mathews

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MATHEWS

Love ’em or hate ’em—many bowhunters love ‘em, and many bow manufacturers hate ’em—the archery industry would look very different without Mathews in the picture. Mathews innovations have been influential from the day the company was launched. For 2011 Mathews seems determined to offer a bow that will fit the needs and personal preferences of every bowhunter out there. Building on the success of the original Z7 bow, Mathews now offers an entire Z series of no less than four Z bows, all featuring the eye-catching Grid

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MATHEWS eZ7

MATHEWS Z7 Xtreme

COMPOUND BOWS

Lock Riser, Parallel Limb design introduced by Mathews, Reverse Assist Roller Guard, Slimfit Inline Grip, Zebra Barracuda strings, and Mathews string suppressors. They all also offer 80 percent letoff and maximum draw weights of 40, 50, 60, 65, and 70 pounds. The headliner is probably the Z7 Extreme, with a very compact axle-to-axle length of 28 inches, a mass weight of less than 4 pounds, and a top speed of 330 fps despite its very ample 73⁄8-inch brace height. Suggested retail price is $900, and a Z7 Extreme Tactical version in black with

gray accents is available for ground blind hunters or those who just want a really cool-looking bow. Suggested retail on that one is $1,050. (And it does look really cool.) At 340 fps, the Z7 Magnum is for bowhunters who want a Mathews single-cam bow that is blazing-fast. The Z7 features a very reasonable brace height of 63⁄8 inches and axle-to-axle measure of 32 inches, and weighs 41⁄4 pounds. Retail price is about $1,000. An interesting retro variation on the Z-series theme is the eZ7, which rein-

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MATHEWS Z9

MATHEWS Z7 Magnum

MATHEWS Z7 Xtreme Tactical

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troduces the earlier Mathews Perimeter Weighted Cam to achieve the supersmooth feel that turned a lot of bowhunters into Mathews fans years ago. All the other bows in the series use the ZX Cam, but the eZ7 achieves a very modern-day and deadly 321 fps with the older cam. The eZ7 is 32 inches long with a 7-inch brace height and carries a suggested retail price of about $1,000. The last new item in the Z series is the Z9, clearly aimed at big bowhunters with long arms. Draw lengths run from 27 to 32 inches, though axle-to-axle length is a surprisingly compact 30 inches, which partly explains the Z9’s relatively light weight of 4 pounds. The Z9 has a supergenerous brace height of 83⁄4 inches with a speed of 312 fps. The Z9 has a suggested retail price of about $900. Mathews’ new McPherson Series Monster bows introduce yet another Mathews innovation, the Advance Vectoring System Cam (AVS), a dual-cam system in which the cable from one cam is attached to

an off-center bearing beside the other. The result increases letoff while storing additional energy to achieve what Mathews touts is the most efficient dualcam system ever. It’s hard to argue with IBO speeds approaching 360 fps, which is the top speed for the MR5. The other two bows in the series share a long list of familiar Mathews technology including Quad V Lock Limbs, Slim Fit Grips, Grid-Lock Risers, and sound dampening systems, and all have the same 33-inch length axle-to-axle. Primary differences are in brace heights and draw lengths. The MR5 has a 5-inch brace height, the MR6 a 6-inch brace height, and the MR7 a 7-inch brace height. Draw lengths differ only marginally, and the speed drops as brace height increases, with the MR6 claiming 354 fps, the MR7 344 fps. Suggested retail price is $999 for each of the three bows. Two new target bows round out

Mathews new offerings for 2011 in the form of the Conquest Apex 7 and the Conquest Apex 8. These bows also share a number of familiar Mathews technologies and differ primarily in brace height and speed. Both feature 65 percent letoff and weigh about 5 pounds. Draw lengths range from 23.5 to 30.5 inches on the Apex 7, 25.5 inches to 31.5 inches on the Apex 8. The Apex 7 offers a 7-inch brace height with an axle-to-axle length of 38 inches and speeds up to 320 fps, while the Apex 8 offers a more forgiving 8-inch brace height, 421⁄4-inch axle-to-axle length, and a corresponding drop in speed to 310 fps. Each bow retails for about $1,250.

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