20 Best Entry Level Compound Bow (2023 Updated)

I had a friend purchase this bow in exchange for a new Bear Approach bow which I had purchased to hunt. Unfortunately, I was unable to use the Bear bow because the draw weight was too heavy for me to pull.

A friend agreed to purchase this Gen X bow because he had bought one for his daughter, she loved it. When he gave me this Gen X bow, I could see it was much longer than my Bear. Allegedly this bow is good for hunting, but the length is going to make it difficult while up in a tree, and I do not like the way it fits my hand.

I’m very upset because customer service will not take the bow back, so I’ll have to eat the cost. I’ll never buy a product site unseen, or word of mouth from a friend, lesson learned! I feel this bow is more of a competition shooting bow, not hunting.

Great starting bow. It is very durable and has been with me my entire archery journey thus far. My only complaint is that the string is starting to whether a little but I have been using it for a long time.

No string is indestructible. I never had a moment where I shot and the problem was my bow. This is super crucial as archers already have enough to worry about.

Order bow as a gift on line. It’s too heavy for my wife (arthritis) but it is also not returnable. Nothing noted on the product page about no return policy. I was told this info is in the return policy information page.

If you shop with Academy online you are expected to know the details of their return policy page before you shop. No information is noted with the product. Very disappointing.

I purchased this bow only two months ago and have had 2 issues occur that should not have happened this early in the life of this product. After the first month the string began to fray aggressively to the point where I had to replace it for safety’s sake.

No more than 50 arrows in to the new string the cam draw length modules gave out (in the middle of hunting season for me nonetheless). All tune ups and installations to the bow were conducted by a highly reputable archery shop with decades worth of experience.

I understand that this bow is geared more towards the entry level or budget friendly consumer, however I don’t thinks it is unreasonable to expect the parts of this bow to hold up for at least more than a season.

The only satisfactory part of the experience thus far was the customer service readily replacing my broken parts. And to be fair the bow shot like a laser for a limited time when it was tuned up and working properly.

If I had a time machine I would have just saved my money and bought a bow with higher quality materials. The money I’ve spent replacing, installing, and tuning this thing would have already bought me a better bow from the start.

Ultimately, you get what you pay for.

To start, I’m an experienced bow hunter for over 45 years. I’ve bow hunted whitetail and elk for years. I started with a longbow, then recurve before moving on to compounds. Three years ago I had two complete shoulder replacements and a left rotator cuff surgery.

Not much left of the left rotator, so I was seeking a light bow with adjustable draw length and adjustable draw weights, the 70 lb. Hoyt no longer an option. I wasn’t ready to give up and go to the crossbow, and I wasn’t ready to stop bow hunting.

The last two years I used a Browning Micro Midas youth bow I had purchased for our son several years ago just to get by. I hadn’t been able to find a good option at my local pro shop, but found the Cruzer G2 at Cabela’s.

I tried it and a couple of other options they had. The Cruzer was by far the smoothest and easiest on my wasted shoulders. I’m still getting comfortable and fine tuning, but it was very well setup from the start and truly not a lot of adjusting.

If you’re in a similar shoulder situation and not ready to give up being a bow hunter, I would suggest you give this option a shot.

I am 75 and haven’t shot a compound bow in over 20 years. I am primarily a rifle hunter but I wanted to spend more time afield ( MI archery season runs for 3 months) so I decided to purchase a bow. I looked at crossbows, but the the prices far exceeded what I wanted to pay.

I’ll shell out 4 figures for a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle but not a “string gun. ” So, I looked at compounds. Again, the prices were “up there” as well as the poundage. I used to be able to draw 50 pounds when I was younger, but an arthritic shoulder makes that impossible nowadays.

Then, I found the “Limitless. ” It had everything I was looking for…. and I do mean EVERYTHING: it was fully equipped with all the necessary accessories, it was adjustable to fit my length of pull and draw weight, and the exceeding reasonable price tag sealed the deal.

It is an exceptional value and I am very impressed with it’s quality. Thank you, Bear Archery, for making it possible for me to continue to hunt. This is my 50th year afield.

I bought this a few months ago I went to a pro archery shop to get my arrows sized for me and they said this is the wrong bow first off the draw length increments are in full inches they need to be half of in inch.

2nd of all poor build quality and for younger kids for sure. People all over say good now for teens if ur 13 or older don’t buy it I’m a smaller 15 year old and I’m 5 6 my my draw is 26. 5 I think but yea don’t buy this bow.

Poor quality go with something bigger axle to axle. The guys at the shop recommended me to a mission switch. It’s made by matthews but it’s not that bad of a deal 400 with nothing on it 650 with all the accessories.

Don’t buy this bow.

This is a great bow for anyone, regardless of experience, not just youths. have a pinched nerve in my neck that limits my ability to pull a lot of weight so I opted for this bow as it maxes at 50lbs but still has a good yardage and the price point was much better than others.

And it’s size is extremely close to a full size bow, the axle length being within 3 inches of several of Bears full size bows. I actually didn’t know it was considered a youth bow until googling it. I’ve been shooting archery for years but not a whole lot with a compound bow, so I got this for hunting and also for fun/hobby and so far it’s great.

But if you’re planning to hunt exclusively, maybe opt for a 75 pound bow to get you a better kill radius.

I have several bows i enjoy shooting. But after purchasing this bow I love it. Easy setup and sitting in peep site was off a bit but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Its also good bow for beginners just learning to use a bow.

For the price I recommend this bow.

Easy set up and shoots well. Only con would be you may need to tighten up things. We had the cable slide come off during a shot. The set screws backed out and it got so loose that it just fell off. This could have been hazardous.

Also the peep was tied in. this was not the right position for my son so had to undo, reposition and re tie. We had the equipment and knowledge to do this but most would have to take it to a bow shop.

The Raptor is an excellent bow for beginning and intermediate shooting. It is my first compound bow, and I find it to set up and is easy to adjust to my shooting style. It is well worth the price.

I was a little skeptical but the price was worth a try and I am very happy. Had to replace the rest, it sucked trying to copy a whisker biscuit. Got the bow all set up with nocs and peep and went out and shot it.

Smooth pull and release, Nice site! at 10 yrds I grouped too close, 1″, 20 yds grouped around 1 1/2 inches! Light bow, nice balance, Quiet! I am very happy with this bow and will suggest it to others.

I purchased this for a gentleman down the road a ways that financially challenged. It came surprisingly close to new condition ! I installed all new accessories, gave it to him, tuned it for him, with 6 arrows, then told him ” No charge “.

That’s what makes purchasing products of this quality, worth it. Thank you !!.

The local archery shop was able to get this bow down to 45# even though it states 55 – 70. This makes the bow much more accessible to beginners. 45# is an easy draw, 55# feels like it would be pushing it and I’m quite athletic.

All in all, a good beginner bow and a great price. Keep in mind if you live in Canada, there is also an extra $33 charge on top of shipping to get this bad boy through customs.

The Refine EKO is my favorite bow to date. The Refine is built with top-tier specs for a really reasonable price. I got my Refine on a Thursday and took it turkey hunting on Saturday. I have literally never done that with a bow (owned less than 48 hours and taking it hunting) but the Refine tuned exceptionally well and with the Trophy Ridge React technology, I had it hitting where I was aiming in no time.

Although I didn’t get a turkey within 48 hours of owning it, I did knock down my second bird of the spring with the Refine. I’ve shot 3D with it and scored well (won the Advanced Bowhunter Class in it’s first shoot of the season) and will have it in the Iowa timber this fall.

The 33″ ATA is perfect – it’s easily maneuverable while hunting but very forgiving for long-distance practice or 3D. It shoots flat and consistent – I can’t recommend this bow enough. If you’re in the market for a bow, shoot this one and you’ll likely be taking it home with you.

Before I bought this bow I have owned two hoyt bows. The Faktor 30 and the Ignite. I decided this year a couple days before season it was tile for something new. I was looking for a mid-priced bow that had a good quality and feel.

I did my research on Bear bows and looked at their new 2022 lineup and saw this one. Had good reviews so I decided to give it a try. Ordered it through Amazon on sale for $391. Paired it w/ a trophy ridge one pin & 6” stabilizer, along with a QAD dropaway.

Just got back from the shop getting everything set up and shot it for the first time. This thing is dead quiet and it shoots quick. I love this bow. More than both of the Hoyt’s I have owned in the past.

The Faktor was a 1000$+ bow. If your thinking about getting this one, you should. The only very slight complain I have is the paint finish. I have a few super small spots where it has chipped a little but you can barely tell whatsoever.

We will see how the finish does in the future. I’ve never owned a bear bow but I am utterly impressed to say the least. I may stick with them forever.

Bought this bow last week and maybe have 80-100 arrows through it but went and had a fall away rest put on at local dealer and I asked him to check draw weight because it felt “easy”. He checked it and made sure limb bolts were all the way in and it only read 62.

4lbs with a 28inch draw length. He checked everything and said everything g was within spec. But he’s never seen anything like it before. Currently waiting to hear back from Bear now. Shooting same FPS as my older bow which is rated 15fps slower.

So far I’m disappointed. Season starts in a few weeks and it’s hard to find time to set up a new bow already. But if it has to go in for warranty then my bow season is over before it’s started. In terms meaning this disappointment from what I considered a good brand.

We’ll see….

While this is probably marketed as a beginner’s bow (and the only left handed option at the time I went bow shopping) it would probably be more accurately classified as a discount bow for the expert archer / bowsmith who loves having to maintain their bow closely and often.

The biggest problem I notice is with cam / bowstring alignment. My string has been fraying consistently on the sharp inner guide rail of the upper cam, due to being pulled too far off centre by the middle rail which pulls the string off centre for arrow clearance (forget the technical term).

I discovered that the hole into which this bowstring guide bar is (just below bow sight attachment) inserted is misaligned, and so in order to prevent dangerous fraying, you must only insert the string guide bar through the first of two holes, which reduces the angle, allowing less fraying at that top cam.

I am serious about the Allen keys also. Most screws come loose slowly over time, including the cam screws which secure that sharp top guide rail. if you hear any buzzing / vibration while shooting, be sure to check your screws before the bow blows up on you.

Additionally, the peep site is held in place by poorly tied factory knots. Better manufacturers leave these knots loose intentionally to allow for peep site positioning before being firmly secured. this is easily fixed by moving them into position, and then tying some proper knots with the correct fine string at the end of these slidable factory knots.

The bow sight adds no value to the bow in my opinion. the level of vibration that rattles through it with each shot made it impossible to cinch down tight enough to prevent it moving with each shot. I missed my first shot at a grouse because it had slipped almost completely out of its bracket, which it did after my second shot at said grouse.

So if you buy this, tighten everything down within reason, and think about upgrading your bowsight immediately. It does shoot fairly well. It is weighted nicely, and produces a repeatable flight with good technique.

Just look after it, especially if you don’t have a large budget for repairs. I may be needing a new string soon, which apparently is only available from specialty string-makers, not the manufacturer themselves.

Do not let the made in China mark worry you, this bow is fantastic. It comes with a good amount of starter accessories than can be easily switched out or upgraded when the time comes and the ease at which even a novice can adjust the cams and weight makes it perfect for those just getting into the sport.

The arrows that come with it are fairly decent range arrows though you will want to replace them after a few times practicing or if you’re going to use this for hunting. It came perfectly sealed in a nice wooden crate insulated by Styrofoam which also doubles as a halfway decent case and worktable if needed.

For the price and with what comes with it, this bow will make an amazing addition to any collection as it easily stands alongside its more expensive brothers.

Liked the weight and feel of the bow as I shot it but had to make adjustments to make it fit me better. The one adjustment made was to set the draw weight to 65 pounds but couldnt. It was to be able to go to 70 but it is maxed out at 60 pounds.

Other than that it’s a nice bow for the price. I did put my own sites on it along with a drop away arrow rest. The arrows that came with it are cheap and I’ve shattered over half of them already. If you buy this bow take it to a professional to have it set up and looked over to make sure nothing will come loose.

First off, I know very little about compound bows. This was purchased for my son. The bow seems to be of very good quality. The arrow rest is cheap and will be replaced very soon. After shooting for about 1 hour, it started peeling the fletching from the arrows provided.

The provided arrows seem to be of decent quality, but are for practice only. You cannot change the points out. The arrow release is NOT the one pictured (I paid $10 more here than another site thinking I was buying a better release), but seems to do the job well enough.

The instructions that come with the bow (for set-up and assembly) are borderline useless, so if you don’t know what you are doing, find other instructions online. I’ve rated this Bow Set 3 stars deducting 1 star for the wrong image of the release and 1 star for the useless instructions and cheaply made arrow rest.

Overall, this bow could be a excellent beginner to intermediate bow for the price point.

Purchased this bow after not shooting about ten years since high school. Has the same feel as my older Hoyt Xt2000 from 2001. Does have a smooth draw and flat backwall. has been quiet for the time being.

The most convenience from this bow is probably the option to change draw lengths easily. The rth package is okay. Can’t do much with 4 pins, the stabilizer is real basic and needs an upgrade, the strings are frayed already after 2 weeks, the peep hole is extremely large so there’s no consistency with shooting, the hand grip is fairly small and awkward to hold steady, the d loop is really thin which made me switch releases.

Although Trophy Ridge products make this bow a good looking package it’s not quite the package needed for ready to go into the woods. Going to see if Cabela’s will take back as easily as they force you out the door with it.

For the money I rather buy a bow with nothing and create my own build.