What are your thoughts on PSE bows?

[lovemachine]

What are your thoughts on the PSE brand bows? My father is looking into getting his first bow, and is trying to do a bit of research before he goes to the Outdoorsman Sport shop this weekend.

Thanks!

 

[clfergus]

I bought a budget PSE Stinger a few years back and had nothing but issues with it. The first one I bought had an issue where the lower cam was out of alignment somehow. Called PSE and they asked me to drive to the northside of Indy to a authorized PSE dealer. I did so and he said there was an issue and he personally didn't want to work on the bow even if PSE sent him parts due to the liability reason. I was very confused so I called PSE and they asked me to take it all the way to Anderson Indiana. I laughed and asked why I couldn't send it back for repair. Finally she authorized the return but asked for my CC to charge the shipping. I complained and finally they waived it.

Got the bow back and it said a new CAM and string were replaced. The bow shot ok after that but I was always a little soured on the bow after that. It had a very sharp turn in the lower cam when I would draw and it chewed up the serving on the string badly. After reading online I found that to be a common issue with PSE cams.

I switched to Bear and am happy that I did so. Their customer service is top notch and the two bows I have had have been awesome.

I think I probably just got a lemon with my PSE bow. My dad shoots one and he has killed two deer with his. He loves it. The customer service runaround they gave me and trying to charge me to send a the bow back soured me.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Well.....
Pull
Shoot
Explode

Other than that, little more to add.

 

[FishnHunt]

I'd highly recommend going in with an open mind and shooting as many brands as he can get his hands on. Everyone is going to have their own preferences and each brand has their own feel & quirks. Make sure he gets fitted for draw length before you make a decision - no way you'll be able to tell if you like one pulling the wrong draw length.

I don't have any personal experience with PSE, but I know several people that have them and have been happy.

 

[17 squirrel]

I bought my son a youth pse bow and it was problem free the 2 years or so he shot it. Myself I have been a Browning bow man from the early eightys. I was in the market a few years ago and the kid and I went to BP in half and man did I need a education on modern bows. My Browning at home shot 120 fps, so I called some friends and listened and like posted above I bought myself a Bear lights out LH bow. I always thought " Bear " bows were still Kmart bows like when I was a kid. It's been 4 + years now and I'm still happy with my bow.
My kid shoots a Parker, his last youth bow was one you can send it back and they will upgrade the limbs to adult sizes for 50.00 bucks.
In the world of bows I thought Bear was a reasonably priced bow and money well spent.

 

[yote hunter]

Mathews is the only way to go.... But I would go to a bow shop have his draw length checked then go from there and look on ebay there are some great buys to be had... Prices will go up on ebay the closer deer season get tho.. Just my 2 cents

 

[datIANguy]

Shoot EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! Brand doesn't matter, all bows have problems. I looked and shot probably 30 bows before I ended up buying my Bowtech. I shot Mathews, Hoyt, Diamond, and Bear it all boiled down to what felt the best for me. I have nothing against the other brands I just liked what my Experience did @ 60lbs as opposed to having to jump to 70 with the other manufacturers.

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

Going to a pro shop is a must. You will be able to shoot different bows and see what fits/feels the best. All bow companies make great bows. You don't need to buy a big name bow. Several of the small companies make great products. I am currently shooting for Limbsaver. Obviously they are known for vibration dampening products but have been making bows since 2008. I have one for hunting and one for 3D competitions. if I wasn't shooting for them, I would probably go back to Hoyt. As Fishnhunt said, be open minded and you might find a nice surprise.

 

[1861navy]

Ive been shooting a PSE nova for a few years now, close to 6 iirc. I've had minimal issues with it, the biggest really is the chewed string like clfergus said. I've been lucky though and only had to replace the string once so far, about 2 years ago. Other than that its been a great bow fast, accurate, pretty quiet. I'd recommend looking at them and shooting them to see if you like them.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I used to work on them. Galyan's sent me to different "bow schools" and PSE was one. Solid bows for the money.

Just like the other guys have said, just like guns--the subjective is objective.

 

[natdscott]

My thought is that the "Pull, Shoot, Explode" era was a LONG time ago, and most of those guys aren't even employed at PSE by now...and bows are a lot like pick-em-up trucks: some guys just HAVE to have the latest greatest and generally are loyal to only one brand, and the other Ford/Chevy/Dodge couldn't even make a lawnmower worth buying.

I split my first arrow and I split a lot more arrows with a Nova 1-cam, and it was a good bow that did everything I ever asked of it. That said, at the time, it was more about the number of arrows sent that mattered. I think I had that bow for over 10 years.

I now have a pretty decent Hoyt, and I no longer shoot, so it's no wonder that the Hoyt doesn't shoot as well as that old Nova.


They all shoot pretty equally in the 99th percentile of shooter's hands. Just like pistols. Just like rifles.

Are you the 1% that has--or will--make the effort to know the difference?

-Nate

 

[Ryninger]

Used to work at The Outdoorsman. Ask for Tim, great guy to deal with! Pat is good as well, and is the manager of the archery section. The push Hoyt's, and for good reason. They are incredibly tough with fantastic customer service. That being said, of what the outdoorsman Carries I would rank them Hoyt, BowTech/PSE equals, Bear, and lastly Mathews. Before anyone gets butthurt the only reason I rank Mathews at the bottom is they need warranty work 10:1 over the others mentioned. Mathews takes care of their product, it just happens more frequently than the rest. A bonus though with Mathews is every new bow is registered with Mathews HQ, and bow that comes in for warranty work gets called in to verify its not stolen. Saw a few get returned to their owners as a result. Go in with an open mind and shoot what they have. But what feels best and don't look back...

I had my pick at any of the top end bows on the market and I ended up with an Elite GT500. It's what felt the best and I shot the best and 6 yrs old still is on par with what's being released. With the exception of the short brace height hyper bows that aren't recommended for hunting.

have fun with it and good luck!

 

[Hookeye]

The pull shoot explode days were in the cast riser era.
They had some hot cams, shot well, so guys ran 'em til they failed.
They did change the riser with a thicker area at the shelf and maybe even changed a gate (risers were cast).
Saw 3 blow........two 80+# Mach 4's and one 90# Laser Magnum.
All the guys were heavy into 3D.

 

[Hookeye]

Seen a fair number of Mathews at my local pro shop in for repairs.
Popular brand, high volume.....that could add to the number of warranty returns.
The other thing is.........short A2A and cam designs.
Lots of the bows I see with crushed cams, were roll offs.
Just because somebody can afford a high end bow and has shot for years, that doesn't mean they don't know what the heck they are doing.
Happens with other hot performing gear too (think that what happened on the Kodiak bear hunting show "the hunt" when a guy wiped out a Bowtech - if it was a Bowtech).

 

[parson]

I bought a PSE Brute a couple years ago and have been pleased with it. Fairly inexpensive, functions fine- no complaints.

 

[Jeffrey]

My dad and I both have pse stingers and have shot them a lot without any kind of trouble. I think I got mine in 2010. His is a year or two newer.

 

[rkesar]

Pse isn't a bad brand and I have owned a few older ones, my top three are Hoyt, bowtech, and bear. I have a Hoyt nitrum turbo and love it. Before the Hoyt I had 2 bowtechs and had no issues with them either. I shot great with them and they felt good, before those I had three bears and liked them a lot too. I just shoot a bunch and see what I like. Brand isn't as import to me as how it feels and how I can shoot it