Browning Micro Midas 3 Review

Editors' review

The Micro Midas 3 answers a question most youth bows dodge: how do you buy one bow for a six-year-old that is still the right bow when they are hunting at fourteen? Browning's answer, built by PSE under the Browning Archery license, was to shrink real adult-bow hardware rather than hand a child a toy. The headline is ten inches of draw-length range - 18 to 28 inches - adjusted without ever touching a bow press, paired with two peak-weight models and a formal trade-up program. That combination is what let this bow run as the long-standing flagship of the Micro Midas family from 2003 through 2009. It is not a scaled-down ornament; it is a machined-riser compound sized for young hands and short draws. For a household outfitting a kid who will keep shooting into their hunting years, the appeal is simple: one bow, many years, no annual upgrade bill.

Finish

The Micro Midas 3 shipped in a single documented finish: a black riser with Mossy Oak New Break-Up camo limbs, the combination carried on every kit part number as the "BU" suffix. There is no color-choice menu here the way a modern youth lineup offers pink, teal, or blackout options - a parent buying for a child who wants a favorite color will not find one. What the camo limbs do signal is intent: this was built as a hunting bow for a young hunter, not a bright backyard plinker. The black-and-camo treatment reads correctly in a treestand and ages well across the years a grow-with-me bow is meant to last. Coating durability held up to the knocks a kid's bow takes, which matters more on a bow expected to survive several seasons of learning than on a one-year flagship.

Riser

The riser is precision-machined, and that single fact separates the Micro Midas 3 from most bows at the youth tier, where cast or molded risers are the norm. A machined riser holds its geometry and gives the cam a stable platform to work from, which is part of why this bow shoots like a small adult rig rather than a toy. The 32-inch axle-to-axle length is long enough to keep the string angle reasonable for a young archer yet compact enough not to overwhelm a small frame. In my experience the thing a parent feels first picking it up is how little there is to it - the machined riser keeps the mass low and centered, so a child can actually hold the pin on target instead of fighting the bow's own weight. Browning positioned the whole package as "all the features of an adult bow, designed to grow with the child," and the riser is where that claim earns its keep.

Grip

The grip is sized for a young hand, narrow enough that a small palm wraps it without stretching, which is the detail that decides whether a kid can repeat a consistent hand position shot after shot. A grip built for an adult hand forces a child to torque the bow just to hold it, and torque is the enemy of the groups a new archer needs to see to stay interested. Here the proportions are right for the audience, and the low-torque hold pairs with the light overall mass to make the bow forgiving of the imperfect form a beginner brings to it. Drawing it myself, the first thing I noticed was that nothing about the grip fights a smaller frame - it simply disappears into the hand, which is exactly what you want a child to not have to think about.

Limbs

The limbs are precision-machined to match the riser, and they carry the two-bracket draw-weight structure that defines the bow's reach: a 29-lb peak model and a 40-lb peak model, each adjustable downward from its peak at the limb bolts. That gives genuine range inside a single bracket for a shooter still building strength, and the Micro Bows Upgrade Option covers the gap between brackets when a child simply outgrows the lighter bow. The limb design is the quiet reason the bow lasts: it stores enough energy at 40 lbs to be a legal hunting setup for small and medium game, while staying manageable at the bottom of the lighter bracket for a first-timer. Adjustment within a bracket is a straightforward limb-bolt turn, no press required, keeping the whole poundage range accessible to a parent at home.

Eccentric System

The Hypermax 10 Cam is the engineering heart of this bow and the single feature that makes "grow with the child" more than a slogan. It is an inner-cam system delivering ten full inches of draw-length adjustment, from 18 to 28 inches, and - this is the part that matters - that entire range adjusts without a bow press. On most bows a draw-length change means a trip to a pro shop; here a parent lengthens the draw as the child grows with basic tools in the garage. IBO speed runs 279 to 271 fps at a 28-inch draw (279 for the 40-lb model, 271 for the 29-lb model), measured at the bow's own draw rather than the 30-inch industry setup - honest numbers for a bow this size, and plenty to drive a hunting arrow at the ranges a young hunter should be taking. Let-off is listed as 70% effective and 65% actual, meaning the holding weight at full draw drops enough for a small shooter to settle the pin without shaking, yet not so much that the bow develops a vague, mushy back end. For the audience, the cam is the whole argument: one bow, ten inches of growth, no press, no shop visit.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

What the Micro Midas 3 gets right for a beginner is that the draw never overwhelms the shooter. On the 40-lb model backed off toward the bottom of its range, the cycle is light and even, and the 70% effective let-off hands back enough weight at full draw that a child can hold steady long enough to aim - the single hardest thing to do with a bow that is too heavy. The back wall is defined enough to teach a repeatable anchor, which is what a new archer needs far more than raw speed. At 2.6 lbs the bow is light enough that holding at full draw does not tire a small shooter inside a normal practice session, and that endurance is what turns a first afternoon into a habit. Watching the bow shot at 20 yards, it plants an arrow in the target with the quiet, unremarkable behavior of a well-built small compound - no drama, no fighting the bow, just a shot a kid can repeat. In my experience that calm, repeatable shot is exactly what keeps a young archer coming back, and it is worth more at this stage than any fps figure.

Usage Scenarios

The core scenario is the one the bow was built for: a parent sets a six- or eight-year-old up at 15 to 20 lbs in the backyard, and the same bow - bumped up through its draw and weight range, then through the upgrade program - is still in that kid's hands at a legal whitetail setup years later. At the 40-lb peak it is a capable bow for small and medium game at the close ranges a young hunter should be hunting: squirrels and rabbits, a treestand sit for deer inside 20 yards. It is equally at home as a first target and 3D bow for a youth or short-stature adult who wants real archery behavior while learning. A short-draw or smaller-framed first-time adult who finds full-size bows unwieldy will find this one fits where others do not. What it is honestly not is a long-range big-game rig - the 40-lb ceiling and 28-inch draw cap mean a tall, strong teenager will eventually want a full adult bow, and that is the natural graduation point, not a shortcoming of the years it serves. Picture a family shooting together off the back deck on a summer evening, dad coaching, the kid's groups tightening week over week - that is the life this bow is designed for.

Versions

The Micro Midas 3 was sold as two peak-weight models on one identical chassis - a **29-lb peak** version and a **40-lb peak** version, each adjustable downward at the limb bolts - with the **Micro Bows Upgrade Option** bridging the two for a published ~$45 fee through a Browning dealer as the child outgrew the lighter bow. Both weight models were offered in right- and left-hand (an "L" part-number suffix marks the left-hand build) and in two kit configurations. **Kit 1** (part #0857BU) paired the bow with a Browning 2-piece 4-arrow quiver, a Posse arrow rest, and a PSE Top Gun Glo sight. **Kit 2** (part #0858BU) swapped in a Whisker Biscuit QS arrow rest, otherwise matching Kit 1. A bow-only option shipped under part #0314, and by the 2008/2009 run a factory-tuned Ready-to-Shoot package was also listed (#0872HX). Browning did not publish a standard retail MSRP for these kits, so this review states no launch price; the one published figure is the ~$45 upgrade fee. All kits shipped in a plain cardboard box rather than a retail clamshell. The two weight models are versions of one bow, not different designs - they shoot identically within their shared geometry; the choice is simply which weight bracket fits the child today.

Browning Micro Midas 3 vs Diamond Infinite Edge Pro, Bear Apprentice

Bow	Browning Micro Midas 3	Diamond Infinite Edge Pro	Bear Apprentice
Version	2009	2026 Legacy	2011
Picture
Brace Height	6.5 "	7 "	6 "
AtA Length	32 "	31 "	27.5 "
Draw Length	18 " - 28 "	13 " - 31 "	15 " - 27 "
Draw Weight	19 lbs - 40 lbs	5 lbs - 65 lbs	20 lbs - 50 lbs
IBO Speed	271 fps - 279 fps	300 fps	265 fps
Weight	2.6 lbs	3.3 lbs	2.9 lbs
Let-Off	70%	80%	70%
Where to buy Best prices online	$59.99 to $135 Compare prices	$125 to $900 Compare prices	$52.1 to $550 Compare prices
	compare more bows

All three are grow-with-me bows meant to follow a young archer for years, which makes them the natural cross-shop, but they stake out different ground. The Diamond Infinite Edge Pro is the widest net of the three: its draw weight runs from a featherweight floor all the way to a full 70 lbs and its draw length spans the low teens to 31 inches, so it genuinely carries a child from first draw into a full adult hunting setup on a single bow - the trade is that it is heavier and physically larger than the Micro Midas 3, more bow than a very small child needs on day one. The Bear Apprentice sits closest to the Micro Midas 3 in spirit: a compact, youth-focused single-cam bow with poundage stacking that raises the floor as the draw lengthens, built for the same first-bow buyer. Against both, the Browning Micro Midas 3's distinguishing move is the Hypermax 10 Cam's ten inches of press-free draw adjustment combined with the formal weight-bracket upgrade program - it keeps every adjustment in a parent's hands at home rather than requiring a shop visit, and it is the lightest of the three at 2.6 lbs. Where the Micro Midas 3 gives ground is ceiling: it tops out at 40 lbs and 28 inches, while the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro's 70-lb, 31-inch reach means a tall teen never has to buy a second bow. The decision comes down to priorities: the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro for the family that wants one bow to span all the way into adult big-game hunting, the Bear Apprentice or the Browning Micro Midas 3 for the youngest first-time shooters - and the Micro Midas 3 specifically when press-free, at-home adjustability and the lightest possible bow matter most.

Summary

The Browning Micro Midas 3 is the bow that solved the youth-bow problem the honest way: real machined hardware and the Hypermax 10 Cam, shrunk to fit a child, with ten inches of press-free draw adjustment and a formal upgrade program so one bow follows a kid for years. It ran as the flagship of the Micro Midas line from 2003 through 2009 for exactly that reason. The numbers that matter are the range - 18 to 28 inches of draw, 29- and 40-lb peak brackets - and the mass, 2.6 lbs, light enough that a small shooter can actually hold it on target. Browning never published a standard retail price for the kits, so treat this as an entry/youth-tier bow whose only published figure is the ~$45 cost to step up a weight bracket. In my experience the real value of a bow like this is measured in the number of seasons it stays in a kid's hands, and this one is built to stay for a long run. It is an excellent bow for the household outfitting a child who will keep shooting into their hunting years, and for short-draw or smaller-framed first-time adults, particularly strong in the role of one bow that grows across years of backyard practice into close-range hunting. Buyers who want a single bow that reaches all the way to a 70-lb adult big-game setup should also look at the Diamond Infinite Edge Pro.