Mathews Prima Review

Editors' review

Mathews built the Prima to answer a question the industry usually ignores: what does a short-draw archer do when every "compact" bow still bottoms out at a 24- or 25-inch draw? The Prima drops to 21.5 inches while keeping the same Crosscentric cam, bridged riser, and 3D Damping found on Mathews' flagship hunters - this is not a de-tuned starter bow with a women's decal. It is the brand's first women's-specific model since the 2017 Avail, and it arrived built around the people who are usually asked to shoot a bow scaled for someone bigger. At 30 inches axle-to-axle, a 5.5-inch brace height, and 3.93 pounds, it is short, light, and quick, with an IBO rating of up to 321 fps at its 27.5-inch peak. Offered in 40-, 50-, and 60-pound peak weights, it covers a genuine hunting setup rather than a token draw-weight cap. The result is a bow small-frame and youth shooters can grow with instead of grow out of - and one that shoots quietly enough to hold its own next to bows costing the same money.

Finish

Mathews offers the Prima in eight finishes, a full palette rather than the one-or-two-color afterthought women's bows have historically received. The lineup spans solid Granite and Black for shooters who want a clean, low-key riser, alongside a broad set of camo patterns: First Lite Specter, Under Armour Forest All-Season, Realtree Edge, Green Ambush, and Sitka's Optifade Subalpine and Optifade Elevated II. That mix covers open-country and timber concealment as well as the two dominant apparel-brand camo systems, so a hunter can match the bow to the pattern she already wears. The anodized and dipped coatings are the same durable treatments Mathews uses across its flagship line, so wear resistance is not compromised to hit the price. For a compact hunting bow, having both understated solids and premium licensed camo on the menu is a genuine advantage - most rivals in this category force a choice between one solid and one pattern.

Riser

The Prima carries Mathews' extended bridged riser, which runs long for a 30-inch bow and is a big reason the frame feels stable in the hand despite its short axle-to-axle length. The machined-aluminum riser uses the same cutout-and-bridge architecture as the flagship hunters, keeping mass low without giving up rigidity. Cable management runs through the angled CenterGuard containment system, which equalizes the cable angle through the draw for cleaner cam timing and pulls the cables toward the centerline for extra vane clearance - a detail that also makes the bow easier to tune. The rest mounts on a dovetail interface compatible with Mathews' Silent Connect System, giving a solid, repeatable rest attachment with no side-to-side slop, and a standard Berger-hole rest drops in just as easily for shooters who prefer it. In my experience the centered cables and dovetail mount are what make first tuning so fast on this bow - several owners describe getting bullet holes with only minor adjustments straight out of the box. It is a flagship riser platform shrunk to short-draw proportions rather than a budget chassis dressed up.

Grip

The Prima uses Mathews' Engage grip, a narrow rubberized interface designed to seat the same way across a range of hand sizes and to keep torque out of the shot. The rubber surface is a real asset for cold-weather hunting, staying warm and tactile when a bare aluminum or hard-composite grip would feel like ice. It indexes cleanly into the palm, which helps repeatability for shooters still building a consistent anchor. The grip is polarizing, though: its rounded back is comfortable for many hands but some shooters prefer a flatter, squarer shelf that resists palm roll, and one of the most common comparisons owners draw is against Bowtech's flatter grip surface. The fix is built in - the Engage grip is removable, and Mathews sells side plates so you can shoot directly off the bare riser if that suits your hand better. That makes the grip a preference to dial in rather than a fixed trait you are stuck with.

Limbs

The Prima runs pre-stressed, past-parallel split limbs that sit deeply past parallel at full draw, a geometry that cancels much of the limb's recoil into itself and is a big part of why the bow is so quiet and shock-free. The thin limb profile keeps mass down and is sized for the bow's 40-, 50-, and 60-pound peak weights rather than stretched to cover an oversized range. One important thing to understand before buying: unlike Mathews' Switchweight flagships, the Prima sets its peak weight through the limbs, not through modules. Within a given limb set you adjust down about 10 pounds with the limb bolts, but jumping from a 50-pound peak to a 60-pound peak means changing limbs, not swapping a module. That is why choosing the right peak class up front matters - many short-draw shooters start around 40 pounds and buy the 50-pound limbs so they have room to build strength and draw weight over a season or two. The limb design itself is the proven Mathews architecture, so long-term reliability across the range is not a concern.

Eccentric System

At the heart of the Prima is the Crosscentric cam, the same binary-style system that powers Mathews' flagship hunters - but here it is a reduced-size version scaled for shorter draw lengths. That smaller cam is the reason the draw feels notably less aggressive than the full-size Crosscentric on a V3; the ramp is gentler and the transition into the valley is softer. The IBO rating is up to 321 fps at the 27.5-inch peak draw (346 fps on the standard 30-inch calculation the bow can't actually reach, since draw length caps at 27.5"), which is genuinely fast for a bow shooting at short draws. Real chronograph numbers line up sensibly with the shorter power stroke: at a 27.5-inch draw and 60 pounds a 440-grain arrow clocks around 236 fps, while at a 25-inch draw and roughly 50 pounds the Prima runs 261 fps with a light 300-grain arrow, 248 fps with a 350-grain, and 218 fps with a heavy 450-grain shaft. Draw length adjusts from 21.5 to 27.5 inches through modules, so the bow can be fitted precisely, typically without a bow press for the module change. Let-off is 80% (independently measured at about 78%), and the back wall is defined by cable stops - firm, with essentially no spongy creep. The draw-force curve eases off gently at the very end rather than crashing into the wall, which shooters using back-tension releases and long practice sessions tend to appreciate.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Prima, the first thing I notice is how little it fights back - the reduced Crosscentric cam rolls up without the hard hump you feel on the flagship hunting cams, then eases into a well-defined valley and settles onto a solid cable-stop wall. That wall is the highlight: pull into it and there is no sponge, no float, just a clean stop you can lean on, which makes anchoring repeatable for shooters still cementing their form. The generous valley and 80% let-off mean the holding weight is low enough to sit at full draw and wait, and owners consistently point out they can practice far longer before their arm gives out. At the shot the bow is genuinely quiet - a decibel meter puts it in the low-to-mid 70s with hunting arrows and under 70 with heavy shafts - and hand shock is close to nonexistent, just a small bump before the riser goes dead in the hand. The past-parallel limbs and the Nano 3D dampener out front do most of that work. It is not a bow that punishes a mistake; the long riser and short axle-to-axle length balance well, aim steady, and forgive the small torque errors newer shooters make. The one honest caveat is balance: a few owners find it a touch top-heavy at full draw, which a short back bar tidies up immediately.

Usage Scenarios

The Prima is first and foremost a whitetail and Western hunting bow for anyone whose draw lands in the 21.5-to-27.5-inch window - small-frame women, teenagers, and short-draw shooters of any gender. Picture a mother who has spent years shooting a hand-me-down bow set two inches too long for her: the Prima finally fits, and at 3.93 pounds it hangs easily from a treestand hook through a long, cold sit. For a 13-year-old moving up from a starter bow, the 40-pound peak and 21.5-inch draw are a real hunting setup today, and the 50-pound limb option is there when the draw weight needs to climb. Its quietness and forgiveness make it a strong ground-blind and treestand choice where a single quiet shot matters, and the compact 30-inch frame is easy to keep out of the way in a cramped blind. It doubles comfortably as a backyard-to-3D practice bow thanks to the low holding weight and long-session comfort. Where it reaches its limit is the long-draw adult: if your draw exceeds 27.5 inches the Prima simply won't fit you, and heavy-bone Western game at extended range is better served by a longer-draw, higher-energy setup.

Mathews Prima vs Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2, Hoyt Eclipse

Bow	Mathews Prima	Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2	Hoyt Eclipse
Version	2024	2023	2024
Picture
Brace Height	5.5 "	7 "	6.75 "
AtA Length	30 "	30 "	29 "
Draw Length	21.5 " - 27.5 "	23.5 " - 28.5 "	23.5 " - 28 "
Draw Weight	30 lbs - 60 lbs	30 lbs - 60 lbs	20 lbs - 60 lbs
IBO Speed	321 fps	323 fps	314 fps
Weight	3.93 lbs	3.9 lbs	3.7 lbs
Let-Off	80%	85 / 87%	80%
Where to buy Best prices online	$54.99 Compare prices	$750 Compare prices	$94.99 to $1200 Compare prices
	compare more bows

The natural cross-shops for the Prima are the Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2 and the Hoyt Eclipse - the two other premium women's and short-draw hunting bows in this tier. All three land near 30 inches axle-to-axle and around 3.9 pounds, but their priorities differ. The Prima has the shortest brace height at 5.5 inches, which makes it the fastest of the three, and it is the only one that reaches down to a 21.5-inch draw - so for the very smallest-frame or shortest-draw shooter, it fits where the others stop short. The Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2 runs a much taller 7-inch brace height for extra forgiveness and its DeadLock cam is the easiest of the three to tune to a bullet hole, at the cost of a little speed and roughly a hundred dollars more at launch; in a direct head-to-head the Prima chronographs a few feet per second faster with the same arrow, while the Eva sits a touch deader in the hand and wears the flatter grip some shooters prefer. The Hoyt Eclipse is the lightest at 3.7 pounds and shares the women's/short-draw mission, and it actually spreads its draw weight the widest of the three - all the way down to a 20-pound peak that suits the very youngest or lightest-poundage archer - but its draw-length floor stops at 23.5 inches, so it won't fit the sub-23.5-inch draw the Prima reaches. The decision comes down to priorities: the Prima for the shortest-draw shooter who wants the most speed, the Eva Shockey Gen 2 for maximum forgiveness and the easiest tuning, and the Eclipse for the lightest carry weight and the widest draw-weight range in a Hoyt package.

Summary

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.