Compound Bow Reviews

The Bottom Line:The Bear Inception was the fast-value pick of Bear's 2021 Legend Series - a compact 32-inch hunting bow that chased a 340 fps IBO rating and, on a chronograph with a heavy 400-grain arrow at 29 inches and 70 pounds, still delivered around 304 fps. It backs that speed with a quiet, low-shock shot from... read full review

The Bottom Line:At $1,199.99 launch, the Execute 32 is the long-axle Execute - the one built for a steady hold rather than tight-quarters quickness - and it makes a strong case at Bear's new flagship price. It carries the same redesigned EKO cam with an unusually wide 75-to-90-percent let-off range, the same 340 fps... read full review

The Bottom Line:At $1,199.99 launch, the Execute 30 is the bow that moved Bear into flagship pricing - and, for the compact-hunting buyer, largely justified it. You get a genuinely redesigned EKO cam with an unusually wide 75-to-90-percent let-off range, a 340 fps IBO rating that translates to a real 293 fps with a... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Legend XR is a genuine one-bow-for-the-household answer: a DHC-XR hybrid cam that spans 14 to 70 pounds and 18 to 31 inches, wrapped in a real 32-inch aluminum hunting chassis that launched at $459.99 bow-only and $559.99 as a ready-to-hunt package. It backs its 320 IBO with an honest 299 fps... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Adapt is the value single cam that quietly set the template for Bear's Hunting Public line. Launched at $459.99 for the bow only in 2022 as The Hunting Public's own design, it delivered a genuinely smooth draw, a quiet sub-96 dB shot, and a back-wall choice - rock-solid limb stop or softer cable... read full review

The Bottom Line:At a $449.99 launch MSRP for the full factory-rigged Ready-to-Hunt package, the Cruzer G3 is the generation that finally made Bear's grow-with-you idea friction-free: the MV1 DrawDial covers 14 to 30 inches and 10 to 70 pounds from the modules already on the bow, 75% let-off keeps the full 70 pounds... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Persist is a machined-aluminum hunting flagship that trades the last ounce of weight savings for a shot that is genuinely silent and dead in the hand. At a $1,249.99 launch MSRP it sits a clear step below the Mathews and Hoyt flagship tier while delivering the things that actually matter on... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Alaskan XT is one of the better value stories in recent hunting bows: a $579.99 dealer-exclusive that machines a flagship-style Integrate Mounting System dovetail and Picatinny rail into the riser, adds a roller cable guard and in-riser dampeners, and delivers a shot that reads under 94 decibels... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Bear Persist 33 is the forgiveness play in the Persist family - the same quiet, machined-aluminum hunting platform stretched to a longer, steadier 33-inch axle-to-axle. At a $1,249.99 launch MSRP it undercuts the Mathews and Hoyt flagship tier while delivering the things a distance-conscious hunter... read full review

The Bottom Line:The Gamekeeper Jr is one of the more honest one-bow-for-years propositions on the market: a genuinely light, easy-drawing compound that adjusts with a hex wrench from a five-year-old's 5-pound, 12-inch backyard setup to a 50-pound, 27-inch rig that will legally and effectively take a whitetail, all in... 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:The Diamond Radian is the most youth-focused bow in the grow-with-me category and the one that best solves the problem of a very young beginner. At a $399.99 launch MSRP it undercuts the obvious alternatives while delivering the thing that actually matters at this tier: adult-grade aluminum hardware,... 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 Hoyt Concept X 37 is a ground-up rebuild of Hoyt's target flagship, and it earns the effort. It carries flagship money - around $1,999 with standard limbs, $2,199 with the high-gloss set - and answers with a long, torque-resistant riser, an all-new SCTR cam whose let-off you can tune in 2.5% steps,... 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