Compound Bow Comparator

At an $824 launch MSRP for the 2020 base finish - rising to $874 for premium patterns, with the 2021 edition landing between $949 and $999 - the Summit 7 sits above the budget-hunter crowd and squarely in the custom-shop conversation, which is exactly where it belongs. What that money buys is a compact 30.5-inch, 4.2-pound treestand hunter that carries lighter than its spec, draws smooth into a deep adjustable valley, and shoots genuinely dead in the hand with a quiet, shock-free release. Its 335 fps IBO trails its speed-focused Summit 6 sibling by about ten feet per second, which is the whole point - the Summit 7 spends that inch of brace height on forgiveness, and in my hands it held steadier and pointed truer for it. The modular MT cam finally frees Athens owners from draw-specific cams, the solid beyond-parallel limbs and factory LimbSaver rubber do the quiet work, and the complete riser-and-limb color customization plus a transferable lifetime warranty are the kind of thing you normally pay a premium to get. It is an excellent bow for the treestand hunter who values a rock-steady hold and a silent shot over headline speed, and who wants a bow built to look like exactly his own. Buyers who need the widest adjustability range under one roof should look at the Bowtech Amplify, and those who want the most bow for the fewest dollars in a ready-to-hunt package should look at the Bear Species. Read full review...

The Bowtech Amplify is the rare budget bow that spends its engineering where a shooter actually feels it. At a $599 launch MSRP in 2021 and a $649 starting price in the 2026 lineup, it delivers a hard limb-stop back wall, an 85 percent hold that leaves only about ten and a half pounds in your hand at 70 pounds of peak, and real-world speed in the 290-to-326 fps range depending on arrow weight - all wrapped around an 8-to-70-pound, 21-to-30-inch adjustment range that genuinely carries a household from a child's first draw to an adult hunting setup. What I keep coming back to is how much bow this is for the money: the limb-stop wall and the PowerShift smooth-versus-fast switch are features shooters usually pay flagship prices for, and here they sit on a bow a first-timer can afford. It is quiet enough for the treestand, light enough at 4.0 pounds to carry all day, and adjustable enough to be the only bow a growing archer needs for years. An excellent choice for the budget-minded hunter and the grow-with-me household that wants one bow to last, particularly strong for the developing shooter who benefits from a light hold and a defined wall. Buyers starting a very young child at the smallest draw lengths, or those who prioritize the lowest price, should also look at the Diamond Edge 320. Read full review...

Bear has always produced bows for every single shooter on the spectrum of hunting bows. The 2018 Species is designed to be an entry-level bow for adults wanting to give hunting a try, and it does not disappoint. For only $399, shooters get a great bow, backed by an outstanding name to help them get started in a sport where personal preferences force an endless number of options. Bear takes out all the guesswork, by giving shooters a fully rigged out bow with some pretty great shootability characteristics. Are the accessories the best offered on the market? Probably not, but it allows shooters to get started and get comfortable just shooting a bow, and upgrades can easily be made later on. Bear knew what they were doing in offering an entry-level bow in a single cam offering due to the smooth draw cycle and ease of shooting. However, the 320 feet per second speed rating is not too thrilling. For someone just getting started in the world of bow hunting, it would be tough to find a better package deal for $399. Read full review...

• Exceptionally light in the hand - a 4.2 lb bow that carries like a mid-3 lb rig, easy to hold up through a long treestand sit
• Dead-in-hand shot with no felt hand shock or vibration and a quiet release - beyond-parallel solid limbs and factory LimbSaver rubber do the work
• Smooth draw into a deep, forgiving valley behind a 7-inch brace that holds steady and points itself on target
• Naturally balanced - settles on the target on its own and groups tight even shot bare-bow at close range
• Complete color customization with separate riser and limb colors, plus American-made GAS strings and a transferable lifetime warranty

• Hard limb-stop back wall - a defined, rock-solid wall that budget bows almost never give you, where most cable-stop rivals feel spongy at full draw
• Adjusts across a 62-pound span, from an 8-pound backyard setting to a 70-pound hunting weight, plus 21 to 30 inches of draw, all without a bow press
• PowerShift flip modules switch the same cam between a smoother draw and a faster one, so one shooter can retune the feel in minutes
• Quiet on the shot for its class - around 78 dB with the repositionable Orbit Dampener soaking up most of the residual buzz

• Entry-level single cam bow for adults
• Compact 31-inch axel-to-axel measurement
• High let-off of 80%
• Suggested retail of only $399 fully loaded with accessories

• Soft drop-off into the deep valley - shooters used to a crisp flagship back wall can dial the draw stops in tighter to firm it up, and safety draw stops guard against over-rotation
• Draw-length changes need a module swap on a bow press rather than a home-adjustable rotating mod - set your exact half-inch draw with the shop before the made-to-order build

• Draw is solid rather than glass-smooth - the wide cam builds to peak quickly, so shooters chasing a plush pull should run the Comfort module setting or draw one first
• Some owners feel a touch more hand buzz than a flagship after the shot - repositioning the Orbit Dampener or running a stabilizer settles it in practice
• Fixed plastic grip rather than the interchangeable flagship Bowtech grip - its curved shape takes some owners time to warm to, and a stick-on aftermarket grip is an easy swap

• Accessories may need to be upgraded for some
• 320 feet per second is a little on the slow end of performance