Mission SUB-1: True Sub-MOA Crossbow Performance? It's hard to imagine that Matt McPherson, the founder of Mathews Archery and Mission Crossbows, has ever encountered a product he didn't think could be improved. Such was the case with crossbows. Mission Archery, a spinoff of the venerable Mathews brand, has been in the crossbow game for a number of years, creating solid if unremarkable crossbows. The brand was also responsible for the wildly popular Craze lineup of vertical compound bows that feature a highly palatable combination of ultra-adjustability in both draw length and weight along with a rock-bottom price structure that delivers great value. Right or wrong, the Mission brand had earned itself a reputation. "Mission has been known for delivering good products at good prices," McPherson said. "And there's really nothing wrong with that. But I knewthe Mission team knewwe could do crossbows better than anyone. So we decided to do that." The end result? The SUB-1. The SUB-1 is not a new iteration of an old Mission model. It's a brand-new platform that's quite different from any other crossbow I've used. When first handling the bow, its sheer weight (7.5 pounds) and build are impressive. No, it's not light. But it is made almost entirely from aluminum. There's minimal plastic on the SUB-1 and the riser is especially beefy. One of the first things I noticed when looking the SUB-1 over was a familiar set of wheels...the SUB-1's Sync X system, a pair of circular and concentric wheels, looks an awful lot like the system used on Mathew's NoCam vertical bow and not terribly dissimilar from the AVS system currently used on Mathews' top-end compounds. In fact, there's a lot of compound-related technology (and application) in this crossbow. There's 80-percent letoffmore on that in a bitand the draw weight is adjustable from its 200-pound peak. Back to the issue of let-off. Why does it matter? It's a matter of physics. By employing a cam system that utilizes let-off, the initial launch of the arrow (or bolt, if you're so inclined) is less violent. Full acceleration does not occur until the arrow has traveled partway down the rail. Now, combine that with the concentric string tracks that recover string at the exact same rate and you have a system that Mission claims to completely eliminate horizontal and vertical nock travel. Another benefit? Cocking the SUB-1 is less difficult and de-cocking is not just possible, but remarkably easy. Mission is calling its firing system in the SUB-1 "Benchmark Fire Control." The system includes the de-cocking button and a two-stage trigger with a fully contained rolling sear that's pre-set at 3.4 pounds. The arrow-retention arm has also been designed to help aid in loading and keeping things where they should be another enhancement Mission claims to aid in accuracy. So how accurate is it? Mission created the SUB-1 to redefine crossbow accuracy and quality. There's no question the platform is well-builtin fact, in might be over-built in some regards. But does it shoot? Well, keep in mind, I've only had the crossbow for a few days. I've not yet put it through any course of rigorous (or even semi-rigorous testing) but I did do this: I took it out of the box, mounted the scope and shot it at 20 yards. The first shot hit dead nuts. The second shot gouged a groove in the shaft of the first. I moved back to 50 yards and took four shots. Three were touching in the 10ring. The fourth was about 1/2-inch higher.
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