Tested: PSE Mach 33 DS

An extended brace height and easy-to-tune EC2 Cams make the PSE Mach 33 DS one of this year’s best compound bows.

by Jace Bauserman

PSE’s archery roots run deep. While working full-time at Magnavox, PSE founder Pete Shepley started tinkering. Shepley was an avid archer and bowhunter, and his degree in aerospace engineering allowed his mind to wander.

In 1970, Shepley formally launched PSE (Precision Shooting Equipment) and ran the business out of a small machine shop in Mahomet, Illinois. It’s safe to say that a small machine shop has grown.

Today, PSE is located in Tucson, Arizona, occupying 150,000 square feet of space and employing an estimated 175 people. Shepley’s dream to create quality compound bows dripping with technology that meet the needs of bowhunters and target archers has come full circle. At the 2024 ATA Show, Shepley, credited with over 77 archery patents, received the ATA Impact Award. Shepley has also been inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame.

OK, enough with the history lesson. Let’s find out how PSE’s latest carbon-riser compound, the Mach 33 DS, performed in a rigorous field test that involved shooting over 500 arrows in various conditions and environments, with arrows tipped with field points, mechanical, hybrid, and fixed-blade broadheads.

PSE Mach 33 DS First Impressions

I’m a sucker for gray. PSE calls it Charcoal, but my eyes saw gray when I unwrapped the 33-inch axle-to-axle, 6 5/8-inch brace-hieght, 3.9-pound compound bow. The grip is direct to the riser, the angle felt perfect, and I loved the thin, flat-backed build. I have to love a bow’s grip for it to get me excited about it. This grip felt great. I also double-checked the bow’s specs with a tape measure and digital scale, and they were spot-on-accurate.

The bow’s weight was noticeable. I applaud PSE for building a 33-inch axle-to-axle compound that hits a weight rating of under four pounds. I was also glad to see modern-day rest mounting. PSE utilizes small Picatinny rails on the front and back of the riser, eliminating the need for a sight or rest mounting bar.

Tested: Pse Mach 33 Ds — Modern-day accessory mounting is critical. PSE’s dual Picatinny rails makes sight and rest mounting easy, absolute, and reduces weight because no mounting bar is needed.

The bow is super clean—no dings, nicks, or scratches—and the strings and cables showed no frays, resting comfortably in the EC2 cams. The EC2 cams have a tall back but aren’t oversized, and the split-limb system is well beyond parallel. Two dampeners sit between the split limbs on the top and bottom. The bow is ultra-clean, and I was excited to set it up and start sending arrows down range.

Mach 33 DS Bow Build

Thanks to modern-day design, setting up a compound bow doesn’t take long. My Spot-Hogg Boonie 5-Pin PM and QAD MX2 rest attach easily to PSE’s machined dovetail plate system (front and back). The machined dovetail plates can also be removed if you desire to use a sight and rest with a mounting bar.

PSE requires you to back out the limb bolts four full turns before pressing the bow. The limb bolts are stiff, but there is zero chatter (popping, clicking, etc.) when turning them. The bow pressed easily, and though the string on my bow was solid gray, PSE included a red piece of string that separated the strands in half. Be careful when inserting your peep that you keep half the string’s strands on each side of the peep. Failing to do so will result in a constant rotation of the peep. You will also find improper peep insertion will affect accuracy.

The EC2 cams are draw-length adjustable in half-inch increments between 25 and 31 inches. I appreciate the two-screw module system with a window and peg that allows draw-length adjustment without a bow press, and the lettering system makes setting an exact draw-length foolproof.

Another feature of the EC2 is the EZ.220 Snap Spacer System. This spacer system allows for quick and easy bow tuning without twisting yokes or cables or pulling the axle pins and swapping spacers. The Snap Spacers, or shims, are easily removed via a PSE spacer tool as long as the bow is pressed. The spacers allow for cam shift adjustments in 0.020-inch increments.

I set up and used Easton’s all-new 5.0 arrows with four Flex-Flech Pro 2.5 vanes, 100-grain field points, HIT inserts, HIT collars, and 5mm Microlite nocks for the test. The total arrow weight is 381.5 grains.

PSE Mach 33 DS on the Range

If you’ve read my bow reports over the years, you know I don’t paper-tune a bow until I have at least 100 arrows through it. I want to get familiar with the bow, how it shoots, and get the string stretched out. Modern-day accessory mounting and proper setup tools enable the bow builder to achieve a close-to-perfect bow tune the first time out of the press. As long as I’m not detecting serious nock travel—horizontal or vertical—when shooting the bow on the range, I get some arrows through it and then tune it up.

Set at a draw length of 29 inches and a measured draw weight of 70.02 pounds (using a digital scale), I began sending arrows. Although I had a slight right kick that was noticeable beyond 40 yards, I drove the tacks with the Mach 33 DS. DS stands for Full Draw Length Stability. PSE increased the brace height, allowing FDS to prevent shooter-induced torque better.

During my tenure as a bow tester, I’ve seen many technologies come and go—some highly purposeful and others nothing more than snake oil. FDS is real. This bow holds and balances like a dream. The draw cycle, set at a let-off of 80 percent (adjustable between 80% and 90%), is smooth, and the transition to let-off is gentle. This allows for immediate target acquisition, which is crucial in bowhunting situations. I was able to stare at my target from the moment I clipped on my release until the moment the arrow hit the target. This eliminated anxiety and boosted accuracy.

Accuracy Not Speed

PSE didn’t build the Mach 33 DS to be a flamethrower. PSE built this bow to be accurate and fun to shoot. The valley is forgiving; the EC2 cams aren’t itching to pull your shoulder through the riser like PSE speed demons of the past. I could pull the stops into the inner cable to create a small valley, promoting a great pre-shot feel.

Concerning speed, the bow sent my Easton 5.0s downrange at 309 feet per second, producing 80.9-foot pounds of kinetic energy. I would have zero reservations about screwing a SEVR Ti 1.5 4-Blade Hybrid onto these arrows and running one through a mature bull elk from 60 yards. Knowing how accurate the bow is and knowing I could hit the center of the lungs and avoid heavy bone, even though my finished arrow weight is on the lighter side, it would take down an elk quickly.

Even with my slight nock-right kick, which was confirmed shooting LIT Lighted Arrow Nocks at dusk, my Easton 5.0s consistently found the 10 and 12 ring on targets to the maximum pre-tune distance of 70 yards. Mechanical and hybrid broadheads grouped right with my field points, and my QAD Exodus 3-blade fixed broadheads hit exactly 2.25 inches right of my field points and mechanical heads at 70 yards.

At the shot, the bow sits still. There’s a slight thud, but it’s barely noticeable. There is zero hand shock or vibration. The more I shot PSE’s Mach 33 DS, the more I fell in love with it. It is one of the finest compound bows of 2025.

Final Tune

The right tear—vanes right of point entry—was cleaned up with a couple of left (.0019″) clicks. I did not have to use the EZ.220 Snap Spacers, but for testing’s sake, I used the tool to remove and then reinsert the EZ.220 Snap Spacers. The process is elementary. After shooting six Easton 5.0 arrows through paper and achieving perfect tears, it was time to head back to the range. It is essential to understand that every arrow you plan to put in your quiver should be individually paper-tuned.

The PSE Mach 33 DS is shooting perfection. The axle-to-axle length strikes a sweet spot—not too long and not too short—and a more extended brace height enhances forgiveness. The bow is hyper-accurate and ultra-quiet and deserves a test drive.

I’ve shot multiple 24-target 3D rounds with the bow, as well as numerous 60-arrow 5-spot rounds. I’ve also stretched the bow’s legs beyond 100 yards. The PSE Mach 33 DS is one of the finest compound bows I’ve ever wrapped my hands around and is one PSE should build their next generation of compound bows around.