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Any bow hunters shooting an Athens?

Will12785

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
174
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745
Loc
Syracuse, NY
New-ish bow shop up the road from me is selling exclusively Athens Archery bows. I went up there to get my old bow tuned up and they caught my eye.

My current bow is old and outdated compared to anything on the market by mathews, hoyt, or pse.

I think I might be interested in the Athens, just don't know of any real world experience. So if anyone here does. Make my mind up.
 
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At $1,000 +, why not go with a more reputable brand, Hoyt, Bowtech, Mathews, etc? A lifetime warranty doesn’t mean a lot when they go under in 2 years. I could see if they were supposed to be “high value” for $500 or so, but I’d pass at those prices.

Nothing against them in particular, I feel the same about people looking for reviews of “off brand” scopes for $500-$900. Just buy a Leupold or a Zeiss.
 
At $1,000 +, why not go with a more reputable brand, Hoyt, Bowtech, Mathews, etc? A lifetime warranty doesn’t mean a lot when they go under in 2 years. I could see if they were supposed to be “high value” for $500 or so, but I’d pass at those prices.

Nothing against them in particular, I feel the same about people looking for reviews of “off brand” scopes for $500-$900. Just buy a Leupold or a Zeiss.


Athens has been around for awhile, and they're damn nice bows.


I have martins and xpeditions. The local dealer couldn't sell a Matthews when people could shoot it back to back with an xpedition.


Bowtech is a shit company. Just ask any of the people who got a $500 gift certificate towards a new bow when their $1500 bow blew up the limbs. The amount of pictures coming out of shops where brand new bows were delivered with delaminated limbs straight from the factory was astonishing.
 
New-ish bow shop up the road from me is selling exclusively Athens Archery bows. I went up there to get my old bow tuned up and they caught my eye.

My current bow is old and outdated compared to anything on the market by mathews, hoyt, or pse.

I think I might be interested in the Athens, just don't know of any real world experience. So if anyone here does. Make my mind up.

Go shoot some and see what you like. Can always wander over to archery talk for more info on particular bows.
 
Well, here she is!

Athens Vista 35. 31.5" draw 65lbs pull. Everything on it is made in America.

20230331_190606.jpg

20230331_190540.jpg
 
Elite bows are the smoothest out there, super easy to tune as well and a few hundred cheaper than a Hoyt or Mathews
 
just wanted to give a little update. Bow is all tuned up and ready for deer season. I've got my sight ranged and can get my pin dead on between 10 and 70 yards. No regrets on this purchase whatsoever. Season opens the 27th, hoping to fling another 1000 arrows before then.
 
Just ordered a set of iron will broadheads. Probably won't run them this season but curious to see how they fly.
 
Are those some of them fancy designer heads :flipoff2:

I just run slick tricks because they're cheap and they work. Simple, effective. :smokin:
 
I've been lazily shopping for a new compound bow (been in the traditional world for a while now) and came across these a while back.

I've read some reviews but you're the first person that I've been able to discuss one with.

How does it feel?

I've always been a Mathews guy and the feel during the shot is what I'm most interested in. Smooth? How much hand shock? How quiet is it?
 
I've been lazily shopping for a new compound bow (been in the traditional world for a while now) and came across these a while back.

I've read some reviews but you're the first person that I've been able to discuss one with.

How does it feel?

I've always been a Mathews guy and the feel during the shot is what I'm most interested in. Smooth? How much hand shock? How quiet is it?
I've been lazily shopping for a new compound bow (been in the traditional world for a while now) and came across these a while back.

I've read some reviews but you're the first person that I've been able to discuss one with.

How does it feel?

I've always been a Mathews guy and the feel during the shot is what I'm most interested in. Smooth?
How big are your hands? I have big hands and it feels really good. I don't grip my bow though just rest it on my palm and it has a really good contour.

It's very smooth and hand shock is minimal. I've got wrist issues and I can shoot it 100 times without any pain. My last bow was a bit older so I can't compare it to a new mathews but I couldn't imagine them shooting any smoother than this.

This bow is also amazingly quiet. It took a little tuning to get some resonance out of the string but once i got it dialed in it runs perfect. That's part of why I'm getting those iron will broadheads, the reviews claim they are quiet. Hoping the combo runs extra stealthy.

I would also say after a good bit of practice this summer and some tuning it's the most accurate bow I've ever shot. Reacting out 50 to 60 yards this thing makes bullet holes.
 
Do you shoot ultra micro

Black eagle carnivores or vaps depending.

I've been lazily shopping for a new compound bow (been in the traditional world for a while now) and came across these a while back.

I've read some reviews but you're the first person that I've been able to discuss one with.

How does it feel?

I've always been a Mathews guy and the feel during the shot is what I'm most interested in. Smooth? How much hand shock? How quiet is it?

Ewwwww:flipoff2:

Mathews and Bowtech dominate marketing. They're also the shittiest bows I've ever shot.

Matthews act dead because they are heavy tanks and they stuff them with dampeners. They're also slow and a bitch to tune properly (cam lean wildly off from the factory damn near every time).


I have some Martin's, but the newest one is a 13. It's not heavy and dead, but it's light and doesn't buzz. It's also very quick.

I have a couple Xpeditions now. They're light, quick, and came damn near perfectly in tune from the factory. No hand shock, no buzzing.


Most of the time what people think is a crappy feeling bow is actually just tuning. Twisting cables and shimming cams to get the power stroke going dead straight makes a huge difference. I set the rest dead level and center. Tune the knock travel with the string and cables until it's shooting bare shafts dead straight. Verify broadheads shoot to the same point of impact and it's in.

I've taken some money from guys who wondered why I have a bare shaft in my quiver. They about shit when it'll still hit a 10 ring on a 3d at 30 yards.

If the cams aren't synced or they're leaning and the string is jumping back into the track they will feel weird.



Elites are known as the smoothest shooting bows out there, if you're willing to try something you won't see in a magazine. :flipoff2:
 
How big are your hands? I have big hands and it feels really good. I don't grip my bow though just rest it on my palm and it has a really good contour.

It's very smooth and hand shock is minimal. I've got wrist issues and I can shoot it 100 times without any pain. My last bow was a bit older so I can't compare it to a new mathews but I couldn't imagine them shooting any smoother than this.

This bow is also amazingly quiet. It took a little tuning to get some resonance out of the string but once i got it dialed in it runs perfect. That's part of why I'm getting those iron will broadheads, the reviews claim they are quiet. Hoping the combo runs extra stealthy.

I would also say after a good bit of practice this summer and some tuning it's the most accurate bow I've ever shot. Reacting out 50 to 60 yards this thing makes bullet holes.

Easiest way to quiet a bow is with a heavy arrow. If they're heavy heads make sure you're spined heavy enough. It's way better to be too heavy than too light. Heavy tip on a normal "chart" spine can cause the carbon to break down and explode.
 
What kind of sight are you using? Before kid one I invested in a slider that kicks ass. Of course, I’m out of practice now. I was target shooting at 60+ accurately with it.
 
What kind of sight are you using? Before kid one I invested in a slider that kicks ass. Of course, I’m out of practice now. I was target shooting at 60+ accurately with it.
it's a CBE single pin. I think it's the tactic hybrid.
 
Black eagle carnivores or vaps depending.



Ewwwww:flipoff2:

Mathews and Bowtech dominate marketing. They're also the shittiest bows I've ever shot.

Matthews act dead because they are heavy tanks and they stuff them with dampeners. They're also slow and a bitch to tune properly (cam lean wildly off from the factory damn near every time).


I have some Martin's, but the newest one is a 13. It's not heavy and dead, but it's light and doesn't buzz. It's also very quick.

I have a couple Xpeditions now. They're light, quick, and came damn near perfectly in tune from the factory. No hand shock, no buzzing.


Most of the time what people think is a crappy feeling bow is actually just tuning. Twisting cables and shimming cams to get the power stroke going dead straight makes a huge difference. I set the rest dead level and center. Tune the knock travel with the string and cables until it's shooting bare shafts dead straight. Verify broadheads shoot to the same point of impact and it's in.

I've taken some money from guys who wondered why I have a bare shaft in my quiver. They about shit when it'll still hit a 10 ring on a 3d at 30 yards.

If the cams aren't synced or they're leaning and the string is jumping back into the track they will feel weird.



Elites are known as the smoothest shooting bows out there, if you're willing to try something you won't see in a magazine. :flipoff2:
The last Mathews I bought was in 2002 I believe so I'm sure things have changed some.

Why I was asking about a bow I've never even heard of. :lmao:
 
How big are your hands? I have big hands and it feels really good. I don't grip my bow though just rest it on my palm and it has a really good contour.

It's very smooth and hand shock is minimal. I've got wrist issues and I can shoot it 100 times without any pain. My last bow was a bit older so I can't compare it to a new mathews but I couldn't imagine them shooting any smoother than this.

This bow is also amazingly quiet. It took a little tuning to get some resonance out of the string but once i got it dialed in it runs perfect. That's part of why I'm getting those iron will broadheads, the reviews claim they are quiet. Hoping the combo runs extra stealthy.

I would also say after a good bit of practice this summer and some tuning it's the most accurate bow I've ever shot. Reacting out 50 to 60 yards this thing makes bullet holes.
Big. I'm a huge man. The last compound bow I bought , if you ignore the one I bought my son last year, is over 20 years old now.

I bought my boy a Mission Hammr for Christmas a year or two ago. He's 13 now and he's far outshooting me and my longbow, so I'm interested in getting back into the compound world to be able to keep up with him a bit longer.

There's a dealer a couple hours away up near the Kentucky state line, I may have to make a trip up there to shoot one.
 
Big. I'm a huge man. The last compound bow I bought , if you ignore the one I bought my son last year, is over 20 years old now.

I bought my boy a Mission Hammr for Christmas a year or two ago. He's 13 now and he's far outshooting me and my longbow, so I'm interested in getting back into the compound world to be able to keep up with him a bit longer.

There's a dealer a couple hours away up near the Kentucky state line, I may have to make a trip up there to shoot one.
being big limits your options. The comparable Hoyt and PSE bows were both almost 2k and they aren't made in the USA.
 
That's true in most areas of daily life as well. :lmao:

I shot a Hoyt, a couple different Mathews bows, a Martin, and a Diamond earlier this year. I didn't really like any of them if I'm honest.
 
That's true in most areas of daily life as well. :lmao:

I shot a Hoyt, a couple different Mathews bows, a Martin, and a Diamond earlier this year. I didn't really like any of them if I'm honest.

What's your draw length? Anything past 31" pigeonholes you bad.


There's a few out there. My buddy likes his primes because he can get them in 33".
 
I'm not sure.

My nearest shop had an arrow marked for length and a simple bow to draw and I could draw the arrow off the shelf. I hunted with a bow set shorter so I could shoot out of a treestand, but I don't remember just how short. Seems like 30 or 30.5" maybe.

I shoot 31" arrows out of a 55 lb Martin Savanna and can draw them to the broadhead.
 
I'm not sure.

My nearest shop had an arrow marked for length and a simple bow to draw and I could draw the arrow off the shelf. I hunted with a bow set shorter so I could shoot out of a treestand, but I don't remember just how short. Seems like 30 or 30.5" maybe.

I shoot 31" arrows out of a 55 lb Martin Savanna and can draw them to the broadhead.

Arrow length isn't much to go off. I shoot 28" arrows with a 29.25" draw. They end up about .5" from the front of the rest, and it bothers some that the broadhead ends up behind my fingers.

Turns out, if you put your fingers in the path of the arrow it will always hurt, so I'm going for the shortest, lightest, stiffest arrow I can. :smokin:


Old rule of thumb was to divide your wingspan by 2.5. It's close, I have long arms so I end up about .5" longer than the "rule".
Ideally you want your bow arm slightly bent, and your draw arm should come back and be aligned with the arrow (if your elbow is angled forward or backward it will tend to throw your shots left and right).
It makes it even more fun with compounds where every brand is different. Some of them I'm a 31", while others I'm 29" :lmao:
 
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