Compound Bow Comparator

The AMS Fish Hawk was the company's original bowfishing bow and its longest-serving one, a roughly $249 single-cam rig that anchored AMS's lineup from the mid-2000s through the mid-2010s, and sold on for a few years after, by being simple, tough, and easy for anyone to shoot. Its long 35.5-inch riser keeps finger pinch low, its fiberglass limbs and one-cam design survive the dry-fires and drops of new shooters, and its 30-to-40-pound range - extended down through the Junior and Mini Hawk to a 6-pound floor - makes it the rare bow a whole family can share and grow into. It is discontinued now, so buying one means shopping the used market, but the durability that made it popular is the same reason so many are still fishing. If I were handing a beginner or a young kid their first bowfishing rig - something forgiving they could learn on and not worry about breaking - a clean Fish Hawk would be near the top of the list. An excellent choice for the first-time or budget bowfisher and for families outfitting a range of shooters on one platform; anyone who wants more penetration and heavier draw should look at the AMS Fire Eagle, and buyers who want a new, warrantied bow should consider the current AMS Hooligan or the PSE Mudd Dawg instead. Read full review...

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...

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• Smooth, near tuning-free single-cam draw that owners say shoots well right out of the box, with one cam meaning far less timing to chase than a two-cam rig
• Beginner-proof toughness - the simple rig shrugs off the dry-fires and drops that come with new shooters, so a whole family can learn on it without babying it
• One platform spans a family: the same single-cam Hawk scales from a 6-to-12-pound Mini Hawk for a small child to the 30-to-40-pound adult bow, and the reel and rest move up as a kid grows
• Long 35.5-inch axle-to-axle opens the string angle and keeps finger pinch low, which finger-shooters feel first on a fingers-only fishing bow
• Purpose-built simplicity beats a modified deer bow - owners who switched off a heavy 70-pound hunting rig found the light, no-anchor Fish Hawk far quicker to get shots off with

• 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

• Discontinued since around 2019, so it is a used-market or old-stock buy - anyone wanting a new, warrantied AMS bowfishing rig should look at the current AMS Hooligan instead
• A 30-to-40-pound single cam makes it an entry and all-round rig, not a big-fish specialist - some owners keep it as a backup and small-fish bow and reach for a heavier dual-cam like the Fire Eagle for deep, armored gar and buffalo

• 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