Plus, they’ve gradually gotten better over time. But compound bows are generally discontinued after a couple years. You just choose the red-meat classics that’ll keep the masses happy (even if classy folk like you and me know better). Of course, picking the “best ever” from a lineup of guns and calibers is pretty easy.

The Speed Demon: Mathews McPherson Monster XLR8.

The Bowhunting Fan Favorite: Mathews Switchback XT.

(Due to COVID, we were not able to hold a test last year to determine a Best of the Best winner in the Best Compound Bow 2021 category.) Only Bowtech has been as competitive as Mathews. After all, Mathews is a company that, since 2013, has won our bow test three times and finished runner-up twice. 6.5 Creedmoor-seem like playground spats.īut that enthusiasm for bowhunting-and for the debate over the best compound bow-is exactly why we’ve decided to do a run-down of the five best Mathews bows ever made. And when Mathews does win, these folks assume it’s because we took a bribe.Ĭompared to the anger I’ve seen come from the results of our bow tests, bickering over rifle calibers-like. Then there are the archers who shoot something besides a Mathews compound bow. Put simply, if Mathews doesn’t win, those bowhunters believe we’ve done something wrong. On the one hand, you have Mathews Archery shooters who are fiercely loyal. In that time, no other hunting bow brand has caused more of a reaction among readers than Mathews. I’ve been testing the best compound bows head-to-head for Field & Stream since 2013.

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