This winter I was tickled—tickled I say—to learn that Bowtech would offer a 35-inch version of its new flagship Insanity, along with a fairly normal-by-today’s-short-bow-standards 32-inch model. This, along with Bear’s new 35.25-inch Anarchy and PSE’s 33.75-inch Dream Season EVO and Hoyt’s 35-inch Carbon Matrix, among others, could actually make a person hope that the short-and-light craze is mercifully coming to an end. (More on that another time.)

I say mercifully because I tend to like a longer, heavier bow. Generally, they shoot better. I say generally because this cannot be assumed in the particular. (I recently tested a 30-inch, 3.5-pound Mathews Heli-M that was a real shooter. More on that another time.) And so, I just got done shooting the Bowtech Insanity CPX and CPXL, equipped with the identical accessories, side-by-side. Using the same three arrows, I took 10 three-shot groups at 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards with each bow, and then averaged the group sizes. Here are the results:

CPX @ 30: 2.77 inches
CPXL @ 30:  2.86 inches

CPX @ 40: 3.87 inches
CPXL @ 40: 3.48 inches

CPX @ 50: 5.77 inches
CPXL @ 50: 4.39 inches

CPX @ 60: 5.66 inches
CPXL @ 60: 4.39 inches

They are surprisingly different bows. The CPX has a shorter brace height, a more aggressive draw stroke, and a steeper valley, all of which contribute to its 15 fps IBO edge. The CPXL is easier to draw and hold against the back wall, and, I found, easier to hold on target. In terms of accuracy and forgiveness, there was very little difference between the two inside 40 yards. But beyond that, the longer, heavier bow started to pull away.

For most hunting, there’s a legitimate argument for the faster model. But I like the more accurate one, which is still purdy dern fast.