AMS Hooligan Review

Editors' review

Most compound bowfishing rigs are hunting bows with the sight stripped off and a reel bolted on. AMS built the Hooligan the other way around - as a bowfishing bow from the riser out, with a machined aluminum chassis, stainless hardware, and zero let-off so you can loose an arrow at any point in the draw. The feature that makes it more than another no-frills fishing bow is its WRAP cam, which carries two draw-weight posts: seat the string on the 40-pound post and you have a true 40-pound bow, move it to the 50-pound post and you have a true 50-pound bow, each making full power. That is one bow that is honestly two, adjustable on the water with nothing but an Allen wrench. Sold from 2019 until the Hooligan V2 took over the line in 2022, the original Hooligan is the bow that set that two-in-one template. For the bowfisher who wants a dedicated snap-shooter that a kid and an adult can share across a summer of carp, gar, and buffalo, it is worth knowing exactly what this one does.

Finish

The Hooligan shipped in a single look: a bright-orange base dipped in Kryptek Inferno camo, covering the powder-coated riser and the orange composite limbs. There were no color choices to weigh - one dip, applied consistently across the bow. On a tool that lives in a jon boat and gets sprayed, dropped, and dragged, the coating is less about appearance than about sealing the surfaces against a wet, abrasive environment, and owners handling a new one out of the box consistently call it a sharp, high-quality-looking rig. Surviving examples on the used market wear that same Inferno pattern, sometimes sun-faded, which is cosmetic rather than functional.

Riser

The Hooligan's riser is machined from 6061 T6 aluminum and powder-coated orange under the camo dip, and its most deliberate dimension is length: 34 3/4 inches axle-to-axle at the 50-pound post. That is generous for a fishing bow, and it is chosen on purpose. Bowfishers shoot off their fingers, and a longer riser opens the string angle so the fingers are not pinched hard against the arrow at partial or full draw - the first thing a longer-draw shooter notices when they pick it up. Every fastener is stainless steel, the detail that matters most on a bow that spends its life around water, since corrosion is the quiet killer of a bowfishing rig. The whole platform is built so draw weight and bowstrings can be changed in the field with a single tool and no bow press, which is exactly what a boat-side tool should demand. It is straightforward and purpose-built, with no wasted complexity to fail when everything is soaked.

Grip

The grip is a molded, textured section on the riser, and it earns its keep the moment your hands are wet and slick with fish slime. A bare aluminum or hard-plastic grip turns treacherous in those conditions; the Hooligan's textured surface gives the palm something to bite into when the boat is rocking and everything is dripping. It sits at a neutral wrist angle suited to the quick, instinctive shooting the sport demands rather than the repeatable, precise hand placement a target shooter chases. AMS installs String Things finger savers on the string as well, so the fingers that do the drawing and releasing have a little protection through a long night of shooting.

Limbs

AMS built the Hooligan on proprietary powder-coated composite limbs, orange under the camo, and reinforced them for the shock loads bowfishing throws at a bow - botched shots into hard water, and arrows that stop dead against a scale-armored fish. Peak weight spans 24 to 50 pounds, a wide swing for a single bow: heavy enough at the top to drive an arrow through a big gar or buffalo, light enough at the bottom for a younger or smaller shooter to pull comfortably. Changing weight is a single-tool job with no press required, but the important detail is how the change is made. You do not simply leave the limb bolts backed out to run lighter - that would open the limb pockets and slacken the string, sapping power - you move the string to the other draw-weight post and re-tension, so the limbs sit tight at whichever weight you choose. It is the limb-and-post interaction, not the limb alone, that makes the range usable without a trip to the pro shop.

Eccentric System

The heart of the Hooligan is its no-let-off dual cam and the WRAP cam adjustment it carries - AMS's Rapid Adjustment Post system, or RAP. Each cam has two posts, one calibrated for 40 pounds and one for 50, and the bowstring loop seats on one of them. That is the whole trick, and it is a genuinely clever one: instead of turning the bow down and living with the power loss that comes when the limb pockets open and the string stretches, you slack the string, roll it onto the other post, and re-tension, and the bow makes full, efficient power at that weight. Set on the 40-pound post it is a real 40-pound bow; set on the 50 it is a real 50 - what AMS fairly describes as two bows in one, changeable on the water with an Allen wrench and no press. There is no let-off at all, which is the point: a bowfishing shot rarely reaches a settled full-draw anchor, and zero let-off means the bow is ready to fire at any point in the draw. Bowfishing bows are not IBO-rated and no one puts them on a chronograph, because shots are close and instinctive rather than long and measured. What I keep coming back to with this cam is how much practical flexibility the two posts add - a boat that switches between shallow small fish and deep big ones, or between a strong adult and a lighter shooter, genuinely gets two bows out of one purchase.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Hooligan on fingers, the first thing that registers is how little the long riser pinches - at 34 3/4 inches axle-to-axle the string angle stays open, and shooters with longer draws feel the difference immediately against the stubby geometry of many fishing bows. The draw is smooth and continuous rather than stacking, which is what you want when the shots are quick and instinctive and you never settle into a deliberate anchor. Because there is no let-off, the bow holds nothing back - it is live and ready to release the instant your fingers let go, at whatever partial draw the shot allows. In my experience that is exactly what a bowfishing bow should feel like: not a hold-and-aim rig but a snap-shooter that responds to a fleeting target the moment you commit. The reach-around, off-balance shots that define the sport - leaning around a trolling motor, twisting to a fish that flashed past the bow - are the real test of shootability here, and the smooth draw plus the open string angle keep those awkward shots honest. There is no dB obsession and no chronograph culture around this bow; what matters is that the arrow leaves fast and the rig still shoots well on the fiftieth shot of a hot night, and on both counts the Hooligan delivers.

Usage Scenarios

This is a dedicated bowfishing bow, and it is at its best on rough fish that fight back - carp, buffalo, gar, and tilapia are the targets owners land with it. Picture a summer night in the front of a jon boat, deck lights throwing a glow on the shallows, fish flashing in and out of the beam while you throw fast shots at odd angles with no time to settle. The Hooligan's no-let-off draw and instant release are built for exactly that tempo. When the fish move deep or run big, seat the string on the 50-pound post for the power to reach and penetrate; when you are picking off smaller fish in the shallows, or a lighter shooter takes a turn, drop to the 40-pound post and keep full efficiency there too. That two-in-one range is what makes it a natural family or guide boat bow - one purchase that cranks up for an adult on big buffalo and dials down for a kid learning the sport. What it is not is a hunting or target bow; there is no sight, no release, and no reason for either. Judged on the job it was built for - a finger-shot, reel-and-line fishing instrument that takes abuse and keeps shooting - it earns its place on the boat.

Versions

The Hooligan was sold in one specification with a package choice rather than distinct spec variants. The bare bow - Bow Only - carried a $399.99 launch MSRP in the single Kryptek Inferno camo, in right or left hand. The Bow Kit stepped up to a ready-to-fish rig, adding an AMS Retriever Pro TNT reel spooled with 35 yards of 350-pound Spectra line, a Tidal Wave arrow rest, a fiberglass arrow with a Chaos FX point and the EverGlide Safety Slide, and String Things finger savers installed. Arrows and extra line beyond the kit are sold separately, as is standard for bowfishing. There were no draw-weight module SKUs and no alternate finishes - one bow, one look, dressed up as far as the reel and accessories take it. Buyers shopping new today should note this original Hooligan was replaced in 2022 by the Hooligan V2, so a new-in-box purchase now generally means the V2; the original turns up as old stock or on the used market.

AMS Hooligan vs AMS Fire Eagle, PSE Mudd Dawg

Bow	AMS Hooligan	AMS Fire Eagle	PSE Mudd Dawg
Version	2021	2014	2025
Picture
Brace Height	7.5 "	7.75 "	6 "
AtA Length	34.75 "	35.5 "	32.25 "
Draw Length	22 " - 32 "	15 " - 30 "	0 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	24 lbs - 50 lbs	40 lbs - 50 lbs	30 lbs - 40 lbs
IBO Speed	fps	fps	fps
Weight	3.25 lbs	3.4 lbs	3.6 lbs
Let-Off	0%	20%
Where to buy Best prices online	Not available now. Please check later.	$199.99 Compare prices	$339.99 to $569.99 Compare prices
	compare more bows

Within AMS's own history, the natural comparison is the AMS Fire Eagle, the compound the Hooligan descends from. The Fire Eagle (2009-2013) ran a longer 35.5-inch riser, a 40-to-50-pound range, and an unusual slight let-off of around 20 percent, with perimeter-weighted cams that built its hard-hitting reputation; it is a smooth, powerful used-market rig for the shooter who finds a clean one. The Hooligan answers with a wider 24-to-50-pound range, true zero let-off for pure snap-shooting, and the RAP two-post system that turns one bow into a real 40 and a real 50 - a more adjustable, more purpose-built tool. Cross-brand, the PSE Mudd Dawg is the other value bowfishing compound worth a look: a snap-shooting fishing rig in the same budget tier, but on a shorter 32.25-inch chassis with a narrower 30-to-40-pound range, aimed at the first-rig-or-backup buyer. Against both, the Hooligan's edge is that two-in-one draw-weight range and the finger-friendly long riser; where it gives ground is that it is now the previous generation, superseded by the V2. The decision comes down to priorities: the AMS Fire Eagle for the shooter who values a slight hold and a smooth used-market bargain, the PSE Mudd Dawg for the buyer who just wants an inexpensive fishing rig, and the Hooligan for anyone who wants one purpose-built bow that covers 40 and 50 pounds without compromise.

Summary

The AMS Hooligan is a bowfishing bow built as a bowfishing bow - a $399.99 launch-MSRP rig on a machined aluminum riser with stainless hardware, zero let-off for instant snap-shooting, and the WRAP cam's two draw-weight posts that make it a genuine 40-pound bow and 50-pound bow in one. Its long 34 3/4-inch riser keeps finger pinch low, its 24-to-50-pound range spans a kid learning the sport and an adult on big gar, and everything adjusts on the water with a single Allen wrench and no press. It is the previous generation now - the Hooligan V2 replaced it in 2022 - so a new one is old stock or a used find, but the purpose-built durability that made it popular is exactly why they keep shooting. If I were setting up one boat bow that had to work for a strong adult one night and a lighter shooter the next, the two-post range is precisely the feature I would want. An excellent choice for the bowfisher who wants a dedicated, take-it-or-leave-it snap-shooter with true two-in-one draw weight; buyers who want the current, warrantied bow with dry-fire-resistant deep-V cams should look at the Hooligan V2, and those cross-shopping the budget tier should also look at the PSE Mudd Dawg.