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WARNING: Do not believe the advertised IBO speed of 310fps. Interested? Read on.
January 26, 2002 — Since the birth of FastestBows.com in 1999, I have had the opportunity to review two Custom Shooting Systems (CSS) bows including the 32-inch Swampmaster. It had been almost been a year since the last CSS review, so I agreed to another test drive, but this time with a bow that debuted the same year as this web site. 1999 was a tough year for FastestBows.com but wasn’t so tough for the CSS Challenger; it won five world competition titles! Today FastestBows.com is still alive and growing daily in popularity — so is the Challenger. During the past year I have had the pleasure of getting to know the owner/president of CSS Archery, Chuck Nease. CSS is still relatively young, as a company, but the experience behind the bows is decades and almost legendary. Out of the dynamic CSS bow lineup, the Challenger is the speedster of the pack with an advertised blistering IBO speed of 310 fps (38-inch ATA length). As you will later read, my test bow did not shoot 310 fps — it shot faster!
The Challenger is offered in four different axel-to-axel (ATA) lengths, 38, 40, 42 and 44 inches. This six-inch range is achieved through different limb lengths, not different risers. Every CSS limb is made of Gordon Thermal Composite and is offered in 40, 50, 60 and 70-plus-pound peak-draw weights. These carbon limbs have proven to be trouble free but in the rare event of a problem, there is a five-year limb warranty to get you back shooting again. The riser is made from machined T-6061 aluminum and is tapped to AMO standards for all the common accessories. The reflex design gives the 38-inch ATA bow a brace height of 6.25 inches, which is fairly common among speed bows. You can expect the brace height to increase by 0.50 inches for each additional two inches of ATA length. Grip options range from the standard soft-touch rubber grip to one- and two-piece wood grips. The two-piece wood grip is popular with the competition shooters simply because it offers the narrowest throat and maximum brace height. It is almost a given that some hand-shock will exist with any high performance bow. Though the Challenger does have some shock, it is not near as noticeable as some of the other bows in its class. A high quality stabilizer will remove any existing hand-shock to almost an undetectable state. Like all CSS bows, the Challenger is equipped with a low stretch BCY 450-plus string and BCY Dynaflight-97 cable. The Dynaflight cable helps deliver that well-known “sweet” CSS shot.
The Challenger features the popular high performance P1 single-cam and a three-inch idler wheel. By simply changing the cam’s draw module, a wide range of draw lengths of 25 to 33 inches can be made with no further adjustments. Micro adjustments can be made by moving the string to a different post and by adjusting the patent pending Pro Draw-stop. Unlike other bow company’s eccentrics, CSS has theirs made with a lathe for precision production that is key to the bow’s needle threading accuracy. The accuracy of the bow was proved to me by duplication speeds through the chronograph shot after shot. It is proved to others with its five world competition titles. The Challenger is super bow with options to fit almost any scenario. It possesses a fast sweet shot and lethal accuracy known to many 12-rings all over the country.
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Challenger
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