3.8lbs?! It's lighter than the lift! Speed? It's fast enough. Vibration, who cares I'm sure it's not bad. The bowtech ss34 vibrates like a tuning fork and people love that bow. I say for a beater public land bow it's spot on
I watch because I'm always learning something from the channel. From arrows to bows there is always something to learn here. The honest comparison is second to none and is presented in a way that flat out makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to do these videos
Honestly alot of these are things I wouldn't personally purchase but enjoy the content and seeing what all the manufacturers are putting out there and gives me knowledge when I have friends and people I meet that are interested in buying things they don't know about overall enjoy all of your content and is a way for me to keep as up to date as I can with everything hitting the market
finally saw your ranch fairy conversation. Ive always been impressed with your knowledge of archery and hunting in general. But how well spoken you are is the most impressive part. Thanks for the content!
For $599.99 that bow is right up there with any of the bows I've seen you review. Yes without all of the adjustability, but for a jump in a tree and kill a deer bow, you literally can't beat it. The speeds, balance, and weight. Bear is winning is the best bet. Also in other Channels the WhitetailMaxx and Persist are quieter then all the other bow brands out. I'm an Elite guy BTW. LOL I'm going to get the Bear Persist
Not many people can go out and try these bows to see what they're getting. Love the work you put in. Wish they had you tube back in the early 90s when I got in to shooting a bow. Did not know you can do all this to a bow an make it shoot stright.
As someone who is new and trying to get into the archery arena, I really appreciate the way you cover all aspects and components of these bows. Inevitably some are more important to people than others, but I think this gives people a very good overarching idea of how these bows function and perform. Thank you very much! Keep up the great work.
I appreciate you covering some more price friendly bow I cand go buy a flagship bow right now but I do plan on it next year hopefully but videos like this helps a lot and will make it easier to pick a mid price option for me in the future so thank you!
Thank you. Appreciate the experience & honesty. I shot this a good bit at the bow shop and liked it but didn't get it. The draw cycle and "thump" was a bit more harsh than I wanted. The Alaskan XT was noticeably better all around IMO so I chose it. But this Maxx is a great bow.
He gave the Mathew Lift 33 a 4 for speed when it had the same difference from advertised to tested. Weird. Looks like a solid bow for the price. Btw, I’m not a hater, I have a Mathews 😂.
People are always making this comment but he's not rating it on only the honestly of the advertised speed, but also it's speed in general, he even mentioned it in the video. If a bow is rated a 250fps and shoots 250fps do you give it a 5? no because it's still slow. The category is "speed"
@@TangoOne I think you should look at both reviews if you’re going to comment, your example doesn’t really make sense here. Mathews bow I mentioned is advertised at 343, and had speeds at 326, this Bear is rated at 339, and had speeds at 322. They are in the same range.
I've watched both reviews. We are comparing a 33" ATA bow to a 31" ATA, longer ATA bows are typically slower. MFJJ takes this into consideration. And no, it's not only because of brace height @@Angel.Custodio
Thank you for the review. Honestly, outside of the speed specs. Those numbers are on par with some of the flagship bows that are well over a $1000. I could care less about vibration as that occurs after the arrow has left the bow. Thank you again for the review
I like watching because it keeps me up on what’s out there. I’m a youth coach and the kids and parents rely on me to make suggestions on what to look at or what’s the next bow for them. You help me with that. I would love to see a video of your recommendations on youth bows from beginners to young adult. Would also love to see a Tittle vs Bowtech Gen 2 video. Personally struggling between the 2 bow. Price is a big one at nearly $1000 between them. Thanks for all you do. Good luck in Vegas.
I watch your content because I started working in a shop last year, and it helps me to help my customers when I can gather additional knowledge about products. I would like to see some more component reviews and/or comparisons, such as sights and rests - what's good or bad, features at different price points, do they deliver on what's marketed, etc. Thanks for the great content!
Haven't mentioned the let off adjustment feature and at which setting was this specific bow set at. Advertised IBO speed is probably when set at 75 % let off setting. I understand that it's normal to have been spoiled a little by testing flagship bows but in my opinion this price point category needs more attention and will get more people in to Archery. Once tuned they can be as deadly as anything while saving a lot for other needs. Hunting is a people's sport not an elite's hobby. I like your reviews, that's why...
Why do I watch? Because you're one of the few with a brainpan that doesnt let ego get in the way. You keep it real and blunt. I appreciate that in the crazy ass world we live in.
I watch because I like to keep up with what's new. Really like these mid price bow reviews! I wasn't in the market for a bow, until you reviewed the Darton Consequence. Lol
Love the content! Would love to see a review on the Martin aDSX one and 33. I’ve been hearing great things about them just not seeing any content or reviews about them.
I really like all the reviews you do since you give an honest, unbiased opinion and actually try to be fair. I would love to see how the entry level Bowtech Amplify stacks up and see if it can really shoot 335 fps like they claim though.
I was able to reduce that vibration by half by removing the 4 string grubs and replacing with brass speed nocks and shrink tubing. Doing so also gained me 2 fps on my arrow speed. For what it is, though, at 64#, it still shot faster than my Solutions SS set a 71# using a 360 grain arrow. Also, your yardstick wasn't exactly on the pivot points of the limbs. When I measured mine, I got a 1.5" reflex.
@@jons858 I went back to the basics. I like shimming cams because it's a one-and-done deal where I won't have to worry about screws loosening, and then the cams shifting because the worm-drive inside the Deadlock system started to move. Also, on the Solution SS, even though I have the cams pointing towards each other at full draw using the Spot Hogg laser alignment tool, the string isn't plumb with the riser. On my Whitetail Maxx, it is. On my SSS, the arrow is sticking out to the left of the riser. On my WM, it's perfectly parallel to the riser and my stabilizer. The price was another factor. At $600 MSRP (I got mine at dealer cost because I freelance at my local bow shop), the price just couldn't be beat. At 64#, 26.5" on the modules, my WM also shot 5 fps faster than my SSS at 71#, 26.5" on the modules, on Comfort. On the SSS, arrow speed would be the same if I dropped it down to 64# on performance, but the draw cycle is so much smoother on comfort and doesn't even feel like 71#. Either way, the WM is still shooting faster than the SSS in either of those 2 settings. In this review, I feel Josh didn't do the Whitetail Maxx justice. It felt rushed, like he didn't take the time to measure things out like he normally would on the high-end bows. For example, had he checked the cam timing to make sure the drawstops hit their cables at the same time, he would have felt a much better backwall. I don't get squishiness in my bow at all. Measuring the reflex, he didn't measure exactly from the limbs' pivot points. I noticed he was holding it an inch further than where it should have been. As for the vibration being as much as it was, I agree to what he felt. I felt that vibration as well, until I removed the string grubs and installed brass speed nocks and shrink tube using my Bowtech RPM 360's speed nock layout. This reduced vibration by half, and increased my arrow speed by 2 fps. So, having said all that, I felt there was lot of unconscious bias towards this bow in Josh's review.
Further, when I shim cams, I take the string and cables off, take the bow out of the press and lay the bow flat on a piece of white fabric on the floor, so that nothing ever goes bouncing if dropped. I know exactly what Josh was saying when he said doing that while in the press is a pain in the butt. Usually, I can get the cams shimmed just right the first time. The most I've ever done that to a bow to get it right was 3 times. As for the WM Josh was reviewing, it looks like Bear took my own ArcheryTalk review about the shim spacings and fixed it on that one - 7/32" on the left side of the cams, and the remainder on the right sides. When I first got mine, they put 1/4" on the left, which caused so much cam lean away from the cables that the bottom draw stop was slipping past the cable and making a clicking sound. As for my SSS, I'll revisit it again some day to see if I can get the string plumb and still shooting bulletholes. I know the string doesn't have to be plumb, but then again, why can't, or shouldn't, it be?
@@l.i.archer5379 appreciate the detailed reply. I shoot the SS and the draw cycle is a dream for me with the hunting I do and I put that above all else. My broadheads also track with field points. I understand all those details you went into. I’m always looking for a back up bow and was curious so thanks for sharing and giving some input after using and this bow. It’s the little details you shared that can persuade someone on the fence to buy a bow or not.
This is my go to channel for bow information now a days. I like the systematic break down of each bow, and that a good bit of that info is based on data and not all opinion. Your opinion does carry more weight though considering your access to products and level of experience. I would like to see what you think should be the ranges an entry level, mid level, and flagship level bows should score, and maybe what would be the best in each category once all the testing is done at the end of the year. Really like the content. Podcasts and all. Keep it up.
Hey man i love this channel. I don't trust many people to touch my bow so watching your channel to be able to work on my bow myself has been awesome. I'd like to see more in depth short how to videos. Rather than full bow builds start to finish just take one aspect and cover it. Examples- tying in a peep, tying d loops, d- loop placement, timing, peep size choice, axis adjustments, re-serving etc. Another idea is in the field fixes. Slip and fall or drop your bow. What are some things you can carry or keep at camp to be able to make non bow press related fixes?
I watch for Knowledge and i like the videos to be honest im shooting the bear legend Xr its my first bow ive upgraded strings and stabilizer from your suggestions made a big difference.I would like to upgraded eventually but its moven arrows
Thanks for this budget bow review. Please do a review on the Bear Alaskan XT. My son just shot his today for the first time. It’s a great bow for the money.
That’s fair. I bought this bow as the upgrade to my 2007 “bowtech” patriot II this past January and it blows it away! It is slightly more difficult to fine tune, but overall it is a great replacement. The draw is slightly more harsh, but has 2 monster cams instead of 1, so that’s to be expected. The speeds with my 410gr. arrow are a huge gain. I don’t buy flagship bows because I don’t need to spend the money, but this is the best bow I’ve owned since 1995. Man that makes me sound old! I was within 1.5-2 points from Josh’s assessment, based on my experience. Thanks for the review! Keep the videos coming because I learn something new every time I watch this channel. Hope to see you at TAC southeast in Georgia! You better be there with your awesome Mohawk!
Just an observation on one I just bought (only about 20 arrows in). The first thing I noticed was that the bow with the limb bolts turned all the way in measured only 66.6lbs using my HS4, and only measured 78.4% let off and was set at 85%. It definitely has a hump at the back end and some stacking before dropping into the valley. This isn't a complaint, just a difference I noticed.
Thanks for all the videos you do, always enjoyable. I am liking the mid tier content , at this price point I don't expect bells and whistles obviously, however I am curious as to the accuracy/repeatability and stability/ torque of these bows compared to flagships in your opinion. What are the limitations for these bows and at what point does a person need to step up to a flagship. For example can a person expect to group reasonably out to 70-80 yards with a mid tier? This is subjective and depends on the archer of course, but I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks again for all your content.
I watch primarily due to your, well your "youness." Don't always like all that you say/do, yet you are always informative and well thought out. And you have far more experience than I could hope to ever achieve. You definitely put the MF in MFJJ and that's a good thing.
I love my whitetail legend pro. I think it’s the model before this one? It has the EKO cams and I paid 500 for it at my local shop. I use the limb stop and it’s solid. I practice out to 100 with my 475 grain hunting arrows so it’s fast enough for me. I took 5 dear this season and was never in a situation where I wished I had a bow double the price. The money I saved on the bow was spent on my sight. The sight being nearly the cost of the bow, lol. These budget bows are just dang good for the price.
Newbie to archery and starting way late in life. Got this bow Xmas time frame for my first bow and now I feel like I screwed up 😂. Months of RU-vid research and shopping around and it just fit my budget to get into archery. Thanks for the info and details. I am in the end happy with it and enjoy shooting it but again not having anything to compare it to make that easy I guess.
You didn’t make a mistake. Check out The Hunting Public RU-vid channel. All those guys hunt with this bow. Practice practice practice practice! That bow is just fine to learn with, and make no mistake. It’s a legit hunting bow.
I watch to learn about archery, I'm just getting into archery so I'm trying to absorb knowledge and MFJJ is funny, honest, and he's a unique person with a lot of knowledge and experience.
I bought an Omnia, I'm probably gonna shoot that thing for donkeys years; I may purchase a 2nd bow (hybrid?) at some point just to have a bit of variety, but I do still enjoy watching all these reviews!
I’m curious because it wasn’t mentioned. I know this bow has multiple let off options. I believe 80, 85, and 90%. That would affect back wall and speed correct? What let off were you testing the bow at? I’m curious because I own this bow and so far am quite pleased with it.
@podiumarcher I am fairly new to archery but does vibration affect the shot's accuracy, or is it more of a noise issue? Is there any chance you also stock the Bear Alaskan? Last question would a speed nock help with the lack of speed especially with a heavier arrow?
So many things to talk about. I’ll keep it short.. I would never expect 0 vibrato from a bow under 750$. At this point I would test every bow with arrows that had no fletchings, that’s how manufacturers cheat. I watch and enjoy the videos JJ because you get into the harmonics and ballistics of these bows deeper than almost everyone, because you are a “Archery Mad scientist”.. I would rate bows differently, with me experience and view of the class of each bow… thanks, stay safe, the veil is getting thinner, repent…
MFJJ I'd love to see you review the Sanlida Dragon x8 or x9, i know their Chinese bows but i've seen so many people with them because their bow packages are 200-270 for everything you need to get started. I've shot one once and they feel similar to my Wifes Mission hammr but are also significantly cheaper. Are they something you could recommend to a new archer on a tight budget? would love to know your thoughts putting warrantee and and parts aside. Thanks!
I watch the channel for the exact reason why you said to see how the bows compare to each other in their respective price ranges. I think you should be using the new Garmin for speed tests. I wonder if yours is somewhat older or reads different.
I like to watch to see if I can find the best forgiveness to speed ratio I can find, if you want to do a video about the best speed to forgiveness for 2024 would be awesome 🙂
I’d love to see some videos of bow speeds at different draw lengths and different lbs draw, I think by doing this you would get more viewers as they are looking for the bow performance at their specifications because a bow with a 30” draw doesn’t tell me a lot about it if I were to set it up to my short draw length specs, the downside is needing extra mods to support different draws
So love the channel and love mathews and only shoot mathews but if I remember right you said mathews lift was exactly as advertised but it's actually and eighth over but when u do for example the bear your like oh just a little over just a 16th but close😂. Mathews must of paid u well. Referring to a to a
Have hooter shooter sponsor you and test accuracy using a laser sight to aim bows. I would like to know what bow is the most accurate with no human error.
Hello I do enjoy all your videos. I'm looking to buy a new bow im a short guy at 5'7" I have 28 draw . I'm 55 years old so I'm asking your opinion on either Hoyt Apha x 30 or the Bowtech core ss. My local bow shop carries Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech but they wouldn't let me just shoot them so I also have big hands. Can you give your on your and Tim Conners opinion on which bow would be better fit for speed and comfort. My last Bowtech was the.SR6 but it was too long for me. Thank you Josh for your input on these bows. I don't know anything about turning my own bows. But for performance being I'm short draw that's why I'm asking since you test every how.
Let’s be honest though what bow have you brought in has ever shot the number advertised or exceeded on speed that the company gives, and what bow has been in the 320s on your reader that’s 599. I wonder where the company’s are getting there numbers it’s kind of odd that none of the bows shoot as fast as advertised. Non the less bow seems very impressive for the price.
I bow bows every year, still go back to the switchback. Just need a pen to change string and cable. Very easy to paper tune, don’t need a stabiliser. Keep replacing new bows due to the hassles off needing a shop to tune the stupid things.modern bows keep going away from useability, so annoying
Hey Brother. I watch these videos to see which bows I can check off my list of potential upgrades to my current bows. Since you did the Whitetail Maxx, I'd like to get your opinion on the Bear Legit. It's only about a $450 bow that is highly adjustable. It's my current bow, hence the need for an upgrade, and why I was hoping to win one of the giveaways. I bought it to be my primary and make my 2007 Diamond Triumph a backup. I should've saved up a little more and got something a little better.
Let’s be honest vibration doesn’t kill a deer. So who honestly cares about vibration. All I care about is how easy is it to adjust! How well does it aim. Everything else is Marketing.
Vibration and noise have direct correlation. Loud bows are not indicative to killing animals that already are hyper sensitive to sound. Bows are all way quieter than they used to be so there’s that. I still would rather have the quietest bow possible
I take it none of you hunted in the late 80’s or 90’s. The bows sounded like .22lr going off. I killed plenty of animals and shot a crap ton. I have never had tennis elbow. All I am trying to point out is. Pay $2k for a set up. It doesn’t make you a better shooter or a hunter. If you don’t understand that. Sorry.
.....just adding a comment of support for your price point bow reviews MF'er. :) Do you remember the first year your ran 2 bows? I remember my shooting improving a lot, as a bowhunter making and playing with a target set-up, hinge releases, scopes w/ power lenses.....the most substantial thing I've ever done to shoot better.
I think a scale of 1-5 is to narrow of a range to create comparisons between attributes of bows. The more bows you test, the more their scores seem similar. Perhaps unfairly. Not saying this review was unfair, it's just that the small scoring range makes the really good bows seem less than they are and the bad bows seem better.
That would involve actually tuning the bow and setting it up with a dropaway rest, a sight, and a set of stabilizers. That takes much longer than just slapping a whisker biscuit on and shooting the bows for these reviews.
