Bear Execute 32 Review

Editors' review

Make a hunting bow longer and the usual trade is speed - more riser, more axle, fewer feet per second. The Bear Execute 32 skips that tax. It is the long-axle sibling of the Execute 30, built on the exact same redesigned EKO cam, and it carries the identical 340 fps IBO rating while stretching to a 32-inch axle-to-axle (ATA) frame and a 37-inch cam-to-cam span. The payoff is a bow that holds and aims like a target rig but still shoots like a flagship hunter, and does it dead-quiet. Like the whole 2023 Execute line it arrives at Bear's new flagship price point, which is the real story: this is Bear asking to be measured against Hoyt and Mathews rather than undercutting them. For the hunter who values a rock-steady hold over maximum maneuverability, the 32 is the more forgiving half of the platform - and the one that doubles most naturally as an off-season target bow.

Finish

Bear kept the Execute line's broad palette on the 32. The solid Stone finish is the fresh, modern look - a flat gray with a tactical read - next to the returning Olive solid. The camo side runs to a full Fred Bear pattern, the retro Throwback Black (black riser, Fred Bear limbs), Mossy Oak Country DNA, and the throwback Mossy Oak Bottomland that many of the sample bows shipped in. That range of looks is wider than most bows in the class carry. As on the 30, the catch is handedness: left-hand shooters are boxed into a short list - Olive, Mossy Oak Country DNA, and Throwback Black - so a lefty who wants Stone or Bottomland is out of luck. The finishes themselves are Bear's proven dip-and-powder coatings, which hold up to a season in the timber without flaking at the shelf or grip.

Riser

The 32-inch riser is a clean-sheet design, machined aluminum with sleeker milling than Bear's prior flagships and the built-in bubble level carried over so you can confirm the bow is plumb at full draw. The standout hardware is the swing-arm cable guard: a pivoting roller that moves left-to-right and fore-and-aft, so you can null out cam lean and keep the bow in tune as you change draw weight - crank it down for a lighter setup and you can reposition the guard to take torque off the limbs. Vibration control lives in the new Shock Management System, a pair of rubber riser dampeners set high near the upper and lower limb pockets, which is where a modern riser sheds the most buzz. Front and rear stabilizer bushings let you hang a full front-bar-and-back-bar balance rig without adapters, and the twin rest-mounting holes anchor a two-bolt arrow rest so it never walks. Setting one up, I appreciated how the extra riser length gives a stabilizer more leverage - the 32 balances into a dead-steady hold with less front weight than a short bow needs. The one omission is an integrated dovetail: there is no Integrate or CORE-style inline mount, so rests and sights bolt on the conventional way.

Grip

The Execute 32 ships with two grips, and the upgrade over Bear's old hardware is obvious in the hand. The new Grizgrip is a soft-touch, slightly tacky rubber grip built on the bow's centerline, with a fuller palm swell that fills the pivot of the hand and stays warm on a frosted morning - a real step up from the thin, hard plastic Bear leaned on for years. If you prefer a slimmer feel, the returning Versagrip is in the box too, a slender profile that some shooters simply find more familiar. Both reference a shallow channel down the grip's face that gives the hand a repeatable landing spot. In my experience the Grizgrip is the one that stays on for hunting - the extra tack and warmth pay off in cold weather - but the point is you choose without spending extra, and either one seats low enough to keep hand torque out of the shot.

Limbs

The limbs carry the same wider-is-steadier redesign as the rest of the Execute line, and on the longer 32 chassis the effect is pronounced. Bear widened the pockets to three inches and spread the limb tips to two and three-quarter inches outside-to-outside, planting the bow on a broad, stable base that quiets the riser after the shot and keeps the sight picture still. The pockets are machined aluminum for a sleek, solid look, and the parallel limb geometry throws recoil forward-and-back rather than up into the hand. Draw weight comes in two 15-pound modules - 45-to-60 pounds and 55-to-70 pounds - so you match the window to your build instead of overbowing. Threaded axles (Allen bolts in place of e-clips) make shimming for tune straightforward. Across Bear's recent bows this limb-and-pocket architecture has held up well, and the wider stance is the single change a shooter feels most at full draw.

Eccentric System

The EKO cam is the engine, and it is where the 32 shows off. It is a dual-cam system whose entire purpose is adjustability, reworked internally for 2023 with new milling and a cleaner module while keeping the feel Bear shooters know. Let-off - the share of peak weight your holding weight falls to at full draw - is selectable at 75, 80, 85, or 90 percent by flipping the draw-stop peg, and it works at every draw length, which is a genuinely wide window for a hunting cam. Draw length itself adjusts on a rotating module from 26.5 to 30.5 inches with no press and no new parts, and Bear moved every marking to one side of the module so a shop can set it in minutes. On speed the 32 refuses to pay a length penalty: it shares the Execute 30's 340 fps IBO (the industry chronograph rating at a fixed 30-inch, 70-pound, 350-grain setup), and on an actual chronograph at 29 inches and 70 pounds it turned a 350-grain arrow at 323 fps, a 400-grain at 305, a 450-grain at 290, and a heavy 500-grain at 275 - a broad, honest ladder with plenty of authority for big-bodied game. Run the limb stop for a rock-solid wall or the cable stop for a hair of give; both come with the bow.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

The 32 is the smoother-drawing of the two Executes, and the reason is geometry - the longer axle and cam spacing round off the stroke. It builds weight cleanly and rolls into the valley without the slightly harsher drop the shorter 30 has as its cams tip over; at 90 percent let-off it eases into the hold rather than jumping into it, so you can relax and pull straight through the shot. Set a lower let-off and the drop-off at the wall softens further, making the whole cycle feel even more fluid. With the limb stop installed the back wall is a wall you can stand on - no creep in any direction - while the cable stop trades that for a touch of forgiveness. What impresses most is the shot: at 93.9 decibels this is a quiet bow, near the bottom of where hunting bows land, and the wide limb stance, riser dampeners, and string stop leave it genuinely dead in the hand with almost no jump. It helps that the 32 carries a little mass - right around 4.8 pounds bare, with Bear declining to publish an official figure - and that weight steadies the long riser into a hold that shooters used to target bows will recognize immediately.

Usage Scenarios

The Execute 32 is the pick for the hunter who prizes a steady hold. That 32-inch frame and long cam-to-cam span make it forgiving on a long treestand sit or a western spot-and-stalk where you might hold at draw longer and want the pin to sit dead still. Picture a mule-deer hunter perched across a canyon, ranging a bedded buck, settling the top pin and holding through a gust - the long axle is what keeps that pin honest. It fits draws from 26.5 to 30.5 inches, so it covers mid- and longer-draw adults, though it stops short of the 31-to-32-inch crowd. The adjustable let-off lets it flex: 90 percent for a relaxed hold on a long sit, 75 or 80 for a firmer, quicker feel on a 3D course. With that quiet, dead-in-hand shot and a chronograph ladder that stays fast even with heavy arrows, it handles whitetail, mule deer, and hogs at responsible bowhunting range, and its target-like hold makes it the more natural of the two Executes for off-season 3D and backyard practice. What it gives up to the 30 is tight-quarters maneuverability - in a cramped box blind the shorter sibling is easier to work.

Versions

The Execute 32 is sold as a bare bow (no ready-to-hunt accessory package) at a $1,199.99 launch MSRP, carried unchanged across the 2023 and 2024 model years. The choices at order time are draw weight and hand: the 45-to-60-pound or the 55-to-70-pound limb module, and right- or left-hand - with left-hand limited to a subset of finishes. Buyers who want the same bow in a shorter, more maneuverable package should look at its sibling, the Bear Execute 30, which trims the axle length to 30 inches and the draw range to 26-30 inches on the identical cam, limb, grip, and dampening package; the two are one platform in two lengths, chosen by how you weigh a steadier hold against tighter-quarters handling, not rivals to shop against each other.

Bear Execute 32 vs Mathews Lift 33, Hoyt Ventum Pro 33

Bow	Bear Execute 32	Mathews Lift 33	Hoyt Ventum Pro 33
Version	2024	2024	2022
Picture
Brace Height	6.5 "	6.5 "	6.375 "
AtA Length	32 "	33 "	33 "
Draw Length	26.5 " - 30.5 "	26 " - 31.5 "	26 " - 31 "
Draw Weight	45 lbs - 70 lbs	45 lbs - 80 lbs	40 lbs - 80 lbs
IBO Speed	340 fps	343 fps	334 fps
Weight	4.6 lbs	4.26 lbs	4.67 lbs
Let-Off	75% - 90%	80% or 85%	80% or 85%
Where to buy Best prices online	$719.99 to $1052.55 Compare prices	$950 to $2460 Compare prices	$650 to $1500 Compare prices
	compare more bows

At its flagship price the Execute 32 competes in the 33-inch hunting-bow bracket, and two rivals frame the decision. The Mathews Lift 33 is the marquee competitor - a longer-axle 2024 flagship that pairs a fast cam with Mathews' signature dead-quiet shot and Bridge-Lock integrated sight mounting, at a somewhat higher launch price. If a Mathews badge and factory-integrated accessories top your list, the Lift 33 earns the look. The Hoyt Ventum Pro 33 is the premium aluminum option, priced higher still, bringing Hoyt's In-Line accessory system and a long, forgiving 33-inch riser for the buyer who wants a Hoyt and integrated dovetail rests and sights. Where the Execute 32 answers both is value and adjustability inside its own frame: it matches their hold and quietness, holds its own on the chronograph, and undercuts both on price while offering four let-off settings, press-free draw-length changes, and two grips in the box. The decision comes down to priorities - the Mathews Lift 33 for the shooter who wants integrated mounting and the Mathews name, the Hoyt Ventum Pro 33 for the premium-aluminum Hoyt buyer, and the Execute 32 for the hunter who wants a steady, quiet, deeply adjustable long-axle bow for meaningfully less money.

Summary

At $1,199.99 launch, the Execute 32 is the long-axle Execute - the one built for a steady hold rather than tight-quarters quickness - and it makes a strong case at Bear's new flagship price. It carries the same redesigned EKO cam with an unusually wide 75-to-90-percent let-off range, the same 340 fps IBO, and a chronograph ladder that stays fast with hunting-weight arrows, all while measuring a quiet 93.9 decibels and sitting dead in the hand. The 32-inch frame and 37-inch cam-to-cam span give it a target bow's forgiveness, and the redesign - wider limbs, SMS dampeners, dual grips, threaded axles - is real, not cosmetic. What I keep returning to is how still it holds: this is the Execute for the hunter who wants the pin to sit. It is an excellent bow for the treestand or spot-and-stalk hunter who values a steady, quiet, low-vibration hold and shoots a 26.5-to-30.5-inch draw, and it is particularly strong as a dual-purpose hunting-and-3D rig. Buyers who want factory-integrated accessory mounting should also weigh the Mathews Lift 33, and those set on premium aluminum and a Hoyt badge should look at the Hoyt Ventum Pro 33.