Straightarrow

I would suggest taking an actual measurement of drawlength on your Hornet, if you haven' t. Diamonds are notorious for being longer than stated (usually a full inch). The draw cycle on the Merlin is very nice. It definitely feels like you' re pulling less than an equal draw-weight Diamond. How much less, I really couldn' t say.

As far as noise, I' ve always thought Diamonds were on the very low end - until I heard a Merlin with the new omega cam. It' s my friends bow and he has this Hunter' s Quest 35 set up for being quiet. He got the full aray of Sims products on it, no rubber peep cord, and nothing on the strinp except a stringloop. He has a 7" Doinker on it. In this configuration, it' s the quietest bow I' ve ever heard, and I' ve heard them all. I should mention he put a custom string on it, and that made a noticable difference in noise level.

By no means is it a speed bow, but it' s no slouch either. The 31" Hunters Quest is faster if you want the speed and it' s very similar in length to your Hornet.

Rangeball

Thanks. If I get one, It would probably be the 35, as the 31 is only 7 fps faster and the pro-fusion limbs aren' t available on them...

All I know about my draw length on the Hornet is it has the 28" module, the cam is timed and the fit feels perfect. I' ll measure it the next time I get a chance. Maybe I' ll be pleasantly suprised

Rangeball

I just checked my draw length.

AMO is distance from string at full draw to narrowest point of the grip plus 1.75" , right?

If so, my 28" draw is 28.75" ... Hmmmmm

Black Frog

Range- if you do decide on a Merlin of any kind, be very sure of your AMO drawlength. They ship their bows VERY close to your ordered length, if not right dead-on. I have not seen any fudging of draw lengths with Merlin, and the three Merlins I' ve had all were beautiful to pull them out of the box, draw them back, and have them be just what I ordered.

Whatcha order is whatcha get.

Also, be sure to give PW12 a note to order your bow...... He' s the best!

Straightarrow

Don' t quote me on this, but I' ve heard that Merlin is going to the Pro-fusion limbs on all their bows. I think glass limbs will no longer be an option.

Black Frog

SA-

Really?

I' m kinda surprised if Merlin does do away with their glass limbs. It is an affordable option for those who don' t have quite the budget, but still want to shoot the best. I would think that eliminating glass limbs would take away from some of their potential U.S. bowhunter market. I' m sure PW12 will give us some clarification when he gets back from his vacation.

Target shooters who like the top-line stuff (Sag, you listening?.. along with myself) will usually buy the best there is to offer, even if it is a little more cash, so Merlin will always have that market.

Straightarrow

Yeh, that' s what I' ve heard. In my opinion the price on the pro-fusion limbs still keeps the bow priced in-line with other top-end bows. Arguably, the most critical component on any bow is the limbs. With Merlin, you will now have one of the best, if not the best, critical component on the market.

It is my guess that the price on these limbs will come down when Merlin is producing many more of them. This should happen when all their bows have them, as well as other companies that will buy them to put on their bows.

Rangeball

Straight Arrow, what' s the time table for the pro-fusion only limb option? ' 04, perhaps? If they were available on the HQ31, I' d go that route. As a bowhunter, I love these little compact packages of dynamite

BF, Pinwheel is the only person I' d considering ordering one from if It comes to that. This close to ' 04, I' ll definitely wait and see what they have to offer before making any decisions. Besides, the hornet' s all tuned up and ready to go, plus it' s paid for

Is the way I described AMO draw length measuring correct?

Black Frog

Yup, you got it.

Straightarrow

I don' t know. A friend of mine tried to order a Merlin and was told by the shop, that he could only get it with the pro-fusion limbs. For all I know, he was placing an order for an ' 04, or was asking about ' 04s. I would guess you could still get glass limbs on the ' 03s if they' re still in stock. I think my friend was told the ' 04s would come out sometime in November.