Outwrite Outdoors

An industry friend asked me if I was in to bowhunting, which I am, and then asked me if I would like to test a bow for him. There wasn’t much arm twisting. In fact I think I had said yes before he even finished asking. So a short while later I opened a box with a nice new single-cam Gander Mountain Tech Hunter Exterminator Pro bow.

First impressions are everything I guess

Well maybe not. My wife said she didn’t like me the first time she met me, but I grew on her. My first impressions of the bow were that it was very light, had a long, forgiving brace height and was decked out in a camo pattern I didn’t much like. But it has since grown on me, mostly because the bow shoots so nice.

Set up

So once I got the bow all decked out and set up, it all came down to flinging arrows. I had the bow set at a 29-inch length and a 65-pound draw. I installed a peep and a string loop. Other accessories included:

• ruGlo TruBlock stabilizer with integrated sling
• TruGlo ProTune Quiver
• Apex Atomic 4-pin sight
• NAP Sizzor Rest
• P.S.E. Vibracheck string dampener (more on why I did this later)
• Limbsavers

After making sure the string was waxed, I drew back and let fly. It didn’t take long to get my Easton arrows going where I wanted them to. I have a 15-yard range in my basement so it was but a few shots to get it "on" for that distance.

I have shot a few bows in my time. This one ranks right up with the best of them as fast as being accurate, easy to shoot and just plain fun. The long brace height makes it very forgiving and the overall design is really good. The wooden grip is thin, but not too thin. The length of the bow, 31.75" axle-to-axle length, is just about perfect for hunting the way I do, which is from a ground blind. It is also fast. Gander claims 318 fps. I was getting an average of 301 fps with Easton Axis FMJ arrows. That is plenty fast for me. Especially when flinging an arrow of the Axis FMJ’s magnitude. (Read the review on those elsewhere.)

Construction is first rate. The bow has pivoting limb pockets that work to keep the bow in tune shot after shot. The riser is cut from solid 6061 T6 aluminum to keep the weight down and yet offer a solid backbone and it features a dipped finish that has a texture to it that makes you feel confident the bow wouldn’t slip from your hand. The finish also serves to further reduce vibration. That’s another credit to the maker of the bow, Bowtech/Diamond. Everything you’d expect from them is in this bow.

But it ain’t perfect

As I said, I wasn’t crazy about the Advantage Timber camo pattern. I hunt from a ground blind and to me that pattern sticks out more when in the darkened blind. Am I being nit-picky? Sure. Also Gander saw fit to adorn the bow with a shiny, reflective logo. Again, I didn’t like that when I was going to be eye-to-eye with Mr. and Mrs. Whitetail. (Yeah, I shoot does. They are yummy!)

And I also added the Vibracheck dampener. Remember I said I come back to that? Well when I opened said bow shipped direct from Gander, it didn’t have the string dampener that was supposed to be with the bow. A few calls from myself and those involved got no where. If I was going to have to buy a string dampener to have a string dampener on this bow, then I was going to pick one out myself. The Vibracheck design is, in my opinion, better than the one on the bow as it should be. Why? Because it puts the dampener directly in line with the stabilizer. Does this actually help anything? I don’t know for sure, but in theory it should. Besides, the Vibracheck is lighter and it works very well.

The Outwrite Truth

If asked whether I would recommend this bow or not, I would recommend it without a moment of hesitation. In fact, I have several times. It is a light, forgiving bow that is easy to set up, easy to shoot and rock solid. There is not an ounce of hand shock shot after shot. The price is decent when compared with other bows of this quality too. What more could you ask for?