by Dave Hurteau

If you saw David Maccar’s recent post “High-Speed Video: .308 vs. Soup Can”  (if you didn’t you should) then you know that we recently had the use of some spectacularly sophisticated high-speed cameras.

For this video, we wanted to see something that is normally only felt: hand shock and vibration from a bow. At 19,300 frames per second, two things jump out at me:

by Scott Bestul

We’ve been counting down the best bows of the 2011 season, and we’re down to the cream of the crop. In most years, whittling out the bottom half of 15 or 16 bows isn’t too difficult for my testing team. Deciding on the Top Ten involves a little quibbling, but is rarely a tough chore.

But the Five Best? We’ve never actually gotten testy with each other when picking the five elite bows of the year, but individual scores reflect how close the voting can get. No more than 20 points (out of a possible 160) separated the Number Five bow from our Champion (the Best of the Best winner), and this year even featured a tie for the runner-up bow. So without any more fuss, here are the five models that everyone in my test team shot over and over… Sometimes looking for that one little feature that made a big difference. And sometimes because a really, really good bow is just plain fun to shoot.

Bow Number Five
G5 “Prime Centroid” (g5prime.com)
(MSRP: $999)

Hits: Most top-flight bows have a design feature that’s both innovative and problem-solving. In the case of the Prime, it’s called “Parallel Cam Technology ™” which is designed to virtually eliminate cam-lean, as well as reduce nock travel and limb fatigue. Basically two cams sit side by side, and the design change is both innovative and eye-catching; one of those features that jumps out at a shooter and says “this could be really cool…or really bad.” In the case of the Prime, it’s really good.

Misses: The only deductions my team gave to the Prime were in the shock/vibration category. This was nit-picking for two testers, but one team member gave it a big enough demerit to drop the Prime a place or two.

Takeaway: Major kudos go to the G5 team for incorporating an innovative design into a bow that’s just a pleasure to shoot. The Prime had a great back wall, a nice draw cycle and at 282 fps, sent an arrow zipping along. And once we got used to looking at parallel cams, we gave high marks to the Prime for fit-and-finish.

by Dave Hurteau

I once edited an F&S boot-buyer’s-guide extravaganza, after which the folks at Danner requested that I keep and use the photo-prop Canadian Hunting Boots that I just happened to get in my size. Well, what could I say?

I have since beaten the hell out of them. They have been all over the country for deer and a variety of other critters--up ragged crags, down snowy slopes, through cedar swamps, cattail sloughs, and mountain creeks. Meanwhile, I have not given them anything like the care they deserve. They are now 15 years old. Yes, 15—and they are still my primary hunting boots, still waterproof, still sporting plenty of tread.

Now here’s the thing: Back when I was a young editor with very little expendable cash, I remember thinking of my new freebie Danners: These are great, but if I were spending my own money, there’s no way—no way!—I would drop over $300 on a pair of boots.

by Dave Hurteau

Take a look at the second buck below in our scoring contest. Remember, you are playing for a brand-spanking new Mathews’ Z7 Xtreme , the company’s flagship bow for 2011 and a prize worth about $900.

If you are just joining us, here’s the deal: I will post a total of four bucks photos, one per week, for one month. (Click here if you missed the first one.) You will guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow***. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.