Hello All,
Today I will be reviewing the Reflex Excursion Compound Bow.
Bow Rating: 5/5
“Short, lightweight, and forgiving, with its alloy riser, Reflex Split Limbs, and the zippy 75% let-off Slam & 1/2 Performance System… Brace height: 8-3/8”; axle-to-axle length: 34-1/2”. IBO speed: 295 fps. Weight: 3 lbs., 15 oz. Color: Realtree Hardwoods Green? HD?.” Bass Pro Shops description of the Excursion.
Let’s start off by saying, take a look at the Hoyt line up. Do you see any resemblance to the Reflex Excursion? That is because this bow is made by Hoyt. The “Slam and a Half” cam system is very similar to the “Cam and a Half” that Hoyt puts out. In fact the riser and overall design looks very similar to the Hoyt offerings. See for yourself: www.hoyt.com
Now, if the bow is designed like a much more expensive bow we need to ask about quality. Does the Reflex Excursion have the quality to be compared to it’s much more expensive cousin? Sure does. I have shot my Reflex Excursion for 2 full seasons now and have noticed no problems in any of the components. The bow has been used very frequently and I haven’t even had to change the string yet.
Is the bow quiet? You better believe it. I have owned the following bows:
Renegade Tominator II
Mathews Outback
Mathews Switchback
Reflex Excursion
When I compare the performance of the bows listed above, the Excursion gets my best marking. My reasoning is this: In my humble opinion, the Excursion performs as well or better than any of the bows listed above, but priced at only around $300, it costs about half as much as the Mathews selections and a little less than the Renegade (which in my opinion is the worst shooter in the group and costs about $350). I have found that the Excursion is every bit as quiet as any of the selections to my untrained ear and the deer can’t tell a difference either.
My humble opinion is that any of the bows can be made quiet by using the Limbsaver products available on the market (Limbsaver cable guard dampener, String Leeches, heavy enough stabilizer, limb stablizers, etc) . Once you have quieted your bow the accessories are the things that make the noise. For instance: arrow contact on arrow rest, vibration of the sight, noise from drop-away rests and so on. Find quiet, yet effective components and your bow will be as quiet as it needs to be.
I believe that we as bow hunters have taken the bait from the bow companies. We figure we have to have the fastest bow in the market because that defines quality. Does it? I don’t think it does and here’s why. When you buy the fastest bows on the market it comes with a heavy draw weight. I can draw back and shoot 80 lbs. Great, so I can shoot the fastest bows, right!? But, can I make the bow really accurate at that speed? I can’t… my arm gets tired faster, I can’t hold the bow as long as a 50- 60 lbs draw which I can shoot all day long with minimal fatigue.
IBO speeds are misleading too. They assume there aren’t any accessories on the bow and that it is a specific draw length and weight. Your bow, that advertises itself as being able to shoot 350 fps most likely doesn’t shoot that fast.
Additionally, what is the advantage to shooting 350 feet per second over say 285 feet per second? There is no advantage that I can think of. I can only think of disadvantages to speeds that fast. First of all, the fastest bow on the market still doesn’t go as fast as the speed of sound (1130 fps). So a deer jumping the string is still a possibility. How much speed do we need to kill a deer, elk or moose? American Indians were killing these animals with much less powerful bows than the slowest 50 lbs draw weight bow on the market. I see Uncle Ted killing big African animals all the time with his 52 lbs Renegade Nugebow. So, why do I want to go through the extra pain of shooting an 80 lbs draw weight? I don’t, I set my bow at around 55 lbs because I am more accurate at that weight. Additionally, heavier draw weight causes your bow to be noisier and to be less forgiving.
I have heard many friends say that they can use one pin for all ranges. Ok… is that wise? I don’t think so. I like exacting my ranges with 5 pins. One for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 yard ranges. I can shoot these ranges and anything in between accurately. Much more so than… ONE PIN FOR ALL RANGES. It requires my using a range finder but I’m ok with that. I imagine, as some of my friends have found out, that one pin outfits are more likely to wound or miss animals than a well adjusted multiple pin systems.
That being said compare the Excursion for quality of parts, I have found that the only difference is in the durability of the finish. The finish is my only complaint about this bow. I have had a small area on the riser that has had some of the outer finish flake off where I hold the bow while walking into the woods. I find that this is only cosmetic and truthfully I have to look very close to even notice any flaw in the finish. Admittedly, I am extremely rough on my bow. I use it ran, snow, extreme cold and extreme heat. I sometimes store the bow in it’s case while it’s wet and frequently store the bow in my car during Tennessee summer temps. The finish may be my fault and I refuse to discount this awesome piece of equipment for such a small issue.
Buy this product with no reservations. It performs as well as any other that I have shot and costs the least that I have found on the market.
LOVE THIS BOW!!
God Bless you all,
Sean
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