Mathew's Outback

[Trophy Specialist]

I just got a new Mathew's Outback. The bow measures just 32" and the limbs are nearly horizontal. Set it up with a Mathew's drop away rest and built up some new Game Tracker Carbon Express arrows (6075s, 26", 100 gr. points). With a tip, the arrows weigh exactly one ounce. Set at 70 lbs. with a 28" draw and a string loop the bow shot 259-263 fps. It took me just three shots to paper tune the setup. I installed a new Hindsight and that took me about 30 shots to zero in. The Hindsight eliminates the need for a peep with a rear, cross hair aperture. After sighting it in at 10 yards, I moved back to 20 and shot a couple rounds before calling it quits yesterday. I took the bow out again today and shot 30 arrows at ranges from 15 to 30 yards. The bow is very accurate, quite and has little recoil. In fact is is so quiet that it will not require string silencers. I was able to shoot 3" groups at 20 yards and never missed the mark by more that a couple inches, which is pretty good considering I haven't shot since fall. The Hindsight seems like the ultimate bow sight. I'll have to test it during low light and out of a treestand, but it felt good to shoot and is well built. The Mathew's rest is well built, however the instructions left a little to be desired. The rest can be used as a conventional upright rest or as a drop away. I set up to drop away, which took me about two hours to install due to the conversion of the rest and attaching the rope to the cable. I had to build an arrow slide on the shelf of the bow by gluing two pieces of tubing to the shelf to create a cradle for the arrow and then covering it with stick-on felt. I also used felt to cover the overdraw guard and the riser up from the shelf. Felt was also used to cover the prongs and two allen bolts that stick up from the base of the rest. I could draw the arrow with no noticeable noise with this setup. I also got a two piece Mathew's quiver. It is adjsutable for differing diameter arrows and very well built. It has intigril harmonic dampeners, so it is quiet.

[Ken]

Looks like an awesome bow, but I don't think I can give up my Legacy just yet. But that will probably change when I go to the shop and get one in my hands. Mathews just has to keep bringing out newer and better, don't they?

[Trushot_Archer]

While I've looked at numerous Mathews bows and haven't found one that really fit me like a glove and felt "right"...the Outabck is the closest yet. I liked nearly everything about the one I shot. I wish is was just a bit longer ATA though.

Let us know how that hindsight works out. I've balked at one of those type of sighting systems as it seems like it would take up a lot of the sight picture especially in low light...just me worrying maybe

[Trophy Specialist]

The biggest advantage the the new Outback (and other 2004 models) has over past models is silence. They have the roller cable guard that is silent during the draw. They also have the string supressors that eliminate the need for string silincers. It's the quietest bow (out of the box) that I've ever shot.

[Swamp Monster]

Those outbacks are nice. Pretty stable for a short bow. The roller cable guide and limb mounted sring supressors are not new to the 04 line up though. They both have been available on most Mathews models for a couple of years now. I'm still not convinced that drilling a hole through the limb is a good thing, but I haven't heard of any failures to back up my fears. Thats why I'm in the food business and not an engineer I guess!

[LReed]

TS,
It sounds like a very sweet setup. Best of luck with it!!! I would definitely be interested to hear back in few weeks as to how you like the hind sight. I'm currently shooting a Mathews MQ-32 and am going to change to a drop away rest as well as considering the hind sight. I thought about it last year but the jury seemed to still be out as to whether or not I should change or not.

[thenuge15]

I just got my new outback and I love it!!! I don't know why you don't put string silencers on it, it can only make it quieter. I have a catwiskers on it and I will be adding a stabiler and limbsavers to make it even more quiet. Go to a proshop and shoot this bow! But beware you will probably buy it!

[Trophy Specialist]

Originally Posted by thenuge15

I don't know why you don't put string silencers on it, it can only make it quieter.

The bow is so quiet that I don't think it needs string silencers and they tend to slow the arrow speed down. I may try them though and measure the speed again. The bow is very balanced now, but I have not shot it with arrows in the quiver yet, so it might need a stabilizer then. I need to buy another wrist sling. I tested the bow without one. When I loosen up my grip a little with the sling, I may notice a differnet balance situtation.

The Hindsight is very well built with easy, large wingnut style adjustments without the need of any tools. I've used an Eradicator sight for deer hunting for the past five years, so I am familiar with the rear sight concept. It takes a little longer to set up and sight-in a dual aperture sight such as the Hindsight, but it allows more flexibility in sightings. I made sight adjustments to releave the torque from my aim; something that can't be done with a peep. It should be much better under low light conditions than a peep sight. The rear crosshairs glow in the dark and I tested it in my dark basement and it worked great. The front pins are fiber optic, which show up good in low light, but I may need to replace the top one with a tritium pin for optimal low light performance.

[SA ULTRA MAG]

TS,

Why the change from the Eradicator to the Hindsight ?

Thanks,
Pat

[Trophy Specialist]

Originally Posted by SA ULTRA MAG

Why the change from the Eradicator to the Hindsight ?

I tested out all the peep sight alternative sights last year for an article I wrote for Outdoor Life. In so doing, I really liked the Hindsight. I still like the Eradicator and feel that it is the most durable sight on the market and one of the best, but it only has one pin (so to speak) and is strictly a short range sight. While it is great for whitetails, when I chased after some other critters, I had to switch sights for some extended range. I have not used a peep sight for 20+ years on any of my bows. I hate them. They are horrible in low light and rotation problems are a pain. They also cause torquing problems. With pin sights (other than the Hindsight), I simply install a nock-set where the peep would go, paint it florescent orange and then use that as a reference point to aim from. I simply line up the nock-set with the pin. Works like a charm and is just as accurate as a peep. The only problem with that setup is that I still get some torquing on occasion though.

I have always had problems with torquing the bow. I have very large arms and especially thick forearms. My hands are also well muscled. While big powerful muscled are great for some things, they are a pain in the butt for shooting a bow. I have a hard time getting a consistent grip with any bow I've ever tried. My forearm sticks way out there and tends to catch the string especially with heavy cloths on. I have to adjust my shooting form to prevent string slap. That is why remedies that prevent torquing are so important to me.

[Banditto]

My 2003' Mathews Icon has the roller too and I wouldn't buy anything that had a cable guide. I hunt in the nastiest weather and that is where a cable guide shows it flaws the most. Hunt in a 4"/hour snow storm and you just never know if your cable guide is going to freeze up--as it happened too many times to me.

And my Icon doesn't need any extra vibration dampning either.

[Trophy Specialist]

I just put another 30 arrow though the Outback and then checked the tune on paper again. It was till punching clean holes. The Zebra Twist string hasn't streached and my shooting accuracy was very good. I'm going to try some 26", 2215, XX78s through it tomorrow to see how they shoot.

[Banditto]

You know I noticed the same thing with my Icon. The string has hardly stretched at all in 2 years. I think that bows with very little vibration don't pound the living daylights out of the string so they last longer. Because with some of my older bows I was replacing the string every season.

[Grouse Hunter]

TS,


What do you do/use to keep a consistent anchor point?

[Trophy Specialist]

Originally Posted by Grouse Hunter

What do you do/use to keep a consistent anchor point?

I don't worry about a consistant anchor point. I line up the rear refference point with the front pin and shoot. As long as the sights are lined up and my form is good, then I'll hit where I aim every time. This holds true with a peep or a rear aperture sight like the Hindsight or Eradicator. Archers that rely on an anchor point for for sighting tend to be high or low a lot especially when shooting from an elevated stand. I often hear (and read) about how you should aim differently when shooting from a tree stand. My shots hit the same place reguardless of my elevation because as hight increases, my anchor point moves as I line up my shot.