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From mathews back to martin....4 good!!!!!

11K views 203 replies 83 participants last post by  azflyman 
#1 ·
Some may remember the issues I had with 2 Firecats some time back. Martin did take care of me, but in my mind I could no longer trust Martin. So, I bought a Reezen. I mean, it was the flagship and most talked about bow of that year right. I had some issues getting it set up but when I did it shot great, until last week.

After putting on a new sight, and bow sling I drew the bow to make sure every thing was good to go. I slowly let down and the string derailed off the cam. I probably dont need to tell you what happened next. Basically it Blew up. The top and bottom of the riser is bent to toward the bow arm side as well as twisting from bottom left to top right, the cam is trashed, both limbs are cracked, sight arm broke and the string hit my wrist so hard it felt like a hammer. I bought the bow used so Mathews wont do anything about it, go figure. Anyone know why thier site says they stand behind thier bows 100% when they have no direct customer service number, and dont answer email questions? Your only option is to go back to the dealer that is worthless. hell, I would have setteled for a direct customer service rep telling me that I was screwed because I bought a used bow (pervious owner only had it for a week) that Mathews designed wrong.

Mathews may be one of the most liked, best selling bows in the world, but any company that hides behind thier dealers is worthless to me. They need to change thier site to say, "We stand behind nothing 100%, take it up with your dealer". But the pure lack of any customer service has lost me as a customer for life. They can kiss my.......nevermind.


I did some reading online and looked at the reviews for a few different bows and, more importantly, companys. Wabbit and i went to a shop and I shot a couple bows. I shot a Hoyt Rampage XT (very nice), Martin Bengal (very nice) and Martin Cougar FC both with the Fury cams. After shooting all three and talking over a few things with my bro-in-law, I setteled on the Martin Cougar FC. It fit me well. has a very solid back wall, it light and forgiving. We got it back to the house and Wabbit (my bor-in-law) gave me a hand getting it set up. I am waiting on the sight arm to finish her up. Thanks for the hand Wabbit.

Yep, I am back to M4L and I am happy about it. I just want to thank Martin for taking care of the customers so well. That is the number one reason I came back to thier products.
 
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#78 ·
This is awesome. A Post about Martin with more of the other M bow noted.
 
#85 ·
Squirrel bait :) That's funny! It's all good, this thread is hilarious, and I was just stirring the pot same as you ;) No hard feelings :darkbeer:
 
#86 ·
Absolutely, its just funny how this thread spiraled out of control. By the way I owned a RazorX with the Nitrous cams, that was an excellent bow for its time. Very accurate. My kid shoots an Onza 3 great bow. And yes if a bow has a lifetime warrenty it should be transferable. Especially on a bow with a known prob.
 
#88 ·
I had a guy once that bought an x force from PSE, he derailed his bow three times. I had one that I swapped out with him and backed the poundage down on it. Told him I had the bow for three months no problems and if he set the poundage back up I would not work on it. Oh by the way I shot his bow for four months no problem.
 
#89 ·
bubba, you keep saying "read the thread" well i juts wasted some of my life and did so let me ask a couple things

you keep saying "im i the only one understands how things work" (string alingment) no you are not, but are you an expert or are you someone that has to have a buddy set up your bow for you? cause most experts dont have to have their buddy set their bows up.

do you know that even with a perfect stright riser the strings dont line up? they dont which on a right hand bow puts the string coming off the idler tot he left.

the bent riser.. are you saying the riser was bent 1/2" top and bottom and twisted before you derailed it? that the derail/dryfire didnt cause this? and if thats what your saying can you explain how the bow shot great for 1-2 years, shot fine the last time you used it, then when you put it away after shooting it the riser bent 1/2" top and bottom and twisted so bad that when you "slowly" let it down the pos had no option other then to derail.
 
#99 ·
Expert, I dont think I would go that far. I do set up my own equipment along with my sons. Yes I know the wheel leans left on a right hand bow. No, I dont think the riser was bent at the time of the derail. The bent risers are a known issue with the Reezens. You your self seem to be a self proclaimed expert, so let me ask you a question. Is it possible to torque my bow bad enough to derail it with a open bow hand? In the video posted on the first page, the guy derailing the bow is twisting like hell with his bow hand closed and gripping the riser. Mine hand was open, alwas is when the string is back.

Now a few things I have noticed in this thread and how childish you fanboys have mede it.

First: I have not "Bashed" Mathews. I think they make fine bows, I just dont think they have good CS.

2nd: There is no way I can 100% say that it was the bend in the bow or a manufacture defect that caused the bow to derail, which I have already stated.

3rd: I have to attached any one on here so I dont know why you guys feel the need to attach me. the only thing that is doing is pushing me away from Mathews even more. If this is how thier react to an issue with thier bows (personally attaching the guy) then I have no desire to be associated with that in any way.

4th: I cant stand it when someone reads a few words of a thread and then blows up on the OP 3 or 4 pages later.


Now, I guess I shoud tell you this. I did call Mathews the other day and had a conversation with a rep. He told me what I expected to hear, I'm screwed as far as the company is concerned. I can except that, I'm not 5. I still dont agree that they stand behind the thier product 100%. I would have been much happier if they had asked me to ship them the bow or at least take it to the dealer to see if they could determin why it derailed and blew up. All he would say is that he cant do anything for me including sell me the parts for repairs (not that it can be repaired). Now, as I have stated previously in this thread, that is all I can ask for. No wher n this thread did I state that I wanted Mathews to replace, pay to repair or compensate me for the bow. I simply stated that I wanted to be able to contact the company directly to speak to a CS rep. I have done that. I got the answer I expected and had a decent conversation, even though the guy never called me back as he said he would.

Most of you seem to have missed the POINT of this thread, It was about CUSTOMER SERVICE, not the quality of the bows. Every bow company has had issues of one type or another. They are mechanical products. Things break. I get that.

The biggest thing I have noticed in this thread is that you guys (Mathews fans) go straight to defending every aspect of the company. You also, not all but most, went straight to attaching me personally. THAT is childish.

Thanks to those that wished me good luck with my new bow.
 
#90 ·
I am missing something..

I have shot bows since Bear Whitetail II was on the market...

Had that bow for years....then a Martin Lynx.....Then I was out of bow hunting for awhile(work)...and got back into it about 10 years ago, I got a Mathews SQ2(70 lbs), shot that bow for 7 years, and not one problem, I bought a Mamba MX2(70lbs) and still shooting it , I recently bought a Bowtech Destroyer(waiting for it to arrive).

I was basically self taught, and when I got the SQ2 it was amazing at the tech advances that had been made in Bow design it was a great accurate little bow.

anyways.....I have NEVER heard of derailing a bow until I bought this Destroyer and started reading the threads.....I am kind of crapping in my pants thinking about this new bow and how the string is going to fly off the cams the first time I shoot it???....

Is derailing a NEW thing??? or because of these NEW speed bows with aggressive cams??? I am able to let down my Dual cam Mamba MX2 which has a pretty sharp valley and I haven't derailed it??

I hope I will be O.K.???:confused:
 
#95 ·
dont worry about it. rabbit is right that doing it by hand you are more likely to derail then with a release, another reason for this today compaired to 15 years ago is that bows are coming with higher letoff, if your only holding 10# then it is much easier to torque everything then if you were holding 20#. add that to how cams today drop off at the end or rverse go from 10# holding wight to peak draw weight in less then 2" it becomes almost impossiable to let bows down slowly.
 
#91 ·
I think it's weird that folks take so many pictures of bows either on or hovering over their unmade beds....

Good luck with your new bow

IMO as consumers we get spoiled by say company "A" that "bends the rules" and takes care of the consumer sometimes even though they were not obligated to. While company B sticks by their written policy

Do we start to have unrealistic expectations?
 
#94 ·
or Athens,or Martin,or G5. It's a better deal for the company and the customer to stand behind and warranty the PRODUCT,not the user(s). It's ridiculous that that companies won't warranty a bow if was purchased by one person and sold to someone else 1 week later,with the bow being out of the dealers hands for less than 30 days. That tells me these companies really don't give a damn about their customers
 
#93 ·
Corey I'm sure you'll be fine. Derailing is actually a fairly uncommon problem. One that most people will never see. I do think that it may become more prevalent as the manufacturers increase bow speeds and bring tighter tolerances to the cams/wheels they create. There is little room for error, and drawing/letting down a bow with aggressive cams by hand instead of release tends to pull the string one way or another.

It seems that usually the act of "letting down" a high power bow by hand is where most people run into problems as they try to control the string's return to rest. Are some bows more prone to derailment than others? IDK, it seems Bowtech has had some bad luck supposedly caused by the cam grooves being too small, which has since been fixed. The Reezen? I've read reviews that say the riser was not as strong as it could be and that it "flexes" more than others... combined with a slightly irregular let down by hand could be disastrous (maybe the reason that this thread is here? lol). The riser flex is one of the reasons Mathews went to their new milk carton design; they knew they had room for improvement and came up with a very solid answer.
 
#98 ·
this thread reminds me of shooting with a buddy and his kid last year, right before the shoot started his boy walks up to my buddy and he hands him his bow and say "dad it just happened i dont know why" the string was derailed and string was off.
two minutes before that the bow was lying on the ground sidways, he was standing on the riser and pulling up on the string. but when it broke, he did nothing wrong "it just happened"
 
#105 ·
I find it funny the the admin on martintech even says that 99% of derailments are caused by torquing the bow on let down. I have owned martin in the past and they do have excellent customer service. But if you come onto AT and ask a question reguarding your martin the question usually goes unanswered. I know everyone has thier own of brand loyalty but they are still all bows. When you come on here and knock one brand over the other it is only to stir up crap. You have the same thread going on martintech having a good laugh at the mathews owners expense. If you want to see service try buying a new mathews bow sometime and see how their pro shop treats you.
 
#114 ·
. You have the same thread going on martintech having a good laugh at the mathews owners expense. If you want to see service try buying a new mathews bow sometime and see how their pro shop treats you.
we are haveing a good laugh at this thread over at the MTF ,not mathews.if a guy shows up at MTF saying his bow blew up we dont blame him or her for the cause we try and help and not belittle them.we help people track down parts,try and find a place for them to take ther bow,no matter the bow,ect.not trying to cause a problem im just putting the truth down.for people who want to read what we have going on here ya go.http://martinarchery.com/mtechforum/showthread.php?23153-Brought-one-back-into-the-fold...

http://martinarchery.com/mtechforum/showthread.php?23230-Crawling-back-and-eating-Crow
 
#107 ·
I can respect your thoughts. As I did state, I can not be 100% sure that I didnt touque the bow. I would have to be a moron to say that. I will admit that I did to go wabbit for a hand setting up my new bow. he has a solid understanding of the cam system on the Martin, why would I not seek advice? Again, Im no moron. So you have never asked anyone person for advice, help etc. Good for you. I am not to proud to ask for a hand from time to time. No I dont think it's my fault that the bow derailed. It is possible, sure. Again, I'm not a moron. I know that anything is possible. Did I know that posting this on here would bring what it did, yep, thats why I posted it. I think its pretty funny. People jump to conclussions and throw stuff out there that is not even close to what happened. I would have gotten the same results if I had just posted the pics.
 
#108 ·
I don't understand how the riser bent. If it was bending over time, it would have shown up in the way the bow shot and it's impact point. If the bow just derailed, that doesn't seem enough to bend the riser that much if any. I can see an instant bend if the bow was dry fired, dropped or pressed wrong but to bend that extreme from a derailment is hard for me to understand. If it bends that easy, then it would seem to be a very big problem that would be very common. That is an awful lot of damage from just a derailment.
 
#110 ·
When mathews started the Z7 line i beleive they now use aircraft grade solid machined aluminum risers. Im no engineer but it would seem that it would take more then a dry fire to bend a riser. especially when the enrgy goes into the string cams, and limbs and anything on the string before being absorbed by the riser.

Maybe i got that wrong?
 
#115 ·
Normally yes. But if the riser is being pulled sideways with every draw cycle the metal will fatigue. Over time the fatigued aluminum will gain a "memory" and stay slightly bent. That mamory will only increase over time. It is also possible that the tention on the riser i will make it so you cant tell its bent while the string is at rest.
 
#119 ·
I would like to see a pic of the riser as well. And I agree with what somebody else said, that looks like a hell of a lot of damage from de-railing the bow. I actually de-railed a 2009 Monster. I was setting up my rest and drawing the bow by hand. As I was letting it down I must have torqued the bow a bit and it de-railed about halfway down. There was no visible damage to the string, cams or riser. I took it to the shop and we pressed it and put it back together. I shot it for a long time after that, no problems at all.
 
#121 ·
This thread is pretty addictive. Sorry you dry fired your bow. I would like to see some pics of the bent riser as well. Just dont show pictures of the tatoo on your hand or the sores on your wrist and thumb. Wife kinda got grossed out. Good luck with the new bow!
 
#123 ·
I bought my Reezen 6.5 "new" off eBay so it had to be sold as "used" and knew when I did that they do not warrenty their bows if you are not the first owner as this is the second Mathews I have had that was used and I can tell you the shop I goto will cover most everything unless I blow up the limbs. My string derailed this past weekend on Sunday I took it to the pro shop they pressed it checked it over I had dinged my cam which was just put on Friday they put the string back on said to order a cam bring it back in and they would change it for free and all they did Sunday was free.
Also if you are the second owner of a Mathews bow and it does happen to blow up when you goto a Mathews dealer and order the replacement parts ie: cam , limbs, or riser they will warrenty it 100% because you are now the original owner.
 
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