Best Compound Bows (2026): 8 Picks From Bear, PSE, Elite and More

Best compound bow overall

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $432 (was $479.99) · IBO: 315 fps · Draw weight: 10 to 70 lb

If you want one bow that can start you at a light draw weight, grow with you, and still be a real deer bow when the season opens, this is it. Bear calls the Legit MAXX the next generation of "the all-time best-selling compound bow," the original Legit, and it keeps the feature that made that bow popular: a huge adjustment range. Draw weight goes from 10 to 70 pounds and draw length from 14 to 30 inches.

Bear lists a 30-inch axle-to-axle length, a 6.25-inch brace height, 75% let-off and an IBO speed of 315 fps. What's new on the MAXX is the mounting: an Integrated Mounting System (IMS) for the arrow rest and a Picatinny rail for the sight, so you can upgrade either one later without drilling or adapters. The improved dual-cam system is meant to give a smooth, consistent draw.

The Ready-To-Hunt package from Trophy Ridge is what makes the price work: Sportsman's lists an IMS V-Biscuit rest, a Picatinny-mounted Fatal 4-pin sight, a 5-arrow quiver, a Snubnose stabilizer, a peep sight and a wrist sling. (Bear's own page notes the bow now ships with the Whisker Biscuit HTR IMS rest.) Bear sells it for $499.99; on October 5, 2026 Sportsman's had the right-hand Mossy Oak Roots version for about $432, with free shipping to home. The left-hand version was the same price and also in stock.

See Legit MAXX at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best adjustable bow with the longest draw range

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $440 (was $489.00) · IBO: 314 fps · Draw length: 16 to 31 in

The Diamond Edge has been one of the go-to "fits anybody" bows for years, and the Edge MAX is the current version. Diamond lists a 16- to 31-inch draw length and a 20- to 70-pound draw weight, so it covers taller archers better than the Bear bows here, which top out at 30 inches. It uses Diamond's Synchronized Binary Cam System and a caged riser designed for stability.

Diamond's published numbers: 3.7 lb mass weight, 31-inch axle to axle, a forgiving 7.125-inch brace height and 314 fps IBO. That long brace height is the biggest difference from the Bear bows. A longer brace height generally makes a bow more forgiving of small form mistakes, at the cost of a little speed, which is a good trade for a newer archer.

The Sportsman's package comes with Octane accessories: a 4-arrow quiver, a 3-pin sight, a 5-inch stabilizer, a brush rest, a carbon peep and a wrist strap. Diamond backs it with a limited lifetime warranty. Diamond's site starts the Edge MAX at $519; Sportsman's had it for about $440 on October 5 in both black and Mossy Oak Country DNA, with free shipping.

See Edge MAX at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best hunting bow under $700

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $674 (was $749.00) · IBO: 328 fps · Let-off: 80%

The Brute ATK is PSE's answer to hunters who don't need a youth-to-adult adjustable bow. It's set up as a full-power hunting bow from the start: 60 or 70 pounds peak weight, a 23- to 30.5-inch draw length and PSE's AF cam. PSE's description of the ATK series is "affordably lethal," meaning the features hunters use without paying for flagship extras.

PSE lists 328 fps IBO, 80% let-off, a 32-inch axle-to-axle length, a 6.75-inch brace height and a mass weight of 4.1 lb. That's noticeably faster than the adjustable bows above, and the 32-inch length is a comfortable middle ground for treestands and ground blinds alike.

Sportsman's sells it as an RTS (ready-to-shoot) package in Kryptek Skyfall camo for about $674, in 60 or 70 lb, with free shipping. The listing doesn't itemize the accessories, so open it and check what's in the box before you buy. The left-hand Brute ATK without the package and the cheaper PSE Stinger ATK were marked unavailable to ship to home that day, so they aren't ranked here.

See Brute ATK AF at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best premium hunting bow

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $900 (was $999.99) · IBO: 336 fps · Let-off: up to 90%

Elite builds its bows around what it calls "shootability," and the HNTR33 is its dedicated hunting model. It has wide limbs and a dual caged riser for a steady sight picture, Elite's Tri-Track cam, and an LTR roller guard that reduces friction for a smoother, quieter draw. The riser accepts QAD and Hamskea rests directly.

Elite lists 336 fps IBO (with the Performance mod), a 32.75-inch axle to axle, a 6.125-inch brace height, 4.6 lb and a 23.5- to 30.5-inch draw length. The Versa Performance Mod adjusts draw length in quarter-inch steps, so you can get the fit exactly right, and let-off can be set from 70% to 90%. Elite offers it in 50, 60 and 70 lb, right- and left-hand.

This is a bare bow: you add your own sight, rest, quiver and stabilizer, so budget a few hundred dollars more for accessories (see our hunting essentials guide for the rest of the kit). Elite's price is $999.99; Sportsman's had the 70 lb right-hand Mossy Oak Bottomland version for about $900 on October 5, shipping free.

See Elite HNTR33 at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Fastest bow in this guide

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $963 (was $1,199.99) · IBO: up to 350 fps (as listed) · Weight: 4.4 lb

If arrow speed is what you're after, the SR350 is the fastest bow here. Sportsman's lists it at up to 350 fps IBO, 4.4 lb, a 33-inch axle to axle and a 6-inch brace height, with a 25- to 30-inch draw length. Bowtech built it around its Deadlock Cam System, which lets you shift the cams left or right on the axles with a screw to line the energy up behind the arrow, plus Deadlock limb pockets and cable containment for rigidity and consistency.

It also has Bowtech's PowerShift Technology, which changes the feel of the draw cycle to suit your shooting style, an Orbit Dampener you can reposition to balance your accessories, and the low-profile Clutch grip. A short 6-inch brace height is part of how it gets that speed, and it makes the bow a little less forgiving of form errors than the Diamond.

One honest note: Bowtech's current website no longer lists the SR350, so this is an earlier model being sold through, and the speed figure is the one Sportsman's lists. That's also why the price is good: about $963 on October 5 (down from $1,199.99), 60 lb right hand in Break-Up Country, shipping free. It's a bare bow, so add accessories.

See Bowtech SR350 at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best single-cam package for adult hunters

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $432 (was $479.99) · IBO: 320 fps · Let-off: 80%

The Species XT is for an adult who knows roughly what draw weight they'll shoot and doesn't need the 10-pound starting point of the Legit MAXX. It's a single-cam bow, a design many archers like because there's only one cam to keep in time, and Bear lists 320 fps IBO, 80% let-off, a 30-inch axle to axle and a 6.75-inch brace height.

Draw length runs from 23.5 to 30.5 inches, and Bear sells it in 45-60 and 55-70 lb versions. Like the MAXX, it has an IMS rest mount and Picatinny sight mounts, and the Trophy Ridge Ready-To-Hunt package adds a rest, a Picatinny-mounted 4-pin sight, a 5-arrow quiver, a stabilizer, a peep and a wrist sling.

Bear's price is $499.99. Sportsman's had the 55-70 lb right-hand black version at about $432 on October 5, the same price as the Legit MAXX, with free shipping. Pick the Species XT if you want more let-off and a little more speed; pick the MAXX if you need the wider adjustment range.

See Species XT at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best lightweight bow for youth growing into adult draw weights

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $414 (was $459.99) · IBO: 315 fps · Weight: 3.2 lb

The Cruzer has been Bear's bow for archers who will grow, and the G4 keeps the same idea: 10 to 70 pounds of draw weight and 14 to 30 inches of draw length in a 3.2 lb bow. That light weight is the reason to choose it over the Legit MAXX. A smaller archer will hold a lighter bow steadier, and it's easier to carry all day.

Bear lists a compact 29-inch axle to axle, 315 fps IBO and 75% let-off. (Sportsman's lists a 6.25-inch brace height; Bear's own description says 6.5 inches.) The Trophy Ridge package includes a V-Biscuit rest, a 4-pin sight, a 5-arrow quiver, a stabilizer, a peep and a wrist sling, so a young hunter has everything but arrows and a release.

Bear sells it for $479.99; on October 5 Sportsman's had the black right-hand version for about $414, with free shipping. If the archer is still small, start low on draw weight and have a pro shop turn it up as they grow.

See Cruzer G4 at Sportsman's Warehouse →

Best first bow for young or small-framed archers

Sportsman's Warehouse: about $369 (was $409.99) · IBO: 290 fps · Weight: 2.7 lb

For a young archer, the right first bow is one they can actually draw and hold. The Royale starts at 5 pounds and goes up to 50, with a draw length from 12 to 27 inches, and it weighs just 2.7 lb bare (3.3 lb with its accessories, per Bear). Bear says draw length and weight both adjust with an Allen wrench, without a bow press.

Bear lists 290 fps IBO, 75% let-off and a 27-inch axle to axle. EnduraFiber limbs and RockStops string suppressors cut noise and vibration. The package includes a Trophy Ridge Mist sight, a 5-spot quiver, a Whisker Biscuit rest, a Fletcher no-tie peep and a nock loop. At 50 pounds and a long enough draw, it can be a legitimate deer bow, but check your state's minimum draw-weight rules first.

Bear's price is $379.99. On October 5 Sportsman's had the right-hand True Timber Strata version at about $369; other versions were in stock too, including a left-hand Strata for about $297 and a right-hand black Shadow for about $360.

See Bear Royale at Sportsman's Warehouse →