Hey guys, I was just wondering how fast bow tech changes. I have been hunting archery for the last 10 years with the first bow I bought when I started, a Bowtech assassin which I love. lately I have been looking at the Bowtech Realm SS drooling over it, it peaked my interest when I went to my first archery shoot last month and quite a few guys were shooting them. I'm wondering if a new bow is going to have an advantage over my old bow.

A bow is obsolete the day you buy it. Kinda like computers.

it's a stick with a string on it,  hasn't really changed much since the first guy did it thousands of years ago...

I don't think they really change that much. I had a Bear compound from the 70s and while the draw was heavy and let off was less than modern stuff, it was still pretty much the same idea. materials change, generally the stuff doesn't. Don't get too crazy, perfect is the enemy of good enough

In 10 years, yes they've gotten a little faster and a little smoother.

Over a 5 year period? no, just different materials and riser designs (in some cases).

field and 3D archers are the worst gear queers.  There were sponsored shooters who shot at our events and they didn't change gear as much as us regular guys.

IMO, you might be leaving 15-30fps on the table with your 10 year old bow.  Cam design has moved away from hard let-offs/radical cams and gotten smoother.

Your old bow may shoot just as accurately, you'll have to decide if the slight advantage is worth the investment.

By the way, old bows don't retain value for shit so just be prepared if you decide to sell.

Thanks for the replys. If I do get a new one I will have my old bow set up for my wife to use, after the archery shoot my young kids and wife all want bows to be able to shoot the matches next year. I will also be able to use my old bow as a back up for hunting season.

SO I am Bowtech guy. My first was also an Assassin. Then I moved through ranks and and right now have a Realm. It is a night and day difference. It seems that it takes about three model changes to see a major difference.

Some changes but the every year lineup changes are just a gimmick.
Gotta get people to buy new gear each year. Honestly I am thing about picking up the Mathews Traverse just because it’s such a good crossover hunt/3d bow
 My current bow is a Obsession fixation 6xp. Great bow super fast so we shall see.

The Realm ss looks great but there are no dealers remotely close which is kinda odd since I’m near Greenville

Everytime someone says technology in regard to bows I laugh inside. This so called "technology" is nothing more than snail paced incremental changes or slight improvements on existing design/materials thats WAY over valued to prop up the industry.

Example

Bow makers: hey bruh, we got a whole new line of bows with moar better technology than the one you bought 6mos ago!

Archer: really? Whats new?

Bow makers: Ah duuude!! We changed our cams!

Archer: how?

Bow makers: By a few degrees! Oh dude, your gonna want to sell your bow you just bought for $1k and get this one!!

Archer: whats the benefit with the new change?

Bow makers: Dude! Bro! Speeeeeeed!! You'll get a whole 10fps more on that arrow!

Archer: I fuckin hate you guys.

Bows today compared to 30yrs ago when I started? Yeah big changes in materials and design. From 10-15yrs ago? Not so much.

Funny, I usually wait 5 -6 years before I change bows. What do I look for? Camo pattern... :) Just got 2  bows MY 2015 and MY 2016. Should be good for a while.

I was a legit bow tech back in the day in the late 90’s early 2000s.

I spent my days fletching and cutting aluminum arrows, tieing on nocks, installing peeps with the rubber hose, putting those newfangled whisker biscuits in some folks bows.

When they came out with dual cams and 70% let off cams, it was amazing.

That was 20 years ago and look at today.

You're going to see a huge difference with a newer bow. The bargain bows of today, out perform or perform as well as flagship bows of 10 years ago.

get to an archery shop and try as many different bows as you can.

The good news: you can save a few bucks by moving all the accessories over from you current bow to a new one. The bad news: you will probably want all new stuff and the $$ associated with them.

Living near Mathews this seems to be what everyone I know thinks.

But, if you a Matthews fan, you be able to find used bargains...

True. Sometimes.

I started with assassin. Sold it and bought experience. Then I gave that to my daughter BF bought me the realm first year they came out. My personal opinion, everything between the experience n realm was garbage. These realms are nice.

If someone were going to buy a bow, a 1 and done, cost doesn’t matter...what bow would you recommend?  Adult male, hunting bow.

That is not a simple question.

Different manufacturer's bows shoot differently, meaning the feel of the draw, the way the bow reacts at the shot differ between manufacturers.
Over the years I have owned and shot Matthews, Hoyt, Bowtech, and tried out countless others. For me, I shoot Hoyt bows better. Granted I have not purchased a bow in a few years but I played around with other manufacturers for several years before just deciding to stick with Hoyt.

If cost were no object and I was picking a bow today it would be looking for something in the 35-36" ATA range with a 7-7.5" brace height.
In the Hoyt line, that would be the Double XL.

The shorter bows just don't hold as steady for me. I have had bows as short as 32", and while fast, it took me longer to get steady and the overall accuracy wasn't as good. Brace heights less than 7" get you more speed but you also give up forgiveness and accuracy.

Go find a decent archery shop in your area and try out some bows to determine what feels best to you.

I would go to the nearest bow shop and try a few in the $800-$1500 range out and pick the one you like best.

Basically everything made today in that spending range could easily serve as a lifetime bow.  The point of diminishing returns in compound bow technology has been achieved for some time.  I'm not saying they don't get better every year, only that the amount they get better every year has lessened to the point where it's rather hard to distinguish a 2020 bow from a 2015 bow in all but appearance.

That's my opinion anyway, having started bow hunting with an old even for the time, Bear Whitetail Hunter (iirc, similar to that anyway) with about 25% let off.

1990 through 2010 saw a ridiculous advancement in bow technology.  Since that time it's been mostly about getting similar performance out of a lighter or smaller package.

It's difficult to answer this, I'm currently deciding between a Bowtech Revolt and a Mathews VXR. Both bows have 2 different sizes and both have a bit different specs. One has a taller riser for more stability, one has a longer brace height for more forgiveness.

Mathews, Bowtech, Hoyt, PSE, and Prime seem to have the top 5 bows of the year. I got my bow in 2012 and haven't looked at anything since, so I'm basically starting over. Find some shops in your area and go shoot as many as you can.

This is good advice IMHO. I'm shooting a bow now that many would consider old - it's a 7-8 year old top tier model and the specs are basically the same as today's top of the line bows albeit short of a few technologies that may or may not turn out to be worthwhile in the long run. I started with 1985 bows and had some of the spendy/high tech bows in between and different technologies (Oneida Aeroforce X80 was a heavy hitter at the time). Anything made after 2010ish is pretty much going to be a level playing field in terms of specs. There isn't a whole lot more speed development that will be happening without sacrificing shoot ability.

If you're hunting situations where length will be a concern some of the short bows these days are amazing in what they can do. That said, you'll sacrifice shootability and stability to get there. It's all about what you need the bow to do and how precise you want to be. Target bow, long ATA is where it's at. Compact hunting bows in the 30-32" range are damn good these days too. Go shoot top bows from Bowtech, Hoyt, Mathews, and Prime. Those are perennial favorites these days and for good reason. Not knocking other companies by any means but these will have something that fits your needs for sure.

FWIW I'm sold on my short 30" ATA bow for stand hunting, but I sure love shooting long ATA and high brace height target bows for pure enjoyment.

I walked into a good bow shop 8 years ago after a lay off of almost 20 years of bowhunting and let the bow actually choose me.  I shot hoyts, Bowtechs and Mathews.  The shop owner had me shoot 10 yards from the wall target with my eyes closed so I could FEEL the draw cycle and shot. I ended up with a Mathews Z7x. 28"ATA, beautiful treestand and blind bow.  Stupid accurate - wrecked a lot of arrows those first 2 weeks before I started to shoot at different dots with each shot.  I still love its size, super hard wall and ridiculous accuracy.  I see no reason to change anything anytime soon. The only thing I've done since buying it was to get a couple dozen new arrows and broadheads and lighted noks.  I have a bad habit of hitting 3" trees between me and the damn deer.  Hard shocks like that tend to wreck broadheads, send noks off to netherworlds and splinter some graphite shafted arrows....

To be honest I havn't even shot a newer bow since then.  I've shot my friends new Bear bow that year, but hes pulling far more poundage than I am and I was struggling to even draw his.  He shot a doe that year at a range of 4 feet as it walked in front of his blind.  It was a complete pass thru and he saw it hit a corn stalk in the field directly behind the deer.  I'm not so sure that arrow has returned to Earth yet....

Just about every manufacturer comes out with a new flagship bow every year for people that have to own the latest and greatest. Last year I purchased a brand new Bowtech Reign 7 from a dealer $600. The new flagship Realms were out and the older flagship was just sitting there so I got a good deal on it.