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Posts Tagged ‘Mathews’

Mission Menace Compound Bow Review

(4.5) based on 4 reviews

Mathews Mission Menace

Mathews Mission Menace

Review Status:

The Mission Menace was reviewed by a master Outdoorsman


Have you shot the Mission Menace bow? Let your fellow archer’s know what you think of the Menace by leaving a comment below.

Outdoorsman Review:

(1/15/11) The review for the Mission Menace was sent to us by Patrick R. from Hutchinson, Kansas. Good to hear from another Mathews shooter. I’m shooting the Maniac.


I purchased a Mission Menace for my 10y.o. son after his Martin Tiger warped, making it impossible to shoot accurately. My wife and I don’t have a ton of money to keep upgrading bows as the boys grow bigger (all 7 of them), so having a bow with a wide range of adjustment is very important to us.

Having been out of the archery world since I was a teenager, everything was new to me as I tried to figure out what to get my son. I happened upon the Mission Menace at our local shop and was intrigued by the incredibly large range of adjustability, both in draw length and in draw weight. My son is right handed, but left-eye dominant, so he has the disadvantage of trying to draw a bow with his weak arm. The Menace looked like it would fit the bill for him for a few years until he grows old enough to bowhunt.

Adjusting the Menace is incredibly easy, as it only takes the removal of one allen screw on each cam to adjust the draw length module. This has come in very handy, as my son’s draw length has changed slightly as his form has improved. I am a tried and true lefty, and since I
don’t have a bow yet, I am also able to shoot my son’s Menace by adjusting the modules to my draw length and increasing the draw weight. Yes, it really is that adjustable.

Even though the Menace is adjustable enough for an adult to shoot it, it really is designed to be a youth bow. It is very light, and with a simple sight and Hostage rest on it, my son is able to shoot for extended periods of time as long as his draw arm doesn’t get tired.

What I like about it:
The weight is very acceptable, and it is a good value considering how adjustable it is. The finish is top notch, and it doesn’t try to rip my son’s arm out of its socket if he lets down.

What I’m not a fan of:
While it is very adjustable, it is limited in some respect. Even though the bow is rated at 16-52#, only someone with a 30″ draw length will ever hit the 52# max. At my draw length of 27″ the max the bow can be adjusted to is 49#. As my son gets stronger, he won’t be able
to increase his maximum past 45# until his draw length gets much, much longer. This is the one thing, I think, that limits the Menace to a youth bow and not really a hunting bow. While 45# might be enough to take a deer, I would prefer my son to have a stronger bow before he ventures into the woods to kill a deer.

I don’t see the Menace sticking around long since Mathews introduced their Mission Craze for 2011, which has the same adjustable draw length, but with a wider range of draw weight adjustment, going from 15-70#, all with the same limbs and cams. If you are looking for a bow to grow with your child who may not be interested in hunting, the Menace will fit the bill nicely. If you’re on a budget and need to get one bow that s/he could use from childhood into adulthood, then it may not be the one.

Manufacturer’s Specs for the Menace:

  • IBO Rating: Universal CAM (N/A)
  • Axle to Axle: 31 inches
  • Brace height: 7.25 inches
  • Let off: up to 70%
  • Extruded riser
  • Finish: Max 4 HD or Black / Real Tree / Advantage Max 4 HD
  • Draw weight: 16 – 52 pounds
  • Draw length: 17 – 30 inches
  • Silencers: D-Amplifiers™
  • CAMs: Dual Perim/weighted
  • Carbon rod cable guard
  • Zebra® Hybrid bowstrings
  • Composite grip
  • String length: 55 3/4 inches
  • Cable length: 33 7/8 inches

Mathews Passion Compound Bow Review


Mathews Passion Compound Bow

Mathews Passion Compound Bow

Review Status:

This Mathews Passion compound bow requires review


OK. This one is for the women. We’re trying to get in touch with your feminine side. If you’ve shot the new Mathews® Passion or you have one then tell your fellow female archers how well the Passion performs by leaving a review. After going over the specs for the Passion I’m almost jealous. You girls get all the good stuff.

Buy Buy the EZ Crest Mathews® 4passion pink wrap

Manufacturer’s Specs for the Mathews Passion:

The NEW Mathews® Passion is specifically engineered and designed for the female archer. Featuring draw weight options from 30-70 pounds, the 29 3/4-inch axle-to-axle Passion weighs only 3.6 pounds; the ideal weight so that any woman archer can be comfortable with. With draw length options between 22.5-29 inches (half-inch sizes also available) the cam specific Passion includes special colored Zebra Barracuda strings, Mathews’ proprietary Harmonic Damping System, the NEW Harmonic Stabilizer, String Suppressors, Perimeter Weighted Solocam, Ball Bearing Roller Guard, a small, color matched Inline Walnut Grip, and Mathews’ pioneered parallel limb design- all the tricked out features you would expect to see on a Mathew premier bow. Available in three different functional and modern chic-styles- Pink, Teal, Camo or Electric Pink.

  • Parallel limb design
  • Ball bearing idler wheel
  • String Suppressors™
  • Limb Turret™
  • Harmonic dampening system™
  • Harmonic dampening roller guard™
  • Slim Fit™ colored inline grip
  • Specialty Zebra® Barracuda™ bowstring
  • SphereLock pivoting limb cup system™
  • Harmonic Stabilizer™
  • SE4 composite Limbs System™
  • Perimeter Weighted Cam™
  • Passion Solocam™
  • Quick Change Axle™
  • IBO rating: 325 fps at 29 inches / 70 lbs
  • Axle to axle: 29.75 inches
  • Brace height: 6 inches
  • Draw weight: 40, 50, 55, 60, 65 pounds
  • Bow weight: 3.6 pounds without accessories
  • Let off: 80%
  • Draw lengths: 22.5 to 29 inches
  • String/cable length: 86.25 inches String Barracuda – 32.25 inches Cable Barracuda
  • And the best part – Comes in pink, teal, camo, electric pink, or electric teal

Outdoorsman Review:

Are you a master Outdoorsman(woman?) Leave a master Outdoorswoman review for the Mathews® Passion compound bow.

Mathews Mission Maniac bow review

(4.5) based on 10 reviews

2010 Mathews Mission Maniac

Mathews Mission Maniac compound bow

Review Status:

This Mathews Mission Maniac was reviewed by a master Outdoorsman




Even though this bow has been reviewed by a master Outdoorsman feel free to let others know what you think about the Mission Maniac below.

Manufacturer’s Specs:

The all-new Maniac has parallel limbs and an adjustable dual cam system that reaches up to 310 fps all in one compact, light-weight package.

IBO Rate Up to 310 fps
Physical Weight 4.12 lbs.
Axle to Axle 31″
Brace Height: 7.125″
Let-off: Up to 77%
Riser: Fully Machined
Finish: (Riser/Limbs)  N/A
Draw Weight: 20 – 70 lbs.
Draw Length: 22 – 30″
Silencers: D-Amplifiers™
Suppressors: String Suppressors™
Cam(s): Dual / Adjustable
Cable Guard: Carbon Rod
Bowstrings: Zebra® Hybrid
Grip: Composite
String Length: 57 1/4″
Cable Length: 34 1/8″

Mission Maniac manual:

Here is the manual for the Mission Maniac. It also includes specs for the Menace™ and UX2™ cams.

Mathews Mission Maniac user manual

Mission Maniac user’s manual



Outdoorsman Review:

This review is for one of the most prized pieces of hunting gear that I own. The Mission Maniac bow is this piece of equipment. Coming from the vintage 2001 PSE Nova OC that I owned there is no comparison. I’ve only shot 4 different compound bows. The kit bow I made as a teenager, A store bought compound bow when I was a teenager (I don’t remember the brand,) The aforementioned PSE, and now the Mission Maniac. Of the 4 the Maniac is like a luxury car.

I had the bow setup with a 30″ draw length. I shot for a couple of days at this length and wasn’t happy with the location of my anchor point so I wanted to change the draw length to 29″. I shoot with my elbow slightly bent. Changing the draw length was a cinch. I just removed the two allen screws on the cams, turned the adjustable cam to align the 29″ hole with the hole in the set cam and then re-installed the allen screws. I’ve always had to bring my bow to an archery shop to change the draw length since I don’t have a bow press. Once I adjusted the draw length I was happier with my anchor point.

The adjustable draw range is a big plus for this bow. I know that I have a larger audience that can use this bow if I ever decide to sell it. Of course my son has already said he has dibs on it.

The axle to axle distance of 31″ makes this bow very compact and good for hunting. I haven’t hunted with it yet but the compactness of this bow has definitely helped when walking through brush at 3D shoots.

After installing the Apache drop down arrow rest on the Maniac I paper tuned the bow and then shot some arrows through the chronograph to see what speed the Maniac was shooting. It came in at about 274 fps. This was well under the rated 310 fps that Mathews claims but I attributed this to the heavy 31″ Victory V-Force arrows that I was shooting. The next week I had the arrows cut to 29″ and turned up the weight of the bow a few pounds. I haven’t shot through the chronograph to to get the speed after this but I know it’s shooting much faster now.

Drawing this bow is smooth. I don’t feel the letoff “hump” when I draw the string back. I measured the draw weight and the holding weight with a friends digital bow scale and got 68 peak with 17 holding. That’s about 75% letoff which is in line with Mathews spec of up to 77% letoff. Shooting the arrow is equally as smooth. The arrow just whips out of this bow and goes.

The Mission Maniac is a great bow to carry around. It’s light (at least before I put a 14oz stabilizer on it,) easy to draw, and fast. For anyone looking for a good, highly adjustable bow, then this is the bow for you.

What I like about the Mathews Mission Maniac bow:

I like the fact that this bow can be reconfigured to meet the needs of a lot of different archers. I also like the overall quality of this bow. This is a darn good bow.

What I don’t like so much:

Honestly; I can’t think of one thing that I don’t like about the Mission Maniac except for the fact I don’t get to shoot it enough.

Update – I’ve been getting people asking whether the Mission Maniac is a good kid bow. If your kid can pull a 50# bow then yes it is a good kid bow. Considering the available limbs come in 50, 60, & 70 pound versions I think the Maniac is more geared towards teens and adults. I think that the reason people think that it is a kids bow is that the draw length goes from 22 – 30 inches. So; to clear this up I think the Maniac is really not geared towards kids. Just my opinion.

Have you used the Mission Maniac bow? Tell everyone else what you think about this bow by leaving your review below.

Mathews Genesis Bow Review

(4.5) based on 1 reviews

Mathews Genesis Compound Bow

Mathews Genesis Compound Bow

Review Status:

This Mathews Genesis bow was reviewed by a master Outdoorsman


Have you used the Mathews Genesis™ Compound Bow? Leave your comments below.

Buy the Mathews Genesis compound bow

Manufacturer’s Specs:

“Zero let-off” means no specific draw length

The Genesis™ System, by elimination let-off on light draw weight bows (where let-off is unnecessary), eliminates specific draw length requirements. The result is a bow that fits virtually everybody (from 15″ to 30″).

Shoots like a bow with higher poundage

A Genesis™ bow set at 20 lbs., for example, stores and releases an amount of energy comparable to a 35 lb. recurve bow! Plus, the Genesis™ bow has the “holding weight” (10 to 20 lbs.) necessary to “pull” the string from your fingers, making it easy to shoot.

All the advantages of single-cam technology

The new Genesis™ bow has just one cam. This means no tuning problems, much less recoil, more accurate shooting, and less noise.

Ideal for kids, beginners, and adults

Genesis™ Technology offers several advantages that make the new Genesis™ bow the perfect choice for archers of all ages and sizes.

  • Kids can’t outgrow it – because there is no specific draw length requirement.
  • It’s simple to buy – no need to measure and fit for draw length.
  • It’s easy to shoot – because the draw length is always right, the beginning archer won’t develop bad habits caused by an ill-fitting bow.
  • Great for families – everybody in the family can shoot the same bow.
  • Perfect for schools, clubs, organizations – no need to worry about draw length.
  • Stores love it – great for getting people interested in archery, and it’s the perfect bow for use with video target systems.
  • Built to last – durable and tough, these bows can take the punishment that multiple shooters can dish out.

Outdoorsman Review:

This review of the Genesis™ compound bow is actually a second hand review. Although I have shot this bow; I’m not the Master Outdoorsman who has used this bow for an extended period of time. I bought this bow for my 13 year old son for Christmas. I will leave this review as a surrogate review for my son by pointing out some of his observations and interject some of my own.

I asked my son what he liked about the Genesis™ and what he didn’t like. His first response was that he wished it shot better. I quickly explained that it could be the shooter. He also pointed out that he can’t use the sights on this bow. We tried putting sights on it but realized that they couldn’t be set to be usable without the arrow hitting the housing. We left the sights on and he uses the bottom pin as a reference.

He has no trouble pulling the string back to full draw. He’s a pretty big 13 year old. He had to get used to setting an anchor point especially because this bow doesn’t have a set draw length where you know it’s at full draw. This seems like it’s a good thing for beginners because it emphasizes the need to set your anchor point.

Overall my son likes the bow. He did seem to outgrow this bow pretty quickly. I think that he’s ready for a heavier poundage bow with a typical let-off. My take on this bow is that it is definitely good for beginners. It taught my son the basics. If you are considering the Genesis™ you should realize that it is a bow for young children or for teaching newcomers how to shoot.

What I like about the Genesis™ Bow:

It was a good bow to get to teach my son how to shoot. We bought the bow package that included the bow, a quiver, 5 arrows, and an arm guard. The price seemed pretty reasonable for the bow package.

What I don’t like so much:

It would be nice if we could have used sights on this bow. There is a mounting location but we just could not adjust the housing to where it needed to be without the arrows hitting it.