[baller]

A good used hoyt pro comp elite with GTX cams would be a really good upgrade (assuming he's target oriented). Possible even an Alpha Elite or Pro Edge Elite. My daughter is 14 as has shot both, she preferred the Alpha Elite because of higher let-off.

 

[stick monkey]

Pse phenom best starter target bow out there but anything with a longer axle to axle would be a step in the right direction. The ruckus is just too short and a kids bow at most in my opinion.

 

[Osmanthus]

Pse phenom best starter target bow out there but anything with a longer axle to axle would be a step in the right direction. The ruckus is just too short and a kids bow at most in my opinion.

I guess we are looking for more intermediate / advance bow. He already got his yellow pin with the Ruckus, so he is after the bronze pin now. What would you upgrade a PSE Phenom to?

 

[stick monkey]

Top shelf from the phenom up...some hunting bows can do double duty...anything 34" ata and up if he can handle the poundage of a hunting bow. The phenom is a great bow...don't sell it short...it is capable of being repeatable and better than most shooters.

 

[baller]

Phenom or even a Supra Max would be great also.

 

[Mongostatus]

At 5'2" and 14 years old I would expect he still has some growth left in him, perhaps a lot depending on what his parents look like. You didn't say if he's at or near the max draw weight of his Ruckus. If he's pulling enough, comfortably and with proper form, to go to an adult bow, then that might be a good decision. But if you get him say a 40# or 50# Phenom because it's all he can handle properly right now, then he might need to ditch it for a 60# in a year or three if and when he hits a growth spurt. So if he's still drawing a fairly low poundage then I would say another hyper-adjustable to cover the rest of his potential growth. Something like the Diamond Edge SB-1 would be the next logical step up from a Ruckus, and its 3.6 pounds mass weight shouldn't shock him coming up from the 3 pound Ruckus. My wife shoots an SB-1 and I've shot it while tuning it and I'm impressed with how smooth and accurate it is. The PSE Stinger X is also another good bow for him (we own one of these also). It's not quite as adjustable as the Diamond SB-1, but it does have a greater range of adjustment than most adult bows -- almost 30 pounds down, depending on peak, at 25" draw length by using the "Grow With You" cam setting -- and has a surprisingly solid back wall. The Stinger X shouldn't be hard for him to handle either at 3.5 pounds mass weight.

All this to say, at 14 years old, axle-to-axle wouldn't be high on my list of concerns. What I'd be more concerned about is continuity in terms of both draw and mass weights for the still-growing archer so that proper form and technique are preserved, and even more importantly, growing muscles and joints aren't excessively strained.

 

[Wags02]

I upgraded my daughter to a pse phenom sd. She is 11 and will be able to shoot that bow for a long time. She is only at 23" draw bow will go to 28.5". She is pulling 35# easily and was shooting out to 50 yards easily in a field shoot. Awesome bow for a young archer, there are a couple of different models of the phenom. The sd has the mini drive cam and the regular version has the ME cam. I have shot both and prefer the mini drive cam, I hated the draw cycle of the ME cam. I just picked up a dominator with the mini drive cam on it, great easy shooting cam. The phenom is plenty quick.

 

[Osmanthus]

Thank you everyone for replying.

Those who knows the PSE Phenom, it seems that it comes in 2 versions, the Phenom SD (Short Draw?) and Phenom XT (Extended?).
The XT does not come in 30-40 lbs draw weight it seems. I think 40-50 lbs is too heavy for now. Is there a regular Phenom (not SD not XT)?

 

[Osmanthus]

A good used hoyt pro comp elite with GTX cams would be a really good upgrade (assuming he's target oriented). Possible even an Alpha Elite or Pro Edge Elite. My daughter is 14 as has shot both, she preferred the Alpha Elite because of higher let-off.

I will keep an eye out for those bows. Thank you.

 

[Osmanthus]

I doubt that he will be over 6', but yes, he is still growing.

Probably a 40" draw weight is what we are looking for. He doesn't like outdoor, so we mostly do indoor, (18 meters / 20 yards).

Thank you, I will take a look at the Diamond Edge SB-1 and Stinger X as well.

 

[Osmanthus]

An update: we ended up getting him a used Hoyt Podium with GTX cams. We had to replace the limbs to go down to the 30-40 lb draw weights.

Thank you very much for replying.