Mathews TRX 38 G2 Review

Editors' review

For three seasons the Mathews target line put the 38-inch TRX in the middle of the ladder, and it was the popular one before the 40 and 36 arrived to flank it. The 2021 TRX 38 G2 is that same 38-inch platform brought current: Mathews kept the geometry buyers already liked and rebuilt what drives it. The headline change is under the cams -- the G2 drops the original 2018 bow's eccentric for the C3X Crosscentric cam that now runs the entire TRX family, and it picks up the new 75% let-off mod that the older 38 never had. Add the 2021 damping rework, with the front harmonic damper moved out to the face of the riser, and the G2 becomes the version of this bow to own. At 38 inches axle-to-axle (the tip-to-tip length of the bow) off a forgiving 7-inch brace height, it is the long, planted target rig for the archer who wants maximum hold stability rather than the shortest, fastest frame. This is a target and 3D bow first, built to sit still on the pin end after end.

Finish

The TRX 38 G2 ships in a clean, target-oriented palette rather than the camo-first lineup of Mathews' hunting bows: Black, Blue, Red, and Stone -- the last a light neutral that some dealers list as White. That spread covers the archer who wants an unbroken tournament look and the one who wants a splash of color on the shooting line, without the woodland patterns a pure target bow has no use for. The anodized riser finish is the same durable coating Mathews runs across its premium line, standing up to the knocks of case travel and range stands better than paint. Right- and left-hand builds are both offered, so the color choice is not gated to one hand -- an Australian retailer's right-hand-only note reflects its own stock, not a limit on the model. For a bow that spends its life on a stabilizer-heavy setup and in a case between shoots, the finish choices lean practical and understated rather than flashy.

Riser

The heart of the TRX 38 G2 is its long, bridged aluminum riser -- a broad, twin-strut design with weight-relief cutouts milled through it, the biggest riser in the TRX family and the reason this bow holds the way it does. That length and stiffness are the whole point on a target bow: a riser that does not flex under a fistful of stabilizer weight is a riser that lets the pin sit still, and on the 38 that steadiness is more pronounced than on the shorter TRX platforms. Drawing it back, what I noticed first is how planted it feels at full draw -- it settles and stays there, the kind of dead-steady hold long-axle target archers chase. For 2021 Mathews reworked the damping across the TRX line and moved the front harmonic element out to the face of the riser, where it kills post-shot buzz closer to the source than the older rear-mounted arrangement. The riser carries enlarged stabilizer bushings for the front-and-back bar setups target archers live by, and the QAD Integrate dovetail mount machined into it accepts a rest without a burger-hole bolt. It is the same family of bridged target risers Mathews has refined for years, so the reliability story is well established.

Grip

The TRX 38 G2 wears Mathews' Engage grip, a slim, flat-backed side-plate design meant to index the hand the same way shot after shot for repeatable, low-torque placement. On a target bow that repeatability is currency -- the more consistently the hand loads the grip, the tighter the groups. In practice the Engage does its job for many shooters, but it is also the one part of this bow owners are quickest to change: some find its back profile a touch round and easier to torque than they would like. The fix is cheap and common. Flat aftermarket side plates or a full replacement grip run from $30 to $75 and drop straight onto the same riser mounts, and the riser accepts the current-generation Mathews grips as well. Coming from a flat, aggressive target or recurve-style grip, budget for the swap; coming from another Mathews, the Engage will feel familiar out of the box. Either way it is a preference call, not a flaw -- the grip that indexes best is the one your hand already knows.

Limbs

The TRX 38 G2 runs Mathews' Parallel Quad limbs -- four split limbs set nearly parallel so their motion largely offsets at the shot, a big part of why the bow finishes so quietly. The limbs come in three draw-weight modules spanning 40 to 70 pounds, with peak weights of 50, 60, and 70, so a shooter can spec the bow to a comfortable holding load rather than muscling a fixed 70. For a target archer shooting hundreds of arrows a session that choice matters -- a 60-pound peak settling under a deep let-off is far easier on the shoulder over a long tournament than a maxed 70. Adjusting peak weight within a module is the usual limb-bolt turn, no press needed for small changes. The near-parallel geometry stores energy efficiently while keeping the shot smooth, which is the balance a 38-inch target platform is tuned for -- forgiveness and quiet over raw speed. Across the TRX line this limb design has a long, dependable track record.

Eccentric System

The TRX 38 G2 is built on Mathews' C3X Crosscentric cam, and this is the mechanical heart of the Gen 2 update. The original 2018 TRX 38 ran the older TRX eccentric; the G2 swaps in the C3X that now powers the whole 2021 family -- the 34, 36, 38 G2, and 40. That shared cam is more than a parts-bin convenience: because the mods interchange across the line, an archer with more than one TRX can move let-off settings between bows, and every TRX draws with the same familiar feel. The headline is the mod system, and here the G2 gains the option the old 38 never had. The C3X takes three let-off mods -- the aggressive 70V, the max-let-off 80%, and, new for 2021, a 75% mod that lands in between (let-off being the percentage of peak weight your holding weight drops to at full draw, so an 80% mod on a 70-pound bow leaves you holding about 14 pounds). The 70V snaps into a short, demanding valley that keeps the shooter honest; the 80% carries the most let-off, which some find too much under a heavy bar setup; the new 75% splits the difference and is the mod most target archers on this platform settle on. Worth setting expectations: this is an aggressive target cam, so even the 75% runs a fairly short valley rather than a long, lazy float -- the payoff is a rock-solid back wall, since the draw-stop sits far out from the modules and gives the wall no give at all. Speed tops out at 329 fps IBO off the 7-inch brace height -- IBO being the industry-standard speed rating measured at a fixed 30-inch, 70-pound, 350-grain setup, and a marketing number rather than what most shooters will chronograph. The 7-inch brace and long riser trade a little velocity for the forgiveness and steady hold this platform is built around. Enlarged cam bearings keep the rotation stable and consistent, which is what a target eccentric is chasing. It is a deliberate, firm cam tuned for the line, not the treestand.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Pulling the TRX 38 G2 is a target draw, not a speed-hunting one, but do not read that as effortless. The C3X has no sharp hump to break over the way a speed-hunting cam does -- it builds without a spike -- yet it is a firm, weight-forward pull that lets you feel the load early, and shooters coming off a buttery Elite or PSE draw will notice this cam is the more aggressive of the group. That firmness is the trade for a genuinely rock-solid back wall, which is where this bow shines: the draw-stop sits far out from the modules, so the wall has no give and you can lean hard into it and let the shot break clean. Which valley you get is set by the mod -- the 70V a short, alert valley, the 75% the more forgiving middle most owners of this platform prefer -- though even at 75% the valley stays fairly short rather than a long float, so staying engaged on that firm wall is part of shooting this bow well. The 38-inch geometry is the story on the shot: the long riser holds the pin planted, and in my experience that steadiness is where this bow earns its keep -- the pin comes down and sits, and it stays parked while you finish the shot. At release the near-parallel limbs keep hand shock minimal; the bow holds firm and settles quickly rather than jumping in the hand. Honesty note -- this is a long, weight-forward target bow at 4.87 pounds bare, and with a full bar setup it takes real front-and-back-arm strength to hold up over a long scoring round, which is the trade for that rock-steady hold. It is a bow that rewards a shooter who has built the holding stamina to let its stability do the work.

Usage Scenarios

The TRX 38 G2 is happiest on a target line and in a 3D lane. Indoor Vegas rounds, outdoor field and 50-meter, and spring 3D clubs are its native ground -- the long riser and forgiving 7-inch brace are exactly what put arrows in the middle when the pin has to hang steady at distance. Picture a 50-meter shooter grinding a full scoring round on a hot afternoon: the 38-inch platform holds the dot planted end after end, and the archer who has done the deltoid work to carry a heavy target rig will find the pin drifts less and the shot breaks cleaner than on a shorter, twitchier bow. It is also the bow for the archer moving up from a 36-inch frame who wants more axle-to-axle stability on a windy outdoor line, or coming down from a 40 that felt like too much bow to maneuver. The 25-to-31.5-inch draw range covers most adult target archers, though short-draw shooters under 25 inches will fit the shorter TRX 34 better. This is not a crossover hunting rig the way the shorter, lighter TRX 34 is pitched -- it is a dedicated target and 3D bow, and that focus is the point. For the archer whose season is spots and 3D targets rather than treestands, the 38-inch length is the asset, not the compromise.

Versions

The TRX 38 G2 is sold as a single bow model configured to the buyer rather than as separate package tiers. The choices are: draw-weight module (peak 50, 60, or 70 pounds, each adjusting about 10 pounds down from peak), let-off mod (70V, 75%, or 80%), finish (Black, Blue, Red, or Stone), and hand (right or left). Launch MSRP was $1,849 -- the same price as its TRX 34, 36, and 40 siblings, so there is no price step between the family's platforms -- and, unlike a Ready-to-Hunt bow, that is the bare bow; the target rest, sight, scope, and stabilizers that define a competition setup are chosen and priced separately. Mathews' matching QAD UltraRest TRi target rest, which locks to the riser's Integrate dovetail mount for a bolt-free, micro-adjustable, torque-tunable attachment, is the natural companion but a separate purchase. Within the Mathews line the nearest neighbors are the shorter TRX 36 and the longer TRX 40, both on the same C3X cam -- the 38 G2 sits between them as the middle-length option.

Mathews TRX 38 G2 vs Reckoning 38, Invicta 37 SVX

Bow	Mathews TRX 38 G2	Bowtech Reckoning 38	Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX
Version	2023	2022	2022
Picture
Brace Height	7 "	7.125 "	7 "
AtA Length	38 "	38 "	37.25 "
Draw Length	25 " - 31.5 "	27 " - 32 "	23.5 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs	30 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	329 fps	325 fps	330 fps
Weight	4.87 lbs	4.9 lbs	4.7 lbs
Let-Off	70V, 75% & 80%	70% / 75% / 80%	65%
Where to buy Best prices online	$700 to $2950 Compare prices	$495 to $1099.95 Compare prices	$750 to $800 Compare prices
	compare more bows

The two target rigs most buyers cross-shop against the TRX 38 G2 come from Bowtech and Hoyt, and each stakes out a different edge. The Bowtech Reckoning 38 is the closest structural match on the market: the same 38-inch axle-to-axle length, essentially the same 7-inch-class brace, and -- most tellingly -- a matching three-mod let-off (70, 75, and 80 percent) that mirrors the Mathews' own headline 75% story, so the two bows chase the same balance of speed and a relaxed valley. Where they separate is price and brand character: the Reckoning 38 launched lower, and Bowtech leans on its vibration-damping tuning, while the Mathews leans on the long, stiff bridged riser and a dead-in-hand shot. The Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX brackets the pairing on the premium side and takes the opposite philosophy on the hold -- a 65% let-off that leaves the pure target archer more holding weight to steer against, on a slightly shorter, lighter-braced platform. Where the Mathews and Bowtech offer deep let-off and a choice of valley, the Hoyt asks the shooter to drive a heavier hold, which some spot archers prefer for control. Inside the Mathews line the closest neighbors are the shorter TRX 36 and the longer TRX 40, same C3X cam on longer and shorter frames -- but among these three cross-brand rigs the decision comes down to priorities: the TRX 38 G2 for the archer who wants the steadiest 38-inch hold and a dead shot, the Reckoning 38 for the shooter who wants the same length and mod flexibility at a lower launch price, and the Invicta 37 SVX for the one who wants a heavier 65% hold to control on the line.

Summary

The Mathews TRX 38 G2 is the Gen 2 refresh of the bow that anchored the middle of the TRX target ladder -- the same forgiving 38-inch platform, now driven by the C3X Crosscentric cam and carrying the new-for-2021 75% let-off mod the original 2018 bow never had. Launched at $1,849, it pairs a 329 fps IBO speed rating off a 7-inch brace with a humpless C3X draw, a rock-solid back wall, and the minimal hand shock and quiet shot that are the Mathews signature. What I keep coming back to is how planted this bow holds -- the long, stiff bridged riser is the biggest in the family, and it lets the pin sit still through a long scoring round in a way the shorter platforms cannot quite match. The three-mod let-off system lets a shooter choose the valley from the short, alert 70V to the more forgiving 75% and 80%, with the 75% the middle most target archers settle on, and the shared C3X cam means it tunes and feels exactly like its bigger and smaller TRX siblings. It is a bare bow at that price, so budget for a rest, sight, and bars on top, and be ready to carry 4.87 pounds of long target rig over a full round. An excellent bow for dedicated target and 3D archers who want maximum hold stability in a long, quiet, forgiving frame. Buyers who want the same length and mod flexibility at a lower launch price should look at the Bowtech Reckoning 38, and those who prefer a heavier 65% target hold should look at the Hoyt Invicta 37 SVX.