Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Knocking Off The Dust

So, due to a hunting opportunity this fall, I’m taking up bow hunting again. Climbed up in the attic yesterday and dug out the Mathews Q2XL and went down to the local archery shop to have them inspect it and correct any deficiencies. I haven’t shot archery since 2005, and the last bow I shot was this Q2XL. At a minimum, I expected to have to put new cables on it and retune it. The owner/tech looked it over and said it looked good to go to him. He put a couple of arrows through paper and they produced a perfect tear, so we stepped into the range. My first arrow in 18 years was in the white and arrow flight was perfect. I settled down a bit after a couple of groups and shot this group, breaking two knocks in the process. This reminded me all over again just what a nice shooting, forgiving bow the Q2XL was…. And is…

I’ve been pouring over all the forums the last couple of days and before shooting my bow again, was pretty convinced I would need to replace my bow due to it being so outdated. While I was at the shop, the owner let me shoot his Hoyt. His bow is one of this year’s bows. Which model it is escapes me. It was very nice to shoot, but not remarkably different than mine. Things of note were it did not feel like I was drawing any more weight than mine, even though his was 70 lbs and mine was 60. I’ve always felt like my Q2XL had very little hand shock, but the new Hoyt had none. Absolutely dead in the hand. I felt like his bow was as quiet as mine, be he assured me his was louder. His ears are a lot younger than mine, so maybe so…. I really expected his bow to be blazing fast, with a noticeable difference in TOF. His was faster, but not to the extent I expected. He shoots a 470gr arrow from 70 pounds whereas mine are only 420 from 60 lbs, which does account for some of the difference, but again, the difference was not as dramatic as I expected. The Hoyt is heavier than mine, but that is likely due to the front and rear stabilizers he has on his. My Q2XL has none.

So, for this season anyway, I think I’m going to stick with the old Q2XL. Maybe after this season I’ll upgrade. A little more speed probably wouldn’t hurt, especially if I don’t loose any forgiveness/shootability. When I do upgrade, I probably won’t get the latest and greatest, but rather a model a couple of years old at a hefty discount. For now though, I’m really looking forward to getting getting out again during archery season with my old friend.

John

It’s about time to start practicing, got a new instructor this year

That instructor might actually be able to talk me into shooting wheels again.

I'm doing the same. Didn't draw any tags out west and with kids going to college this fall I'll have a bit more time (hopefully) to do some hunting.

I've never shot a buck with my bow so this is the year.

Good to see I'm not the only one shooting an older bow. I have a Matthews Switchback that is about 18 years old. Like yours, it still shoots fine. It's sufficiently fast, still pretty quiet and I shoot it accurately. The newer bows are obviously faster and quieter, but this will work for how much I use it.

Alas, it was not to be…



I had hoped to get through this season without buying a new bow but that didn’t work out so well….

Expecting a NIB PSE Evo NXT 33 to be delivered today.

John

It’s time to get the bow out, start practicing. Season starts Sept 30

Good for you but sorry your old Mathews cracked. I got one of those new Hoyts this year. Mine is a VTM 34. An amazing bow but your new PSE will serve you well.

Todd

Holy Compound!!!

Built in floatation devices!

Good lawd. Buddy almost talked me into one of those. The sticker shock got me. Stuck with the Obsession for another year.

Expect sticker shock no matter what way ya go. I'd stick with Matthews but I'll not be buying one anytime soon I hope.

We did hit the range last night for about 50 arrows for a tune up. We'll hit it again this week later on and plan on ramping it up from there.

That instructor has good form. LOL

My back up for a few years now has become my primary. An Elite 35 I bought a few years ago. My astigmatism causes me to see 3 dots instead of one on each pin. Even with that I am busting knocks. I'm going to give it a "real" go this year.

It looks like little or no acorns this year, hopefully see some good bucks, maybe an Aoudad. Will see pigs for sure