5 Top Rated Deer Hunting Bows

Here are five of the best deer hunting bows for this season.

Just a casual search online for bowhunting info gives you dozens of chat rooms, online forums, social media groups, and customer reviews. It seems like everyone wants to get their two cents in.

If you are interested in risers, cam systems, stabilizers, and arrow rests, you can type any of the information into the search bar and come up with a million different results in less than a few seconds.

For the serious whitetail hunter, the difference between success and failure can come down to the littlest things. Is your peep sight perfectly aligned? How long you can stand at full draw? Is the bow you’re using quiet and quick enough to get the job done?

Recurve bows and long bows aside, if you ask five different archery hunters which compound bow they would like to take in the treestand, you will almost certainly get five different answers. And they may all be correct!

Whether you are looking for a right hand bow or a left hand bow, virtually all of these models of compound hunting bows will provide you with what you need.

These are some of the quietest compound bow packages for serious big game hunters that you will find available this year. But they do come with a considerable price tag.

Mathews VXR Series

The specs for the new VXR bow from Mathews are as follows: six-inch brace height, a draw weight of 60, 65, 70, and 75 pounds, an actual bow weight of 4.44 pounds, an International Bowhunters Organization rating (IBO) of up to 344 feet per second, a draw length from 25 1/2 to 30 inches, a cam that is cross centric and built with “Switchweight technology,” an axle-to-axle length of 28 inches, and a let-off of 80-85 percent.

With eight different finish patterns including Realtree Edge, Ridge Reaper Forest, and Optifade SubAlpine, you should be able to find one that suits your hunting area.

The reviews are nothing short of glowing, and considering the retail price of $1,099, there may be some convincing needed before someone devotes that kind of money. But if they do, by most accounts, they’ll be satisfied.

Elite Kure

With a bold claim right off of the top, Elite Archery states, “No matter what arrows you use. What rest you install. What your grip looks like. Which broadheads you use. The Kure adapts to you. Never before seen technology from the minds of some of the world’s most recognizable archers makes the Kure the fastest-to-tune hunting bow on the market.”

The Kure is 32 inches axle-to-axle, has 4.6 pounds of actual weight and 40-70 pounds of draw weight, reaches 335 fps, has a 6.5-inch brace height, a 23- to 30-inch draw length, and a 90 to 70 percent let-off.

Here’s a video review that talks through some more features.

With 13 different colors and patterns to choose from, a hunter can certainly find one that will fit their needs. The Kure reaches $1,099, but it appears to be the kind of bow that will last you a long time.

Bowtech Revolt

These are the specs for the Bowtech Revolt: 30 inches axle-to-axle, draw length at 26-31 inches, brace height of 7 1/4 inches, draw weight at 50, 60, and 70 pounds, IBO speed of 335 fps, and an actual mass of 4.4 pounds.

There are 15 different finish options, including 11 different camo patterns. Here is a review from the guys at On Point:

Retail for this bow is $1,199, the highest on this list.

Hoyt Axius Alpha

Here are the specs for the Hoyt Axius Alpha: 342 fps, 29.5 inches axle-to-axle, 6.5-inch brace height, 4.3 pounds in actual weight, a patented ZTR cam, a draw length from 25 to 30 inches, and a draw weight from 30 to 80 pounds.

Here’s a thoughtful review from Mike’s Archery:

The Axius Alpha comes in 11 different patterns including Realtree, Bone Collector, and Keep Hammering Cameron Hanes finishes that will keep any hunter happy. Retail is at $999 for this new 2020 bow.

Prime Black 3

The Black Series has been around for a short while, and it’s already helping put Prime Archery on the radar. The specs for the Prime Black 3 are as follows: 33 inches axle-to-axle, 337 fps, a draw length of 25.5 to 31 inches, adjustable draw weights at 40, 50, 60, 65, 70, and 80 pounds, a brace height of 6.5 inches, and an actual weight of 4.4 pounds. The Prime Black 3 comes in a black pattern, naturally.

Here’s Inside Out Precision with a review:

The retail price for the Prime Black 3 is $999.

These five have been the talk of the local archery pro shop since the early part of the year, and it hasn’t changed much. Sometimes the discussion is about drop away rests, and sometimes it is about youth bows, but these are for the big boys who take their deer hunting very seriously and expect the most out of a smooth draw cycle and power to spare.

The best bow is usually just a matter of personal opinion, but with any one of these you can rest assured that you have the right tool in your hands at the right time.

That is until they come out with the new batch next year!

Find more archery gear from Cabela’s here.