Compound Bow Comparator

The Mathews Ovation is a purpose-built target and 3D bow that has aged into a genuine value on the used market, where clean examples now trade in the low hundreds - a lot of proven tournament accuracy for the money. Its headline numbers were never about speed: a 300 to 302 fps IBO rating, a 40-inch axle-to-axle, an 8-inch brace, and roughly 4.5 pounds of deliberate, steadying mass. What it delivers instead is forgiveness - the single StraightLine HP cam, the long riser, and the low InLine grip combine into a platform that owners say stacks arrows at distance and holds dead-center while they aim. The choice of 80% or 65% let-off lets a buyer tune the hold to their discipline, and the Harmonic Damping System keeps the shot quiet and dead in the hand. In my experience a long, heavy single-cam like this rewards the patient, form-focused shooter more than any spec sheet suggests. It is an excellent bow for the target and 3D archer who scores accuracy over speed and does not need to carry the bow far. Buyers who want a shorter, faster all-around rig - or who plan to hunt with it - should look instead to a modern hunting-length compound; buyers chasing a little more speed in the same tournament class should also look at the Bowtech Constitution. Read full review...

The BowTech Constitution is one of the mid-2000s' definitive long target and field bows - a 40-to-41-inch, 8 1/4-inch-brace platform built on the Binary Cam System and produced from 2005 through 2008. Its headline is that it does not follow the usual long-bow bargain: it is the forgiving, dead-still-on-aim rig you expect from that geometry, but it is also the fastest of its peer group at 308 to 320 fps IBO, with real target setups measured by owners at 278 to 300 fps depending on arrow weight and draw. The 2007 riser redesign and modular grip are widely regarded as the sweet spot of the run, and the 2008 bow adds the InVelvet finish and the highest speed rating. What I keep hearing from the people who have shot it for years is the same thing I would lead with: the hold is the story - a hard wall, a steady pin, and the confidence to aim dead-center and trust it. The one demand it makes is disciplined form, because the aggressive cams leave a short valley that rewards staying engaged on the wall. It is an excellent bow for the target, field, and 3D archer who wants a long, exceptionally stable aiming platform with a firm wall and genuine speed, and it is a forgiving crossover for the hunter who prizes a deep brace over a light pack weight. Buyers who want the smoothest, lowest-maintenance single cam should also look at the Mathews Ovation, while those who prefer a softer wall, a longer valley, and a shorter bow to carry should look at the Hoyt 38 Pro. Read full review...

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• Long 40-inch axle-to-axle and tall 8-inch brace height make it remarkably forgiving - owners report stacking arrows at 60 to 80 yards
• Smooth, easy-to-shoot-well single cam that owners find forgiving enough for target, 3D, and shooters still new to the tournament line
• Confidence-inspiring build that long-time owners rate among the best target bows Mathews made in the Solocam era

• Long 40-to-41-inch axle-to-axle and a tall 8 1/4-inch brace make it exceptionally forgiving - owners report it holds dead-still on aim and outgroups bows they had shot for years
• Binary Cam System delivers a rock-solid back wall and repeatable timing, the shot-to-shot consistency target and field archers are after
• Smooth to draw for a fast bow and free of felt hand shock - several owners chose it over the era's Hoyt and Mathews target flagships
• Modular half-inch draw-length tuning and 65-to-80-percent adjustable let-off let a shooter dial in the exact hold, valley, and speed they want

• Heavy and long at roughly 4.5 pounds and 40 inches - built for the stationary target and 3D line, so hunters who carry all day are better served by a shorter hunting model
• Comparatively slow at a 300 to 302 fps IBO rating - a deliberate trade for the forgiving geometry that spot and 3D scoring never punishes, though speed-focused buyers should weigh it

• Aggressive Binary cams leave a short valley that punishes creeping at full draw - the flip side of the hard, consistent wall; staying leaned into the back wall handles it, and it rewards disciplined, repeatable form
• A long, roughly 4.5-pound target and field platform - hunters who carry all day are better served by a shorter bow, though owners report no trouble hunting the 41-inch length from a treestand