Mathews ARC 34 Review: Six Months After the Rocky Start

After six months with the Mathews ARC 34, I’m revisiting the bow that left me confused at first — this time after tuning, 3D shoots, field courses, broadhead testing, a grip change, and real range time.

By Justin Campbell | Equalized Outdoors Newsroom | May 2026

If you had told me back in November, after first shooting the new Mathews ARC 34 at my local pro shop back home in Virginia, that I would be writing a six-month review with this tone, I probably would’ve called you crazy — or an outright liar.

I was left confused and disappointed after my first few shots, and others at the shop echoed similar sentiments. Yet here we are at the beginning of May, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. My tone has completely changed.

I detailed what I called my “Rocky Start” with the ARC 34 back in December, shortly after purchasing one from Legacy Archery in Fort Worth. Needless to say, my opinion after tuning, range days, 3D shoots, and field courses has changed completely.

I opted for the Kodiak Brown color instead of my usual camo selection this go around, and I’m still drawing 70 pounds with a 31.5” draw length and standard 85% let-off mods. That was good enough to push my Day Six Gear HD 275 arrows, which weigh a tick north of 600 grains, at 278 fps on the shop’s chrono.

I’ve kept the stock strings for now, but I did upgrade to the QAD Integrate MX2 rest and the new HHA Nytrx XV3 for a sight. My Mathews Flatline stabilizer has returned up front, but the back bar did not fit due to a change in the riser, which requires a different mounting bracket than the static side mount I ran on my V3X. Eventually, I’ll go full Bridge-Lock, but I just can’t justify the cost yet.

That said, not everything has changed from my initial impressions of this bow.

It’s still light, and it’s certainly still fast. It still holds better than any other bow I’ve shot as well. You put your pin on the spot, and with a well-tuned ARC, that’s where your arrow is going with minimal effort from the shooter. And if you look at the flags in my archery videos, you’ll see that I rarely shoot in calm, perfect conditions. The wind has not made this bow feel unsettled.

Paper tuning this bow did take a little longer than my V3X, but my main takeaway from the process was how much simpler the system felt. With the V3X, tuning meant moving the rest because you weren’t moving the cams. With the ARC 34, Limb Shift Technology changes that conversation. It may have taken me more shots to get the bullet holes I wanted, but the actual adjustment process felt more straightforward.

That had me asking a real question: do I need to keep shelling out top dollar for a micro-adjust rest if the bow itself now gives me this much tuning control?

However, I’m happy to report that the vibration I initially experienced in Virginia has never resurfaced. To be completely honest, there’s not much to feel at all. There’s not much to report on noise either. It sounded like it could be quieter in the shop, but out at the range and on camera is where I can safely say that it is, indeed, a quiet bow.

It does, especially compared to my V3X, seem to have a harsher draw cycle in the beginning. The initial pull to get it moving seems to take more force, but it’s not a prolonged sensation. Given the increase in speed, some change was to be expected in this area, and Mathews does offer the Z mods—the so-called “easy draw mods”—for those interested.

However, in my opinion, Mathews gets a bad rap for the wall of their draw cycle. To me, the ARC 34 doesn’t feel jumpy at all. It just holds there as long as I want it to until I’m ready to take the shot.

That was not always my experience with the V3X. That bow also had 85% let-off mods, but it would seem to want to take off at times, especially when I was fatigued. That eventually led me to switch to 80% let-off mods on the V3X to get a better feel on the back end of the cycle.

Mathews used to take a lot of heat from archers for their factory string choice, and I was included in that. The stock strings on my V3X did not last long at all. However, so far with the ARC 34, the stock strings have been more than fine. Not even a single instance of peep twist or noticeable stretching in the strings.

In fact, there hasn’t been a single bow-related adjustment made since I left the pro shop after my paper tune. My field points and two different types of broadheads, though from the same company, all group together.

It’s funny because I went out to the range that day with both broadheads to purposely film and showcase the broadhead tuning process, but again, not a single adjustment was needed. It turned out to be a short video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmeklNFMWDo

Once I got the bow set up and out to the outdoor range, it felt like I had been shooting this bow for years already. I was able to sight in my new sight at 20 and 60 yards without issue. The ARC 34 is a shooter, but it doesn’t play well with any sort of torque, which, in my opinion, boils down to the grip — a longtime weak spot of Mathews.

I found the Engage grip a bit worse than the standard grip on my V3X. Previously, this would have meant resorting to an aftermarket third-party grip, but I recently converted my grip to the Contour Grip from the Mathews Bond Grip System lineup and wish I had done so sooner. My hold improved almost unbelievably, and my groups became even tighter. For me, it was undoubtedly the right decision.

The only other area where this bow lacks is in the availability of self-tuning features. If you’re someone who wants to work on your own bow without a bow press, then this may not be the bow for you. If you value the smoothest possible draw cycle, I suggest trying the Z mods before making a decision. And if speed is your absolute top priority, you may want to look elsewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0xFzamkhHU

So who is this bow for?

It’s for the hunter or 3D shooter who wants a bow that is easy to live with once it is set up correctly. It’s for the person who values a stable hold, dependable tuning, respectable speed, and a bow that doesn’t feel like it needs constant babysitting. It’s for someone who wants one bow to do many jobs well.

It may not be the flashiest answer, and it may not win every spec-sheet argument on the internet, but that’s not really how I judge a bow after six months. I judge it by whether I trust it when I draw it, whether it stays consistent after hard use, whether my broadheads group, whether the tune holds, and whether I still want to pick it up when it’s time to shoot.

The ARC 34 checks those boxes for me.

If you’re coming from an older Mathews or even a Mission bow, I’d recommend putting your hands on one. I think you’ll be pleased with what you find. As always, don’t just take my word for it. Head to your local pro shop, shoot one for yourself, and see how it feels in your hands.

I’ll still shoot the new bows when they come out in November because it’s fun. That’s part of being an archer. But it would take something extraordinary to make me put the ARC 34 on the shelf.

I shot my V3X for half a decade, and my early bet is that I’ll shoot the ARC 34 even longer. It has become my do-everything bow: range work, 3D, field courses, and eventually the woods. After the initial rocky start, I didn’t expect to say that.

But six months later, I’m glad I gave it a second chance.