First of all, welcome to the site! As you already know, there is alot of good info to be found here. For your questions.....find a local pro shop and shoot everything you can get your hands on. I limited myself to only shooting Hoyt's early on, and that wasn't such a good idea. I passed on alot of really good bows, simply because I failed to try them. Mission is made by Mathews I believe, but I don't know if the cam systems are the same or not. The draw cycle, valley, and let off are going to feel different on the bows you shoot. I will say, I just spent some time with the new Mathew's VXR and it is a really nice bow. There are some great deals to be had in the classifieds, but you have to be ready to jump on them when they pop up.

Don't limit yourself to just one brand, shoot as many as you can and then decide which one is the right one for you. Hope this helps some, and good luck!

 

Mission by Mathews are solid bows.
Carry the same warranty thru Mathews as their top of the line gear.
As for the 12 year old bow....probably not an upgrade.
And parts will be almost non existent if you need them.
Mission generally uses technology from prior years Mathews flagship bows. I have the Mission MXR,and have it listed here as I'm going back to recurves. The MXR uses the same concentric cam system as Mathews current top end bows.
40+ years of shooting bows,and Mission bows are probably the quietest and smoothest I've ever shot.
That said,its really hard to get a "bad" bow today.
The advances in material,technology and machining make 99% of bows excellent.
There's nothing wrong with older bows,but today's entry level bows make yesteryear flagships feel like tanks.

 

Pro shop(s). Even if it means a road trip. Like was said don't put all your eggs into one company. I would never buy a bow off suggestions or advertising. Bows are a very personal choice. I think you already know this seeing you have hung out around here for a time.
The DXT was a fine bow in it's day. But using it as an up grade, not really. Better than your current bow ??????

 

Definitely a Decent shop not a shop that also sells bows. If you have to travel so what. My closest (American translation ) Pro Shop is a 300mile trip needs must

 

300 miles where you live is just next door isn't it LOL. Sorry couldn't help it.

 

Thanks everyone for the input. I really do like my Mission it just feels a little heavy when holding it out at full draw. I'm definitely a novice shooter with no training, I taught myself just by reading forums, so maybe it's my technique. It seems like a lot of the newer bows have shorter ATA which I've been told can sometimes make them more difficult to shoot. Is 1" difference in ATA going to make a large difference? My bow weights 3.85 lbs bare, is that heavy or is it just in my head and poor technique?

 

3.85lbs bare is fairly light. If it feels heavy then you are either out of shape or have some form issues. Most flagship bows these days are a little over 4lbs.

1" ATA isnt huge, but its noticeable. Longer ATA can help with balance and stability. FWIW I like to be in the 32-34" ata, but I am mainly a hunter.