Compound Bow Comparator

While the Bear Mauler is without a doubt a bow hunter's rig, it would be good for the recreational shooter as well. Whether you opt for the "ready to hunt" package or you choose to put your own custom accessories on, the Bear Carnage is a very fast, smooth, quiet and nearly vibration free bow with a very affordable price tag. The "ready to hunt" package includes everything you need on the bow for you to just grab your arrows and sight in on the spot. To buy all these separate and put them on this bow, it would cost a considerable amount more. Overall this is one of the most shootable, adjustable and high performance bows for the money of 2011. Read full review...

The Bear Assault is a complete, quiet, easy-to-own hunting bow that has aged well because it got the basics right: a smooth E-Cam draw, a dead-in-hand shot, 3.9 pounds of compact maneuverability, and a Ready-to-Hunt kit that leaves nothing else on the shopping list - all for roughly $549 at its 2010 launch. Its 328 fps IBO was never class-leading, and real hunting arrows land below that number, but speed was never the point; livability was. What I keep coming back to is how much finished, field-ready bow it puts in a first-time buyer's hands, and how little it asks of them to set up - an inch of draw change is a hex key and five minutes, not a pro-shop appointment. It is an excellent choice for the budget-minded or first-serious hunter who wants one quiet, light, adjustable bow that is ready on day one, and it is particularly strong as a compact treestand and ground-blind rig for whitetail and hogs. Buyers prioritizing raw speed in the same compact size should also look at the Bowtech Assassin; those wanting the lowest-cost quiet single-cam should look at the PSE Stinger. Read full review...

• Excellent shootability
• Very adjustable draw length
• Ready to Hunt package is a hard to beat value option
• Very affordable

• Smooth, quiet delivery - the E-Cam rolls into the shot cleanly and the bow settles dead in the hand, with little of the buzz that spooks close game
• Light and compact - 3.9 pounds on a 30.75-inch axle-to-axle frame swings up fast and carries easily on an all-day treestand sit
• Home-adjustable draw length - numbered modules move the draw an inch at a time with a hex key and no bow press, so refitting the bow to a new shooter takes minutes
• Complete Ready-to-Hunt kit - the RTH package arrives with a Whisker Biscuit rest, 5-pin lighted sight, quiver, stabilizer, peep and D-loop, hunt-ready at a value price

• Back wall could be a little more solid
• Could have more finish options

• Some owners have noted the back wall gives a touch rather than stopping hard - typical of a single-cam bow, and buyers who want a rigid wall should draw one before committing
• Some owners have reported the finish and the factory string stops wearing over time - the string stops are a cheap, drop-in replacement worth checking after a season of use