Rangeball

How similar is the Merlin Omega Cam to the Darton CPS? Is Merlin licensing from Darton?

Could you please compare and contrast their similarities and differences?

I just received a merlin catalouge from you... My oh my, that Hunter' s Quest 31 is a pretty sweet looking little bow...

One more thing, can you tell me what kind of foam Merlin is using in their targets?

Thanks...

Rangeball

bump

Black Frog

Range-

Not speaking for PW12, but here' s my comparison thus far.

I always had Dartons w/ CPS cams for my hunting bows while using Merlins for target. It was time that I started looking for a new hunting bow with around 35" a-to-a, over 7.5" brace, and then I found out that the newer Merlin Quest 35 was coming out with new grip design and the Omega cam. Looked like a winner to me so I ordered it.

I LOVE Merlin design of riser, captive limb pockets, and pocket locks on previous Merlins, and the Quest 35 was no exception. I believe the only difference between the Quest 35 and Quest 31 is the limb length, and the risers are the same. PW12 can verify for sure.

Very smooth draw, similar to CPS cams but slightly different draw curve, maybe a slightly more pronounced drop into the wall. Rock solid back wall like the CPS cam. With the Omegas you can change draw modules without a bow press. Timing marks on the Omegas are set for the module you have on the bow, as opposed to the CPS cams where you set the timing marks to a particular module peg position and THEN change the draw adjustment to the desired draw length. On the CPS, you may have to " pencil in" new timing marks for your draw length at that position. The CPS' s allow for a wide range of draw lengths on one module, where the Omegas change draw length per modules.

The Quest grip is nice and thin with the wood sideplates, much thinnner than the Darton rubber grips. Personal preference on which style you like, but I prefer thin.

Out of the box the Quest 35 was quiter and less shock than my Darton Mav, but in fairness you' d have to look at brace height comparisons and speed, so it' s not an apples-to-apples comparison. I have not toyed with the newer CPS Extreme version so keep that in mind as well.

Really enjoying the Quest35.....

Rangeball

Thanks Black Frog, your opinion is highly valued. Just wish you' d through it around a little bit more...

I don' t think the pro-fusion limbs are offered on the M31. Do you have them? I wonder if the stated IBO fps are M35 w/pro-fusion and the M31 without, as the M31 is actually a tad faster. Do you think these limbs make that much of a difference on a hunting bow?

How do you have your M35 set up? What kind of performance are you getting? Got any pics of your bow ?

Black Frog

Range-

I did snap some digital pics before I had all the goodies put on, I' ll see if I can remember to bring them in for you.

I decided to try a trophy-taker rest on this bow, I got an incredible buy on one still in the box that someone had sitting around, so I couldn' t pass it up. Previously I had been using Bodoodle Pro500' s on my hunting bows which were great. I' m impressed with the ruggedness and simplicity of the TT and look forward to using this year in the woods.

My one teeny-weeny nitpick comment on the riser of the Merlins 35' s and 31' s is that there isn' t two arrow rest mount holes. I' m sure it' s total overkill, but I do like to double-bolt my arrow rests on the riser. I emailed Ben & Chris at Merlin about this and they said they would keep it in mind for upcoming bows. The camo on the Quests is not like " American" camo, more lighter-brownish colored pattern as opposed to the darker/green/grey mix you see in a lot of the Mossy-Oak-type stuff. I' ll see if I can remember the pics....

I have a fairly short draw, around 27.25" so my speeds (even with my Mav) have never been blistering fast. But that' s not what I look for in hunting bows. I' d rather be using heavier arrows, accurate, smooth, quiet, and shock-free at 240fps as opposed to going faster just for the sake of speed and giving up something else. When I first got the bow I put some lighter arrows through my chrono (don' t remember the numbers offhand) and remember thinking that the listed speeds would be about right. A-to-A was exactly at 35" and brace for my draw was 7.75" . I ordered the bow from 60-70#' s at 27.5" and then also bought the next smaller module to go to 27" draw. Currently I' m shooting it for hunting season at around 64#' s. The great thing about Merlin' s captive limb pockets is that no matter where you adjust the poundage to, the limbs are still captured in the pockets the same way. Unlike Darton, Mathews, Martin, etc, where if you loosen the limb bolts you potentially add some slop to the system. I never liked the idea of shooting a bow with the limb bolts backed out quite a bit. But with the Merlin pockets, I don' t have to worry about that. I ordered a 70# bow, backed off the captive limb pockets a bit to the mid-60 range. I get the same performance as having tight limb bolts and yet add a bit more brace height to my setup.

I do have the carbon ProFusion limbs on my bow. Do I think they make much difference in a hunting bow? Hmmmmm.... I had their glass limbs on my first Max2000 which performed great and I had no complaints. I think within reasonable hunting ranges that most of us would be just fine with any of the lower-end bows on the market and kill any deer just as dead as with a high-end dollar bow. Having said that, I do like the finer things when buying archery equipment, but I don' t necessarily think they are required to put an arrow through the boiler room at 20yds. But I' ll still elect to buy them....

Sagittarius

Rangeball,

Yes, Black Frog knows what he' s talking about.
I value his opinion greatly also!
Get the Pro Fusion Carbon limbs and go with the Quest 35.
The Pro Fusion limbs are awesome!
One of the greatest limbs, if not the greatest, of all time!
I have them on my Max 2000 and Super Nova.
They are superb performers.
Fast, quiet, and top notch construction.



Sag.

Rangeball

Black Frog, looking forward to the pics

Sag, wow, that' s saying something, considering all the " Best Limb on the Planet" discussions we had in past years prior to the release of the pro-fusion.

I' m not really actively shopping for a bow, as my hornet shoots great, but I' m keeping my eyes open. If I go to the HQ35 with omega cam and pro-fusion, I' ll actually be losing 20 fps over my current bow, which I see as a step backwards. I' ve semi-promised my self that I wouldn' t get a new bow until one was available in a shorter ata/7" + brace that would fling a 500 grain arrow 270 at my 28" draw, at 70# max. My bow does 252 with the 500 grain arrow now, but I want a like a flatter trajectory. 270 is about ideal, as with a 500 grain arrow that would give me the best combination of flat trajectory and whopping momentum/ke, enough to bow hunt anything on the planet.

I' m having no problems with the force draw curve of my Hornet at 70#s, so while ultra smooth would be nice, it isn' t a requirement... Yet

CJ archer

Black Frog, I just bought a lite storm 2 and it has two arrow rest mount holes. Thats wierd that all their bows don' t have them.

Rangeball, I can' t comment on the Darton, but I' ve found the Merlin Omega cam to be a very smooth draw with a solid wall.

Black Frog

My other Merlins (Supernova and Max) have two mount holes as well. I can' t think of a good reason for not having two on the Quest. ??

BUT, If that is my only nitpick, life is good!

As promised, here' s some pics of the Quest35:

Left side of bottom Omega cam:


Right side of bottom Omega cam:


Top Omega cam:



Handle:


Fullview:

Rangeball

Holy &*$% that' s one sweet looking bow...

I may have to rethink my position in the I need a new bow area...

Thanks BF, very much appreciated.