Compound Bow Comparator

The AMS Fire Eagle was, in its day, one of the more refined bowfishing compounds on the water - a $369.95 bow that paired a smooth constant-force draw with perimeter-weighted cams hard-hitting enough that a 50-pound setup could out-penetrate a heavier recurve. Its long 35.5-inch riser keeps finger pinch low, its stainless hardware shrugs off the wet, and its 40-to-50-pound range spans an adult on big gar and a kid learning the sport. It is discontinued now, so buying one means shopping the used market, but the limb and cam durability that made it popular is exactly why so many are still shooting. If I were pointing a family at one secondhand bowfishing rig - something an adult and a teenager could share across a season on carp and buffalo - a clean Fire Eagle would be near the top of the list. An excellent choice for the bowfisher who wants a smooth, powerful, finger-friendly rig and does not mind buying used; anyone who prefers a new, warrantied, still-supported bow should look at the current AMS Hooligan or the PSE Mudd Dawg instead. Read full review...

The AMS Hooligan is a bowfishing bow built as a bowfishing bow - a $399.99 launch-MSRP rig on a machined aluminum riser with stainless hardware, zero let-off for instant snap-shooting, and the WRAP cam's two draw-weight posts that make it a genuine 40-pound bow and 50-pound bow in one. Its long 34 3/4-inch riser keeps finger pinch low, its 24-to-50-pound range spans a kid learning the sport and an adult on big gar, and everything adjusts on the water with a single Allen wrench and no press. It is the previous generation now - the Hooligan V2 replaced it in 2022 - so a new one is old stock or a used find, but the purpose-built durability that made it popular is exactly why they keep shooting. If I were setting up one boat bow that had to work for a strong adult one night and a lighter shooter the next, the two-post range is precisely the feature I would want. An excellent choice for the bowfisher who wants a dedicated, take-it-or-leave-it snap-shooter with true two-in-one draw weight; buyers who want the current, warrantied bow with dry-fire-resistant deep-V cams should look at the Hooligan V2, and those cross-shopping the budget tier should also look at the PSE Mudd Dawg. Read full review...

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• Smooth, near tuning-free draw straight out of the box - owners consistently describe it as easy to shoot with little setup fuss
• Hard-hitting perimeter-weighted cams - one owner's 50-pound Fire Eagle out-penetrated his 60-pound recurve on big buffalo
• Long 35.5-inch axle-to-axle keeps finger pinch low, which finger-shooters and longer-draw archers notice first
• Wide 40-to-50-pound range cranks down far enough for kids and lighter shooters while still carrying fish-killing power

• Purpose-built for bowfishing, not a repurposed hunting bow - a machined 6061 aluminum riser and stainless hardware overbuilt to shrug off boats, mud, and hard-water misses
• The WRAP cam's Rapid Adjustment Posts give a true 40-pound bow and a true 50-pound bow in one - moving the string between posts keeps full power at both, instead of backing off limb bolts and losing it
• Wide 24-to-50-pound draw weight and 22-to-32-inch draw length fit nearly anyone on the boat, from a lighter or younger shooter to a full-power adult
• Zero let-off lets you snap-shoot at any point in the draw - no need to reach a full-draw anchor on a fast, close fish
• High out-of-the-box quality - a non-fraying string, a reliable Tidal Wave rest, and a fast-retrieving Retriever Pro TNT reel in the kit

• Some owners have reported the rubberized grip's adhesive letting go over time - a dab of contact cement or a simple grip wrap sorts it out permanently
• Out of production since around 2013, so it is a used-market buy - anyone wanting a new-in-box AMS bowfishing rig should look at the current Hooligan instead

• Swapping between the 40- and 50-pound posts is a deliberate job - back off the limb bolts, roll the slack string onto the other post, re-tension; easy with the included Allen wrench and no press, but not an instant flip
• Zero let-off means you hold the full peak weight through the shot - standard for a snap-shooting fishing bow, but archers coming off a let-off hunting rig should expect the constant-force pull