Bowtech Anthem 36 Review: Speed, Tuning & First Impressions

What the Bowtech Anthem 36 Is

The Reckoning has been in Bowtech's target lineup for a long time and has been a fantastic target bow. But the platform was due for an update, and the Anthem is that next generation.

The Anthem 36 gives you a 36-inch axle-to-axle platform aimed primarily at target and 3D archers, but this particular length opens up another interesting use case. If you want one longer bow to shoot competitively outdoors and still take hunting, the 36 makes a lot of sense.

Bowtech also went pretty hard on the color options. The target colors come with white limbs, while the Flat Dark Earth option comes with black limbs. I'm normally not a purple or super-flashy bow guy, but even I really dig the purple on this bow.

Bowtech Anthem 36 Specs

The thing you have to understand with the Anthem 36 is that Bowtech offers two cam configurations. Your draw length determines which one makes sense.

At a 29-inch draw like mine, you're into the long-draw cam. That 27-to-31-inch range is probably going to make the long-draw version popular with a lot of adult shooters looking at this bow.

Tuning and Adjustability

This is where the Anthem really separates itself. There's a lot of adjustability built into the platform, and most of it isn't just there to make the feature list longer. These are things a target shooter can actually use to fine-tune how the bow fits, holds and reacts.

DeadLock Tuning

Bowtech was one of the brands that really pushed pressless tuning forward with DeadLock, and that system carries over to the Anthem. You can move the cam left or right to correct cam position and arrow flight without going through the traditional process of pressing the bow and moving spacers around.

Timing is still a separate issue, but for lateral cam adjustment and tuning, DeadLock gives you very precise adjustment. That's something JR immediately pointed out as valuable on a target platform, where small changes matter.

A.I.M. Module: Quarter-Inch Draw Length Adjustments

One of the biggest changes is Bowtech's A.I.M. Module, or Adjustable Infinite Module. It gives you quarter-inch draw-length adjustments so you can really fine-tune the fit of the bow instead of being limited to larger jumps.

For a target archer, that matters. Somebody may shoot significantly better at 27.75 inches than they do at 28 inches. Those small fit changes can affect anchor position, peep relationship, back tension and how consistently you get into the shot.

65% to 85% Adjustable Let-Off

The A.I.M. system also gives you a wide range of holding-weight adjustment. Bowtech lists approximately 65% through 85% let-off.

What caught our attention was how the system changes holding weight without substantially changing draw length. On a target bow, you don't necessarily want to have the bow fitted perfectly and then lose that fit because you decided to change holding weight.

At the higher setting, the bow measured right at a true 29 inches. When we dropped it to roughly 65% let-off, we saw only a small increase in measured draw length—about an eighth of an inch. That's minimal considering how much the holding weight changed.

Adaptive Riser Arch

The black structure attached to the riser is Bowtech's Adaptive Riser Arch. The concept is to add rigidity to the riser and change how the bow holds and reacts. It's removable, so you aren't locked into using it.

That's one of those features we want to spend more time testing before saying one setup is automatically better. Different shooters may prefer the bow with or without it depending on how they aim and how they want the bow to react through the shot.

GripLock, Stabilizer Mounting and Arrow Clearance

Bowtech also gives you adjustment at the grip so you can change the pitch and angle to better match your hand position. If you're a higher-wrist or lower-wrist shooter, that's another place where you can personalize the bow instead of changing yourself to fit it.

There are also multiple stabilizer mounting locations around the riser, and Bowtech increased the arrow window. That's particularly useful for target shooters running larger-diameter arrows and more elaborate stabilizer setups.

Comfort vs. Performance Modules

Like other Bowtech platforms, the Anthem lets you choose between Comfort and Performance settings. This changes how aggressively the cam builds and carries draw weight and also changes the speed you're going to get out of the bow.

Changing between the two requires swapping the modules from top to bottom and bottom to top. Bowtech puts directional arrows on the cam and module to help you verify the orientation.

One other thing worth knowing if you're working on one yourself: Bowtech recommends blue threadlocker on the module hardware to reduce the chance of those screws backing out.

How the Bowtech Anthem 36 Shoots

Bowtech has one of my favorite grips on the market. It's fairly low profile and squared off toward the back, and it doesn't feel like it wants to roll around in your hand.

Grip is one of those things people sometimes overlook when they're comparing bows on paper. You shouldn't. If you're constantly fighting the grip, it probably isn't the right bow for you regardless of what the spec sheet says.

Very Little Post-Shot Feedback

This was probably the first thing that really surprised me. Target bows can sometimes have some vibration or twang after the shot, especially when you're shooting the bow relatively bare.

The Anthem 36 was honestly dead in the hand. There was virtually no feedback after the shot.

JR noticed the same thing. The back wall felt phenomenal, the string angle felt good, and even without a full stabilizer setup on the bow, the 36 already felt very stable.

That's a good starting point. If a target bow naturally wants to aim and sit well before you've loaded it with bars, weights and your complete target setup, you've got something to work with.

65% Let-Off Is a Different Animal

If you're primarily a bowhunter and you're accustomed to an 80% or 85% let-off hunting bow, understand that 65% is going to feel completely different.

At 61 pounds peak, we were holding 21.4 pounds at the low-let-off setting. You have to stay engaged against that back wall. If you relax, the bow wants to go.

That's not necessarily a negative. A lot of target shooters intentionally prefer more holding weight because it keeps them engaged through the shot. It's simply something you need to experience rather than judging from a percentage on a spec sheet.

Bowtech Anthem 36 Speed Test

We wanted more than the advertised speed number, so we shot the bow through the chronograph in both Comfort and Performance.

Our test bow was set at approximately 29 inches of draw length, 60–61 pounds and 65% let-off. We used two very different arrow weights so you could see how the two module settings affected each one.

How Much Faster Was Performance?

With the 580-grain arrow, Performance gained just under 5 fps. With the 410-grain arrow, the difference was a little over 10 fps.

That's enough of a difference to matter if speed is important to you, particularly for a 3D setup where you're trying to flatten trajectory.

The bigger question is whether you have to give up a great draw cycle to get that speed.

For us, the answer was no.

How Comfort and Performance Feel Different

The difference was there, but it wasn't drastic. On Performance, you feel the bow get into the weight a little quicker and maintain that weight longer before the cam rolls over into the back wall.

It never felt like an aggressive build-stack-and-dump draw cycle. Even in Performance, it stayed very smooth.

That's why I think Performance is going to make sense for plenty of shooters. If you want the extra speed and don't mind carrying the weight slightly differently through the draw cycle, you aren't giving up much in terms of comfort.

Who Should Consider the Anthem 36?

The Anthem is primarily a target platform, but I think the 36-inch bow has a broader use case than that description might suggest.

You've got to look at the complete system and what you're actually trying to do with the bow. The Anthem 36's real advantage is how much control it gives you over the fit and feel of a longer platform.

Bowtech Anthem 36 FAQ

Is the Bowtech Anthem 36 a target bow?

Yes. The Anthem platform is designed around target and competition archery. The 36-inch version can also make sense as a hybrid 3D and hunting bow because it is shorter and more manageable than many dedicated target platforms.

What is the draw-length range of the Anthem 36?

The standard cam covers approximately 24.5 to 28.5 inches. The long-draw cam covers approximately 27 to 31 inches.

What is the let-off on the Bowtech Anthem 36?

The A.I.M. Module allows approximately 65% to 85% let-off adjustment. In our testing, dropping the bow toward 65% increased holding weight from 11.8 pounds to 21.4 pounds at roughly 61 pounds of peak weight.

Does changing let-off change the draw length?

It had very little effect in our test. Across a large change in holding weight, we measured only about an eighth-inch increase in draw length at the lower-let-off setting.

Is Performance much harder to draw than Comfort?

We noticed a difference, but it was subtle. Performance gets into the draw weight faster and carries it a little longer before rollover. The draw cycle still felt very smooth on the Anthem 36.

Can you hunt with the Bowtech Anthem 36?

Yes. It is primarily a target platform, but we think the 36-inch version could make a very good hybrid bow for somebody who wants to shoot 3D and hunt with the same setup.

Bottom Line

The Bowtech Anthem 36 is packed with adjustment, but more importantly, most of those adjustments serve an actual purpose.

You've got DeadLock tuning, quarter-inch draw-length adjustment, a large let-off range, Comfort and Performance options, an adjustable grip and the removable Adaptive Riser Arch. You can really fine-tune this bow around the individual shooter.

What impressed us most wasn't one particular technology, though. It was how the bow felt. The Anthem 36 was stable, the back wall felt phenomenal and there was virtually no post-shot feedback—even before loading it down with a complete target stabilizer setup.

For somebody focused strictly on target archery, there's a lot here. But I think the 36 is especially interesting for the guy who shoots outdoor 3D and still wants to hunt. If you want one bow capable of doing both, I think the Anthem 36 deserves a serious look.