F4 Maxis

Summer 1998 — Two of my hunting buddies and I decided that the new PSE F4 Maxis bow looked like an exciting and relative inexpensive bow. So we decide to all purchase the same bow. 

 Three different owners, three different reviews. All three bows feature the quad limb, HL Maxis design with 60- to 70-pound draw weight. Two are 29-inch draw length and the other at 30 inches. My buddy Travis thinks, with respect to the price, that it is God's gift to archery. He has the bow cranked to, I think 69 pounds, using two prong style arrow rest, pin sights, and shooting Easton arrows the size of 4-inch pipe. 

The bow shoots straight as a bullet with speeds in the upper 200's fps and is fairly quiet. Travis uses two pins and doesn't have to guess much at 30 yards. Travis has not had one problem with his bow, so far. 

My buddy Billy Jr. and I have some what different views on the bow than Travis. Billy shoots his bow cranked to 58 pounds, Bodoodle arrow rest, Easton arrows and fiber-optic pin sights. 

The bow shoots fairly flat out to 25 yards and has an average speed in the mid 200's fps. The bow is very quiet with the exception of the limb hinges randomly making a popping sound. He has serviced the bow several times with no solution. He says he likes the way the bow shoots but isn't sure of the life of the bow. He has tagged two deer with the bow in '98.

My views on the bow. At first, I loved the bow. I felt as comfortable with the bow as one could feel shooting a new bow. But things have went south on me. I shoot the bow cranked to around 69 pounds, Easton arrows, Bodoodle arrow rest, and pin sights. 

The arrows come flying out, who knows what direction, at an average speed of 261 fps. I have shot bows since I was 15-years-old and have always been able to hold a decent pattern when practicing. With this bow, I might group three arrows in a two-inch circle and the next three won't even hit the target. Out of tune? Out of time? Shooting to small of arrows?  None of the above!

I have worked and worked on the bow with no solution. I finally noticed one day that on the top limb, the axel that the Maxis Cam rolls on, looked like it was bent! The two limbs are not parallel with each other. You really have to look to see it, but it's there. 

I can remember several years ago when shooting in a tournament, one of the shooters was shooting a PSE Jet- Flite. He also had problems with the axels. I don't know if my problem is with the cam axel itself or if it's a problem with the two limbs. Which ever, it's still a problem. I think it's time for a new bow! I have talked with a few pro shops and some shops couldn't keep the bows in stock, others couldn't give the bows away.

For the price, the bow is very attractive, it shoots hard, doesn't really have any hand-shock, and is fairly short and light to carry.  But before you go out and purchase a PSE quad-limb bow, do some research and ask a lot of questions at the pro shop. The PSE F-4 is a discontinued bow.

UPDATE 02/02/1999: I got my F4 fixed! The problem was the axels, they were bent. The only thing that didn't get replaced on the bow was the riser. The price tag on the work was $37. Read your warranty agreements carefully. I had some problems between PSE and the pro shop, who was doing the work.

UPDATE 8/20/2002: What was I thinking.  The bow was a piece of junk, along with this review that I wrote.  I now use the bow to collect dust.