# Looking for new bow - need advice



## mras (Jan 2, 2013)

Hello all. I am new to this site and have enjoyed reading posts and now am turning to you for help. I have been shooting archery for 6 years so my experience is a bit limited. I have shot a Mathews S2 for the past 5 years and have been relatively pleased. Easy to shoot, and gives good accuracy despite some probable shooting form flaws. I actually traded for a Helim this past fall and had nothing but problems with this bow. Could not get any accuracy and I hated the lack of valley. It seemed to want to shoot right away all the time. I Had the draw stops changed to the smaller one and that did help - but only a little. Was lucky and got the S2 back for this season. I was looking to trade to get something a bit shorter, lighter and possibly a bit faster. I Have to say, im not a speed freak. I would rather have a forgiving bow that is accurate and will be a good hunter bow. With my Helium fiasco, Im a bit gunshy, but am trying this new bow search again.

I have tried the following bows that past month. The Hoyt Carbon Element, Hoyt Spyder, Bowtech Insanity, Prime, Mathews ZXT, Creed and Chill. I liked them all with exception of the Carbon Element. Ironic as this is what I anticipated liking the best. The Prime was just ok to me. My dilema is I liked all the others and cannot decide amongst them. 

Mathews and Hoyt dealers are close. The companies are bigger, stable and Mathews has renowned customer service. The bowtech, as much as I like shooting it, is 90 miles from me. I'm not a tech guy and different things I have read suggest they may require more tinkering than the others. Should the bow need any tuning or work, it would be a inconvienance to get work done to it. That leads me back to the 3 mathews and the hoyt spyder. I felt the spyder drew well and shot well except for some hand vibration. Also not wild about the limp shock absorber rising on the draw and then falling into place on the shot.
All the mathews felt good in hand, drew relativly well, were quiet and had no percievable vibration.

All bows were shot with rests and loops only - was not able to test with all the bells and whistles so I dont know if any are accurate over the others. When I ask for advice and help from the sellers, they say all are good and to go with what feels good. I wish i could, but I can only afford one. The creed did not seem to want to fire like the helium and I have not really noticed the "mushy" back wall some say the chill has. The creed and chill might feel a bit smoother to me than the ZXT, but the ZXT was set to 70 lbs when I tested it vs 60 lbs for the chill and creed.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys.

Mitch


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## mtlenway (Nov 5, 2012)

I am and always have been a Mathews shooter, having owed nearly a dozen or more different models over the past 20 years. As such I cant give you much help with the Hoyt or Bowtech lines. Although, from what I have read on the sight and in various magazine reviews bot the Insanity and Spyder are getting rave reviews. As for the three Mathews bows you list, The ZXT is likely to be the closed to your HeliM and possibly a bit smoother and equally quiet and free of vibration. I have shot both Creed and the Chill. I didnt think I would ever find a dual cam system I was comfortable with be the Chill proved me wrong. The two are very simular with the exception of the solo vs. the dual cam. After shooting them both I found the dual cam Chill was slightly smooth and they were equally quiet with the Chill having even less vibe than the Creed. If price is an issue I would lean towards the ZXT and even though it is nearly $200 cheaper I dont feel you are really losing out on much. If money was not an issue I would personally opt for the Chill. Best thing you can do is limit your selection to two or three bows and comparison shoot the as much as they will let you. I get the impression you are leaning away from the Bowtech, hence, go back and shoot the Spyder vs the Chill, then the winner vs the Creed and pick the one you like the best and shoot it against the ZXT to see if the price difference is really worth it to you. Good Luck


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## mras (Jan 2, 2013)

Thanks for the input. I actually went to a different shop today after work and was able to shoot all 3 Mathews together again. This time I got to shoot the ZXT at same 60 lbs as the Creed and Chill. Today, i actually felt the lack of Valley a couple times on the Creed much like I experienced with the Helium. Not sure why I had trouble today and not last night. That has me leaning to the ZXT and the Chill. The ZXT was a lot smoother at 60 lbs than it was at 70. The seller thought the Chill and Creed would hold resale value better than ZXT should I want to upgrade in the next couple of years.

As I understand it, the ZXT is not much different than the Z7extreme which I see many like. I wonder if it is worth it to try and find one of these - What do yoi think ??


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## wildcatter109 (Dec 18, 2011)

Buy a Spyder and you can't go wrong! I would choose the slightly longer A to A and get the 34, much more forgiving and still light and compact, and the most tunable and accurate of all you mentioned.


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