Mathews guy, switching to Martin, need some recommendations...

[Thermodude]

Welcome to the forum dude, I shot Mathews also and for the last few years Ive shot Bowtech. I changed over to Martin this year and I have no regrets. My 3D rig is a 2012 Pantera and my hunting rig is a 2011 Onza III. My advice is to talk to everyone you can......shoot the bows. Read all the reviews that you can find.........Martin has made a pretty strong statement for 2012, the forums and the members can tell you alot.......use it all you can!

[Money Man]

Welcome to the forum. It seems you know what you want in a bow, but are limited in being able to shoot a few to try them out. Do you have any friends or acquaintances that shoot any of these bows? Do you travel for business or take a vacation where there may be a dealer closer to you? Might be woth a trip to the place an hour away, just call ahead to make sure they have the ones in stock that you are looking at. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.

[Longshank]

I sell educational technology and do travel quite a bit in TN and NC. I guess it'll be easier than I thought to shoot one. There are several shops in east tn, so I guess I'll see what I can set up with them. I did notice that Martin has some ordering features through the site. Do they limit you on what you can customize on your bow if you buy it direct?

[droppixel]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys and thanks again for your initial thoughts. Definitely looking for a hunting bow primarily, and more times than not I'll be perched 20 or 30 in a tree climber so shorter ATA is definitely a factor for me. @HawgEnvy: I've owned 4 or 5 Mathews over the years, the one I just got rid of was the Drenalin, just never could vibe with it like I wanted. I've owned both dual cam and single cam bows and can't say that I really prefer one over the other. @Largo: From what I've read so far I think I'm definitely leaning more towards the Nitro Cams for a couple of reasons.

The problem I have guys is that I live in the Nashville area and all the local shops around here sell Mathews. Even though Martin lists Bass Pro Shops as a dealer here, they haven't had a Martin on the rack in 6 mnths or more, and I'm not interested at all in buying one of those package deals that Dick's has. The guy behind the bench at BPS today immediately tried to start selling me a PSE when I asked him about Martin. The closest shop I could find is an hour or two away so it doesn't look like shooting before I decide is going to be that easy.

Any other recs from the peanut gallery?

Thanks,

Shank

In the new lineup if you are going to buy new - Bengal/Cougar/Silencer are all close A2A at 31-32.25 - The Alien X (Ultralight) is 31.5 - I'm sure being to able to shoot one or 2 prior to buying is going to be the most preferred thing, but I can say both of the Martin/Rytera bows I have right now were purchased sight/unseen-shot. That is a little crazy I'm sure, I just trust that their bows are going to feel good no matter what. My Cheetah is an older single cam, the Alien has the hybrix on it. Different draw cycles for sure, but I like them both. Both are really smooth as well.

Like the guys say, if you have anyone nearby that is willing to let you shoot one of theirs take that. If you feel confident buying before trying, a lot of guys say hit up HuntingUSA over on AT and he gives out good deals for AT members if you ask him about it.

Hope whatever you land with, you like.

[wscywabbit]

There are a few options in their website, but if you call instead, they can do more custom order stuff, just FYI. Also just so you know, Martin's warranty is not like Mathew's so it is not just for the original owner; some really good deals on used bows can be had with fairly high confidence. And even though it is easy to order through the Martin website, it is definitely less expensive to shop around...

[jeadcock]

My Cheetah was bought unseen as well. Tons of research, forums, etc. 100% satisfaction.

[mdodraw29]

I just switched from a z7 to a 2011 martin silencer. I am real happy with the silencer, it is surprisingly smooth and forgiving for such a fast bow and it was at real reasonable price. good luck

[Lung Buster]

If you have a dicks in your area see if they will let you shoot the martin bows! The bows at dicks are a regular model just renamed for dicks dont know why but that is how it works! My 2010 Bone Hunter is really a cheetah just a couple fifferences like my cams are copper instead of black! If you shoot them there and do the research you can figure out which regular model you shot and liked!

[HawgEnvy]

yeah,I wouldnt worry about the Dick's bows. Same Martin quality and same warranty and awesome CS. The Rack Attack is the Exile at 30.25" ata and is an excellent shooter. There's one here in the classifieds,I believe. I've noticed that Martin bows are hard to come by on the AT classifieds.

[SJunior]

Welcome to the forum.

Definitely the Nitro cam bows, they are as smooth as any single cam out there. The Silencer was my choice and it shoots great.

I have shot Martin bows for 30 years and have yet to shoot one before I bought.