fits my style because I am shooting it better than any other bow I've owned. I hate sounding like a fan boy but I love this bow.


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## sashimigrade (Oct 5, 2012)

I got one of these for my first bow around the same time you did. I was also looking at a Rampage XT but I couldn't pass up the added accessories with the Assassin. Good value.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

So far my only complaint, well not really a complaint but more of an annoyance, is that red fuzzy stuff on the rest keeps coming off on the side closest to the bow. Maybe that means I am getting contact there but the arrows seem to fly straight. Putting the arrow into the rest pushes on that fuzzy material and I that is pushing it off as I load the arrow. I want to get a better rest but with only 2.5 wks left of the Pa season I didn't want to make that change since I already changed bows in the middle. I have been shooting a lot and having to push it back into place is annoying for sure.


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## Henrycountykid (Jul 26, 2012)

Hostage rests are not the best, iv had a few. If you want a full capture got to a whisker biscuit. Or go to a ripcord or (my fave)QAD. You wont regret it. Sweet bow!


Squirrel said:


> So far my only complaint, well not really a complaint but more of an annoyance, is that red fuzzy stuff on the rest keeps coming off on the side closest to the bow. Maybe that means I am getting contact there but the arrows seem to fly straight. Putting the arrow into the rest pushes on that fuzzy material and I that is pushing it off as I load the arrow. I want to get a better rest but with only 2.5 wks left of the Pa season I didn't want to make that change since I already changed bows in the middle. I have been shooting a lot and having to push it back into place is annoying for sure.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Thanks. I hoped when I saw they switched from the brushes to this style it would be a little better. They are like spring loaded posts with felt tips. But that red felt doesn't want to stay on. It will definitely have a different rest on it for either later season or by spring gobbler.


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## RLinNH (Sep 17, 2005)

And yet another congrats on a great looking Bow. Best of luch with it this year.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Thanks man. 

I put a para-cord wrist sling on it from Archery Zone today. I am kind of digging the combo of camo and red so I went with red/black. I figured it was a cheap way to add a personal touch to it so it just wasn't all production parts haha.


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## gordini47 (Aug 29, 2012)

What a great bow. I added a QAD rest, bow rattler, and Bowjax to mine. I have shot other more expensive bows and they don't match the silence and speed combination. At the outdoor range, people always ask, "man what bow is that."


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## intheshaw (Sep 1, 2010)

I've got a 2012 assassin, and love it. The only thing I changed was the rest, and it shoots just as good as the other higher end bows I tried.


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## whack n stack (Dec 23, 2007)

Very nice looking bow the Assassin is!


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

The rest is definitely junk. I was getting a slight nock left in my arrow flight so I bumped the rest right and that took care of it. Then I tried to adjust those little pins that trap the arrow from the sides because they were so snug I kept pushing the felt off when loading an arrow. The one came loose without issue, the side closest to the bow had the allen socket strip out it was so tight. I want to replace it but with only two weeks left in regular bow season I was hoping to get through with this rest. Not sure I like having a stripped screw on a "new" bow though. The bow shop I bought this from is in Illinois this week hunting or I would call them and ask about the stripped screw.


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## pa.outdoors (Nov 25, 2010)

Am I missing something? I didn't know bowtech released any 2013 bows yet other than the destroyer le. 
Nice assassin none the less. I love mine! Great shooting bow!


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## Zilch (Oct 23, 2012)

I bought an Assassin SD on Friday. The person helping me set it up at the shop ripped the felt off the top part of the reset. Said it pulls off in a few shots (looks like its true).

So, any idea what the sight pins are setup at? Seems I can hit pretty much center at 10 and 20 yards with the top pin. The 2nd one seems to be set for 30 yards. 

Or it could be me since I've never shot a bow before. I haven't missed my target yet so at least I have that going for me. :teeth:


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

pa.outdoors said:


> Am I missing something? I didn't know bowtech released any 2013 bows yet other than the destroyer le.
> Nice assassin none the less. I love mine! Great shooting bow!


Definitely a 2013.

Zilch, my top pin is 20-30, I have a target with a 3" circle and it's high in the circle at 20 and a little low in the circle at 30. The second pin is on at 40 on mine. I didn't go back any farther than that haha. Probably depends on bow weight and arrow weight. Mine is set at 61# and my arrows weigh 380. 

I was going to pull that felt off the top pins on the rest but wasn't sure if it would mess with the arrow or fletching if there was contact.


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## WMA HUNTER (Feb 19, 2012)

Man that finish look great , I like it alot


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## Gordon m (Sep 2, 2010)

Can't be a 2013 as they are not out yet... however ,, Great Bow and probably the most underated Bow out there .. Its faster than most Hoyts ,, and easy to tune and shoot Congrats !!


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## 3Dassassin (Apr 18, 2012)

great looking bow man,i really like that camo better then the MOTS wish they would of had one in that color when i got mine lol enjoy it man,besides changing the rest the only other that is a must change in my mind is the cable slide,it started chewing up my cables as well as alot of others on here


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Gordon m said:


> Can't be a 2013 as they are not out yet... however ,, Great Bow and probably the most underated Bow out there .. Its faster than most Hoyts ,, and easy to tune and shoot Congrats !!


It is a 2013. I registered it as a 2013 and I even just emailed my dealer now since a few of you had my questioning the year.

"2013 and 2012 are different camo and you got the new camo and the new accessories
2013 for sure
I have sold more than 20 of the new ones already
Louie D's Archery"


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## Larry Tanner (Oct 25, 2012)

Strange. I looked and shot one today. Very nice I must say. I will return tomorrow to buy. Probably go ahead and add the whisker biscuit. But I was told it was a 2012. It was the same camo pattern. He told me they added the pattern later in the year like a 2012 1/2 guess you could say. But don't take my word I am a laymen in the bow world. I am just converting from ambush sniping to primitive. I hope this is the right choice. Of the bows I have shot the last week I can say I liked this bow better than a couple 1k bows I have shot.

Do you guys have any other changes I should make upon purchase? Not planning on deer hunting this year. But hope to some turkey. Always been something I wanted to do.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Honestly I don't care what year it is, I don't buy new bows very often (my last bow was 7 years old). The rest is definitely different than the 2012 but that's getting changed anyway so I don't care about that either haha. I registered it as a 2013 and my shop swears it's a 2013 so I am sticking with that. But if it's a 2012 I won't like it any less and I paid less than any other local shop wanted so it's not like I paid more for a "2013" model :smile: .

It's a great shooting bow and that I do care about. This bow makes me want to go outside and shoot I like it so much. I haven't felt this way about shooting since I shot trad gear. I always shoot a lot but usually just to stay in practice. This bow made it fun again for me.


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## pa.outdoors (Nov 25, 2010)

That's great squirrel. I'm the same way with my assassin. I've had bows that I paid twice as much for that I didn't enjoy shooting as much as my assassin. Just keep an eye on those cables and I would get a Saunders cable slide as soon as you can. Looks like you did get a hostage pro on there with yours. My 2012 came with a regular hostage. Everything else looks the same other than the new camo. I have black ops. Great choice squirrel! Now go bag a big one!


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## jstrike (Feb 18, 2010)

congrats,i love mine i changed my rest and the staib.shoots great.


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## gut pile ohio (Jul 15, 2012)

Congrats, I picked mine up about 2 months ago and it is a great bow, you will appreciate more and more as you use it. It was my first bow but defiatky not the last


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## whack n stack (Dec 23, 2007)

Are the Assassins making their IBO's easily?


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

whack n' stack said:


> Are the Assassins making their IBO's easily?


Going off of what I have chronoed with my old Answer and my Assissin, I have to assume yes, the Assissins are meeting their IBO. 

Skeet.


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## reckless (Jul 8, 2006)

have purchased two assassins this year for students one was an sd camo the other a regular assassin black ops.
both were making there Ibo and a little bit bit more.
super bow for the money.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

In this video this guy says the bow he is testing is 60#@29" and with a 375 grn arrow he says it shoots 291 (almost my exact setup except mine is 62# and I shoot 380 grain arrows). If it's true I don't know, but I do know it's WAY faster than my 2007 Bear Element haha.


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## COWBOYS FAN 008 (Oct 29, 2012)

I also am the proud owner of a 2012 Assassin. The only thing I was totally diasppointed with were the Octane products they came with. On my quiver the two tubes that connect the bottom piece cracked and fell apart. I ended up getting the old faithful quickie quiver!


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

For 2013 (or 2012 1/2 like some guys have said it is) they changed the rest. It's still Octane and it's still junk in my opinion. The felt doesn't stay on the pins and the one pin screw stripped immediately. My quiver seems fine so far, the rest is the only thing that gave me problems.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Figured this was a good place to post this. The Assassin made meat last Friday. 115# doe (field dressed weight, checked at the processor), 12 yard shot, 60 yard recovery. Arrow deflected off a branch I totally didn't see and the shot went low through the shoulder and took the heart.


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## evasiveone (Jul 22, 2011)

Congrats


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## LaMedic (Nov 11, 2012)

Nice doe, looking forward to placing my order for the assassin. 649 seems the going price locally.


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## bluecollerhero (Sep 18, 2012)

i Absolutley love my assassin. (2012) model. so far i have removed the factory string silencers, string stop, stabilizer. replaced with "cool catz" red/black string wiskers, bow rattler string stop, limbsaver s-coil stabilizer( had it laying around) and also put on bowjax monsterjax on the limbs. makes a HUGE difference in noice and vibrations. still need to upgrade my rest to the nap apache carbon, swap cable slide to the saunders, and possibly upgrade the sights. Im not worried about the quiver considering it comes off at the stand. Overall great bow but the accessories could use an upgrade to really let this bow shine!!!


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

bluecollerhero, did you notice and performance loss with those monsterjax?


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

Squirrel said:


> In this video this guy says the bow he is testing is 60#@29" and with a 375 grn arrow he says it shoots 291 (almost my exact setup except mine is 62# and I shoot 380 grain arrows). If it's true I don't know, but I do know it's WAY faster than my 2007 Bear Element haha.


Good review. Thanks for posting that. 

I'm not so sure on my actual speeds, however. It's been a while so I really don't remember. 

I plan on shooting mine through my chrono some more, perhaps within the next day or so. 

Myself, as well as some others, feel my chrono indicates slower than most out there. 

I know I'm robbing myself out of some speed by the way I have mine set up. In order to get a better valley and a more locked in feeling, as well as less holding weight, I put the posts in one size hole larger than the rotating mods. 

I have, however, found that my Assissin's draw length is running 1/2" long according to my draw board. 

So the way I have it set up, it not only helps with the valley and let off, but it puts the draw length to my specifications. 

I shot a doe last week from every bit of 40 yards. Shooing 60#, 28.25" DL, 410 grain arrow, with a 2 1/2" total cut GrizzTrick II. I got a pass through which surprised me really. 

The more I shoot my Assissin, the more I like it. I plan on ordering a curved cable rod to help reduce some of the built in torque and hopefully, add some more forgiveness. 

Skeet.


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## bluecollerhero (Sep 18, 2012)

why would there be performance loss? but to me with both the monsterjax on the limbs and the bow rattle DRAMATICLY reduced vibrations to near nothing. wiskers quieted it down a good bit too. Very pleased with this set up. its my hunting bow so im not too concerned with maxing out my fps. who cares about 5-10 fps when you can make a bow wisper quiet anyway? 

edit: Ane would also like to note that before i had the monsterjax on it there were limbsavers on the limbs. monsterjax win hands down


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

bluecollerhero said:


> why would there be performance loss? but to me with both the monsterjax on the limbs and the bow rattle DRAMATICLY reduced vibrations to near nothing. wiskers quieted it down a good bit too. Very pleased with this set up. its my hunting bow so im not too concerned with maxing out my fps. who cares about 5-10 fps when you can make a bow wisper quiet anyway?
> 
> edit: Ane would also like to note that before i had the monsterjax on it there were limbsavers on the limbs. monsterjax win hands down


It just does kill some of the speed by doing putting the pegs in one hole longer.

I put a home made STS on my Assissin and LimbSavers. 

From my experiences, and I did some good testing, I found the complete opposite results between the Jax and LimbSavers. 

I traded for a bow that when it got to me, was very bad out of tune. It sounded like a train wreck when I went out to give it a try as is. It had Jax on it. 

I bought the bow in my home shop, removed the Jax and installed LimbSavers. 

Went out and shot and the difference was like night and day. LimbSavers took away most of noise to my surprise. Still had to tune the bow, which made it even more quite. But I don't buy into the Jax thing one bit.

I installed LimbSavers on my Assissin when I brought it home and those took care of most of the noise. The rest of it was taken care of with my home made STS. 

Personally, I care a lot about 5-10 fps considering my DW and DL. It does in fact make a difference as was proof by my 40+ yard shot and a pass through. 

So you can have quiet and speed both if you like if you go about it right. 

On the whiskers thing. Been using them since back in they came out in the early 80's. I love em. But I have correlated with Baldyhunter about that and they have found that they got the best performance and speed with the stock silencers as is where they are located. 

Mine is plenty quiet enough for me and my hunting. 

Skeet.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Thanks for the tips guys. I am all for making my bow as quiet as possible.


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

Squirrel said:


> Thanks for the tips guys. I am all for making my bow as quiet as possible.


Getting rid of the stock STS helped about as much as installing the LimbSavers on my Assissin. 

Those stack STS's are kind of loud. 

Skeet.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

Have a brand you recommend to switch the stock one out with?


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## TJK (Dec 2, 2010)

Thanks for posting, I hope you are getting some good use out of the sling. 



Squirrel said:


> Thanks man.
> 
> I put a para-cord wrist sling on it from Archery Zone today. I am kind of digging the combo of camo and red so I went with red/black. I figured it was a cheap way to add a personal touch to it so it just wasn't all production parts haha.


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## Squirrel (Aug 6, 2008)

TJK said:


> Thanks for posting, I hope you are getting some good use out of the sling.


Sure thing. I couldn't remember your member name here or I would have put it in the original post too.


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