Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 36 Review

Editors' review

The Reckoning Gen2 36 is the bow Bowtech builds for the archer who scores before they hunt. It is a 36-inch axle-to-axle target and 3D platform that still drops into the deer woods, and it carries every press-free tuning tool the brand makes plus one the hunting bows do not get: an adjustable draw stop that sets the back wall from soft to a wall you cannot pull through. Launched for the 2023 model year and carried through 2026 at a $1,599 MSRP, it pairs the DeadLock cam system, press-free TimeLock timing, and the GripLock adjustable grip with a finish that target shooters rank at the top of the field. It comes in two main cam options and a short-draw variant, so the fit stretches from a compact target archer to a tall competition shooter. What you are buying is stability, a back wall like a rock, and complete do-it-yourself tunability - in that order - and whether that is worth the premium over a hunting-first bow depends on how much you shoot a stake versus a treestand.

Finish

The finish is the first thing target shooters notice, and on the Reckoning Gen2 it is genuinely class-leading. Bowtech runs a deep speckle paint that glows in the sun, with chamfered riser edges that resist chipping and accessory threads left clear of paint - the kind of attention that separates a show-quality target bow from a merely painted one. The lineup spans solid colors - Black, Smoke Grey, OD Green, Forest, and similar muted tones popular with both target shooters and hunters - alongside camo patterns for the archer who carries this platform into the field, and Bowtech runs a separate custom program on top. The 2023 model year was when this finish quality arrived, a marked step up from the brand's prior work, and it has carried forward unchanged. For a bow that spends weekends on a 3D range where looks are part of the culture, the finish is not a footnote - it is a reason buyers choose it. The coating holds up to the handling a target season puts on a bow, and color availability can shift through the model year.

Riser

The riser is aluminum, stretched to the long 36-inch axle-to-axle length that defines a target platform - that reach steadies the sight pin on a 3D stake or a long-distance shot in a way no short hunting bow can match, and it is the whole reason a competition archer reaches for a bow this size. Bowtech's limb-locking pockets are the structural anchor: the limbs lock into the pockets so they cannot unwind or shift, the rigid foundation the DeadLock tuning concept depends on to hold its setting. The riser carries multiple stabilizer mounts - front and rear plus a lower port - for the bar setups a target or 3D shooter runs to balance the bow, and a flex roller cable guide flexes under load to pull torque off the cams and keep them aligned. A pair of Orbit dampeners inset along the string travel kill post-shot vibration. This is a riser built for a stationary shooter who wants the bow to sit still and stay tuned, not for the hunter counting every ounce on a pack-in.

Grip

The Reckoning Gen2 carries Bowtech's GripLock grip, and on a target bow the adjustability earns its keep: a turn of an Allen wrench rotates the grip angle so a shooter can match the hand position they have drilled in rather than adapting to the bow. The grip itself is the narrow, straight Bowtech profile - closer to a Hoyt feel than the tapered shapes some brands run - which indexes the hand into a low, repeatable position at full draw. The detail target shooters appreciate is a small rubber pad set into the center of the grip that registers whether the hand is in the same spot shot to shot; on a bow where a few degrees of hand torque moves an arrow at fifty meters, that feedback matters. In my experience grip consistency is the quiet variable that separates a good target setup from a great one, and being able to both set the angle and feel correct placement is exactly what this buyer is chasing. The panel stays comfortable bare-handed across a long range session.

Limbs

Bowtech offers the Reckoning Gen2 36 in 50, 60, and 70-pound peak weights, and because the limb bolts wind each set down roughly 10 pounds, the bow covers an effective 40-to-70-pound range - wide enough for a lighter target setup or a full-power hunting draw. The limbs are tapered to flex at designed points and run in pockets that lock them down with no detectable play, the limb-locking design that keeps the bow from drifting out of tune across a season of heavy shooting. They are non-parallel by geometry, which is the deliberate target-bow trade: a parallel-limb hunting bow cancels more forward movement at the shot, while these let a little of it through in exchange for the solid, planted feel a target archer wants. Bare-bow mass lands at 4.6 pounds on the Standard cam and 4.7 on the Long, climbing past five pounds once a target shooter hangs the stabilizers and dampeners they run anyway - heavy by hunting standards and exactly right for a bow meant to hold dead still on a stake.

Eccentric System

The DeadLock cam system anchors the Reckoning Gen2, and this target platform stacks the brand's full tuning suite behind it. DeadLock handles arrow flight - loosen a screw, turn an Allen key to walk the cam sideways on its axle, lock it down, and a left or right tear cleans up on the line with no press. TimeLock adds press-free cam-timing adjustment: a screw changes cable length to sync the cams without twisting a cable or pressing the bow, the kind of tool a do-it-yourself target shooter uses to keep a setup dialed. The adjustable draw stop is the cam feature that defines the shot - a triangular stop with three faces, from soft to flat, whose elongated surface meets the cable to build a back wall so solid you genuinely cannot pull through it. The FlipDisc toggles a Comfort and a Performance setting, with Performance running a touch more aggressive for speed. The bow ships in two main cam options: the Standard cam runs a 6.75-inch brace, a 25.5-to-29.5-inch draw, and a 332 fps IBO, while the Long cam stretches to a 7.06-inch brace, a 28.5-to-32.5-inch draw, and a 328 fps IBO - and a separate short-draw cam reaches down toward 23 inches. On a chronograph the speed holds up for a target bow: a 60-pound Standard-cam setup pushed a 300-grain arrow to 326 fps in Performance and about 315 in Comfort, within six fps of the published rating, while a heavier 455-grain shaft at the same weight measured 262 fps.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

The Reckoning Gen2 draws like a bow engineered around its back wall. The cam builds smoothly to peak and rolls into a valley, but the story is the stop at the end - the elongated draw stop plants you against a wall that feels like rock, the deep, defined anchor that lets a target archer settle into the same spot every shot. Drawn at a target weight it is not harsh on the shoulder, and many shooters call it among their favorite draw cycles for exactly that planted finish. Flip the disc to Performance and the cycle turns a touch more fluid and a little less spongy, picking up a handful of feet per second while a small back-end bump locks you even harder into the valley. At the shot the bow is dead in the hand - residual vibration dies almost instantly - with the one caveat that the non-parallel limbs send a slight forward movement through the riser, the target-bow character that a parallel-limb hunter would damp out. Having shot the wall more than anything else, what stays with me is how little the bow asks once you are anchored: it holds still, it stays put, and it lets you run the shot.

Usage Scenarios

This is a target and 3D bow first, and it rewards the archer who shoots for score. The long 36-inch axle-to-axle steadies the hold on an indoor spot, a field round, or a 3D stake at fifty meters, and the rock-solid back wall gives a competition shooter the repeatable anchor that tight groups are built on. Picture a 3D shooter walking a Saturday course, the bow set to Comfort for an all-day cycle and the draw stop dialed to a hard wall, settling the pin and breaking the same clean shot target after target. It crosses over to hunting more than a dedicated target bow usually does - a tall archer takes the Long cam out to 32.5 inches, dials a 60 or 70-pound setting, and has a stable, quiet, dead-in-hand bow for a deer stand or a western spot-and-stalk where the extra axle length is no burden. Where it asks a question is the tight treestand and the long backcountry pack: the 36-inch riser is more bow to swing in a cramped blind, and the set-up weight past five pounds is more to carry than a compact hunter. For the shooter who values a steady hold and a flawless wall over packability, though, it covers competition and hunting season on one chassis.

Versions

The Reckoning Gen2 36 is sold at one price - a $1,599 launch MSRP - with the buyer choosing a cam set at order to match draw length and use:- **Standard (Medium) Cam** - 6.75-inch brace height, 25.5-to-29.5-inch draw length, 332 fps IBO, 4.6-pound mass. The faster, tighter-brace option for shorter-to-mid draws.- **Long Cam** - 7.06-inch brace height, 28.5-to-32.5-inch draw length, 328 fps IBO, 4.7-pound mass. The longer-draw, more forgiving-brace option for tall archers and competition shooters.- **SD (Short-Draw) Cam** - reaches down toward a 23-inch draw for smaller-framed and shorter-draw target archers. (Bowtech also markets this as a distinct Reckoning Gen2 SD model.)All cam sets share the same 36-inch axle-to-axle riser, 50/60/70-pound peak limbs, 85/87-percent FlipDisc let-off, and the full DeadLock / TimeLock / GripLock / adjustable-draw-stop feature set. The cam is chosen once at purchase, not swapped at home.

Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 36 vs Bowtech Proven 34, Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 39

Bow	Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 36	Bowtech Proven 34	Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 39
Version	2026 Med Cam	2026	2026 Med Cam
Picture
Brace Height	6.75 "	6.625 "	6.75 "
AtA Length	36 "	34 "	39 "
Draw Length	25.5 " - 29.5 "	25 " - 30 "	26.5 " - 30.5 "
Draw Weight	40 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	332 fps	336 fps	326 fps
Weight	4.6 lbs	4.7 lbs	4.9 lbs
Let-Off	85 / 87%	80 / 85%	85 / 87%
Where to buy Best prices online	$674.99 to $1400 Compare prices	$850 to $1899 Compare prices	$1699.99 Compare prices
	compare more bows

Within Bowtech's long-axle lineup, the Reckoning Gen2 36 sits between a crossover hunter and a pure target bow. Below it in axle length, the Bowtech Proven 34 at a $1,449 launch MSRP is the hunting-leaning option - a 34-inch hybrid that shares the same DeadLock, TimeLock, and GripLock tuning suite but trades the Reckoning's target-grade adjustable draw stop and longer riser for a shorter, more huntable platform that swings better in a treestand. The choice between them is purpose: the Proven 34 for the hunter who also shoots 3D, the Reckoning Gen2 36 for the 3D and target shooter who also hunts. Above it, the Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 39 is the longer 39-inch sibling - the same bow stretched for maximum stability, slightly heavier with a longer brace, for the competition archer who wants every bit of hold the platform can give and does not need the 36's marginally better balance in hand. The decision comes down to priorities: the Bowtech Proven 34 for the crossover hunter who wants a shorter, lighter, cheaper rig, the Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 39 for the target shooter chasing maximum axle length and stability, and the Reckoning Gen2 36 for the archer who wants a true target wall and finish that still crosses over to the field.

Summary

Launched for the 2023 model year at a $1,599 launch MSRP and carried unchanged through 2026, the Reckoning Gen2 36 is Bowtech's target and 3D platform that still hunts. It stacks the brand's complete press-free tuning kit - DeadLock cam shift, TimeLock timing, GripLock grip angle - onto a 36-inch riser and adds the one tool the hunting bows skip: an adjustable draw stop that builds a back wall you cannot pull through. Two cam options and a short-draw variant carry the fit from roughly 23 inches to 32.5 inches, and the chronograph backs the speed for a target bow, 326 fps in Performance at a 60-pound, 300-grain setup. At 4.6 to 4.7 pounds bare and more set up, with non-parallel limbs that send a little movement forward at the shot, it is built to hold dead still on a stake rather than to pack light into the backcountry. Having spent more time on its wall than its speed, what stays with me is how planted it feels at full draw - anchored, quiet, and endlessly tunable. An excellent bow for the target and 3D shooter who wants a flawless back wall, class-leading finish, and complete do-it-yourself tunability in a platform that still crosses over to hunting season. Buyers who want a shorter, lighter, hunting-first rig should look at the Bowtech Proven 34, while those chasing maximum target stability should also consider the longer Bowtech Reckoning Gen2 39.