Bowtech BlackHawk Compound Bow

The BowTech BlackHawk is one of the more likeable budget hunting bows of the early 2000s - the shortest, lightest single cam in BowTech's catalog of its day, carried at a $499 launch MSRP that put it hundreds below the flagships while still handing the shooter the continuously-tunable InfinityCam and a genuine low-310s IBO rating. Its whole case is compactness without compromise: under 29 inches and under three pounds, yet quick, quiet, and reported by owners as nearly free of hand shock even shot bare. It asks one thing in return - a soft, honest grip, because a bow this light will not hide a torqued hand the way a heavy target rig does. What stays with me about it is that contrast: a sub-three-pound bargain bow that still sits dead-still at the shot. For the treestand or ground-blind hunter who prizes a bow that comes up fast in tight cover and holds easy through a long sit, and especially for anyone restoring a clean used example with a fresh custom string, it remains a rewarding little bow. Hunters who would rather have the steadier hold of a longer, more forgiving frame should look instead at the BowTech TomKat or the PSE Firestorm - same era, same value spirit, a calmer aim in exchange for a touch of the BlackHawk's speed and handiness... read full review