BowTech

[Mr. Whiskers]

I don't mistreat my equipment but I don't baby it either. I have cracked limbs 5 or 6 times on various model Bowtechs. Most of them were set at 80+ with my latest being at 70.

[Diamond S]

2006 Tribute, I still shoot her. This is when Kevin said that they were having such bad limb failures during in-house testing; kind of the beginning of the end for him at Bowtech.

1. Did you leave the bow, in or out of the case in a car or truck during the summer months for an extended period of time?
Never.

2. Was said bow left in the garage during the same conditions ( in or out of the case ?)
Never.

3. Did you leave said bow in or out of the case while at the lease or in the back yard, archery range or where ever in the direct sun light?
Never.

4. Were the limb bolts all the way down tight against the riser?
Yes.

5. Was your arrow weight to draw weight ratio the recommended 5 grains of arrow weight to 1 pound of draw weight?
Yes, just a bit over.

6. Has your bow to your knowledge ever been dry fired?
Never.

7. If you think back to before the event, were there any signs of failure? ( i.e. such as started shooting off of making strange noise? )
Not until it failed; it failed on the draw not the shot.

8. If you did have a failure, did BowTech take care of you and repair the problem? If not why?
Yes, new limbs installed by the dealer (Archery Country) in a few days no charge.

9. What do you think contributed to the failure?
Limb was defective.

I have not had a single problem with the limbs, or any thing else, on this bow since this happened. In fact, I love it so much I still shoot it.

You can read all about it here.
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=364788

Don't know about the Tribute, but for the newer bows BowTech recommends not to tighten the limbs all the way down. They say back off a 1/4 turn. Do know why, just what is recommended.

[grizzman]

I have been shooting a Diamond (Bowtech) Iceman for eight years without an issue.

[eliteone]

Just bought the Bowtech Reign 7. I love it. Fast and quiet.

[twosixteens]

Livin'2hunt your opinion was pretty harsh(Simply put, I believe Mathews bows are the fall-back bows for those that do not know squat about bowhunting.).

[Smart]

I love me a good "blame the manufacturer defects on the owner because my product has not had an issue" thread ...

[ELKAHOLIC]

I had a lot of problems with the bowtech I had (guardian) Long story ,short. After sending it in 4 times for the finish/paint to be fixed only to be sent back not fixed or southern engineered fixed. All the while missing out on a javi hunt and a turkey hunt! Then when the bow shop put it on a press, as they backed it off the limbs were all split and splintered. My bow shop then took care of me having bowtech replace the bow with a new one. (It was only 6 months old and never abused or neglected.)
In the end I guess you could say bowtech made things right, but man what a hassle.

My bow shop owner then told me I could pick any bow and he would just sell the replacement. I have been shooting a Hoyt ever since. My brother likes bowtech, but has had a few problems with limbs. I know a few more that have had issues with limbs.

My oldest daughter is a Mathews shooter. My youngest daughter shoots a bowtech Eva Shocky. I tried to talk her out of it but she was dead set on that bow.

Myself, I am not a brand guy, I will shoot what I like, but I will not be buying another bowtech.

[super_dave]

Ok, so there is a lot of bashing of one brand or another, but it seems BowTech gets the brunt of it. So, without starting a "S" storm, and without just bashing because you can, let me ask a few questions, some may be stupid, some may be a no brainer, some you may say I do this with X brand and have never had a problem. This is not what I am asking. I would just like to know the facts prior to the failure. Ok so here we go.



1. Did you leave the bow, in or out of the case in a car or truck during the summer months for an extended period of time?



2. Was said bow left in the garage during the same conditions ( in or out of the case ?)



3. Did you leave said bow in or out of the case while at the lease or in the back yard, archery range or where ever in the direct sun light?



4. Were the limb bolts all the way down tight against the riser?



5. Was your arrow weight to draw weight ratio the recommended 5 grains of arrow weight to 1 pound of draw weight?



6. Has your bow to your knowledge ever been dry fired?



7. If you think back to before the event, were there any signs of failure? ( i.e. such as started shooting off of making strange noise? )



8. If you did have a failure, did BowTech take care of you and repair the problem? If not why?



9. What do you think contributed to the failure?



Again not trying to defend or start a " S " storm, just trying to find out what the main issue may be. So haters go ahead, I know you are going to, all others , please feel free to post up valid comments.

Never
Never
Never
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
A limb pocket issue was corrected at on target with no issues and none since. Been 5 years ago

I shoot a 2004 liberty vft

[Livin'2hunt]

Livin'2hunt your opinion was pretty harsh(Simply put, I believe Mathews bows are the fall-back bows for those that do not know squat about bowhunting.).

I think you misunderstood. I'm am absolutely not saying that about all Mathews owners. What I am saying is, because of the marketing push, some folks that like the idea of bowhunting rather than the actual practice of it find that Mathews is a "safe purchase". It is. It is a good, goose poop smooth bow that is quiet and usually accurate. I know quite a few people like I am describing. They can't tell you what arrow they shoot, the broadhead on those arrows or the furniture on the bow. To them, it is a status symbol rather than a tool as you or I use them. Heck, one of my friends is one. He owns his own ranch and in the subsequent 10 years, I think he has shot one deer. But, by God, he buys a new Mathews every year because he can. That's fine.

Usually, that person hunts very little and practices even less but they can be heard bragging about owning a Mathews at every turn. "That guy" is whom I describe. Mathews gets more of them than any other brand due to marketing. That doesn't mean Mathews is a bad bow because it dam*ed sure isn't. It's a great bow, as are many of the other brands though, not all.

It's a matter of preference. I don't care for Dodge trucks but lots of people do. It's their prerogative. I owned a Bowtech and had no issues with it. I sold it to a friend and he still shoots it today and loves everything about it.

My hang-up on Mathews is durability. I have seen two Mathews and a PSE dry fired (not by me) and all blew up like pipe bombs. I saw a Hoyt get dry fired inside an archery shop and it loosed the string leach and that was it. Don't know how a Bowtech would hold up but that's what I have witnessed.

[ELKAHOLIC]

1. Did you leave the bow, in or out of the case in a car or truck during the summer months for an extended period of time? NO

2. Was said bow left in the garage during the same conditions ( in or out of the case ?)
NO
3. Did you leave said bow in or out of the case while at the lease or in the back yard, archery range or where ever in the direct sun light? NO

4. Were the limb bolts all the way down tight against the riser? YES

5. Was your arrow weight to draw weight ratio the recommended 5 grains of arrow weight to 1 pound of draw weight? MORE

6. Has your bow to your knowledge ever been dry fired? NO

7. If you think back to before the event, were there any signs of failure? ( i.e. such as started shooting off of making strange noise? ) NO on paint issue. it just started coming off right away. As far as the limbs it shot surprisingly well.

8. If you did have a failure, did BowTech take care of you and repair the problem? If not why? They finally replaced it (thanks to the work of On Target Archery) after months of denial while I missed out on hunting trips.

9. What do you think contributed to the failure? Honestly. Inferior product / company.

[CEO]

I have two buddies that would defend their bowtech if it jumped out of the case and burned their house down. One other that was a Hoyt man, bought a bowtech and was happy with it until he had a limb issue on a Colorado elk hunt.

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

My wife and I both have shot Bowtech exclusively for 20+ years.

[Bigdaddy]

I have been shooting Bowtechs since 1999 their first year of production. I have NEVER had a failure. Have seen several that were pressed wrong and broke the limbs in the press. Every company has had issues in the past. I am proud to be on Bowtech's national staff for the past nine years. Prior to Bowtech I was shooting Oregon bows which was owned by the same gentleman that started Bowtech. There is haters in everything whether it is Ford vs Chevy or whatever. They still a great company.
MY TWO cents!!!

[Diamond S]

Ok, so I see a lot of people have had issues, do you have any idea what caused them? Only a couple have stated what they found or what they think it may have been.

[ELKAHOLIC]

Ok, so I see a lot of people have had issues, do you have any idea what caused them? Only a couple have stated what they found or what they think it may have been.

I have no idea what caused the finish to come off, other than poor application?
By the end of the first month of ownership most of the grip area was white. What hacked me off was they told me to send it in so I did. Then they sent it back untouched. ( they said they did not know why it was sent in they had an rma#)
The second time I sent it in, they sent it back untouched, (they said the finish was not covered under warranty!!! WTH!)
That's when my shop owner called them and chewed them a bit.
The third time I sent it in ( they sent it back literally touched up with some green paint and a paint brush!!!) I was hot at this point and had already missed out on a javi hunt because they had my bow and were doing nothing to resolve the issue!
At this point I figured I just got screwed with this bow and just use it and not miss out on any other hunts.

Shortly later I had the shop install some string silencers and when they put it on the press and let it out, and the limbs were all split, shredded, and splintered. My jaw hit the floor, It would have probably blown up in the next few shots.
The shop owner called bowtech to go through all the issues I had gone through. So they wanted me to send it back in again!
A couple weeks later, bowtech called me to tell me they had replaced the limbs but they could not do anything about the finish, (I now had also missed out on a turkey hunt I had planed with my buddy's!)
I then told him how disgusted I was with the whole ordeal and if I still had my old PSE I would not be in this situation. He then asked if I would be good with a new bow and I said yes. That is when I worked out the deal with the shop owner to trade the new bowtech for a Hoyt. I have been happy ever since and hope no one else has to go through that crap with a new bow.