About The Archery Expert
We shoot with the gear before we review it. That's the short version. Keep reading for the longer one.
Range-tested reviews. No spec sheet regurgitation.
Most archery gear reviews online are written by someone who's never drawn a bowstring. They grab specs off the manufacturer's site, toss in a stock photo, and hit publish. You've seen those articles. They're useless.
We do things differently. Every bow, sight, and release aid gets actual time on the range. We draw it, shoot it, and compare what happens at 20 yards to what the packaging claims.
Draw cycles, let-off feel, vibration, arrow groupings, durability after a few hundred shots - that's what we care about. Specs on a box don't tell you how a bow actually shoots, so we don't rely on them.
Nobody pays us to rank their gear higher. We buy our own equipment and write what we find. Simple as that.
What We Write About
Compounds, recurves, carbon arrows, backyard targets, and everything in between. We cover 5 main categories.
Accessories
Arm guards, release aids, quivers, bow cases - the stuff that rounds out your setup. We test each piece during actual shooting sessions so you know what holds up.
Arrows
Carbon shafts, broadheads, vanes, nocks. We put arrow components through flight tests and check penetration across different bow types and draw weights.
Bows
Compounds, recurves, longbows, youth setups. We pull back the string, shoot groups, and tell you how each bow actually performs on the range.
Knowledge
Form breakdowns, safety fundamentals, scoring explained, training routines, and a bit of archery history. The stuff you need to know beyond just gear.
Targets
Bag targets, 3D animals, foam blocks, straw rounds. We test how well they stop arrows, how easy removal is, and how long they hold up outdoors.
The Archer Behind the Reviews
Matt Vance
Founder & Archery Gear Specialist
I've been shooting bows for over 15 years, starting with a hand-me-down recurve at age eleven. From backyard targets to competitive 3D courses, I've tested hundreds of bows, arrows, and accessories firsthand. I built The Archery Expert to give archers the honest, experience-based gear advice that most review sites don't provide.
Everything on this site comes from time at the range, up in tree stands, and walking 3D courses. I shoot bows through their full draw cycle, test broadheads against ballistic media, and wear accessories for entire practice sessions before I form an opinion. If I haven't personally used it, it doesn't get a review.
I cross-check IBO speed ratings, ATA specs, and warranty fine print too. If a bow says 340 fps on the box, I want to know at what draw weight and arrow grain they measured that. The details matter.
"Archery taught me patience and the value of doing things the right way. That's the same approach I take with every review."
How We Actually Test Gear
Range time, not spec sheets. Here's what our process looks like.
We Shoot Everything First
Bows, sights, releases, accessories - all of it gets shooting time before we write about it. We're checking accuracy, comfort, how it holds up, and whether setup is a pain or not.
Weeks of Use, Not One Session
Shooting a bow once tells you almost nothing. We run gear through weeks of practice before publishing anything. String wear, limb fatigue, sight drift - that stuff only shows up after real use.
Bought at Retail, Not Gifted
We don't take free gear from manufacturers and we don't do sponsored rankings. Every product gets purchased at retail. Keeps things honest.
Updated When Things Change
New models come out every year. We go back through our picks, retest where needed, and update rankings when something better shows up or a product gets discontinued.
How We Stay Honest
No backroom deals. No pay-for-placement. Here's how it works.
Affiliate Links, Explained
Some links here are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one, we get a small cut. But that never changes our rankings. A bow that shoots poorly stays off the list, period.
Ratings Based on Shooting
Our scores come from actual performance: how it shoots, build quality, draw cycle feel, noise, vibration, long-term durability, and whether the price makes sense. Nobody pays us to bump a score.
We Revisit Old Reviews
Gear gets discontinued, prices change, new models drop. We go back through our reviews and update them. If something better came out since we published, we'll say so.
Bad Gear Gets Left Out
If something doesn't perform well when we shoot it, it's not making the list. We'd rather have a shorter roundup of stuff we actually stand behind than pad it with mediocre products.