Wiaxle

Ever since I saw the ad for the Deadzone in a D&DH mag last fall I have wanted to see this bow in person. Even with the limited information on it, I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this bow. Well, I swung by the local bow shop today and they had finally gotten one in, 29" 70lbs of pure bow beauty (so I happen to like the way it looks)

First off, I probably should have had the shop owner crank it down for a little bit, 3 feet of snow in the backyard is not conducive for keeping my muscles in shape, bad me. But I managed to get it back with little problem, the sucker pulls hard all the way through the draw cycle, has a pretty small valley, it wants to go, like right NOW.

I couldn't find a comfortable grip on the handle, the wood handle just wouldn't sit right in my hand. The wood grip also felt 'loose' for lack of a better word, like the single screw holdling it in place wasn't sufficient to anchor it down on the outer edges.

The shot was fairly dead, not a lot of shock but even with no sight on the bow (just a rest, otherwise a bar bow) I found it hard to aim, the other bows I have shot after the 2nd or 3rd shot I can figure out where the arrow is going to go.

Now, in defense of the bow, the draw length was probably an inch to an inch and a half to long for me (with a loop already installed) I also had issues with the trophy taker rest that was on the bow, the arrow popped off a couple times, probably because the weight was to high for me, torquing the string, but letting the bow down a few times in a row resulted in a slight twinge in my neck/shoulder that right now is starting to ache a bit, should feel really good in the morning

On a plus side, the arrows did zip out of there pretty good, good penetration on the target and one of the guys on the range said it sounded quiet.

However even after having the guy at the shop take the weight down to about 63 pounds the bow still pulled hard. I shot a 70 pound Marquis and 82nd and neither of those bows pulled as hard. Then I shot a 60 pound General, the only thing I am concerned about is the speed out of the General otherwise I think this would be a no brainer (ya I know for a pure tree stand bow this is probably the way to go but getting caught up in the numbers is a fun distraction)

I am really leaning towards either the general or 82nd right now. Both of those bows grouped nice, drew nice, and the fit and finish on both seem to be a bit more refined than the Deadzone.

So, I am sure the Deadzone is gonna be a wonderful fit for someone, initial impressions tell me that it is probably not for me......

npockat32

Thanks for the review.

I was in Appleton this weekend at Scheels Sports and was going to shoot it but the store was so packed I never got around to it. I held it and in my hand and the grip didn't feel right to me.

On the other hand I shot The General last week. WOW that bow was so quite. Only thing you could hear was the arrow hit the target.

Antler Eater

Interesting. I shot one a couple of weeks ago and came away with a whole different experience than you described. I am not wild about how it looks however. Just goes to show, different strokes for different folks.

The one I shot was 70lb/29" and I felt it drew easy, held well, and had very little vibration or shock. I shot it side by side with the X-Force, and the Airbornes 82 & 101. Of course shooting next to these bows it seemed slow.

I thought Limbsaver has done a decent job for its first time offering. While it wouldn't be my first choice in a bow I think a guy could do a lot worse...

huntbigb

I shot one, and loved it. But of course bows are all about preference. The one I shot was also tricked out, but I thought it was smooth, silent, and had an amazing draw cycle for a dual cam bow...

DR KILL

i had a chance to shoot the deadzone after waiting a long tim i finaly got to shoot it at the hunting show, so here is my review,
the look of the bow is not to apealing
the bow feels like a brick in your hand the grip is not good at all,
i found it hard to draw ,
i was impressed by the shot it was smooth and hardly no hand shock,

The biggest mistake they made was having that bow for you to test shoot sid by side with the new mathews DXT
looks alone mathews took it hands down,
the dxt was much lighter, better grip, 20 times smoother draw
and WOW what can i say about the handshock but i felt none,
i drew the bow back closed my eyes and almost did not feel the bow go off when i hit the release,

I know this was not a mathews vrs limbsaver comp, but if it was limbsaver is a few years away from the quality mathews brings in the dxt

just my O
dr kill

Wiaxle

Further thoughts on the Deadzone.

I think some of my negative feelings on the bow might be due to the fact, out of all the bows I have shot this winter, this is the first one that actually caused some physical pain for me.

For whatever reason the arrow feel off the drop away rest a couple times at mid draw (this happened several times), and letting the bow back down, cranked on my shoulder in a negative way, still sore 3 days later. I have shot multiple bows at 70 lbs with no problems, but for whatever reason this bow was a problem for me.

Just another 2 cents.

Buddy of mine came out to the shop to take a look at the bow today, and he loved the way the bow pulled. Couldn't shoot it, but he liked the way it drew.