When it comes to picking out a compound bow most people want to know a little bit of history behind the company selling them. So, thats why we decided we’d put together this post on the best compound bow brands in the game, and give a brief rundown on their history an what their all about.
So, let’s get to it shall we.
CONTENTS
PSE
Lets start with the big boys straight off the bat. Precision Shooting Equipment (better known as PSE) have been in the game for quiet some time now, and their quality gear shows what you would expect from someone in the business for decades.
Pete Shepley, the founder of PSE started this great company back in 1970 when he seen he had knowledge to bring to the table in the archery industry. What started off as a love filled hobby quickly turned into the much loved PSE as we know it today.
Back in the early days Pete dabbled in mainly accessories for archers, but he quickly turned his attention to something more challenging and fulfilling. He wanted top make the perfect compound bow…. And well, the rest is history really.
PSE continued to advance strides above the rest, and at current is the largest privately owned Archery company in the US. Quiet a feat to reach if you ask me.
The company was among the first to to machine bow risers from solid aluminium, and helped pave the way for many of the modern day bows we see today.
As the company continued to go up and up, they eventually out grew their humble beginnings, and moved the operation to Tucson, AZ. Pete’s little dream has now turned into an operation that fills one whole city block.
As you can see, what started from humble beginnings is now the go to choice for many archers alike. Their gear, and fair prices, is, and always will be a cut above the rest.
BEAR
Another legend among the rest. Good ol’ Fred Bear. Bear Archery equipment is among the best in the game, and let me tell you, the founder Fred Bear’s story and life long passion of the outdoors and Bow-hunting is just as inspiring as the equipment he has produced.
Let me give you a brief run down on this legendary companies roots.
Fred Bear (the founder of Bear Archery) was born on March the 05 1902. At the age of 21 Fred left his family farm in hopes of pursing and finding his passion.
He started working in the auto industry, and in off hours he would craft his own bows and arrows.
It didn’t take long before young Freds talent was noticed, and so he started crafting bows for his quickly growing friend circle.
Six short years later that little passion of his had grown into a full time business venture. Fred’s bows were quickly becoming known for their quality and the excellent craftsmanship. Bear archery was born. The same excellent bear archery we know today, was born from humble beginnings.
But it didn’t stop there. Fred wasn’t just some guy who made bows and sold them. He put them to the test, often winning state level comps, with his natural shooting ability.
He was also an avid hunter and fought for the rights of bow hunters in the US.
His hunting expeditions were well documented, and are still some of the most viewed bow hunting documentaries to this very day. His bow hunting documentaries were so well noticed that it took the Bear Archery business to the next level, and everybody fell in love with Fred Bear, and the gear that he made.
Fred passed in 1988, but right up until that very day he would still design bows and shoot them.
While Fred may be gone, his legacy still lives on, and as I said earlier. the Bear archery team have made some of the best products in the bow hunting game.
MATHEWS
Mathews, one of my personal favorites. Yes, I probably am a little biased on this one because I do own a Mathews Bow, and it is among the smoothest, most well engineered bows I have ever used.
I absolutely love these guys, and in good reason to, so let me give you a run down on the company.
Mathews Archery has been around since 1992, however the founder, Matt McPherson had skin in the game long before that.
Another legend who had some freakish god given talent to create bows since the day he was born. Much like the legendary Fred Bear.
Matt McPherson built his first stick bow when he was 10, and a few short years later had created his first compound bow.
Right there, you can see it’s reasons like this that Mathews and Bear archery are strides above the rest.
Since the day that Matt launched the company, he has kept all manufacturing with in the US, not outsourcing anything. They source the best materials around, and ensure the build stays in house.
As stated earlier, his freakish ability to bring new ideas to the table year after year means Mathews bows just get better and better each and every model.
DIAMOND ARCHERY / BOWTECH
Diamond Archery, or Bowtech as most would know them, are a sub branch of the bowtech team. Now if you follow bowtech then you’ll know that there more of an overarching brand.
They have a number of sub branches within them. You’ve probably heard of most of them. Excalibur, stryker (crossbows) and diamond are all part of the Bowtech team. So you can imagine that these guys are pumping out quality gear.
The team employs over 300 professionals at their HQ in Eugene, Oregon, and due to their vast manufacturing capabilities the team pumps out some amazing gear both in the Crossbow and bowhunting niches.
They make their gear all in America, so you can bet your bottom dollar that build quality is always strong and reliable.
GENESIS
Now, genesis isn’t really into the game of making completely decked out bow hunting rigs, but they still serve a very important role.
Genesis makes bows specifically for the young up and coming archers and bow hunters of the world.
Their claim to fame (and rightly so) is the fact that their bows are used in the National Archery Schools Program (NASP). A program designed to teach youth how to handle and shoot a bow responsibly and with the proper technique.
In my opinion the Genesis Original Youth Bow is one of the best to get the extremely young hunters into the game, and get them focusing on technique and shot placement.
Their a well trusted brand, and probably the best in the game when it comes to youth bows.
QUEST ARCHERY
Now, when it comes to archery Quest is one of the new up and comers in the niche, but don’t let that fool you.
The company has an extremely rich history in engineering, and is no stranger to innovation.
Quest more or less started on a path, and made their way into the bowhunting world when they introduced an all steel 3 blade broadhead (Montec Broadhead) in 2001 that took the market by surprise. At the time there was nothing on the market that was even close to the broadhead that they had made, and to this day it has remained as one of the top sellers for the company.
It was in the year of 2009 and the company we now know as quest was born.
Since then they’ve been crafting quality bows and at a great price as well.
I would put the quality of the companies craftsmanship as a bow that sits in a low budget but with a high build quality.
As I stated earlier, the company was no stranger to innovation and engineering, so you can rest assured that their products are a great choice for the bow hunter on a budget.
LEADER ACCESSORIES
Leader accessories aren’t really a company that caters directly to archers or bow hunters. Their more of a company that caters to the outdoorsman of the world, and they just so happen to sell bows and crossbows.
That’s not to say that their bows are crap though. Actually, quiet the contrary.
Their another company that’s really catering to the budget bow hunter, and while their initial accessories for the bow out of the box aren’t that crash hot, they can actually become quiet nice little shooters if your willing to fork out some cash and deck it out with some decent accessories.
Luckily though considering the low cost of both their bows and crossbows, forking out that extra bit of cash for accessories is well with in reach.
SAS
Southland Archery Supply take the cake when it comes to providing are durable budget bow. With a wide range of choices from Traditional recurves, to takedowns, to compound and crossbows, they’ve got the average bow-hunter covered.
I do believe their products are made in china, but that’s not to say that the build quality is bad. Overall for a budget bow their build quality seems adequate and their prices are more then friendly.
Wrapping things up…
Here’s just a few of the best compound bow brands that are on the market at current. You’ll notice that all the brands that are on here we have reviewed at some stage.
This post will be regularly updated when we have more time to add more brands on here.
There are literally thousands of bowhunting brands on the market now days, putting them all on here in one post would be impossible.
So like always bow-hunters,
Happy hunting and fishing,
Redneck Salvation.
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