Bowtech sent Archery Report a Destroyer 350 for review that arrived today. Until now I have not had a chance to shoot a Destroyer and I was thrilled to open the box and check it out. My first impression was that the Destroyer 350 is a great looking bow that seems to exude a feeling of performance with its aggressive appearance and styling.
By the time I was done with coaching soccer, the rain was coming down pretty hard and I wasn’t able to get any shots through the bow. However, I’m showing great patience and will wait until first light to start flinging sticks before I have to hit the day job. In the meantime, let’s check out some of the specs of the Destroyer.
Bowtech Destroyer 350 Manufacturer vs. Measured Specifications
| Manufacturer Specification | Measured Specification | |
| Weight | NA | 4lbs. 3 oz. |
| Max. Poundage | 70 lbs. | 72 lbs. |
| Brace Height | 6” | 6 1/16″ |
| ATA | 32 3/8” | 32 3/8” |
The measured specs came in very close to those stated on the Bowtech webpage. The above measurements were taken at 72 lbs. Turning the limb bolts 5 1/2 turns brought the draw weight down to 60 lbs even. At this weight the brace height edged out to 6 3/32″ and the ATA 32 11/32″. Many bows will change up to and sometimes more than 1/4″ under such changes; the design of the Destroyer does a great job at holding the specs very close no matter the poundage.
Each Bowtech is delivered with a birth certificate and this one has the following:
72 lbs., 29″ and a 350 grain arrow resulted in 342 fps. With an IBO speed spec at 350 fps for a 30″ draw, this particular bow looks ready to impress.
Bowtech Destroyer 350 First Impressions
As I first stated, the bow looks great in person. This bow came in RealTree Hardwoods camouflage with the InVelvet finish that looks and feels very nice. The Destroyer’s cams are some of the biggest made; in pictures I thought they looked a bit odd, but in person they give the bow an impressive and aggressive look.
One thing that did bother me about the looks are the limb graphics. By taking an impressive riser and cam design, adding nice looking camo but then putting a huge logo that is somewhat cheesy takes the looks down a notch. Overall I give the bow a big thumbs up on looks, minus the ugly limb graphics.
Drawing the bow back for the first time shocked me a bit as I expected a stiff draw force curve (with speed comes the necessity of hitting the peak draw weight early in the draw) but wasn’t quite ready for the dump into the valley. The Destroyer has an effective 80% let-off and combined with the stiff draw this is to be expected. I don’t think the draw is unreasonable and after several times of drawing back I quickly became accustomed to it. Normally I prefer bows with 65% or even a little less let-off so I will be interested to see how shooting this bow over the long run will be.
After reading various message board posts and articles about the Destroyer over the last few months, I am finally ready to shoot one and shoot it a lot. In the coming weeks the bow will be put through the paces with all sorts of sizes and weights of arrows, a bunch of chronographing and various methods of tuning. If you like seeing lots of performance and other numbers about bows, stay tuned as the Destroyer gets tested, retested then tested some more.
Pictures of the Destroyer 350
Without further ado, I present you with several pictures of the Destroyer 350. Click for full size and view.
*UPDATE* First Shots with the Destroyer
The rain has not let up and probably won’t for a couple of days, but I couldn’t wait any longer to put some arrows through the Destroyer. I set the bow up with a RipCord rest, Doinker Dish stabilizer, TruPeep and a TruGlo Extreme sight. After installing a d-loop, setting the draw length to my liking and eyeballing the setup, I headed out to the monsoon with a few GT 22 Series arrows to give the Destroyer a test run.
I take everything I read about different equipment with a grain of salt because the internet tends to be saturated with those that either love or hate the equipment they post about. Some things I have read praise the Destroyer as the best thing since sliced bread while others say the draw is too harsh and harp about a few incidences of cable derailment that have happened. With all these stories safely store out of my mind, I began my shooting with a blank slate.
OK, I lied, I did have visions of the greatness of this bow and the many praises that have been heaped on it no matter how hard I tried to block them out. My first shot with the bow shocked me with it’s lack of anything really. Lack of noise, lack of vibration, lack of bow movement other than gently rolling forward from the weight of the stabilizer. I really despise sounding like a commercial or company shill, but twenty shots later I was still being impressed with this bow. Rain be damned, I continued to shoot until the cold and wind forced me back inside.
There are two minor grievances I have; as with anything nothing is perfect for everyone. The bow does have a short ATA and the string angle is a bit sharp for my liking, but with the massive cams pushing the string up at full draw, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. For me to become consistent with this bow I’ll have to adjust my head/hand/string position to better fit the bow. Time will tell. Secondly is the issue of the let-off. I’m one of those people that like a little extra weight at full draw and the 80% let-off is tough for me to get used to. I’ll have to look into playing with the timing and draw stops to see if it’s possible to get more into the 70-75% range or not.
In the end my minor gripes are just that, minor compared to the positives that I’ve seen in the Destroyer so far. This coming weekend will bring some tuning and speed testing to really see what the Destroyer can do.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My destroyer 350 just derailed on me on Monday. I had been shooting for about an hour and went in side to put it away, I had just gotten it and wanted to pull her back one more time before bed, you know, because like Mr. Miyagi, I wax off! Anyway, all kidding aside, I was standing there and have pulled several bows back in this manner, but all the sudden I hear “ZZIIIIPPP!!” I’m standing there holding the limp string thinking “what in the world?” The local bow store in Forest City, NC says it could be weeks to get new cams and string and I’ve emailed Bowtech a few days ago to find out how to get back in business and no response.
i just got my bowtech destroyer 350 i think besides the grip the 350 is the best bow ive ever owned
The only reason why a bow de-rails Is I quote ” I wanted to pull the bow back one more time before I went to bed” That tells me one thing the bow was pulled back with bare fingers!!!!!! Which results in unwanted sting torque!!!!!!!! Bow does not, I repeat, DOES NOT!!!!! have a Derailing issue!!!!!!!!!! Bows are only as durable as their owner.