Compound Bow Reviews

The Bottom Line:Sold from 2023 through 2025 at a $1,599 launch MSRP and since discontinued, the Reckoning Gen2 SD was Bowtech's short-draw target bow - the full Reckoning Gen2 platform, with its DeadLock press-free tuning, adjustable limb-stop-firm draw stop, GripLock grip, and class-leading finish, built around a cam... read full review

The Bottom Line:At a $1,299 launch MSRP, the 2024-and-current Bowtech Eva Gen3 is the brand's only women's-specific bow, and it earns that slot with real flagship hardware rather than a cosmetic women's package - the full DeadLock cam, TimeLock no-press tuning, the GripLock adjustable grip, and a rigid Dual Lock pocket... read full review

The Bottom Line:Launched for the 2025 model year at a $1,299 launch MSRP and carried unchanged into 2026, the Solution LS is Bowtech's answer for the hunter who wants real flagship tuning without flagship extras. It keeps the parts that matter for accuracy - the full DeadLock cam system you adjust with a wrench on the... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Frontier RTS arrives at $219.99 launch MSRP as the entry tier of Bear's 2026 youth lineup - a 26-inch axle-to-axle dual-cam bow with a 14-to-25-inch draw length range, 15-to-29-pound draw weight, 65 percent let-off, and a complete Ready-to-Shoot accessory bundle. The headline performance number... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Shootout is a budget crossover bow that does one job very well: it carries a young or new archer through the transition years on a single, affordable chassis. At a $279.99 launch MSRP it adjusts from a 14-inch draw and 20 pounds up to 28 inches and 50 pounds, rides a maneuverable 28-inch axle-to-axle... read full review

The Bottom Line:The 2026 Bowtech Alliance answers a question hunters have asked for years - can one compact bow be both smooth and fast - by letting the shooter flip between the two with a disc rather than committing at the counter. At a $1,499.99 launch MSRP it delivers a 30.5-inch, 4.09-pound chassis carved out of... read full review

The Bottom Line:At a $649.99 launch MSRP, the Pristine delivers something Bear's catalog had been missing - a purpose-built short-draw hunting bow for women and smaller-framed adults that arrives complete and ready to hunt rather than asking the shooter to fit a bow designed for someone else. The numbers that matter... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Mathews ARC 30 is the 2026 refinement of a hunting platform Mathews has tuned for three model years - the same 6-inch brace, 3.99-pound mass, and up-to-348 fps IBO that the 29.5-inch Lift and Lift X carried before it, now on a 30-inch axle-to-axle frame. What is new is the SWX-2 cam with perimeter... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Mathews ARC 34 is the long-axle half of the 2026 ARC platform, and it answers a different question than its compact sibling: how much stability can a hunting bow borrow from the target world without giving up the weight and speed a hunter needs. The answer is a 34-inch axle-to-axle aluminum bow that... read full review

The Bottom Line:The 2026 PSE Sicario delivers on a hard promise: a carbon speed bow that actually shoots like a hunting bow. At $1,999 launch MSRP it asks flagship money, and it earns it with the numbers that matter - 350 to 353 fps real-world velocity at a hunting-weight setup, a class-leading 3.9-pound carbon package,... read full review

The Bottom Line:The 2026 PSE Sicario 35 is the forgiving half of the Sicario story - the bow that takes the carbon line's light weight and new FDS cam and wraps them in a longer, calmer, more aimable package. At $2,099 launch MSRP it sits a hundred dollars above the standard Sicario, and the premium buys a meaningfully... read full review

The Bottom Line:The 2026 PSE Decree is the bow for the hunter who cares more about where the pin sits than about shaving the last ounce off the setup - and at $1,299 launch MSRP it delivers a flagship cam and an accuracy pedigree well under the price of the carbon bows it shares that cam with. The headline is the FDS... read full review