The PSE Blackhawk is an excellent hunting bow, for it’s price about the fastest bow available, and it hits well up to fifty yards. It is forgiving enough without sacrificing accuracy.
It is one of the best available intermediate level bows. In other words if you are ready to step up from a Samick Sage, but not ready, as yet to go into the rarefied realms of Bob Lee or Black Widow, the Blackhawk may well be the answer.
It is a pretty bow that still does business. It is accurate while somewhat forgiving, durable, and lightning fast. It is quiet almost silent with whiskers. The Blackhawk is as accurate as a custom bow and transfers energy to the arrow as well as only a few better quality bows.
A powerful bow only available in a limited range, if you can’t comfortably handle a 45# draw weight, the Blackhawk isn’t the bow for you.
Review
This isn’t a bow for the beginning archer, the Blackhawk is a relatively heavy bow whose design, raison de etre is to hunt. It has a hunting range, even with the lighter limbs, of a good solid fifty yards, a range longer than 90% of traditional bowhunters can handle.
The Blackhawk is a one piece 60 inch bow that accommodates longer draws, I know an archer whose draw is 32” and he swears by the Blackhawk. It is a pure hardwood bow with fiberglass laminates. It is about three pounds and feels substantial when it’s raised to aim.
The Blackhawk draws as smooth as silk and the arrow leaves like a lightning bolt. If there is any knock here, it is that it is only forgiving to a point. If you are going make the same mistake over and over expect the bow to tell you that and you either compensate or re-learn.
The Blackhawk is one of the best alternatives, as a hunting bow to the Martin (Howatt) Hunter, which has been the standard for the last half a century. It is slightly faster, but not enough that that is important. It is a bit less forgiving. Still at less than half the price it is a viable compromise.
The Blackhawk is available in 45 or 50#. The difference is more in your draw than in the bow. On my bow scale my thirty inch draw with the 45# is one pound heavier than 50# @ 28”.
For what it is, the PSE Blackhawk is one of the best bargains going. If you hunt, or are thinking of it as the reason to learn archery, the Blackhawk is the best you can do without delving into the near thousand dollar custom and hand made bows. They talk about the best pound for pound fighters. What is the best dollar for dollar hunting bow? At least in the Western Hemisphere? The Blackhawk, check it out on Amazon.
The PSE Blackhawk Features:
- Draw weight 45 – 50#
- AMO Length: 60″
- Brace Height: 7 – 7.5″
- Mass Weight: 3.13 lbs.
It is sold for either hand.
PSE Blackhawk Review – Final Thoughts
The PSE Blackhawk is, perhaps the best and certainly one of the best intermediate hunting bows on the market. Yes, the Martin Hunter, Custom and hand made bows, as well as Warf bows are superior, but if you don’t have the time, energy and money to play that game, the Blackhawk let’s you stand in the same field. At 45# and certainly at 50# there is no animal in the Western hemisphere you can’t successfully hunt with the Blackhawk. It is friendly to shoot, and its speed will surprise you.
