Compound Bow Comparator

The Bowtech Pro 38 is a long-riser, single-cam target and field bow built from 2001 to 2003, named for the nearly 38-inch axle-to-axle length it wore at launch and refined down to a true 36.7-inch, 4.05-pound bow with a tall 7 3/8-inch brace by its final 2003 year. Its appeal is not on the chronograph - a 310-318 fps IBO is modest - but in the way it behaves: a very solid back wall, a forgiving hold, and a quiet, near-shock-free release that owners happily shot for years and trusted for everything they asked of it. The PF single cam keeps tuning simple, and the 50/60/70-pound peak weights with 65-80% let-off cover any target or field discipline. BowTech never published a launch MSRP that survives in the manuals, so value today is a used-market question - budget for fresh strings and a shop tune and you have a lot of accurate bow for little money. If I were setting one up now, I would build it as a dedicated spot-and-field rig and let it do the one thing it was born to do. An excellent choice for the target and field archer who prizes a steady hold and a clean shot over speed, and who does not mind shopping used. Buyers who want a wider draw range or a deep parts-and-tuning ecosystem should also look at the Hoyt 38 Pro and the Mathews Conquest 4; buyers who want even more length should look at its own sibling, the Bowtech Pro 40. Read full review...

The Hoyt 38 Pro was Hoyt's accuracy-first long target and field bow from 2007 to 2009 - the forgiving, string-suppressed platform that carried the ProTec name's precision reputation into the StealthShot era - and today it is one of the more interesting used buys for a score-minded archer who wants real Hoyt target engineering without a flagship budget. The core numbers hold up for its purpose: a 305-to-306 fps IBO from the smooth C2 Cam and a half, a long 38-to-38.5-inch axle-to-axle and a tall brace near eight inches, laminated XT limbs on a machined TEC riser, a wide 40-to-80-pound and 25-to-33.5-inch fit range, and buyer-selectable 65 or 75 percent let-off. There is no published chronograph data and Hoyt never printed a launch price, so the honest read is a bow you judge on condition and buy for its geometry - a long, quiet, forgiving accuracy platform that came with the StealthShot and RizerShox damping most of its contemporaries made you add yourself. What stays with me about the 38 Pro is how little it asks of the shooter: the length and brace do the forgiving, letting the pin settle and rewarding a deliberate, repeatable shot, which is the entire point of a target bow. This is an excellent bow for the club-level 3D, field and precision-minded hunter who wants a stable, forgiving, genuinely quiet used chassis and does not mind a fresh string and a tune to bring it current, particularly strong on a range or field course where its length and hold pay off. Buyers who rank single-cam simplicity first should also look at the Mathews Conquest 4, and those who want the longest, fastest target platform of the era should weigh the Bowtech Constitution. Read full review...

In short, the Mathews Conquest 4 is a high end target bow with the long ATA and good brace height that is very capable of putting up great scores in stiff competition. Also one of Mathews' lightest competition rigs it isn't a bare to walk around the ranges all day. It is very customizable to the specific needs of most shooters; whether it is smooth drawing, fast shooting or forgiving as possible. A little on the noisy side but this bow is practically dead in the hand at the shot. With a good stabilizer this bow will become even more comfortable for most shooters and it is balanced very well at full draw so it won't take much before you can start pin-wheeling some targets. Read full review...

• Dead-solid, well-defined back wall - owners who shot it for years describe the wall as very solid, exactly what you want for anchoring a repeatable target shot
• Single-cam PF design with an idler wheel on top - nothing to time or synchronize, so it is simple to tune and stays in tune
• Long riser and a tall 7 3/8-inch brace build forgiveness into every shot, rewarding clean form over raw speed
• Genuine target/field all-rounder - owners report it handles everything they ask of it, from spots to 3D to field courses

• Long 38-plus-inch axle-to-axle and a tall brace near eight inches build a genuinely forgiving target-and-field platform that holds steady and hides small form errors
• StealthShot string suppression and RizerShox came standard in 2007 - an early built-in damping package, so a used 38 Pro shoots quieter out of the box than most bare-riser bows of its day
• Cam and a half Plus builds offer a draw-stop-peg let-off of 65 or 75 percent, letting a score shooter set a firm holding weight or a longer-hold comfort weight on the same bow
• Wide 40 to 80 pound and 25 to 33.5 inch fit range on the modular XT limb platform makes one used chassis work for almost any adult shooter
• Real Hoyt target engineering - machined TEC riser, laminated XT limbs, Cam and a half - at used-market prices rather than a flagship budget

• A very forgiving bow
• Pretty low amount of vibration in your hand
• 3 different cams make this a very customizable bow
• Conquest family has won more competitions than any other bow

• Out of production since 2003 and found only on the used market - plan on a fresh set of strings and cables plus a shop tune on any example you buy
• A long, deliberate target bow rather than a compact treestand rig - shooters who want a light, fast hunting setup are simply a different audience

• Any 2007-2009 bow needs its strings and cables judged on condition - a fresh set and a re-time is the standard first step on a used 38 Pro and restores the draw and speed it left the factory with
• Draw-length changes run through the module and limb setup rather than a tool-free rotating module, so dial in your exact draw at a shop before committing to a used example
• Heavier in the hand than a modern target bow - many score shooters actually prefer that mass for a dead-steady hold, but anyone counting ounces may want to shoulder one first

• Choosing a cam can be a little bit confusing
• Draw length is cam specific - new cam needed for each draw length
• Lightest in the lineup but still feels a little bit heavy