Well, Dave Badgley asked for it, so now you’re all going to get it. He asked me to talk about a few of the bows that I have owned. The MV2 Fury X and the Hoyt Smoke were the ones that piqued his interest. Since I’m going to give my take on those bows, I figured I might as well give some insight on many of the other ones.
Many people asked how I could possibly own that many bows. I’ll be honest and tell you that I’m not sure. I guess I would consider myself a bowjunkie, someone who loves to shoot different bows. Just like many others, I’ve had a few that I never should’ve gotten rid of as well as a few that I should’ve dumped sooner than I did.
Here’s my take on many of the bows on my list, starting with the PSE Strato-flite Express. This was the first bow I owned that made me feel like I was a modern-day bowhunter. When I began shooting this bow, I felt like I was a superhero. I couldn’t miss with it, and I shot with a finger tab. I killed my first deer with this bow and competed in my first couple of 3D tournaments with it while shooting with my fingers. The early success I had with this bow is what catapulted me into the competitive archery arena.
Although, I didn’t mention it above, my time with my Bear Grizzly recurve is the reason I started compound shooting with a finger tab. I became proficient with the recurve and could consistently hit soda cans and apples when my dad and I practiced in the backyard and on our weekend hunting trips to Oneonta when I was in my early teens.
When I graduated from college, I wanted to shoot a caliper release like many of the other archers at the 3D shoots. When I converted to a release, I also upgraded bows and found myself shooting a PSE Fire-flite Express. I used this bow for everything, including shooting it at 3D shoots, indoor Vegas and 5-spot leagues, and hunting. Although I averaged about a 400 on a Vegas target with this bow during leagues, I also shot my first 300 on a 5-spot with it. Then, the 300s began happening with regularity. Shooting with a Cobra caliper wrist release, I quickly became one of the best shooters in my area. The success didn’t last, and I got crushed by full-fledged target panic. I also killed my first bull elk with that bow after missing it on the first shot.
At that time, I went to see Ed DuFour at his archery shop and told him I couldn’t hold my pin on the target. He pulled the drawer out behind the counter, reached in, grabbed a release and threw it over the counter to me while saying, “Here ya go, Kid. Learn how to shoot this, and you should be okay,” and that was my introduction to Stanislawksi releases, long before Eric Springer of Copper John bought them out.
After learning how to hold my pin on the target again and execute a shot, I decided to dive into the world of machined riser bows and purchased a PSE LD-280 Infinity. This bow had a camouflaged machined riser, steel cables and round wheels. When I began shooting this bow, I couldn’t miss. Word quickly traveled around my area that I was shooting one 300 after another everywhere I went.
I heard the whispers after I completed my first year of shooting all 300s in a 10-week league at my home club. People in other clubs started talking and saying I couldn’t do it anywhere but there and they didn’t believe it anyway. The next year I packed up and hit the road to shoot in other local leagues. That next year, I competed in three leagues at three different clubs, averaging a 300 in every league. The talk subsided, and the jealousy began. I’m sure many of you know how that goes. If you shoot well, you are always cheating, even if people shoot with you. Instead of congratulating you and asking questions, the people are nice to your face and talk behind your back. I enjoyed it because I knew I had slayed the dragon by going to these other clubs.
After that first year with the Stan, I picked up a Carter trigger release a few years later. When I got that release, my X count began climbing every year. I went on to attain a 300 average every year for the next 15 years, with exception of one year when someone ran into me while I was at full draw and they were stepping off the line, causing me to miss one arrow for a 299. I killed my first deer while using back tension to shoot the shot with that bow. It was a nice 4-pointer.
I shot a PSE Infinity SR-500 at the first IBO World Championship that I attended. While I shot the bow well, I felt like I could shoot better, so I decided to try Hoyts at that time. That’s when I decided to shoot the original Hoyt Defiant, still one of my favorite bows. Competing in the IBO Northeast Triple Crown, I secured a 3rdplace finish overall, with Roger Thibeault and Al Lane coming in first and second respectively. I almost caught Al in the final leg, but his 26-point lead at the beginning of the tournament was too much to overcome, and I fell just short of the runner-up position. The final leg of the Triple Crown is the tournament where I gained Thibeault’s respect. He knew I wasn’t a ringer, and we became friends at that time. He showed his support for my shooting from that day forward, even up until the last few years I saw him. He always took the time to see how I was doing, both personally and on the archery circuit.
I would go on to kill a lot of elk and deer with that Hoyt Defiant, which probably put that bow near the top of the list of best bows I’ve ever owned. I can say that the bow never let me down when I needed it to do its thing. As I started seeing success in the 3D arena, I knew I needed to do something to get me over the hump. I needed a faster bow, so I jumped on Hoyt’s latest, greatest speed bow. I got a Hoyt Smoke and struggled with it from day one. That’s when I wondered if it was me or the bow. I could get the bow to pound one day, but it would spray arrows the next day. I never shot that bow consistently from day to day. Although I shot some really good scores with it, I also found myself well down the ladder in other shoots.
At the end of the year when I decided to hang up the Smoke, I walked hesitantly forward. I didn’t know if I should shoot the new Hoyt Deviator or stick with a longer braced bow that would be more forgiving. I shot a lot of arrows out of the Deviator and a few other models before making my choice. When I made it, a lot of people told me I was doing the wrong thing because it was so similar to the Smoke, which I had struggled with throughout the previous year. I thought the minor change in the handle and the riser is exactly what I needed. I could never be consistent with the Smoke, and I always thought those two things led to the inconsistency.
Well, I must’ve been right. Looking back on it, I can still say that the Hoyt Deviator with master cams is probably the best 3D bow I have ever shot. Not only did I find my way to the podium many times over the course of a few years with that bow, I also shot it really well indoors. I shot ACC 349s indoors with it and averaged 448. This bow was ahead of its time with speed, and it was forgiving in my hands. Not many people liked the Deviator, and it gave them fits. I enjoyed the sub 6-inch brace height and long axle to axle. I can’t remember making bad shots with that bow. I found myself sitting at 18 up after 20 targets at the second leg of the IBO National Triple Crown one year with that bow. Unfortunately, I had to take a zero on the second to last target when my release broke while drawing, causing me to drop to 5thplace for the tournament. There were 900 shooters in the class, and I finished in fifth with a zero. That might be my most memorable tournament ever. I deserved to win, but something out of my control prevented me from doing so. It still tastes salty. I won the IBO New England Triple Crown with that bow, and even used my backup with command cams on the second day of the final leg. The blow flat out performed under pressure. I’m still thinking this might have been my best all-around bow. I need to think about that a little more. I sold it to a guy in Ohio and wish I never sold it.
As time moved forward, I began shooting Martin bows. Martin bows might be the most accurate bows I have ever shot. I started with a Cougar Fury X with elite limbs. This bow was long and forgiving. I had one model with recurve limbs and one with straight limbs. I preferred the one with recurve limbs. I enjoyed shooting a bow without a cable guard, too. I never missed anything to the left or right with that bow, but it did have a lot of shock upon release. It had a tendency to eat up my arm. I shot some unforgettable indoor rounds with it. Going from a Hoyt Stratus indoors, which was one of the best indoor bows I’ve ever shot, I was amazed when I shot the Cougar. Two of my first three 450 Vegas tournaments, I shot 41xs out of the 45 arrows, winning both tournaments.
My success with that bow continued outdoors when I began traveling to the national IBO and ASA circuits. In back-to-back weekends, I had two top three finishes in the semi-pro class in ASA and IBO, beating some of the guys who went on to become pros and still shoot in that class today. The Martin Cougar Elite is definitely in the top three of all of the bows I’ve ever shot, possibly the best all around bow.
Sticking with Martins, I only had one that didn’t agree with me and that was the Cougar 3. Although I had some issues with it, I still won a few tournaments with it.
When I switched from the Cougar Elite to the MV2, I was in heaven. The MV2 had a higher-wristed handle than the Cougar and felt just like my deviator at full draw. Although I never excelled with my MV2 Fury X, I did shoot it well. I began having shoulder issues around that time period, and I wasn’t traveling that much. I did win the New Hampshire Indoor State shoot, shooting a 598 and 46 xs. The most memorable time I had with that bow was at the IBO World Championship in the semi-pro class. I had two bows with me and had a hard time picking which one I wanted to shoot. After shooting on the practice range, I chose the MV2 Fury X over my MV2 with fury cams. I ended up missing the cut by one point, shooting a five on the last target of the tournament. That’s one that still stings today. I just misjudged the yardage and hit the target low. It was a McKenzie Black Buck. I ended up buying two of those targets after that disaster. I haven’t shot a five on it since that day.
Well, the best year I ever had indoors in a league came when I was shooting a Martin Razor X with straight limbs. This bow had the nitrous x cam system on it. The wall was rock solid. Although it wasn’t the best aiming bow, it hit behind the pin and was extremely forgiving. My average for the league was 300 59.4 xs. Everything went downhill after that year. My marriage went south, I lost my interest in shooting for a little bit, and the shoulder problems worsened.
Along the way, I started using a Slayr Nitrous X and a Slayr for 3D. I shot the Slayr so much that it wore the handle down to bare metal. The Slayr is another bow that many people had a hard time shooting, but I loved it. It had a higher wristed handle than most other bows and was known for being fast. I loved shooting that bow. I still have it and have considered breaking it out and shooting it.
Since this is beginning to get long, I’ll skip through a few bows and get into the time period when I returned to shooting after having reconstructive shoulder surgery. When I started my journey back into competitive archery, I needed a bow that didn’t irritate my shoulder. I started with a PSE Bowmadness XL and shortly thereafter decided to shoot an Elite E35. The Elite E35 definitely ranks as one of the best all-time bows I’ve ever shot. The bow performed flawlessly in the woods and on the target range. The first year I shot it, I was able to make the cut at the Lancaster Archery Classic then went on to win one IBO national event with it and two IBO World Championships with it. The E35 is the best hunting bow I’ve ever used, and I can’t see myself ever using anything different as my primary bow. My Hoyt Ultra-tec is a close second in the hunting world.
When it comes right down to it, almost all of the bows I’ve shot over the years have shot well, but some of them have been more forgiving than others. I’d have a hard time if I had to rank them from first to last. I’ve enjoyed seeing Martin Archery come back into the target archery scene lately. I hope they continue to make strides and build the company up to what it once was when the company had almost all of the target archers shooting for them. In some ways, I think I’d like to try one again.
I think I’d have to rank my Martin Cougar Elite as the best bow I’ve ever shot for 3D and target archery, followed closely by my Elite Energy 35 and Hoyt Deviator. The Martin Razor X brought me to a level indoors which still amazes me. I think I could’ve shot the same scores with the Cougar Elite because I had shot some impressive rounds with that bow, too.
Sound off if you’d like to share any of your stories about different bows you’ve shot over the years.
