Mathews Phase 4 Review | Outdoor Life

The 2023 Mathews Phase 4 33 is the quietest Mathews, with the least vibration, that I’ve ever examined. It’s nearly an identical to the 2022 V3X 33, which I deemed final 12 months to be the nicest compound bow I’d ever shot, besides this 12 months’s mannequin has two key enhancements. The upgrades (which I’ll get into under) make the Phase 4 33 the brand new nicest compound bow I’ve ever shot.

I do know, I do know.

“You just said last year’s bow was the best, and now you want us to believe this year’s bow is the best?”

At Lancaster Archery Supply, I evaluation flagship looking bows for our YouTube channel yearly. I’ve shot each Mathews for the previous decade and almost each different flagship from all the main manufacturers. That expertise provides me a fairly strong baseline for making comparisons. I don’t count on Mathews to supply my favourite new bow every year. But after they do, I’ve to name it as I see it.

The realization that Mathews certainly did enhance upon the V3X 33 this 12 months by decreasing noise and vibration that I didn’t even know existed blew me away after spending simply a few days with the Phase 4 33. I wasn’t anticipating a lot from Mathews for 2023 after such a stellar providing in 2022. But as soon as bowhunters take a few pictures with the Phase 4 33 at their native professional outlets over the approaching months, I feel Mathews will promote a pile of them. It’s that good.

Phase 4 33 Specs and Features

• Axle to Axle: 33 inches lengthy
• Brace Height: 6.5 inches
• IBO Speed: 336 fps 
• Weight: 4.68 kilos
• Let Off: 80 or 85 %
• MSRP: $1,399

What’s New 

The specs for the Phase 4 33 are an identical to final 12 months’s V3X 33. (There’s a 29-inch Phase 4 similar to the V3X 29 as effectively.) It even has the identical cam, grip, and SwapWeight mod system. Hold the 2 bows facet by facet, so that you solely see the limb profiles, and also you’d swear they’re the identical bow. But they’re not.

Limbs

The chief distinction between the 2 is within the limbs. Where the V3X 33 has the everyday 4 limbs employed by a split-limb bow, the Phase 4 33 has eight. They’re assembled in pairs, and every sandwiches a rubber strip that Mathews says is a part of its “Resistance Phase Damping.” Think of it as limb dampers constructed into the limbs.

We’ve by no means seen something like this, so I can’t communicate to the sturdiness over time. The limbs definitely look like they’ll maintain up. We’ll discover out over the approaching 12 months. But there’s no doubting their affect on the taking pictures expertise. This bow is whisper quiet and barely produces any hand shock.

Mathews is attacking vibration on the spot the place a lot of it’s created—within the limbs. It doesn’t appear like a lot, however the distinction is noticeable. (I’ll describe the comparability taking pictures I did with the Phase 4 33 and the V3X 33 in only a bit.)

Bridge-Lock Stabilizer

Also new this 12 months is the Bridge-Lock stabilizer system. Continuing the Bridge-Lock accent system initiated final 12 months with a dovetail cutout within the riser above the shelf to carry a sight, Mathews created one other dovetail slot under the usual 5/16-24 stabilizer bushing. That slot may be crammed with one of many new Bridge-Lock Stabilizers Mathews is launching as a part of its 2023 looking lineup.

Like the Bridge-Lock sight mount, the stabilizer mount is a safer solution to join your stabilizer to your bow. Instead of using a brief bolt to hold the load of the stabilizer on the riser connection, the Bridge-Lock slot permits the stabilizer to slid into the middle of the riser, the place it’s fixed in place with a compression knob. 

And it doesn’t matter what size Bridge-Lock stabilizer you select, you’ll be able to customise its size by adjusting its place within the slot. Spaced divots within the stabilizer bar permit changes to be made in half-inch increments to get the precise stability for you.

Each stabilizer has one in every of Mathews’ harmonic dampeners in the long run, which helps to additional kill vibration and noise that the bow may produce. And they carry stackable weights so the bar may be weighted to your specs. In protecting with the Bridge-Lock design, Mathews additionally got here out with a siderod connection explicitly constructed to hold the Bridge-Lock stabilizers.

Read Next: The Best Compound Bows of 2022

What’s the Same

Riser

Like the V3X 33, the Phase 4 33 options an enormous riser. The axle-to-axle size of this bow is 33 inches, and the riser is only a tick lower than that. It’s longer than the riser employed by the Mathews TRX 36 goal compound.

By having a riser that’s almost so long as the axle-to-axle size, Mathews is making a bow that’s tremendous regular to goal. That massive riser desires to remain vertical.

Cable Guard

Also carried over to the Phase 4 is the angled Centerguard cable containment arm. It’s angled down, so the cables slide by means of the rollers at exactly the midway level between the cams throughout the draw cycle. This ensures that the hundreds placed on each cams by the cables are an identical, which helps with degree nock journey and simply ensures constant efficiency.

Grip

he Engage grip Mathews has employed the final couple of years is on the Phase 4. It’s a rubber grip that certain feels good on chilly days. It’s a bit rounded on the sting that sits towards your hand, although. I don’t like that, so I all the time take off the Engage and placed on a set of Mathews facet plates. And you are able to do that with the Phase 4. The facet plates sit on both facet of the grip, whereas your hand sits on a completed portion of the riser. It’s completely flat, which I discover to be extra secure. The rounded ridge down the middle of the Engage may cause the bow to torque left or proper in case your hand rolls.

Cams

The cams as soon as once more incorporate particular posts that permit use of the Mathews Stay Afield System. This is an easy size of rope you can connect to a publish on every cam, which then lets you work on the string and cables. It’s mainly a conveyable bow press that weighs nothing, however may be price ten instances its weight if you want to make a restore or adjustment within the discipline.

Testing the Mathews Phase 4 

For my evaluation, I borrowed a Phase 4 33 from Lancaster Archery Supply. I set it as much as shoot 70 kilos at a 29.5-inch draw size with 85 % let off. At these specs taking pictures a 477-grain arrow, I bought a pace of 283 fps from the store chronograph—precisely the identical because the V3X 33.

That’s not screaming quick, however it’s quick sufficient for me. My pin gaps are fairly small on a five-pin sight, with pins set for 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards. This bow is constructed for accuracy. It’s not a pace bow. I’m okay with that.

V3X 33 vs Phase 4

The very first shot I took with the Phase 4 33, I believed one thing went fallacious. It was so quiet, and I barely felt something in my bow hand when the string launched. It simply didn’t appear proper. So I shot once more. Same factor. The bow’s response to the shot was so smooth I immediately questioned if my V3X 33 felt like that. I knew that bow was fairly quiet, and I believed it was lifeless within the hand. So I took a shot with it after which adopted with a shot from the Phase 4 33.

As I mentioned earlier, the distinction is noticeable. And I by no means considered the V3X 33 as a loud or hand-shocky bow. I didn’t assume there was that a lot noise and vibration to empty out. It’s like having beer run down your chin from a glass you thought was empty.

Noise

So what’s the good thing about making a quiet bow even quieter? Ask the deer. Anytime you’ll be able to minimize bow noise, it’s higher for minimizing animal reactions on the shot. And for quelling vibration that you simply didn’t even understand was there. The finest shot with a bow is one the place you’re relaxed as a result of anticipating the thump of the bow string may cause you to tighten your hand and/or arm. The much less hand shock there may be, the simpler it’s to maintain your physique calm till after the arrow is lengthy gone.

Taking that instance to the acute only for illustration, take into consideration how tense you’re taking pictures a .300 Win. Mag. as in comparison with a .22 LR. You know that massive thump is coming from the .300 and your physique braces itself. When you shoot the .22, you’re way more relaxed.

Draw Cycle

While the lowered noise and hand shock stunned me, what didn’t was every little thing else about taking pictures the Phase 4 33. The massive cam makes for a nice draw cycle—effort on the entrance finish, adopted by a downhill glide to the again wall. It’s bought that tremendous lengthy riser similar to the V3X 33, which implies it holds on track tremendous regular.

Tuning

Tuning the Phase 4 33 was a snap. Set the remainder so the middle of my arrow was 13/16 inches from the riser, and eyeballed the nock top to get it degree. My first shot by means of paper was good—a bullet gap within the heart framed by three evenly spaced vane slices.

For superior tuning, the bow has the Mathews Tophat system, which employs a collection of spacer tubes on both facet of the cams. If you want to clear up a paper tear, you simply change tubes, so the cam strikes left or proper. Mathews has been utilizing Tophats for a number of years, so it’s a system I’m acquainted and comfy with. It works. I didn’t must make any changes to the Tophats for my take a look at bow, however I knew what to do if I did.

Accuracy

I busted just a few nocks taking pictures the Phase 4 33 at 20 yards. Tight teams had been straightforward to supply. But the place I really feel the Phase 4 33 actually excels is taking pictures at distance. It’s simply so regular. My pins locked on track at 50 and 60 yards, and the arrows seemed like lasers as they bee-lined for the bull’s-eye.

As talked about earlier, there’s a 29-inch model for bowhunters preferring a shorter bow. I don’t assume I might ever select a shorter bow just because bows within the 33-35-inch vary really feel so good to me. I’ve by no means had a problem maneuvering with one on the bottom or in a tree stand, in order that’s not a problem I’ve skilled.

Where the Phase 4 is Lacking

Because Mathews added the Bridge-Lock expertise to stabilizers this 12 months, which features a entire line of stabilizers and related facilities, I’m going to repeat what I acknowledged final 12 months for the V3X 33. Mathews desires you to purchase their gear for his or her bow. No query their stuff is cool and can enable you put collectively a sweet-looking rig that shoots nice. But the accent line means Mathews will get you coming and going.

And these equipment aren’t low-cost. The MSRP for the stabilizers is as much as $270, relying on size. The siderod mount is $200. Last 12 months, Mathews launched its low-profile quivers, which make the most of transferring the sight and relaxation from the facet of the riser to the center to permit a bowhunter to create a bow with the slimmest profile I’ve ever seen. Those quivers will work for the Phase 4 bows, and price as much as $250.

While the Phase 4 33 is anticipated to price $1,400, if you add two of the finest stabilizers, siderod mount, low-profile quiver, Bridge-Lock sight, and Mathews-branded QAD Integrate relaxation, you’re a rig that would price $2,500.

You can certainly switch all your previous gear from no matter bow you’re upgrading from to the Phase 4. The bow will settle for all conventional equipment. But when bowhunters see how cool a Phase 4 can look kitted out with all of the Mathews gear, the temptation to spend will hit.

What the Phase 4 Does Best

The Phase 4 33 is just a pleasure to shoot. It attracts good, it holds good, it’s quiet, and it has just about no hand shock. The taking pictures expertise is nicer than any bow I’ve ever shot. I haven’t had months behind this bow like I’ve with the V3X 33 to gauge its reliability and efficiency in varied settings and circumstances. But given the similarities between the 2 bows, I can be wildly shocked if the Phase 4 33 doesn’t carry out equally as effectively.

That’s not how bows are offered, nonetheless. They’re offered to patrons who take a naked bow with a relaxation and possibly a sight and shoot a pair instances at a goal 5 yards away. All they’re doing is feeling the draw cycle and the shot. In that area, I can’t consider one other compound bow that may grasp with the Phase 4 33.

Final Thoughts

There are a number of bows in the marketplace proper now which can be quiet and have minimal hand shock. For my cash, the Mathews Phase 4 33 leads the pack in that class. All I can say is, you’ve bought to shoot one to expertise it for your self. When you do, I feel you’ll be as stunned as I used to be, and transfer the bar for what a smooth-shooting bow should really feel like.