Contents
Bow Package Contents
The PSE (Precision Shooting Equipment) Madness 30 comes ready to shoot out of the box due to the included RTS (Ready To Shoot) package. It is available in a version for right handed and left handed archers.
The package contains the following items:
You will get an Aries Sight that is pretty good for starting out. You will need to sight it in though. Sighting in a compound bow should be done by the shooter, as this depends a lot on the physical stature of the individual and on his or her way of shooting. So it is not a good idea to let someone else sight your PSE Madness 30 in. If you want to learn more about sighting in a bow, please read my guide about it here => How To Sight In A Compound Bow.
When sighting it in you will recognize that the pins are rather close together and not spread out much. This means that the PSE Madness 30 is a really fast and flat shooting bow.
The Whisker Biscuit included in this package is really a high quality arrow rest and there is no need to switch it out against something better (like you have to do with a lot of the arrow rests of other sets out there). It is really important that the arrow rest is good as this is the component which will affect your accuracy – and therefore hitting where you want to – a lot, if not the most. You will want to check if the arrows are at centershot, though. For doing so you need to nock an arrow in. Then measure the distance from the front of the riser to the arrow shaft and from the back of the riser to the shaft. Those distances should be equal, because only then the shaft is parallel to the riser. The PSE Madness 30 has a white tuning mark for finger shooters and a white alignment mark for release aid shooters on the riser to make this process easier.
For reducing noise while shooting and balancing this model out, you will get a Flexxtech 3 Stabilizer. The only negative about this one is that the Madness will kick from the bottom when being released. If you don’t like that movement you can get a longer and heavier stabilizer. This way you will get more weight to the nose, which will result in a more straightforward movement after the release. Additionally you will get two string silencers, that take out even more vibrations while shooting.
The Shadow Quiver is a standard bow mounted quiver that works quite well. It is not in the way of anything and can contain up to 6 arrows.
The included PSE Neoprene Sling will enable you to shoot with a relaxed grip. This is important as we tend to tighten our grip after the release, because the Madness 30 itself will move forward a bit. So to prevent it from dropping to the ground we hold it tighter, which might torque the whole thing, resulting in bad shots or missed targets. The bowsling attaches the bow to our wrist, so we can relax our grip after the release.
There is also a Mongoose Peep Sight served in and a D-loop installed on the string. As a peep sight needs to be adjusted for the individual for getting the best results, you may need to change its position before tying it in. The D-loop is there for clipping a mechanical release aid to the string for pulling it back. Compound bows should be shot with a release aid in general, as your fingers might twist the string at the release, which may result in wild shots as well.
The PSE Madness 30 is available in three finishes: Skull Works Camo, Black and Mossy Oak Infinity. The inlay of the rubber grip and the cable slide dampeners are red, by the way.
The PSE Lifetime Warranty to the original owner is not transferable and will replace or restore the product to its original performance. Excluded are Cables, Strings and wearable items.
The warranty gets voided if you misuse or modify the compound, like drilling holes into the riser. You should not use arrows that are too light for this model (same effect as dry firing) and you need to switch out string and cables every 5,000 shots or every 12 months.
Dry firing will also void the warranty. If you want to read more about it, please read my article here => Dry Firing A Compound Bow.
There are no arrows included in this package. This makes sense as arrows need to be adjusted to your draw length (plus one inch for safety reasons), they need to fit the poundage of the bow (they need a certain weight and must not be too light) and they need to be chosen for a purpose (target practicing or hunting). Finding the best arrows for you might take some time and should be done in a pro shop or together with someone who knows what he’s doing. If you want to learn more about arrows, please read my article about them here => Choosing The Right Arrows For A Compound Bow.
You will need to get a release aid for this compound as well, as there is none included. I also would get an arm guard as it will prevent your forearm from getting string slaps from time to time. String slaps are a sign of shooting without proper form. If they occur all the time, something is wrong with your technique. Even if you are shooting with proper form, string slaps can happen from time to time because of a bad stance due to field conditions or small ground blinds or tree stands etc. If you want to read more about proper form, feel free to read my article about it here => Proper Form For Compound Bow Shooting.
There is also no carrying case included. If you are transporting the PSE Madness 30 a lot (driving to the range, driving to the field, taking it with you travelling or camping etc.), you might want to think about getting something appropriate. A case is also good for storing the compound when you are not shooting for a while. It prevents your compound from extreme temperatures (hot car, attic) or moisture, which can damage it.
One more thing: Some customers stated that they added a Bowjax Saver on the cable guard for saving the fletchings of the arrows as those got ripped off here and then.
Noise Level / Hand Shock Of The PSE Madness 30 Compound Bow
This compound shoots very silently due to the stabilizer, the string silencers and the Backstop 3 string stop system. The string stopper is adjustable, which means you can get the rubber dampener in the perfect position for stopping the string in the best and most quiet way possible. You could add additional Bowjax Limb Savers, but it really is already silent enough without those.
There is absolutely no hand shock. This might be due to the parallel limb design of this compound or the overall modern design and the modern components, as hand shock is eliminated nearly in all models nowadays.
Bow Specifics / Limbs / Riser / Grip / String
Overall the PSE Madness 30 looks and feels very well made and of a high quality, which PSE has been known for in the archery world for years. The beautifully forged aluminum riser has a lot of well designed cutouts to bring the weight down as much as possible. It has a thin integrated grip with red rubber inlays on both sides. It is kinda minimal designwise but it feels quite comfortable and should fit a lot of hands.
The split limbs of this compound look like they can take a lot of beating in the field. They seem to be pretty sturdy and durable, as are the cams.
With an axle to axle length (ATA) of 29.75″, this model is rather on the compact side, which makes it an awesome option for all you bowhunters out there. You won’t touch the top of the ground blind and you won’t bump against the railing of the tree stand all the time with it, which makes it quite handy for such things. If you have a very long draw length (think 30″), though, the angle of the string at full draw might become a bit steep for you (which is a personal thing as well, because some guys have a problem with that and some don’t).
Its net weight of 3.8 pounds fits the overall compact size of this compound and makes it a really lightweight option, which also supports bowhunters roaming the field for hours without getting too tired.
The Hybrid M2 Cam is part of a single cam system and does an exceptional job. Just look at the shooting speed of 330 fps that can be achieved with the PSE Madness 30. It is one of the fastest – if not the fastest – single cam system available at the moment. The rotating module on the bottom has laser engraved red draw length indicators for adjusting. The cam on the top is an aggressively designed old school idler wheel. Both cams work pretty well together, resulting in an overall great performance.
Draw Cycle / Shootability
The PSE Madness 30 shoots very accurately out of the box. You will need to make a few adjustments like I have mentioned throughout the text already to get the best results, though, but apart from those this model works like a charm. It also shoots very fast and flat while being forgiving and easy to draw at the same time – which is a hard to find combination sometimes.
You can get the PSE Madness 30 in three versions with the maximum draw weight set to 50, 60 or 70 lbs. Each configuration can be adjusted by 25% of the chosen poundage. This means that the 50 pound version can be adjusted between 50 and 37.5 lbs, the 60 pound version between 60 and 45 pounds and the 70 pound version between 70 and 52.5 pounds.
The draw length range is from 23.5″ to 30″. It can be adjusted easily with the rotating cam module that has laser engraved marks on it without using a bow press. If you want to know how to measure your own draw length, please read my guide about it here => How To Determine Your Draw Length.
This is important to know before buying a compound, because in case you have a draw length bigger than 30″, this model is not for you.
The let off of this one is 80%. So for example with the 70 lbs version, you only will have to hold around 14 pounds at full draw. This makes aiming really easy and you can concentrate on proper form instead of holding a lot of weight back.
The Madness 30 has a solid wall with a little bit of creep at the back end, which gives a nice reference point for every arrow you shoot. This is important as it is just another contact point (anchor point) that lets you repeat every shot in the same way – and consistency leads to accuracy. The string stop for the back wall is on the bottom cam, by the way.
With a brace height of 6.5 inches, this model is very forgiving according to PSE – whatever that means. If a bow is experienced as forgiving or not depends a lot on the individual and his or her skills to shoot it accurately, in my opinion, not necessarily on its brace height.
Shooting Speed Of The PSE Madness 30 Compound Bow
The achievable speed of the Madness 30 is 322-330 fps measured after the requirements of the International Bowhunting Organization (IBO). Those are 70 lbs draw weight, 350 grain arrows and 30″ draw length. This compound won’t break any speed records but overall it shoots fast and flat – and the most important factor is, that it’s a joy to shoot. Period.
Suitable For Hunting / Kinetic Energy (KE)
The 70 pound version is suitable for hunting without a doubt. With 330 fps and 350 grain arrows you will achieve 84.54 ft-lbs, which is enough for going after large game. Just look at Easton’s Field Chart.
But keep in mind that the achieved kinetic energy drops fast when you lower the poundage, change the weight of the arrows (bowhunters often tend to use heavier arrows for deeper penetration), when you shoot over longer distances or simply if you have to face bad field and weather conditions.
Customers stated that the PSE Madness 30 shoots (at a draw weight of 70 lbs) 450 grain arrows at around 270 fps achieving 72.77 ft-lbs.
The 60 pound version shoots 405 grain arrows at 280 fps achieving 70.43 ft-lbs.
As you can see the KE can drop really fast. This is important as every state has different legal requirements for bowhunting. These can range from 30-60 pounds, so please look at those before going into the field.
Apart from that I am kinda one shot, one kill guy. This won’t be possible all the time but at least it is a good goal to go after, as it supports the hunting-in-a–humane-way thought, which I like a lot. By the end of the day the reponsibility is only on you and your skills to hit where you want to – preferably the vital spots – so achieving the highest KE is not always necessary, as long as you hit the game where you want to.
If you want to read more about kinetic energy, here’s an article about it => Kinetic Energy For Bowhunting.
Suitable For Bowfishing
It should be possible to add a bowfishing reel to this model as there are a lot of pre drilled holes in the riser. I did not test this myself, though. The power is also way enough to get through the water and hit the fish well. So yeah, happy bowfishing!
Pricing
At around 480 bucks the PSE Madness is a great option for intermediate and seasoned archers without breaking the bank completely. I would also recommend it to serious beginners – that means new archers who know already that they will stay in archery for years. If you are not 100% sure about that, you should start with something cheaper like the SAS Rage or the SAS Siege for testing the waters. All the others get a great bang for the buck.
Pros & Cons
Pros
– ready to shoot out of the box
– great value for the money
– great quality of a well known brand
Cons
– none
Summary
I would recommend the PSE Madness 30 Compound Bow Package for adult intermediate and seasoned bowhunters, like I wrote above already. Teens could use it too, but as it is not that cheap they should be 100% sure about if they like shooting bows. Otherwise I would try something like the Barnett Vortex or the Bear Archery Cruzer.
This model is a pretty quick and flat shooter, due to the extremely fast single cam system. It is compact enough for bowhunting and will serve you well for years to come if treated well. That’s why I would recommend it to everyone who is deep into archery or bowhunting. You cannot do much wrong here.
Thanks for reading and shoot straight!
I have developed my hunting experience through this resources that you have shared here. thanks
I just picked up a bowmadness 30 to add to my pse collection. Fantastic bow. Looking forward to putting meat on the table with it. I now have 9 pse bows, they truly are the best on the market.
Thank you pse
i really like your awesome and informative resources. thank you so much