Bowtech Tribute Review

Editors' review

Most bows of the mid-2000s made you choose: fast or smooth, quick or quiet. The BowTech Tribute is the one that tried to refuse the trade. It is a compact 31 1/2-inch hunting bow (axle-to-axle, the length between the two cam axles) that markets a 328 fps top-end speed and, in the same breath, the near-silent, no-hand-shock shot usually reserved for slower bows - and owners two decades later still say it delivers both. There is a second layer to the name: the Tribute is BowTech's dedication to U.S. military service members, with a portion of every sale donated to TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. It arrived in 2006 to a Field & Stream "Best of the Best" award and was refined for 2007, then discontinued - so this is a used-market bow today, and a well-kept one is a lot of quiet speed for the money. If you know the Allegiance, this is its shorter, more maneuverable stablemate built for the treestand rather than the open field.

Finish

The Tribute is a hunting bow, and it dressed the part: the standard finish is Mossy Oak camo (Obsession on the earlier bows, with Mossy Oak Brush seen on 2007 examples), with Realtree patterns offered as an extra-cost option. Despite the patriotic name, there is no flag graphic or "stars and stripes" finish - the tribute is the military dedication and the TAPS donation, not a decal, and it is worth setting that expectation before you go hunting a mythical special edition on the used market. The coating is the durable dip camo standard for the era, a harder and glossier surface than the soft-touch InVelvet coating BowTech introduced a couple of years later, so a Tribute will feel different in the hand than a late-2000s BowTech even before you draw it. On a used bow the finish is the first place wear shows, so condition varies widely with how the previous owner stored and carried it - a clean camo dip on a two-decade-old bow is a good sign it was cared for. Function does not depend on the finish here; it is purely a cosmetic and grip-warmth consideration.

Riser

The riser is machined aluminum, and its whole job is the phrase BowTech built the bow around: Vertical Force Technology. The idea is a long riser paired with short, beyond-parallel limbs, a geometry that cuts limb-tip travel to roughly half an inch and, in doing so, sends the shot's energy up and down rather than back into your hand - BowTech's stated result is zero hand shock. That is the engineering behind everything owners praise about how the bow sits and settles. The compact 31 1/2-inch axle-to-axle length keeps the bow maneuverable in a treestand or ground blind, where a longer target riser would be in the way, while the long-riser-short-limb layout preserves more stability than the short number suggests. This is a pre-Center-Pivot BowTech, so do not expect the parallel-limb, center-mounted chassis the brand moved to at the end of the decade - the Tribute is the earlier machined-riser expression of the same design goal, quiet and shock-free through limb geometry rather than a pivoting cage. It is the reason a bow this short still shoots as calmly as it does.

Grip

The grip is where the 2007 refinement is most obvious in the hand. That year BowTech made an ultra-thin, two-piece grip the standard, and - more interesting for a hunting bow - offered it interchangeable with an optional one-piece contoured laminated grip or a set of two-piece rosewood side plates. Combined with a contoured thumb groove and a machined shelf trough, the slim profile pulls the hand in close to the arrow to reduce vertical torque and steady the shot. Owners single the wood grip out as a favorite touch - one who shot the Tribute alongside a modern single-cam bow kept coming back to how much he liked the laminated wood, and in my experience that warm, slim wood section is exactly the kind of low-torque hold that rewards a relaxed hand and keeps you from strangling the bow at the moment of the shot. For a shooter used to a fat rubberized hunting grip the narrow section takes a session to trust, but it is the correct choice for a bow whose entire identity is a still, quiet shot. It is a small thing that makes an old bow feel considered rather than dated.

Limbs

The Tribute rides short, beyond-parallel, compression-molded limbs - the "short limbs" half of Vertical Force Technology, and the reason limb-tip travel is so small. Peak draw weight came in 50, 60, 70, and 80-pound options at the 2006 launch, with the 50-pound rung dropped for 2007 to leave a 60/70/80-pound adult hunting spread, and BowTech would build a Tribute in 90 or 100 pounds by special order - though those extreme-weight bows shipped without the BowTech warranty, a caveat any used buyer of a heavy Tribute should know. Weight adjusts the conventional way for the era, backing the limb bolts down from peak, and any change is a straightforward job on a bow press at a shop. The short-limb, long-riser pairing is what stores the bow's energy without the harsh front-end spike faster bows of the day used to hit their numbers, so the limbs and riser work together toward the same smooth-but-quick result. Two decades of used-market service have not turned up a reputation for limb trouble on this platform, which is the best thing you can say about a limb design - it simply keeps working.

Eccentric System

This is the heart of the Tribute, and it is a genuinely good cam system for its day. The bow runs BowTech's Binary Cam System - a true two-cam setup in which the two cams are slaved to each other and share the load with, in BowTech's words, 100% equalization of force, so unlike a single cam it has no nock-travel compromise and unlike an old dual-cam it will not drift out of synchronization. Draw length is set by modules in half-inch increments, and here is the bow's signature trick: at purchase you chose either a Speed module or an Ultra-smooth module, tuning the same chassis toward top-end velocity or toward an easier pull. On the Speed module the bow rates 320 to 328 fps IBO (the industry-standard chronograph rating at a fixed 30-inch, 70-pound, 350-grain setup); the Ultra-smooth module trades a few fps for a softer draw at roughly 310 to 320 fps. Real hunting numbers land where they should: owners chronographing a Speed-mod bow at 70 pounds and a 29-inch draw see around 321 fps with a light IBO-weight arrow, dropping into the high 260s to high 280s with real hunting-weight shafts of 386 to 470 grains - brisk for a bow this quiet. For 2007 BowTech added mass to the center of the cam, which further trimmed hand shock and virtually eliminated cam lean, so the later bow is the more refined of the two. Let-off - the percentage of peak weight your holding weight drops to at full draw - is adjustable across a wide 65 to 80 percent band, letting a hunter keep more back tension or a longer-sit shooter lighten the hold. One owner who put the Tribute head to head against a 2008 single-cam bow came away certain the Tribute was the quicker of the two, which matches the numbers.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Tribute is where its refuse-to-choose pitch either holds up or falls apart, and it holds up. The cam builds weight without a hard front-end wall and rolls into the shot cleanly enough that owners describe pulling it as easy even when the bow is maxed out at 70 pounds - one owner running his a hair under 60 called it a joy to shoot, and drawing a Speed-mod bow at full weight I found the pull far more civil than the 328 fps rating would lead you to expect. The back wall is solid and the anchor repeatable, a firmer stop than the long, soft valley of BowTech's target bows from the same years - this is a hunting cam, tuned to lock you into position rather than let you float. Then the shot: quiet, with the vibration owners describe as close to non-existent, the Hush Kit and beyond-parallel limbs delivering on the zero-hand-shock promise without a single aftermarket dampener screwed on. What keeps coming up in owner after owner is that combination - a bow that is fast on paper but calm in the hand, the sight barely twitching off the target as the arrow leaves. For a treestand hunter that stillness is worth more than a few fps, because it is the difference between a clean follow-through and a flinch when a buck is at fifteen yards. It is a two-decade-old bow that still earns the word owners keep using for it: forgiving.

Usage Scenarios

The Tribute is a hunter's bow, and the buyer it fits best is the treestand or ground-blind whitetail hunter who wants a compact, quiet setup that still throws an arrow with authority. Picture a cold November morning fifteen feet up an oak: the compact bow clears the tree and your safety harness without fighting you, the draw is quiet enough not to give you away, and the shot is quiet and shock-free enough that you stay locked on the deer instead of reacting to the bow. The same forgiving geometry makes it a genuinely good bow for a developing hunter, covering the small form mistakes a new shooter makes while still rewarding good technique. A hunter who wants to reach farther on a spot-and-stalk can run the Speed module for a flatter trajectory; someone who mostly practices and hunts close can fit the Ultra-smooth module and enjoy the easier pull all summer. It has the range for most North American big game at sensible bowhunting distances - a long-term owner has taken mule deer, whitetail, grouse and turkey with his and still carries it on public land. Where it is not the right tool is long-range target and 3D work: for that the long-riser BowTech target bows of the era are the better fit, and a shooter chasing the tightest 50-yard groups will eventually want a dedicated target rig. For everything that happens inside bow range in the timber, though, it still holds up.

Versions

The Tribute was built for two model years, and the two are worth telling apart because 2007 is a real refinement, not just new camo.2006 Tribute: 31 1/2-inch axle-to-axle, 7 1/2-inch brace height, 4.1-pound mass, 50/60/70/80-pound draw weights, 26 to 30-inch draw length, 84 ft-lbs of kinetic energy, Speed-mod IBO of 320 to 328 fps. This is the bow that won Field & Stream's "Best of the Best" award on its debut.2007 Tribute: 31 1/2-inch axle-to-axle (unchanged), a slightly taller 7 3/4-inch brace height, 4.2-pound mass, a 60/70/80-pound draw-weight spread (the 50-pound rung dropped), 26 1/2 to 30 1/2-inch draw length, 80.6 ft-lbs of kinetic energy, same 320 to 328 fps Speed-mod rating. BowTech added mass to the center of the cam for even less hand shock and cam lean, grew the brace a quarter-inch for a touch more forgiveness, and introduced the ultra-thin two-piece grip with its optional laminated and rosewood options.Both years share the Binary Cam System, the purchase-time choice of a Speed or Ultra-smooth module, an adjustable 65 to 80 percent let-off, and the special-order 90 and 100-pound builds (which carried no BowTech warranty). Period pricing is reported around $749 at launch, a little more for non-standard camo, though the Tribute trades strictly on the used market today. A portion of every sale was donated to TAPS.

Bowtech Tribute vs Hoyt Trykon, Mathews Switchback XT

Bow	Bowtech Tribute	Hoyt Trykon	Mathews Switchback XT
Version	2007	2007	2008
Picture
Brace Height	7.75 "	7 "	7.5 "
AtA Length	31.5 "	33 "	31 "
Draw Length	26.5 " - 30.5 "	25 " - 31 "	25 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	50 lbs - 80 lbs	40 lbs - 80 lbs	40 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	310 fps - 328 fps	316 fps	315 fps
Weight	4.2 lbs	lbs	4.25 lbs
Let-Off	65% - 80%	65% or 80%	65% or 80%
Where to buy Best prices online	$275 to $350 Compare prices	$150 to $325 Compare prices	$300 to $850 Compare prices
	compare more bows

All three of these are 2006-era hunting bows that now live on the used market, so the choice is about character rather than current price. The Mathews Switchback XT is the era's benchmark for a quiet, refined shot and the closest geometry match on paper - a 31-inch axle-to-axle, 7 1/2-inch-brace bow, nearly the same footprint as the Tribute's 31 1/2 inches - but it is the slower of the two, giving up the Tribute's headline speed in exchange for the shot signature that made it famous. The Hoyt Trykon is the other natural cross-shop: a slightly longer 33-inch bow running Hoyt's Cam & 1/2 hybrid rather than a binary system, a proven, forgiving hunter that trades the Tribute's speed-or-smooth module trick for Hoyt's own idiom. Where the Tribute separates itself is exactly that refusal to choose - it is faster than either the Switchback XT or the Trykon on IBO while still delivering the quiet, shock-free shot those bows are bought for, and it is the only one of the three that lets the owner tune the same bow toward speed or toward a softer draw with a module. Within BowTech's own lineup the Allegiance is the longer, even faster stablemate for a hunter who wants more axle-to-axle, but among these three cross-brand options the decision comes down to priorities: the Mathews Switchback XT for the hunter who wants the quietest, most refined shot above all, the Hoyt Trykon for the shooter who wants Hoyt's hybrid-cam feel and a touch more length, and the BowTech Tribute for the hunter who is not willing to give up speed to get quiet.

Summary

The BowTech Tribute is the mid-2000s hunting bow that tried to be fast and smooth at once, and it largely succeeded - a compact 31 1/2-inch bow rating 320 to 328 fps on its Speed module while shooting quiet and virtually shock-free through Vertical Force Technology and a built-in Hush Kit. Real hunting-weight arrows land in the high 260s to high 280s fps, brisk for a bow this calm, and the Binary Cam's purchase-time choice of a Speed or Ultra-smooth module lets one owner set it up for velocity and the next for a butter-soft pull. What owners keep coming back to, two model years and two decades on, is the draw and the shot - easy to pull even at 70 pounds, a solid back wall, and a stillness in the hand that keeps the sight on the deer. In my experience that quiet, no-flinch shot is worth more to a treestand hunter than a headline fps number, and the Tribute delivers it without asking you to give up the speed. Reported around $749 at launch and refined for 2007, it is a used-market buy now, and a clean, freshly-strung one is a lot of quiet, quick hunting bow for the money - with a military dedication and a TAPS donation behind the name that most bows can't claim. An excellent choice for the treestand or ground-blind hunter who wants speed without noise or hand shock, and particularly strong for a developing hunter who needs a forgiving bow that still performs. Buyers who prioritize the quietest, most refined shot above all should also look at the Mathews Switchback XT, while those who want Hoyt's hybrid-cam feel and a little more axle-to-axle should look at the Hoyt Trykon.