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review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

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Old 08-31-2004, 08:07 PM
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Default review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

I originally wrote this on August 02 of this year and posted it on the other forum I visit. I am going to post it here now incase anyone is interested. The recent post about the "Missing my Mighty Might" got me to thinking I should post it over here. I have a few updates I will add at the end. Oh, go get something to drink if you want, this isn't one of my shorter posts! (do I have any?)



Well, it's time. I have had my new Bowtech Mighty Might for a little while now and am ready to give my impressions of it. I will start by giving the specs and statistics of the bow.

According to the manual it is a 30 1/2 inch axle to axle bow, with a 7 3/4 inch brace height with the Infinity cam system. It has a modular type draw length adjustment that can be had in 1/2 inch increments from 25 to 30 inches. This cam also has an adjustable draw stop that can be used to make minor adjustments to your draw length. Along with being able to adjust the let off, and valley. However if you move the stop it effects everything, so it takes a bit of playing with the modules to get it just right. If you change your draw length slightly, it effects the let off and valley. It has an advertised IBO speed of 314 to 322 fps. Suggested retail is $619.

My bow is a 2004 model with 26 and 1/4 inches of draw length, and 60 lbs of draw weight (limbs are bottomed out). We tweaked the cam a little so I have a slight valley at full draw. I actually have a 25.5 inch module on it, with the post on the cam set a tad bit long. My axle to axle is a bit off at a hair under 31 inches, and my brace height is 7 1/2 inches measured from the front of the mounting hole for the rest ( the back one). If you measure it exactly from the inner most part of the grip throat it is almost 8 inches. At any rate, both measurements are pretty close to the spec of 7 3/4 inches. The limbs are roughly 13 to 13 1/2 inches long and the risor is 22 inches with around 2 inches of reflex, maybe closer to 1 3/4 inches. Over all length of the bow is 34 1/2 inches. The bow was fairly light before I started adding crap to it. I have no accurate way of weighing it, but I would guess it's between 5 and 6 lbs the way it sits right now. Keep in mind, my stabilizer set up weighs about a pound by it's self.

My set up consists of a cheap archers choice 3 pin sight, a stabilizer system that is made up of a simms enhancer 2000 with a Super Fat Carbon Impact 7 1/2 inch gel filled stabilizer screwed into it, with a limb saver to top it off. This is attached with a quick disconnect with a 10 degree offset. On top of the hush kit that came with the bow I have some of the new limbs savers, and my trademark yarn puff balls. I also have the PSE NV system made by Simms installed under the limb bolts. With one of those peeps that looks like a burnt cheereo. I am using a Drop Zone rest and 1816 easton jazz arrows cut to 23 1/2 inches. They have 4 inch feathers with a light helical and weigh around 314 grns with a 80 grn target point in them. Technically they are underspined, but they paper tuned perfect and fly really good out to at least 60 yards (farthest I have shot them so far).

My impressions of the bow so far? Well, the fit and finish are excellent. I looked the whole bow over and could not find one flaw in the machining or cammo dip. And I love the laminated wood grips. I like the adjustablility of the cam, even though it didn't work the way I thought it did and I almost messed up the string. You can't just adjust the draw willy nilly with out knowing what you are doing. When these bows come to full draw the buss cable comes very close to the axle, if not touching it. If you go a bit far on the stop adjustment it will over draw and keep hitting the axle wearing it out very quickly. Like most men, I played with the adjustment and then read the manual. Oops. No harm though, I caught it in time. And like I said, I like the grip, it is narrow like the hoyt grips. It fit's my little hands really well.

After shooting a CPS system for the past 4 years, this cam seems a bit aggressive in it's draw cycle. I guess it should with a 322 IBO rating. Also the way I have the cam set up with the slight valley it probably has a bit more let off than normal. When this cam rolls over and drops, it REALLY drops! It's not that noticeable at lower poundages when it draws easy. It feels pretty smooth then. However when you turn the poundage up a bit to where you have to tug on it, hitting the wall can be a bit of a surprise. It's not really that bad however, I'm just not used to a pure single cam. I actually kind of like it. I would compare it to a Parker UL31 draw cycle.

Bone stock this bow had some hand shock, recoil and a fair amount of vibration. It had the hush kit installed from the factory. It works ok, and the bow was reasonably quiet. It had a bit of a "thud" sound to it and the string made a bit of noise. Nothing you couldn't hunt with however. And the bottom limb kicks out when you shoot it. I have noticed this with other single cam systems as well. My darton also does it a slight bit when completely bare. This is deffinately not a Mathews or high end Hoyt. I shot a MQ32 and SQ2, they were completely dead in my hand on the shot. Then again they won't propel a 406 grn arrow at 211 fps with 53 lbs of draw weight and 26 inches of draw either. Trade offs, trade offs, every bow has them. I have however shot bows that were worse, and slower. Actually I shot a mathews that was worse a few years ago. That speed bow they had, the ultra 2 or something like that? It was pretty fast, but had a lot of recoil compared to other mathews bows. This bow is much better than my Darton Yukon is with nothing on it. And it's leaps and bounds better than my older martin cheeta dual cam.

This bow responded very well to the simms line up and normal string silencers. I added the puff balls right off the bat and it quieted down a bit, still had that thud noise however. I installed some of the new limb savers and it went a way. Not to mention some vibration and recoil as well. It still had that kick out at the bottom. I left the vibra blocks on, I put the limb savers right at the edge of the cut out in the limbs for the cam and idler wheel. Then moved the vibra blocks half way between the limb savers and the limb pockets. After this I decided to scavenge the NV system I had on my Darton Yukon just to see if it would make a difference. On my darton the limb savers and stabilizer made my bow into a completely different bow. The NV system did very little on the darton. I thought I sort of wasted my money on them. On this bow they made quite a difference, well worth the money now. I'm glad I had them around to try. There is almost no shock or recoil now, and the bottom limb does not kick out any more. On this bow the stabilizer system does very little. I could easily do with out it, or just use the simms enhancer 2000 by it's self. Every shop I have been to with this bow comments on how quiet it is, even with the light arrows I am using. My darton was pretty quiet as well though.

Ok, it is a Bowtech after all, I know everyone wants to know. Is it fast!? Well that all depends on what you consider fast. When I first got the bow I shot it with nothing but a brass knock, an eliminator button and the factory hush kit. At 60 lbs and 25 inches of draw it shot around 230 fps with a 397 grn arrow. This was not an arrow spined for this bow either. It was an ungodly long over spined carbon arrow with no fletchings on it. I took the bow home and fiddled with it for a few days. I then took it back to have the cam adjusted to my liking and have the tune re-checked since I had put a few hundred shots on it by then. By now I had put the limb savers, NV system, and puff balls on it. Still now peep sight however, I was still playing with the No Peep at the time. At 53 lbs and 26 inches of draw length it shot a 406 grn arrow at 211 fps. Again not the proper arrow for this bow, just one they have there to test bows with. They have a rack of varying weight arrows for you to try with what ever bow you are looking at. When the chrono displayed 211 fps the salesman said "Wow!". I said, "Yeah, sort of depressing, isn't it.". He said for that set up he thought it was pretty impressive. I did the math taking into consideration for arrow weight, draw length and weight. I'll be damned if it didn't come out to 322 fps! That's the higher end of what this bow is rated at. I just took it to another shop today and Chronoed it with the lighter arrows. It's now at 60 lbs, 26 inches and has a peep sight installed. I shot three arrows, two weigh 313 grns, one weighs 315 grns, the readings were 259, 259, and 260.

I know to some of you, that doesn't sound impressive, but to me it is. What that tells me is this bow is very efficient, even at lower draw lengths and poundages. I would have no problem suggesting this bow to a smaller archer looking to gain a little uumph. It's hard enough to find a bow that will come close to what it is rated at, let alone one that will do it at less than optimal conditions. Also keep in mind my arrows are underspined aluminum arrows and the cam is not set up at it's most efficient setting. If you had a stock set up with the proper carbon arrows and no peep sight I think you could do a bit better than that.

I was worried because this bow was so small it would be a bit challenging to shoot well. So far that is not the case. It shoots just as accurately if not a bit better than my other bow. I think some of it has to do with the better grip. As far as handling and the such, I really don't notice much of a difference compared to my Darton. Most of the difference is in the speed and draw cycle. And the Bowtech looks better, my darton was a bit ugly.

Over all I am very impressed with this bow. like I said above, I would have no trouble recommending it to someone. And I don't know what they use for strings on this bow, but they have not stretched at all since I have got it. I thought they would settle a little bit after a while, but so far nothing. The serving is separating where the cam rolls over, but I think this is pretty common on most bows. My darton does the same thing.

There is one thing that is odd about this bow. If you get one, be very careful adjusting the limbs. You can only turn them out 2 1/2 turns, that's about half what most other bows are.

If you have any questions or comments I didn't cover, feel free to express them.


UPDATE:


Ok, as it currently stands my set up is a little different now. I have decided to hunt with this bow now. I was debating not hunting archery season this year, but think I am going to go a head and do it, especially if I am still laid off. I have deer sleeping in my freakin back yard at 10 at night for crying out loud! So now the bow has the No Peep back on it. After fiddling with it for a while taking it off and putting it back on a few times I have decided I like it. It just takes some getting used to is all. I have it mounted on a site extension with my three pin sights about 4 or 5 inches away from my riser. It's actually the mount for my old hindsite extreme. I knew that thing would come in handy for something.

And I am not shooting the underspined light Jazz arrows any more. I have switched to 23.5 inch 2016's with feathers and a 100 grn point. They weigh around 390 grns, I don't have a clue how fast they are. I would guess 240-245 off the top of my head. I don't really care to be honest, they are fast enough. I am either going to shoot some 100 grn Nail Driver mechanicals I have laying around, or go get some of the Cabela's brand heads that look like the ultimate steel heads I used last year. 20 bucks for six heads, and they look pretty darn good! 100 grn heads with pathfinder tips and bacon skinner blades.

And after having it a bit longer all I can say is the string on this thing rocks! I don't know how many shots I have thru the bow now, but it's alot, I shoot every day pretty much. The string has not moved at all since the day I got it. And I am getting used to the draw cycle now. This bow just keeps getting more accurate for me! I was bare shaft tuning it the other day and robin hooded a fletched arrow into one of the bareshaft arrows (30 yards). I suppose they group well enough then, I stopped tinkering with it.

I would still highly recommend this bow to anyone, especially someone little like me. If your looking for a bow that packs a punch with a weak set up, this is the one. And if your not looking for the speed, the Justice is the same bow with a better drawing cam! I bet that sucker is sweet. I didn't shoot one, I don't think they had one when I looked at mine. Or it was considerably more expensive, this one was a bit more than what I budgeted for. Oh, I never said what I paid for it either, it was $569 bare before tax I think. Don't tell me I could have gotten cheaper at Pine Grove Kelly. It's too late and I don't want to hear about it. I purposely didn't ask or look when I was there before.

Do your eyes hurt yet? I might add some pics later as well.

Paul
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Old 09-01-2004, 10:47 AM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

Nice review Paul I've got the Justice and I really can't say enough about how I like it I've shot the MM also and you can feel the extra energy at the shot compared to the Justice. Good luck hunting the back yard!!!!
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Old 09-01-2004, 12:27 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

Paul,

That was one heck of a nice little review of the bow. I had planned on putting something up for my MM VFT after hunting started but see that you have accurately related my experiences and impressions of the bow as well. I did not feel that mine was as jumpy or had much vibration initially but other than that I have to agree with what you posted.

Very nicely done. Now all you need to compliment the review is a full color pic of your setup.
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Old 09-01-2004, 01:02 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

Nicely done Paul. Glad to hear you may turn it loose on the wildlife this year.
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Old 12-19-2004, 07:09 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

I dont' know how far down this was buried, but I just happend to find it...and wow, thanks for that review.

As I've posted recently, I'm trying upgrade to a new bow, and like you, I have a short draw length. I will definitely be on the lookout for this bow (older model however, so I can afford it!)

Do you have some pics you can share with us? I'd be interested to see em, esp if you have any profile shots of you at full draw so I can see how you anchor.
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Old 12-19-2004, 07:41 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

It is a really nice bow, I like it. If you are looking to save some money I would highly suggest the hoyt ultrasport. That is the bow I almost bought before I tried this one. Not as fast as the mighty might, or as short, but man was it nice. And it was only 350 bucks vrs almost 600 like the mighty might.

What is it you don't like about the bow you have now? From the pics it doesn't look that bad, or do you just want something a little nicer?

I just got a digital camera recently, so maybe I will try and get some pics up of it. I'm sort of camera shy so I don't know if I will be in them or not. And Lord forbid, don't go by my pics to model your form on! You know the old saying, do as I say, not as I do.

I'll see what I can do this week, I will have to get my GF to take some pics for me. I want some of her as well since I am in the process of teaching her to shoot right now.

Thanks for nice comments.

Paul
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Old 12-19-2004, 08:42 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

I was told by buckeyebuckhtr that I could find some nice used bows around the $300 mark. I've been looking into it and I think he's right. Nothing against a hoyt, but I've always wanted a Bowtech after all I've read about them.

I'm shooting a PSE Nova that is about 3.5 years old. I just want a faster, quieter, heavier draw bow, though there is nothing wrong with mine. I'm holding out for a 70# 26" DL

Show us some pics!!
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Old 12-20-2004, 02:00 AM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

David

Here is a couple pics of me shooting my 04 MightyMite VFT same as Paul's
from this past summer. Hope this is what you were looking for.



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Old 12-20-2004, 12:43 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

<melts> Buckeye, I love the look of that bow! I can now easily see how I'm supposed to grip the bow as I shoot, looks to me like you have great form.

That is definitely the bow I want to purchase next.

That is some very lush foliage you have in the background, is this in Ohio??
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Old 12-20-2004, 12:46 PM
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Default RE: review of bowtech Mighty Mite VFT

Yes, this is Ohio in the pic. Although it was taken back in JUNE. LOL It is 9 degrees here right now. Now thats COLD!!!
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