Mathews Outback Compound Bow

At a $729 launch MSRP when it was new in 2004, the Outback was a flagship-tier Mathews hunting bow; today it is one of the better values on the used market, routinely trading for a few hundred dollars in clean condition. What that buys is a 31.5-inch, 4.3-pound single-cam hunter with a tall forgiving brace, a genuinely smooth StraightLine draw, and a shot so quiet and dead in the hand that many owners report never feeling the need for add-on string silencers. It is not fast - plan on 250 to 275 fps at real hunting weights against a 308 IBO - but it converts that modest speed into forgiveness, and it has proven nearly indestructible, with countless examples still hunting fifteen and twenty years on. After handling one, what stays with me is how little it asks of the shooter: it just points, holds, and goes off quietly. That is a rare combination at any price, and it is why the Outback endures. It is an excellent bow for the whitetail and big-game hunter who prizes forgiveness, silence, and reliability over speed, and it is particularly strong as a first serious hunting bow or a dependable used classic. Buyers who prioritize flatter trajectory and more downrange velocity should also look at the Bowtech Allegiance or the Hoyt Trykon, or step up to the Outback's faster successor, the Switchback... read full review