Compound Bow Comparator

Sold from 2021 through 2023 at a $1,199 launch MSRP, the Eva Shockey Gen 2 was Bowtech's answer to a long-standing gap: a women's-specific hunting bow that gives up none of the brand's flagship engineering. It is the Solution SD platform - DeadLock cams you tune with a wrench on the line, a FlipDisc that lets the bow grow from a smooth Comfort draw to a faster Performance setting, locked-down limb pockets that hold tune through a season of hard use - scaled to 40-to-60-pound peak limbs and a 23.5-to-28.5-inch draw. In the real world it shoots in the mid-240s fps at a typical 50-pound, 28.5-inch hunting setup, quiet and dead in the hand, with a 7-inch brace that forgives an imperfect release better than its faster siblings. Having drawn the Comfort setting at 50 pounds, what stays with me is how little it asks of the shooter for what it gives back - the smoothness is the kind usually reserved for a brand's top hunting rigs. The only recurring nitpick, a faint post-shot twang some owners notice over time, is the sort of thing a stabilizer and the dampeners most hunters already run quietly erase. An excellent bow for the short-draw or women's hunter who refuses to be handed entry-level gear and wants real flagship tuning in a forgiving, compact package. Buyers who want the newest and most compact version of this lineage should also look at the Bowtech Eva Gen3. Read full review...

At a $1,299 launch MSRP, the 2024-and-current Bowtech Eva Gen3 is the brand's only women's-specific bow, and it earns that slot with real flagship hardware rather than a cosmetic women's package - the full DeadLock cam, TimeLock no-press tuning, the GripLock adjustable grip, and a rigid Dual Lock pocket system, all on a compact 28-inch, 3.9-pound frame. Its IBO speed is 326 fps, and a 350-grain arrow at a realistic 50-pound, 29-inch setup chronographs 271 fps - honest, capable numbers for the lower-poundage hunter it targets. The shot is quiet, the back wall is solid, the let-off holds easy for long waits, and the bow tunes on the line without a press. Having drawn it next to the Gen 2 it replaces, I found the Gen3 firmer and shorter where the Gen 2 was buttery and long, and bare it buzzes more than its predecessor - the one real caveat, and one that a stabilizer and dampening, the gear any hunter adds anyway, brings down markedly. This is an excellent bow for the woman bowhunter who wants a compact, quiet, field-tunable hunting platform fitted to her draw and her hand, particularly strong for treestand and ground-blind hunting at 40 to 60 pounds. Shooters who prized the Gen 2's smoother, more forgiving draw should look at the still-available Bowtech Eva Shockey Gen 2, and those cross-shopping compact flagships should also consider the Mathews Lift X 29.5. Read full review...

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• Carries the full Solution SD flagship platform - same DeadLock cams, limbs, and riser - scaled to women's draw weights rather than stripped of features
• FlipDisc toggles a smooth Comfort draw or a faster Performance setting, adding seven feet per second without changing limbs or buying a new bow
• DeadLock cam tuning corrects a left or right tear with an Allen key right on the shooting line, no bow press required
• Holds speed at short draw lengths where many bows fall off, posting mid-240s fps at just 50 lb and a 28.5-inch draw
• Proven through a full season of hard hunting with no string changes or repairs

• Field-tunable without a press - the full DeadLock cam and TimeLock let a shooter slide the cams with an Allen key and paper-tune to bullet holes right on the shooting line
• Compact and light at 28 inches axle-to-axle and 3.9 pounds - easy to maneuver in a treestand or ground blind and well-suited to smaller-framed shooters
• Quiet shot signature - notably little noise at the release, a real asset on close hunting encounters where a deer can jump the string
• GripLock adjustable grip and adult-grade limb options (40, 50, 60-pound peaks, each backing down about 10 lb) - the angle dials to the hand and the weights suit real hunting, not a youth cap
• Generous 85/87% let-off holds easy at full draw - welcome on lower draw weights and during the long waits for game to step into a shooting lane

• Some owners have noted a slight post-shot twang and it is not the quietest bow bare - the stabilizer and dampeners most hunters already run settle it
• Out-of-box mass sits nearer 4.2 to 4.4 lb on a scale than the 3.9 lb spec - pulling the stock Orbit dampeners trims it for those counting every ounce on long packs

• Noticeable hand shock and vibration shooting it bare - a stabilizer and added dampening (the setup any hunter runs anyway) settle it, so judge this bow set up rather than off the rack
• The draw is firmer and the valley shallower than the smoother Gen 2 it replaces - it rewards staying engaged on the solid back wall; shooters who loved the Gen 2's softer cycle should shoot both before choosing