Mathews Ovation Compound Bow

The Mathews Ovation is a purpose-built target and 3D bow that has aged into a genuine value on the used market, where clean examples now trade in the low hundreds - a lot of proven tournament accuracy for the money. Its headline numbers were never about speed: a 300 to 302 fps IBO rating, a 40-inch axle-to-axle, an 8-inch brace, and roughly 4.5 pounds of deliberate, steadying mass. What it delivers instead is forgiveness - the single StraightLine HP cam, the long riser, and the low InLine grip combine into a platform that owners say stacks arrows at distance and holds dead-center while they aim. The choice of 80% or 65% let-off lets a buyer tune the hold to their discipline, and the Harmonic Damping System keeps the shot quiet and dead in the hand. In my experience a long, heavy single-cam like this rewards the patient, form-focused shooter more than any spec sheet suggests. It is an excellent bow for the target and 3D archer who scores accuracy over speed and does not need to carry the bow far. Buyers who want a shorter, faster all-around rig - or who plan to hunt with it - should look instead to a modern hunting-length compound; buyers chasing a little more speed in the same tournament class should also look at the Bowtech Constitution... read full review