Mathews Z7 Xtreme Review

Its now 2018. I have been hunting/shooting a bow since 1990. My Last Mathews bow was purchased in summer of 1996, a Mathews Z-Max. I shot it for 21 years. I've used an over draw system since 1993. There is no over draw on the Z7 Extreme. Comparatively this bow is extremely forgiving. Light weight and easy to maintain. It is very fast. When fully drawn, there is no flex when the string is drawn all the way back. It walls to a stop! This is awesome for consistent shooting.
I did not like the rubber silicone, what ever grip was installed on it. It was a low wrist grip, I was having a terrible time with consistent hand placement. I could not find a comfortable grip any where. So I pulled my wooden high wrist grip from my ZMax and installed it on to the extreme. Although its dose not fit the riser 100% perfectly, it works very well. If i shoot a single spot target at 20 yards i'm destroying arrows. I now shoot a 5 spot target.
Let me sum this up. In my opinion. This is the best bow Mathews has produced since I took up archery.
I would Recommended it to any and all serious Archers. It's one fine hunting implement.

When I went into the archery store looking to buy a new bow, I immediately dismissed this one because of its shorter ATA. I thought it looked cool but I had heard shorter ATA bows were not as accurate and didn't hold as well as the longer bows.
I had shot several high dollar flagship bows while I was there. While I was trying to make up my mind about which one I liked better, the store owner brought this one over for me to try out. I honestly thought I wouldn't like it and I told him so before I shot it. One shot was all it took for me to realize how wrong I was to judge this bow before shooting it. I soon forgot about those other bows, and the z7 xtreme had a new home.

The farthest I've shot this bow is 70 yards. My groups are about 5 inches at that range. I'm no pro, so I'm sure there are many who could shoot better than that. My 5 pin sights are set to 20-30-40-50-60. I use an imaginary 70 yard pin right under the 60 to make those shots. 80 yards is too far for me to chance loosing an arrow using an imaginary pin. Arrows can get expensive lol.

My accessories are QAD ultra rest, copper johns DN3 sight, axion 5" silencer stabilizer, and mathews t5 quiver. I do have a Doinker dish 12 inch stabilizer, but I can't tell a bit of difference in stabilization on this bow with the Doinker over the axion. So I went with the one that doesn't get in the way while hunting. I'm not putting down the Doinker, I'm just saying I prefer the Axion over the Doinker dish on this hunting bow.

I love this bow and will be using it a long time. I've read things like it isn't accurate past 40 yards, and the wooden handle is uncomfortable, bad paint job, and overpriced. I haven't experienced any of those things with mine and it was cheaper than the other expensive flagship bows I was test firing so I guess those bows must be really overpriced since I thought this one was better.

Blacked out, but not tactical, original walnut grip, 70# 30"draw, 3/16 peep, Trophy Ridge Alpha V5 sights, Ripcord Red rest, Carbon Express Blue Streak Select arrows, 100gr G5 T3 mechanical broadheads, TruBall Short-n-Sweet release. This thing is an absolute lazer beam. As quiet as a mouse! I actually had to set the first pin to 30yrds as there was not enoughtdistance between pins at 20 and 30yrds. consistantly hitting a pie plate at 70 yards. The very first three shot group I shot with this bow was 1.5" at 40 yrds. Without doubt it has helped to make me a better archer

my previous bow was a PSE Durango 30"draw 70#, Goldtip 5575 arrows, G5 T3 100gr broadheads, Two prong rest i cant remember the name, Tru Fire X calipre release. I was fortunate to take a number of animals with this bow, however it is nowhere near the z7 extreame I have now.

Overall, an excellent bow. Still accurate after hundreds of arrows, multiple string replacements and plenty of bash marks after lots of hunting in harsh conditions. Added a short Axion stabilizer that gave it slightly better balance & dampened the already quite machine even further.

I have shot bows for most of my adult life. I (by no choice of my own) spent the last 3 years without a bow and was pretty sure that when I bought one that I would be back on the Hoyt train. Having never shot a Mathews I was alittle unsure of what to expect. I went to a local archery shop (Buck Rub) and shot three bows (RampageXT, Vecter35 and the z7x). Now, I am more used to the longer AtoA of the Hoyts and they brought back that old feeling when I let the three arrows loose from them, but then I picked up the z7x. I was amazed at how light it was and how short. I told my fiance, "I bet I can't even hit the target with this short thing". Well, I was wrong. Threee shots and three hits and to top it off, the 3rd was a robin hood!!! (now this demo model wasn't a rigged up and ready bow. There was a rest that had been set but the sights were awful). I thought that I missed the target completely but when I came walking back with the arrows in hand, the salesman asked "so what length do you want that draw in?" there was no way I wasn't walking out without that bow.
So, the z7 xtreme has taken this avid Hoyt shooter and turned him into a SoloCam man. But since the price was so high, mine will be sitting in the box till I can afford to set it up.

I have had this bow for two months and have shot it probably 500 times. I'm 29" draw at 70lbs shooting a 400gr easton axis st at 298fps producing upwards of 75-80 ft-lbs of energy. As far as accuracy I'm shooting inch to inch and a half groups out to 55yds VERRY accurate bow. Quiet... Compared to most it is like a stick snapping in the wind, deadly silent. The 7 3/8 inch brace hight is verry forgiving too it will correct your mistakes when the big one walks by and the excitement takes over. In my opinion the Mathews Z7 extreme is the most deadly bow ever made by any company. All this in a compact package makes it perfect in any situation on the ground, in a stand, in a blind or in thick brush. I want to thank Mathews for the innovation and technology and the devotion to making the best bows known to man.

I have been shooting bows for the last 20 yrs. I Started with a PSE. I have shot Hoyts Martins High Countyt's and have had 2 Alpines which I swore by until Mathews. Bought my first Mathews in 96(Ultra light). Bought a Black Max2 in 2003 Fast bow, accurate but very unforgiving. Sounded like a 22 going off and vibrated the hell out me. I bought a DXT in 2008. The DXT was my first semi parallel limb bow. Still think it is a great bow, good speed and compact (Still my spare bow). I was not impressed with the Reezen enough to justify buying a bow so soon.

When the Z7 cam out I was not sure of the Grid riser, however I liked the feel in the hand and at full draw. However did not shoot it. When the Extreme came out The feel and draw was impressive. It made my DXT feel really stiff and I personally think it is smoother than the Z7. I held off shooting it at that time again. Knew if I shot it I would buy it. The wife may not of understood. When I saw the add for the tactical at the shop I instantly fell in lust with the look. So I finally sent an arrow down range with an extreme. Lust turned to love and had to have it. Bought the first tactical that came into the shop 2 days later back in February of 2011. Still the wife does not fully understand. However she might when she gets her Jewel.
As I stated earlier the draw is really smooth compared to my DXT and night and day compared to the Black Max 2. The cam has a slight stiffness right before the break point. However this does not keep me from drawing the bow straight out in front of me with almost no motion, at 70#. The back wall fits me perfect at 29" Not like hitting a brick wall but noticeable enough to ensure a nice solid anchor. The valley is just right, enough room to be able to settle in a concentrate on aiming and not have to worry about hitting the front wall. Unlike my dxt which the valley seemed a little small and the front wall instant. I was always nervous I was going to relax a little to much while at draw on an animal and hit the front wall on the DXT. The extremes wall is still instant, but gives good confidence at full draw for those times when the bull just does not want to take that last step.
The light weight will be come in nice in Sept for elk season since I spot and stock and cover a lot of ground each day. And the nice compact size makes it nice for the thick Western Washington under growth.
Also the light weight makes it really nice at full draw when holding the pin on target. Once again, nice when waiting for the Bull to present the sweet spot.
Shooting the bow I was amazed on how little vibration and after shock the bow had. The speed was just right. Not as fast as my black Max 2 however speed is not everything. Usually speed means you must give up on forgivesnesshowever the Extreme has speed and forgiveness thanks to the brace height.
The bow is also extremely quite.
Compared to the DXT it has all the good traits of the DXT. Compact size, forgiveness, smoothness quiet and made them way better. Also brought back the 2 piece quiver option which the DXT lacked.

I can not say enough about the Extreme, love the bow would recommend it to anyone.
Not sure how Mathews will improve on this bow but they always seem to. Looking forward to see how. Maybe an even lighter bow or an adjustable cam so the bow is easier to pass to the son or daughter. However that only matters when looking to pass it on for a new bow.

Honestly this is my first Matthews bow and I love it. I would recommend this bow to anyone who shoots a 28 1/2 draw length. I am not what you would call a pro, but at 30 yards I can shoot amazing groups. With other bows I would have not even attempted to make shots out to 40 and 50 yards, with this bow bring on those white tails grazing in those cover crops. Thank you Matthews it was worth every penny.

All in all the bow was very good. Every feature on the bow is technologically advanced. I think it should come standard with a focus grip the slimfit is a great grip. Draw cycle is amazing. Very fast and lots of kinetic energy. Best bow on the market.

Would like to see Mathews showing more real IBO speeds. They use speed as a selling point, but most people are not 30" draw and able to pull 80#'s. List speeds on various poundage and draw. The features on the new Extreme is outstanding. Love the grid lock riser, which decreases the weight of the bow and the shorter ATA is great as well. Does not seem like you are shooting a 28" bow. Great draw cycle on the bow. Love how the bow holds at full draw and it is quiet after the shot. One downside is the draw length on bow. It is draw length specific, it should have replacable modules similar to a Monster.