# target bow??



## awirtz26 (Feb 12, 2009)

im looking to get a target bow this summer and just wondering what people think a good bow for target shooting. it would be used for just for 3d and a five spot and things like that


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## Fishkeeper (Dec 20, 2008)

Well I just recently decided to buy a target bow for the same uses , did some research and settled on the Bowtech Sentinel.
Good brace height, longer ATA (37"), and good speed for 3D.
Of course the superb Bowtech Fit and Finish.
Good Luck, there's many good bows to choose from these days.


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## Fishkeeper (Dec 20, 2008)

I forgot to say that I usually buy my bows used or last years model. The Sentinel isn't in the lineup for 2011.


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## isaacdahl (Feb 27, 2010)

Longer ata will help a lot with left/right stability and will usually be a tad heavier, making it sit a little better in the hand. If you plan on using it for spots also a brace of at least 7" will probably give you the most forgiveness. A bow with a relatively straight riser (not overly reflexed) will also help with steadiness.

Some bows that I think of off hand are the Bowtech Specialist as well as Hoyt's Alphaelite. Both of these bows have target bow qualities with relatively good speeds.

There are other great bows out there and they don't necessarily have to be in the "target bow" category.


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

Biggest thing with wanting to get a target bow is how much do you want to spend? A top of the line target rig from hoyt, mathews, or pse is going to set you back a grand or more new. Used they are much more reasonable, but since they are more or less a custom order bow for everyone, no shops stock them for people to try.

I would recommend getting a used contender elite with xt3000 limbs(28" draw or longer) or xt2000(shorter than a 28" draw) and spirals or a vantage elite with spirals. Spirals are drawlength specific, but they will give you the best speed with any hoyt target rig. This rig with xt2000's(contender elite) will be a very good 3d setup, but not the best indoor setup since it is roughly 37"ata and 7.25" brace, it will still shoot 60x games, but it takes more from the shooter. Vantage elite is a longer riser with xt2000's and they tear em up. Little heavier in mass weight but it is well worth it.

If you go mathews the apex or c4 are both good choices, played with the apex a bit and they shoot nice.. but they are not for me. The apex is like 41" ata and an 8" brace and the c4 is about 37" with a 7" brace, i think. Both of them will shoot very well, but they take a little work to get a solid back wall, from my experiences.

Pse has the supra(cheapest target rig you will find new this season, and they are sweet) or dominator. The supra is a single cam and the dominator is available in single cam or hybrid cam. Havent shot these yet, but from the people i know who shoot them, pse hit it out of the park this year.

Bowtech has some of their older centerpiviots like the commander that are very good for indoor, but the downside is you have a tough time finding them new, if that is an issue. Specialist is a good bow, but there is too much letoff, imo, and it isn't the best choice. It will still shoot 60x games, do get me wrong, but i just feel there are better options.


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## gblrgtr870 (Jan 10, 2011)

Since I am a mathews person I have to give you some mathews advice. Any of the conquest series 1-4, apex, triumph or prestige. If you can find one, a mq1 is one of the best I have owned because of the silky smooth draw. For the price, one of the conquest 2, 3, or 4 is going to be your best bet for a good all around shooting bow. The only difference with them is the riser configurations and the 4 has the integrated grip where the 2 and 3 have the wooden or Mathews new "focus" grip. Whichever you prefer and can group well is the one you want to buy. If you need any help with the mathews stuff just let me know!

Thanks,
Sam


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## Ignition kid (Oct 7, 2008)

well for 3-d I would say get a Monster or a Monster 7, and they say the new monsters, like the mr6, mr5, and mr7 are smoother than the older ones. I got a Monster and right now I dont have the m7 mods on it but with the regular mods it isnt really a rough draw, and even with the mods that are on it right now are too long for me I am shooting it better than my Z7 and with a 350 grain arrow at somewhere around 62# it is shooting flat out to 30 yards and as far as a 3-d bow I couldnt think of a better bow for it since it is accurate and fast which is what you want for 3-d. and when I get the M7 mods for it, it will rollover into let-off a little smoother with no difference in speed.


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## Joe(y) (Mar 1, 2009)

It all depends. Do you wanna buy new or used. This years models or two year old models. If you are using for 3d and target I would go with a bow that has some speed so the long shots in 3d aren't arced. Maybe zxt, assassin, supra. whatever floats your boat


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## awirtz26 (Feb 12, 2009)

ok then thaks for all the advice cant wait for this summer to get here so i can work and get a new rig


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## archerykid13 (Aug 11, 2009)

It just depends on how much you want to spend. IMO Hoyt makes some of the best target bows. If you don't want to spend $1300 for a target bow then look at a PSE supra. It's a sweet little bow. You could also look for a used Hoyt bow. Maybe a Contender Elite w/ xt3000's.

Jake


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## bgilm (Dec 13, 2010)

i just got an pse bowmadness for my 3d bow ,love it bit for my indoors i use something with a longer axel to axel ,i shoot the supra for indoors but dont get something that to long expessialy if you are not very tall


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## 09Admiral (Apr 29, 2010)

im shooting a 2008 bowtech commander and it is by far the best bow i have ever shot, its got a good axle to axle and you get good speed out of this bow and it has absolutely no hand shock what so ever, but that is all my opinion so if i was you i would just shop around untill you find exactly what you want.

-good luck!


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

One thing you might wanna try, if you can, is see if you can try some of the target bows that people in your area have.


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## 12-RING SHOOTER (Jul 27, 2010)

everyone makes an excellent target bow, IMO Hoyt isn't all they're cracked up to be, the spirals really have no valley... i hear a lot of people aren't too fond and pleased with Hoyt's 2011 lineup, don't get me wrong, i shot a Hoyt for years, loved it... and they're great bows, but if you don't shoot BT, the spirals are gunna give you problems. in the end, it is personal preference, so you need to shoot everything then choose. 

Hoyt i would shoot a 737, Contender, Alpha Elite, Alphamax 35, Maxxis 35, Contender Elite, Vantage Elite. From a lot of people i know who shoot Hoyts, i hear people loved the ProElite and Ultraelite when they were around.

Mathews is a huge name for the target industry, so check those out too. (Conquests, Monsters, Apex)

PSE has a few bows,(Bowmadness XL, Supra, and the older models, Shark, Money Maker, Bowmadness XL, Vendetta XL) they would make awesome target bows for the cheaper bill. 

i would shoot some of the Elites too if you can, i am more than pleased with my Elite XLR, so is my dad with his Elite Pure. (also, Judge, Pulse, Tour, GT500), make sure you get a '10 or newer, because '09 and older are draw specific.

Bowtech has a few: Specialist(i shot, and i liked), Sentinel, Commander.


to all the Hoyt guys out there, I am in noooo way trying to bash Hoyts, they're great bows, i am just going off of what i hear, so please don't take that in a bad way



to end this on a good note, shoot everything possible, then make your final decision.

-Dylan


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## archerykid13 (Aug 11, 2009)

12-RING SHOOTER said:


> everyone makes an excellent target bow, IMO Hoyt isn't all they're cracked up to be, the spirals really have no valley... i hear a lot of people aren't too fond and pleased with Hoyt's 2011 lineup, don't get me wrong, i shot a Hoyt for years, loved it... and they're great bows, but if you don't shoot BT, the spirals are gunna give you problems. in the end, it is personal preference, so you need to shoot everything then choose.
> 
> Hoyt i would shoot a 737, Contender, Alpha Elite, Alphamax 35, Maxxis 35, Contender Elite, Vantage Elite. From a lot of people i know who shoot Hoyts, i hear people loved the ProElite and Ultraelite when they were around.
> 
> ...


That is somewhat true. If you don't know what you're doing and have you're form down pat you will more than likely have problems. The spirals have never bothered me personally though.

Jake


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

spirals are a cam that take some time getting used to and you have to play with timing...

Dylan, i agree with you on some of the stuff with the spirals, and i love them.. you didn't nock hoyt, just laid it at it is


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## archerykid13 (Aug 11, 2009)

Exactly. Everyone is entitled to there opinion. And like Jacob said, spirals can be tricky cams to deal with.

Jake


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## 12-RING SHOOTER (Jul 27, 2010)

like i said, if you dont hold your bow back with your back muscles(Back tension) you will creep.


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## archerykid13 (Aug 11, 2009)

12-RING SHOOTER said:


> like i said, if you dont hold your bow back with your back muscles(Back tension) you will creep.


Yeah. You can't creep with spirals.

Jake


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

yep, spirals are nice in that they train you to not creep.. but they are very brutal in doing so

On my ve+, i have the top cam timed 1 twist slow to get a better drop into the valley and a better valley at 55% letoff.. i've shot it timed even and there is virtually no valley, but it drives i/o vegas x's.. but you have a bad shot and its gone, not forgiving at all. Most people time spirals top about a 1/16" fast

Dylan knows his stuff, so listen to what he has to say


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## 12-RING SHOOTER (Jul 27, 2010)

N7709K said:


> yep, spirals are nice in that they train you to not creep.. but they are very brutal in doing so
> 
> On my ve+, i have the top cam timed 1 twist slow to get a better drop into the valley and a better valley at 55% letoff.. i've shot it timed even and there is virtually no valley, but it drives i/o vegas x's.. but you have a bad shot and its gone, not forgiving at all. Most people time spirals top about a 1/16" fast
> 
> Dylan knows his stuff, so listen to what he has to say


thanks for the kind word jacob.


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## Sighting In (Feb 5, 2009)

Just to throw in my two cents here. Everybody's talking about the Spirals here, but nobody mentioned the GTX cams. They are new this year, so I understand why you guys aren't familiar with them, but I got them on my bow this year, and I really like them. They can come in 75% or 65% let-off (I like the 65%), and they do have a valley. But, they aren't quite as soft as the Cam.5+, which I really appreciate. They are more of an in-between cam. Not too harsh, and not too soft. And they are all of 2 fps slower than the Spirals, which makes about no difference whatsoever. Plus, they are not draw specific, they have a mod, so you can adjust it I think a few inches both ways, which I think is a huge advantage over the Spirals. So I'm just saying, if you are getting a new Hoyt this year, that's what I'd seriously recommend.


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## 12-RING SHOOTER (Jul 27, 2010)

Sighting In said:


> Just to throw in my two cents here. Everybody's talking about the Spirals here, but nobody mentioned the GTX cams. They are new this year, so I understand why you guys aren't familiar with them, but I got them on my bow this year, and I really like them. They can come in 75% or 65% let-off (I like the 65%), and they do have a valley. But, they aren't quite as soft as the Cam.5+, which I really appreciate. They are more of an in-between cam. Not too harsh, and not too soft. And they are all of 2 fps slower than the Spirals, which makes about no difference whatsoever. Plus, they are not draw specific, they have a mod, so you can adjust it I think a few inches both ways, which I think is a huge advantage over the Spirals. So I'm just saying, if you are getting a new Hoyt this year, that's what I'd seriously recommend.


for sure dude, not saying spirals are the only way to go, but about 75% of people who are going to shoot a target Hoyt are going to put some spirals on it.


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

Adam, 

the reason i've not said anything about them is because the feedback i've been getting is that they need some fine tuning at hoyt to make them killer. From the ones i've talked to they have some lean issues and timing stuff.

i'm not knocking the cams, Adam shoots them lights out along with many other people.. just passing along that i have heard they have some tunign issues


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## Sighting In (Feb 5, 2009)

Okay. I will say, the timing is kind of critical in my experience so far. From what I have played with it, it needs to be right to get it to feel and shoot right. I had it not timed right for a little while and it shot like crap, but once we got that fixed it shot lights out. But it wasn't that hard to get it set where it needs to be. I wouldn't hesitate to get them again, but I can understand where a few tweaks could help. After all, this is an all new cam system. There are always quirks.


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## hunter14 (Oct 14, 2009)

Like stated before, shoot as many bows as you can! Go with something you like and whats in your budget.

Lot's and pretty much every company as a bow that is targeted towards spots/3d.

Hoyt, Bowtech, Elite, Athens is what I would look at. Their 2011 lineups look sweet! Athens makes the Exceed witch is directed towards 3d. I have shot it and I really like it but I don't need another bow, but lot's of owner like them!

Just take a look at everybow thats in your price range and go from there!


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

Adam,

do you have your top timed ahead, dead even, or slow?

I know with spirals most people time them top fast so there isn't a definite drop into the valley. I have mine timed top slow, but being one twist out it doesn't effect groups or tuning. I've shot em dead even, and they shoot sweet... but they are unforgiving

So far all i've gotten to do with gtx is draw them and they do draw nice, but then again my favorite cams are spirals (little biased, to a point  ). Do yours have the rubber stops in the top mod?


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## Sighting In (Feb 5, 2009)

No rubber stop. The draw just stops when the cable hits the flat part of the mod. 

I think we ended up with the top cam just a tiny bit slow, but not much. I had set it fast for a bit, and it shot like crap. I think a touch slow is where it needs to be, because it shoots great like that.


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## N7709K (Dec 17, 2008)

Do you have the smaller cams where 27" is at the top end or the bigger ones where it is in the middle?


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