Bear Rant Review

Editors' review

You will not find the Rant in a Bear dealer catalog. It lives on the rack at the big-box sporting-goods store, next to the arrows and the trail cameras, and that is exactly the point - this is the complete, ready-to-hunt compound a first-time buyer can carry out the door, set up over a weekend, and take to the deer woods that fall. Introduced in 2019, the Rant is built around the one thing a first bow actually needs: a fit range wide enough to cover almost any adult and a forgiving shooting character that flatters a new shooter's form. It pairs a single-cam system with an unusually tall brace height (the gap between the grip and the string at rest - more of it means more forgiveness), a generous 25 to 32 inch draw range, and a 50 to 70 pound weight range that adjusts without a trip to the press. The kit that comes bolted on is honest and complete rather than flashy. It is not a flagship, and it does not pretend to be one. What it is, is the dependable, approachable first bow that a household can share and a beginner can grow into - and at its price, that is a genuinely useful thing to be.

Finish

The Rant keeps the finish menu short, the way budget bows usually do. The primary dress is a full-coverage Veil camo that wraps the riser, limbs, and cams in a muted woodland pattern well suited to early-season whitetail cover, and a blacked-out version turns up through some retailers for buyers who want a plain, non-patterned look. There is no tribute series, no two-tone limb option, and no run of seasonal colors - the choice is essentially camo or black. The dip-pattern coating is standard entry-tier durability: it holds up to normal handling and a season in the stand, but it will show rub marks where the bow rides against a pack frame or a treestand rail, so a few strips of limb and riser tape are a sensible precaution. For a bow built to a price, the camo job is clean and the coverage is complete, which is all most first-time hunters are looking for here.

Riser

The riser is machined aluminum, cut with a straightforward cutout pattern that keeps mass down without chasing the elaborate bridged geometry of a premium hunting bow. It is a reflex design, leaning the string line forward of the grip the way most hunting compounds do, which helps the Rant hold a touch steadier on target than its light overall weight would suggest. An offset string-suppressor rod reaches up from the lower riser to catch the string after the shot and knock down the twang and buzz a bare budget bow would otherwise make. Accessory mounting is traditional - standard Berger holes for the rest and the usual threaded bushings for a stabilizer and quiver - so any aftermarket hunting accessory bolts straight on when the buyer is ready to upgrade from the included kit. There is nothing exotic in the riser, and nothing needs to be: it is rigid, it is light, and it does its job quietly.

Grip

The grip is a slim synthetic affair, a pair of molded side panels mounted to the riser rather than a thick rubber wrap. The narrow profile sits low in the palm and encourages a consistent, relaxed hand position, which matters for a new shooter still learning to let the bow sit in the same spot shot after shot - less hand contact means less chance of torquing the riser at release. It is not a warm grip in deep cold the way a dedicated rubber hunting grip is, so a slip-on grip sleeve or a wrap of medical tape is a cheap, common cold-weather fix for anyone hunting late-season mornings. Hand-shock complaints are notably absent from owners, and the slim shape works across a range of hand sizes. For the price tier, it is a sensible, no-fuss grip that stays out of the way.

Limbs

The Rant runs split limbs - each limb is a pair of parallel blades with the cam nestled between them - seated in machined pivoting pockets. The 50 to 70 pound range is wide for a single-module bow, and it is covered by the limb bolts alone: owners report backing the bolts down roughly six to eight turns takes the bow from its 70 pound peak down into the mid-50s, so a smaller-framed or newer shooter can start light and climb as they build strength, all without a press. That is a real advantage for a first bow in a household where the person shooting it may change. Energy storage is modest by design, which is why the Rant lands at a 310 IBO rating rather than chasing the higher numbers of a short-brace speed bow - the trade is deliberate and it buys forgiveness. The split-limb layout is a proven, serviceable design across Bear's value line, and there is nothing about these limbs that asks for special care beyond keeping the bolts even and checking them at the start of the season.

Eccentric System

The heart of the Rant is a single cam - a round idler wheel riding up top and one power cam doing the work down below, the simplest and most beginner-friendly cam layout there is. Draw length spans 25 to 32 inches and is set by a rotating module on the cam, the one with the row of position holes; the bow ships preset near 29 inches, and moving it is a screwdriver job rather than a press job, which keeps the first owner out of the pro shop for the most common adjustment. Let-off is 80% - meaning at full draw the shooter holds only about a fifth of the peak weight, so a 70 pound setup feels like holding roughly 14 pounds while you settle the pin. The advertised 310 fps is an IBO figure, the industry's fixed-setup chronograph rating that almost no real hunting setup reproduces; in practice the Rant shoots closer to the low-to-mid 250s with heavier hunting arrows and into the 270s with lighter ones, which is honest whitetail-and-hog speed inside normal bow range rather than long-range flatness. Measured against its intended rivals, the Rant gives up a little top-end speed, but speed was never its pitch - the single cam's easy timing and no-press draw adjustment are, and both land squarely for a first bow.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Rant, the pull builds gently and evenly - there is no aggressive hump to muscle through at the front, which is exactly what you want to feel the first time you hand a bow to a beginner. It rolls into a comfortably deep valley, and the transition to the back wall is gradual rather than a sudden hard stop, so the shooter is not fighting the bow to stay at full draw. In my experience that soft, forgiving back end is the Rant's real character: it is a bow you can hold on target without the clock running, and the 80% let-off keeps the holding weight low enough that a newer archer can settle, breathe, and execute instead of rushing the shot. The shot itself is quiet for a budget bow thanks to the string suppressor, with a little more residual buzz than a premium hunter - several owners add a pair of inexpensive limb dampeners and call it dead enough. At about 4.5 pounds on a 31.25 inch frame, it balances steadily for its weight and points naturally. What I keep coming back to is how unintimidating the whole cycle feels - this is a bow that builds a new shooter's confidence rather than exposing every flaw in their form.

Usage Scenarios

Picture the most common path this bow takes: a first-time hunter buys the Rant on a Saturday, has a pro shop set the draw length and sight it in over the weekend, and is sitting a treestand for the opener. That is the timeline the Rant is built for. Its short 31.25 inch axle-to-axle length and light weight make it easy to maneuver in a ground blind or to raise slowly on a treestand without snagging, and the forgiving brace height keeps groups honest at the 20 to 40 yard distances where most whitetail and hog shots happen. The wide draw and weight range makes it a natural household bow - a shorter-draw spouse and a taller adult can both shoot the same bow with a module and a few bolt turns, and it carries a growing teenager from their first real setup toward a full 70 pound hunting rig. It also makes a stress-free loaner or backup for an experienced hunter who wants an inexpensive second bow in camp. What it is not is a long-range speed tool: for elk at distance or a shooter chasing the flattest possible trajectory, a faster bow is the better match, and that is a fit question, not a flaw.

Versions

The Rant is sold as a single ready-to-hunt model rather than a tiered family. The package is consistent - Trophy Ridge three-pin sight, Whisker Biscuit rest, stabilizer, five-arrow quiver, and a pre-installed peep and D-loop - offered in the Veil camo finish and, through some retailers, a black version, in both right- and left-hand. Launch MSRP was $349, which put a complete, hunt-ready setup on the rack for well under what most bare mid-tier bows cost before accessories. One footnote for buyers chasing strings later: Bear built the Rant at two facilities, and its string-and-cable chart lists a Gainesville run and a China run with very slightly different string and cable lengths - the same shooting bow, but worth matching to the correct spec when you order replacement strings.

Bear Rant vs Diamond Edge 320, PSE Stinger MAX

Bow	Bear Rant	Diamond Edge 320	PSE Stinger MAX
Version	2019	2022	2021
Picture
Brace Height	7.628 "	7.25 "	7 "
AtA Length	31.25 "	32 "	30 "
Draw Length	25 " - 32 "	15 " - 31 "	21.5 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	50 lbs - 70 lbs	7 lbs - 70 lbs	45 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	310 fps	320 fps	304 fps - 312 fps
Weight	4.25 lbs	3.6 lbs	3.8 lbs
Let-Off	80%	85%	80%
Where to buy Best prices online	$160 to $1000 Compare prices	$175 to $795 Compare prices	$199.95 to $650 Compare prices
	compare more bows

The budget ready-to-hunt shelf is crowded, and the Rant's closest cross-shops are the Diamond Edge 320 and the PSE Stinger MAX, both of which launched at $449 against the Rant's $349. The Rant's two advantages are plain: it is the cheapest of the three, and with its tall 7 5/8 inch brace and a draw range topping out at a full 32 inches, it is the most forgiving and the friendliest to a tall adult. Where it gives ground is low-end reach. The Diamond Edge 320 is the grow-from-childhood champion of this group - it adjusts all the way down to a 15 inch draw and 7 pounds of draw weight, so it covers a small child through a grown hunter on one bow, and its 320 IBO edges the Rant on paper. The PSE Stinger MAX splits the difference, reaching down to a 21.5 inch draw and 28 pounds on a compact 30 inch frame that suits small-framed and short-draw shooters in tight quarters. All three are honest, forgiving, single-cam-style value hunters; the decision comes down to priorities. The Rant is the pick for the adult beginner on the tightest budget who wants maximum forgiveness; the Diamond Edge 320 for the family that needs one bow to span a child and an adult; the PSE Stinger MAX for the small-framed or short-draw shooter who wants the most compact package.

Summary

The Bear Rant is the uncomplicated first bow done right: a complete, ready-to-hunt compound that fit almost any adult and shot forgiving enough to flatter a beginner, at a $349 launch price that undercut the mid-tier competition. Its 310 IBO rating translates to real-world speeds in the 250s to 270s with hunting arrows - modest on paper, but plenty for whitetail and hogs inside normal bow range - and its single cam's no-press draw adjustment, 80% let-off, and tall brace height all pull in the same direction, toward ease of use. In my experience it is the kind of bow that quietly builds confidence: nothing about the draw or the shot intimidates a new archer, and the wide fit range means one Rant can serve a whole household or carry a growing hunter for years. Budget realities show up in the stock sight and in setup quality that depends on who assembled it - both easily handled with a cheap sight swap and a pro-shop check. An excellent first bow for the adult beginner or the family that wants a single, affordable, grow-into-it hunting setup, and it is particularly strong as a shared household bow or a stress-free backup. Buyers who need a bow that reaches down to a small child's draw should also look at the Diamond Edge 320.