I own two Palmers and both shoot great. I've owned them for several years without any problems whatsoever. I just string them up and they're ready to go. They're accurate, fast, no recoil (none) and look great. They may be a little louder than my widow PSA but put a nice string with wooly whispers on it and it's pretty quiet. The deer/pig/javalinas that I've shot never heard it coming. I sure would love a new Palmer trad slam but can't justify the expense because it won't make me a better shooter.
For what it's worth, Mike and Nancy Palmer have always treated me kindly and once when I visited his shop he treated me to lunch. I'm nobody special just a regular guy and he has always taken time to answer my questions.
As far as how the Palmer compares to a widow, well, all I can say is both are great shooting bows. However, I seem to use my Palmer more than my widow when hunting. It does seem a little faster in the speed department but that really doesn't matter because it's where you hit them that counts.
BTW, I also own a Bob Lee recurve and that is a great bow too.
If I had to pick only one it would be my Palmer double carbon. It always shoots fast and accurate but in the end all these bows are quality bows and will any animal anytime as long as you put it in the pump station.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.