There are so many different types of archery companies available on the market, and a wide variety of bows and equipment available for archers of every kind. In the midst of all these competing brands, it may feel overwhelming to know what to pick.
Whether you’re a beginner looking for your first compound bow, a seasoned archer looking at purchasing a new bow, or maybe you’re just curious to know which of the archery companies are going to give you your desired product. You want a bow that has the best kind of quality, ultimate speed, crafted with ingenuity and the archer’s comfort at mind.
There are companies willing to give that to you! There are plenty of companies that have the utmost quality and superiority when it comes to compound bows, and I’ve created a list compiling the best ones.
This list will talk a little bit about the companies, their motto and principles for making the best equipment, bows, and some of their most famous products!
So when you’re thinking about purchasing a compound bow, take this selection of excellent brands into consideration. You might just find the bow for you!
What Makes a Company One of the “Best”?
When researching about these companies, and trying to decide which ones are the best ones, there are a few things that I personally find to be important factors in deciding if a compound bow company is the best.
One of those factors is the quality of the products. I am a firm believer in quality, and if I’m going to spend my hard-earned money on a product I better get my money’s worth for it!
And if you’re looking to purchase a compound bow, you probably know that most of them are not super cheap. Which is okay. But if you’re buying something expensive and the material or the quality of the build ends up being trash, then all of your money is wasted!
You want to make sure that the company is also being honorable, and they aren’t affiliated with any poor business practices or use shortcuts in the manufacturing process of their products. It’s important to know that this company will be honest in their dealings and strive for quality in their products.
Especially if you’re looking to invest in a bow. You’re going to want to own and use it for many years to come. You want to make sure you’re purchasing from a company who has a reputation for high-quality products so that you can feel at ease when you’re making an investment in their bows.
Another factor I take into account is the company’s relationship with its customers.
I think that it’s really important that the company has a good relationship with their customers. It’s so off-putting when you have a problem, and people aren’t willing to help you with your problem or aren’t very understanding.
I don’t trust the person or company, I don’t want to buy their products again, and I definitely will not recommend them to my friends.
So if a company has a reputation for having positive and caring interactions with their customer, I’ll know that I can trust the company if I’m having problems with my purchase they’ll help me, and I’ll want to come back to them again.
An additional factor I think about, at least when I’m considering a purchase, is what purpose I’m using this for, and if I can afford it.
Since there are often two things that you generally use bows for, target shooting/archery, and bowhunting, it’s important to take that into consideration when you’re thinking about making a purchase.
Using a bow that was made for target practice rather than bowhunting is not an impossible thing to do, but it may not be suited to bowhunting as much as a bowhunting bow would be.
And of course, you have to think about the price of the products available as well. There are some bows that are only a couple hundred dollars, and some that are a couple of thousand dollars.
So maybe you want the coolest, world-famous bow, but if you can’t afford it, you’re going to have to settle for something else.
But there are still amazing companies out there that tailor their products to your exact needs, quality, price, usage of the bow, etc. There are lots of them too! Which is why I’m here to tell you what they are.
1. Hoyt Archery
Hoyt Archery started as far back as 1931, and they are one of the big boys in the archery world. Like, BIG.
When Hoyt Archery was established by Earl Hoyt Sr. in a tiny shop located in St. Louis, Missouri, archery wasn’t even in the picture for the company. In fact, the company’s specialty was knives.
However, the company has come a long way, and currently, the company is one of the world’s leading compound bow manufacturer and is known for its top-notch quality, innovation, and creativity when creating their bows.
“Get Serious. Get Hoyt.”
Hoyt Archery is not popular only to target archers, but the company’s products are also a hot item for hunters as well. Their hunting equipment is some of the best in the market, and the company does an excellent job catering to the needs of both archers and hunters alike.
Now located in Salt Lake City, Utah, Hoyt Archery is renowned for not only their amazing products but also for their bows coming out on the Olympic platform as well. Hoyt bows used by Olympians have won more gold medals than all bow manufacturers combined!
One of their most recently released products in the Carbon RX-3, which is said to be the best of the best bows that Hoyt has released. The Carbon RX-3 is part of the REDWRX lineup, which is a new lineup that Hoyt has developed.
REDWRX is a stamp that the bows receive after being extensively tested for speed and durability, and Hoyt will be testing and developing their bows in order to fit the standards of REDWRX.
The Carbon RX-3 is incredibly innovative because of its unique riser that has been created from over 50 layers of carbon to reduce vibration while still maintaining a lightweight body. The bow has also been developed to be especially stealthy and quiet upon firing.
Hoyt is known for its state-of-the-art technology and design, and while it is the cream of the crop, its bows can also be on the expensive side. The newly released Carbon RX-3 is $1,699, and most of the bows are in the thousands of dollars range.
Well, that’s what you get for world-renowned quality.
2. Bowtech Archery
Bowtech Archery is another one of the best archery manufacturers in the world, right alongside Hoyt. These two companies are often compared because of their reputation and fame for creating high quality, top of the market products.
Bowtech was established in 1999 by Kevin Strother and John Strasheim, and the company has been growing at astronomic rates since their first bow model was released in 2000.
The company’s pride is their consistent efforts to produce their products and parts all in America, and strive to have an honest relationship with their consumers about the quality and development of their products, focusing on customers first.
“Refuse to Follow”
Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, Bowtech Archery strives to create their products with passionate engineers and employees to help develop the most innovative and new technologies to continually better their products while maintaining integrity through their business and creation process.
One of Bowtech’s best bows is the RealmSR6, said by the company to be the fastest bow ever developed by Bowtech.
Bowtech is really famous for their specially crafted Binary Cam System, which made drawing bows much smoother while not sacrificing speed and comfort.
They also have a wonderful relationship with their customers, and guarantee satisfaction with each purchase. They even have a lifetime warranty on each of their products!
The RealmSR6 was developed using Bowtech’s revolutionary Binary Cam system, but this time using special Overdrive Binary Cam technology, the RealmSR6 is even more speedy and comfortable to shoot.
Because of its special technology, the smoothness and gentle-draw cycle of the RealmSR6 has made it one of Bowtech’s best bows yet.
Since Bowtech is also one of the most renowned archery companies in the world, it also has a more expensive price-tag attached to its products. The RealmSR6 is about $1,700, but there are also cheaper options available that are just as good!
If you still want to quality of a Bowtech bow, but a less expensive price tag, then check out this BowTech Diamond Prism Right Handed Bow. With it’s extreme adjustability and rotating modules, this bow is fully equipped with octane accessories!
Bowtech Archery bows have been used by archers worldwide, including archers in the Olympics, and is one of the ground-breakers in archery technology and innovation, while still maintaining a good relationship with their customers and staying honest!
3. Mathews Archery
Mathews Archery was established in 1992 by Matt McPherson, in Austin, Minnesota. McPherson grew up building his own bows from the age of ten, just because he couldn’t afford to buy one himself. He got the bug and started developing his own technologies for his bows.
Along with one other employee, McPherson established his at-the-time small business, and the rest is history. Now a world-class bow manufacturer, McPherson’s business is a leader in bow technologies and producing quality equipment without sacrificing time and care in the manufacturing process.
“Elevating the archery experience”
Mathews has had a hand in developing new technologies that have continually changed the game over and over again in the bow industry. One of the most famous technologies developed by McPherson himself is SingleCam technology, which allows compound bows to shoot with less noise and less recoil.
Now headquartered in Sparta, Wisconsin, Mathews is always continuing to improve their designs and technology for their bows, so you’re guaranteed to get state-of-the-art, up-to-date products from Mathews.
And despite this, Mathews strives to have a customer-first attitude all the time. Their company motto is “people first, business second,” and their purpose is to make the archery experience even more of a special one for their customers.
“People first, business second,”
The most newly released Mathews bow is the Vertix, which was launched this year as the newest bow model. With raving reviews, Mathews has managed to outdo themselves again, tweaking little pieces to perfect their bows.
The Vertix model is a bow for hunting and now comes with a new EngageGrip, which reduces bow torque and increases comfort for shooting.
In addition to the EngageGrip, the Vertix comes with a new Switch Weight technology, where instead of manually messing with the limbs themselves so as to switch weights, you can just screw and unscrew the weights for your optimal weight.
While the prices for Mathews bows are still on the higher side, they are significantly lower than Hoyt’s and Bowtech’s prices, so you can still get a high-end bow without breaking your bank!
Mathews is a personal favorite of mine because they really strive to improve all the time, put their customers first, and try to bring their best to the table. Mathews is guaranteed to not disappoint!
4. Bear Archery
Did you know that Bear Archery actually started as an advertising company? Yes! Bear Archery was established in 1933 by Fred Bear in Detroit as advertising support for automotive companies! (Except, at that time it wasn’t Bear Archery, it was Bear Products Company)
However, Fred Bear found out he was more interested in archery than the automobile industry and often made bows in his spare time in between work shifts. Eventually, the company started offering hand-made bows as part of their available goods.
Fred Bear was no stiff when it came to archery either. He had a natural talent for shooting that could not be ignored, and he won several target archery competitions, as well as showed a remarkable skill for bowhunting and sport shooting. He was a legend in and of itself.
“Walk Among Legends”
Gradually the company’s bow manufacturing branch grew bigger, and the company moved from hand-made bows to mass-production of bows made out of fiberglass rather than wood. The advertising portion of the company was sold, the company moved to Michigan and Bear Archery was born.
Now Bear Archery has come a long ways from their days of creating silk screens and being a source of advertisement for the automobile industry and has created a name for themselves in the archery equipment world. Now located in Gainesville, Florida, the company produces thousands of bows each year.
Originally Bear Archery specialized mostly in longbows and recurve bows, but they now are also well-known for their compound bows. Bear Archery also has a reputation for a selection of well-made youth bows, so this company is a great idea to check out if you’re looking for youth bows.
One of their best compound bows is the recently developed and released Kuma 30. The Kuma bow family, (Kuma means bear in Japanese), has been a collection of Bear Archer’s best bows for a while, and the Kuma 30 brings that same deadly efficiency and performance of the Kuma, except with a little less weight and a smaller model.
And while Bear Archery delivers the best in both technology and performance, not to mention diversity, buying one of their bows won’t break your bank or cause you to adopt a Mac n’ Cheese lifestyle either!
Adult bows on the high side can cost around as much as $900, but you can also find a nice bow for $200 or $300 as well! As for kids bows, you can find a good one for $20-30, and ones for older kids can range from $70-200! There is a wide range of prices offered at Bear Archery, so you can buy a bow within your budget without a sweat!
One of their best sellers, and my personal favorite, is their Legit RTH Realtree Edge. This bow is precision engineered and costs less than $300. You really can’t go wrong with this bow!
Bear Archery offers a rather wide selection of bows, recurve or compound, youth or adult, Bear Archery never ceases to have something with optimal performance and technology for every type of archer!
5. Elite Archery
Unlike most of these bow manufacturers, Elite Archery is still pretty new to the game, but they’ve made a steady impact on the industry, and in a few short years, has created a name and a reputation for their products and their business.
Elite Archery was established in 2005, originally in Walla Walla, Washington. Now located in Rochester, NY, the company is booming and it’s popularity continues to grow still.
The company prides itself on manufacturing and assembling all of its products in the United States, but they also pride themselves on producing and selling, “the World’s Most Shootable Bows.”
“Speed without compromise”
What makes these bows so shootable you ask? Well, they’ve designed their bows to have the lowest levels of hand shock and post-shot vibrations. Elite Archery has also designed the cams of their bows to have a really gentle release as well as being able to easily draw the bow.
Elite Archery also offers a lifetime warranty on all their bows they sell. In addition to this, they offer a bow trial for hunts, including all needed accessories like a sight, rest, and a peep already installed and the bow in the appropriate draw length and weight for you! As long as you send everything back to the company within the time limit, you have an Elite bow!
One of the most popular compound bows that Elite Archery has to offer is the 2018 Elite Ritual. This recently created model brings together both speed, comfort, and “shoot-ability” into this one model, and has created a loving fanbase of people who appreciate the “shoot-ability” of the Elite Ritual.
The main thing about the Elite Ritual is that the draw cycle for the bow is incredibly gentle on the archer, making the experience very comfortable, but also has an impressive speed of 335 ft per second, which is a really good compromise between the speed and the comfort of the bow!
Elite Archery also has a wider range of prices, ranging from around $400 on the lower end, and up to $1200 on the higher end of the price scale.
Although Elite Archery has just entered the archery industry not too long ago, they’ve come a long way, and it’s no wonder if you consider that they sell the “World’s Most Shootable Bows”!
6. PSE Archery
PSE Archery was founded in 1970, by Pete Shepley, who was an engineer who happened to also have a love for the sport of archery. First established in Illinois, now with its headquarters located in Arizona, PSE Archery is now the largest privately owned bow manufacturing company in the United States, and one of the largest bow manufacturers in the world!
PSE Archery is famous for creating high-speed, high-performance bows, and is one of the first companies to ever create compound bows. The company claims that Pete Shepley was one of the first to perfect the compound bow, and therefore is the company’s main specialty.
The company is also owner to over twenty different patents of bow technology and designs and therefore has been a leader in the development and manufacturing process of bows since the beginning of the company.
“Research and development are the most expensive stages of manufacturing, but we’re committed to it and to making the whole industry grow, not just our slice of the pie,”
– Pete Shepley, CEO and Founder of PSE Archery
One of the most famous bows created by PSE has been the PSE Throttle, which is ranked currently the fastest bow in production. The speed of the bow has been measured at 370 fps (feet per second)!
The PSE Stinger Max RTS has also been acclaimed as one of the best overall bows for beginners to use. This bow is light and has an easy draw with increased speed, and can be really easy to shoot for beginners. The cams are also adjustable, and the vibration absorption is great for optimal comfort.
PSE Archery not only has a long history of being in the bow manufacturing business, but it also promises superb quality bows as well as top-notch shooting speed.
7. Prime Archery (G5 Outdoors)
Prime Archery is an archery company created by the company G5 Outdoors. G5 Outdoors is a private family-owned company that started under Louis “Leo” Grace Senior, with the name of Grace Engineering, located in Memphis, Michigan.
The company was originally not even in the bow manufacturing business. It didn’t officially start until Louis (Lou) Grace Jr. took over Grace Engineering in the 1980s. The company decided to create a broadhead for the archery industry, the Montec broadhead, which remains a popular product sold by G5 Outdoors even today, and the company became known as G5 Outdoors.
From there the company started delving deeper and deeper into the world of archery equipment and bow construction, and their reputation as a manufacturer grew. In 2009, they released both Quest Bowhunting and Prime Archery, and their line boomed.
“Designed to Hunt”
Now owned for three generations, G5 Outdoors strives to produce the best kind of experience for bowhunters through their archery lines, and pride themselves on quality, tried and tested performance, and valuing family at the center of their company.
Prime Archery has recently come out with a new lineup of bows, one of them being the Prime Logic CT3. The main thing that makes this new lineup of bows stand out from the rest is the Parallel Cam system, a signature feature of Prime’s bows. This special technology prevents the leaning of cams and provides for a sturdier aim and shot.
Prime Archery provides ideal equipment for the bowhunter and creates an all-around pleasant experience with each shot.
8. Quest Bowhunting (G5 Outdoors)
Quest Bowhunting is another archery company under the company G5 Outdoors back in 2009. But what’s the difference between the two lines?
You’ll notice that especially if you look at the prices for the two companies, that Prime Archery has a lot more expensive equipment than Quest Bowhunting does. You can get a decent Quest Bowhunting bow for $300-$500, and normally Prime Archery bows are set for much higher, maybe $700-$1000 per bow.
So the main difference is that the Prime Archery bows are just the higher end bows, and Quest Bowhunting is considered a solid middle in the quality and price scale.
But Quest bows are nothing to sniff at! They are super solid, super easy and comfortable to shoot, and they are a great balance between value and quality!
A great bow from Quest Bowhunting is the Quest Centec NXT Compound Bow. Released in 2019, because this bow was a combination of both value and quality, it quickly became a best seller on the market. The bow riser itself is made of 82X aluminum, which is currently the strongest and lightest material available for bows to be made of.
This bow is great for bowhunting, and is a great balance of speed as well as shootability, while still being a reasonable price range.
Quest bows are a great balance of the archer that doesn’t have all the money in the world to spend on his bow but still wants a high-quality product.
9. Diamond Archery (Bowtech)
Diamond Archery is a child company of the company Bowtech, which we talked about in the beginning of the article. If you remember, Bowtech was a rather expensive option, although one of the biggest and most famous archery companies.
Diamond Archery, however, similar to how Quest Bowhunting was to Prime Archery, is a cheaper version of Bowtech, while still bringing the amount of quality needed to the table through their products. Most of their products are in the lower hundreds, ranging from $200-$500 generally.
Probably one of their best selling bows has been the Infinite Edge, but recently, its been updated and all improved to the Infinite Edge Pro, which is said to have fixed all the flaws that the Infinite Edge had.
The Infinite Edge Pro has a longer draw length, so that more archers are able to shoot it. The cam system has also been completely re-designed to be much smoother, along with the addition of a stabilizer to make shooting the Infinite Edge Pro much more comfortable than before.
Diamond Archery provides you with a variety of different options for you to choose from, at a price that is affordable while still maintaining quality and performance that’s guaranteed to satisfy.
And while there are still a lot of different archery companies still remaining, these are the 9 best! Hopefully, this provided a little more insight into each of the companies and their backgrounds, and some information on what kind of services they provide!
Happy Shooting!
