Mathews Prima Compound Bow

The Mathews Prima is a genuine flagship-grade hunting bow scaled for short-draw archers, not a starter bow with a women's badge - the same Crosscentric cam, bridged riser, and 3D Damping as Mathews' top hunters, in a 30-inch, 3.93-pound frame that drops to a 21.5-inch draw. At a $1,099 launch MSRP it sits in premium-bow territory, and it earns the position: up to 321 fps at its 27.5-inch peak, a firm cable-stop back wall, a low-70s-dB shot, and near-zero hand shock. What keeps drawing me back to it is how little the reduced Crosscentric cam fights on the way to that solid wall, and how long you can hold it at full draw before fatigue sets in. It fits small-frame women, teenagers in transition, and any short-draw shooter who has been making do with a bow scaled for someone else, and the 40-, 50-, and 60-pound peaks mean it grows with a shooter rather than capping them. An excellent bow for the short-draw hunter who wants real flagship performance and quietness in a compact frame, and is particularly strong as a treestand and ground-blind bow where one silent shot decides the day. Buyers prioritizing maximum forgiveness and the easiest tuning should also look at the Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2, while those wanting the lightest possible carry weight should consider the Hoyt Eclipse... read full review