What is the fact? Compound bow

[upstream]

Dear forum members,
I have been shooting weekly for 5 month now since I started last fall.
I am going to give up on very adjustable beginners compound bow and get a new compound bow.
Question is,
I can draw...
#70 feels quite heavy and I don't know It i will ever feel comfortable with more practice to get used to it
#65 comfortable, which is what I am doing now, feels good)
#60 very very comfortable. (almost too comfortable)

Fact or False?
Is it true that the bow will perform better when max out at its draw weight?
For example, a #60 bow that maxed out at #62, will perform better with #70 bow backed down to #62.
I am kinda stuck in the middle and not sure if I should purchase a #60 or #70 model.
It will be my Hunting bow for 2019 Season.

Looking for you guys' thoughts and opinion.
Many thanks.

Steve

[Passthru]

The advice I was given when I started was pull what your comfortable holding at. Being accurate is more important than shooting high poundage. Also, in hunting situations you might hold full draw for long periods of time or when it’s cold your muscles tend to work harder to draw. Sounds like 60# - 65# is a good range for you in my opinion

[Bonescreek]

Any bow will shoot it's best when it is in tune.
Having a bow that's set and tuned at Max takes many variables out to
get it in tune and helps simplify some of the aspects of the complicated world of tuning a bow.

As a side note you may want to think about weather you will be doing your own
tuning in the future or simply stay with your local bow shop to have it done.

[Lefty-Canuck]

In my experience it depends on the bow and the shooter.

A bow will work at is “peak efficiency” if it’s setup to be used at its peak weight. That’s not to say you can’t tune and adequately shoot a bow that is not at peak weight.

If a shooter struggles to meet the peak weight of a bow, the whole system breaks down. Shoot a weight that is comfortable in all scenarios, especially a hunting bow. Focus on the “one shot” aspects. If you cannot shoot a heavier poundage well or comfortably you will just miss or wound faster.

LC

[Bonescreek]

I totally agree with what Passthru and LC said as well.

[brendan's dad]

Todays bows are designed to usually have about 10lb of adjustment. The only real different you will see between your 2 examples is that when you reduce the weight on the 70 lb bow you will slightly increase draw length and ATA.

To test your draw weight limit....

Sit on a five gallon bucket 20 yards from the target. Lift both feet off the ground, draw, anchor, and shoot. If you can do this smoothly and with acceptable accuracy, you are probably at a good draw weight.

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by upstream

Dear forum members,
I have been shooting weekly for 5 month now since I started last fall.
I am going to give up on very adjustable beginners compound bow and get a new compound bow.
Question is,
I can draw...
#70 feels quite heavy and I don't know It i will ever feel comfortable with more practice to get used to it
#65 comfortable, which is what I am doing now, feels good)
#60 very very comfortable. (almost too comfortable)

Fact or False?
Is it true that the bow will perform better when max out at its draw weight?
For example, a #60 bow that maxed out at #62, will perform better with #70 bow backed down to #62.
I am kinda stuck in the middle and not sure if I should purchase a #60 or #70 model.
It will be my Hunting bow for 2019 Season.

Looking for you guys' thoughts and opinion.
Many thanks.

Steve

Took me a second to find that you're looking for an upgrade for hunting purposes.

A couple of things to consider when choosing weight:

- cooler weather means more clothing, which may/may not affect your ability to draw
- cool weather also means while you're sitting still, you no longer have warm muscles to yank back heavier weight
- cold muscles means also extra effort to draw, possibly affecting accuracy.

On a cooler morning while out hunting, I can sit still for a couple of hours and have an animal come in and I don't even feel the 70 pound weight as I draw back (adrenaline is usually coarsing through my body, enough to compensate for the cold muscles). BTW, there are tricks to keep some warmth in your muscles without moving...

I personally feel that 70 is a very comfortable weight for me while cold. Thought once or twice about jumping to 80 (in case of Murphy's law) but why take the chance of straining when 70 does the job. Bows of today even at the provincial minimum of 40 pounds will do the job when the arrow is put into the right place.

My suggestion would be to buy the 60 pound version. It will do the job, you will feel comfortable pulling it, and shoot it at its maxed out weight (most efficient weight). It will last you years.

J.

[upstream]

Thanks for all your valuable advice.
I will be getting a #60 new bow.
I was also reading that longer brace height will be more "Jacket friendly"??
Likely I will be going with a new PSE Drive.
It does have the 7" brace height and IBO of 330 with a compact design that is not too heavy.

Cheers!

[Camel73]

Congrats on your decision! You will be happy.

For "jacket friendly" shooting in colder weather I've found a shorter draw length to help. Otherwise I have to do something for the puffiness of my bow forearm so the string doesn't smack it.

Good luck and have fun getting to know your new bow!

[upstream]

Thank you all for the reply.
Got my new PSE Drive and having fun with it.
It maxed out at #62 which feels very comfortable, or maybe just the draw cycle was very easy.
It does have a longer valley and high let off which i'll try to get used to.
Overall, it is a great shooting bow, no shock and vibration.
The 29.5 DL seen to feel a little shorter then what I was shooting (bear CG2)
The only down side of the rig is the arrow rest that came with it.
It was a PSE Phantom drop away rest.
The rest timing was set properly by my local Jim-bows shop when I bought it.
However the vanes are still contacting the rest when I fire the arrows.
It seen to be not enough "height" clearance...
I can see the red marks on the rest from my red vanes.
Or it might be from the rest bounce back?
So sometimes I do have that odd arrow that I started to questioning myself.

Will a Ripcord Code Red rest worth the upgrade? ($150)
It seen to have better clearance than the PSE Phantom that's on my bow.

Stephen

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by upstream

Thank you all for the reply.
Got my new PSE Drive and having fun with it.
It maxed out at #62 which feels very comfortable, or maybe just the draw cycle was very easy.
It does have a longer valley and high let off which i'll try to get used to.
Overall, it is a great shooting bow, no shock and vibration.
The 29.5 DL seen to feel a little shorter then what I was shooting (bear CG2)
The only down side of the rig is the arrow rest that came with it.
It was a PSE Phantom drop away rest.
The rest timing was set properly by my local Jim-bows shop when I bought it.
However the vanes are still contacting the rest when I fire the arrows.
It seen to be not enough "height" clearance...
I can see the red marks on the rest from my red vanes.
Or it might be from the rest bounce back?
So sometimes I do have that odd arrow that I started to questioning myself.

Will a Ripcord Code Red rest worth the upgrade? ($150)
It seen to have better clearance than the PSE Phantom that's on my bow.

Stephen

Good to hear that the new "wheelie" is making you smile.

I'm partial to QAD myself - I've had great luck for the past 8 years with my QAD and I like that once an arrow is loaded into shooting position, it stays there ready to go even upon letting down. I've drawn back, let down then drawn again without having to think about the arrow.

I haven't checked prices lately, the QAD could be comparable? Either way, something will work....

J.

[32-40win]

Probably needs a re-adjustment rather than a new rest. maybe it was on the edge the way it was setup originally and now that things are stretched ans settled it may be a bit off on the rest timing. Most bows need a bit of a re-tune of some type after 1-200 shots.

[upstream]

Thanks for the reply.
I will talk to Jim this weekend see if we can make some improvement on the rest.
I am still thinking to get a better and reliable rest.
The Ripcord Code Red is $150, and the QUA HDX is $200.
The Ripcord Max was also $200 If I remember right...
I just don't know if it is worth the extra $50 to get the QAD HDX or the MAX.
Will need to do some homework.

Stephen

[Versatile]

Check out amazon on the QAD. I was looking and found them as low as $170 inc shipping.

[brendan's dad]

Also Facebook Archery Buy and Sell usually has some good deals. Saw a HDX tonight for $140. QAD CS is awesome, even with used you basically have a lifetime warranty.

[upstream]

Update of the PSE phantom rest.
They found the issue of the arrow rest, which the rest did not fall fast enough when arrow is launched...
This is a fall-away-slowly rest that I wonder why PSE would put them on their bow package...
We pulled the cable up a little and solved the issue, but I think it is still very close.
Now I am still thinking on a rest upgrade.
I was looking at the Ripcord Max at Jim bow store for $175.
It is looking good and seen to be reasonable priced.
It only cost $35 more than the cold red, which it will stay up when I let down.
Hopefully this will be a good bang for the dollars.

Steve

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by brendan's dad

Todays bows are designed to usually have about 10lb of adjustment. The only real different you will see between your 2 examples is that when you reduce the weight on the 70 lb bow you will slightly increase draw length and ATA.

To test your draw weight limit....

Sit on a five gallon bucket 20 yards from the target. Lift both feet off the ground, draw, anchor, and shoot. If you can do this smoothly and with acceptable accuracy, you are probably at a good draw weight.

HAHAHA all you would see is my fat ass on the ground with 2 feet up in the air and an arrow going far, far away.....LOL

[brendan's dad]

Originally Posted by 6.5 shooter

HAHAHA all you would see is my fat ass on the ground with 2 feet up in the air and an arrow going far, far away.....LOL

HAhaha

You could tie off with your tree harness before attempting.

[upstream]

LOL I was just picturing it with myself in it too.
I think a milk crate would likely work better =)

[jcrayford]

Originally Posted by upstream

LOL I was just picturing it with myself in it too.
I think a milk crate would likely work better =)

Try a barstool, but be careful not to spill yer beer... LOL

Actually, was just in my basement yesterday, sitting on my barstool shooting my target at 8 yards. Even tried the trick of lifting the feet. Seemed to work OK, could still draw and hold still on the target without too much movement.

J.

[upstream]

Update:
So I tried Bar stool, Ikea's dining chair, Home Depot bucket, and two milk crate stacked.
Most accuracy on the milk crates!! LOL

Steve

[Bonescreek]

6.5 shooter put out a very good suggestion in an odd sort of way.

If you try to shoot a new bow or a new/different setup by trying to shoot
like he suggested more or less, will help take your mind off of "other stuff".
And you will either end up shooting wild or shooting natural. One of two things.

If the bow "fits" and dl dw etc. is good for you, it will not change weather
you shoot sitting down or standing up. This also means you draw and hold and
release with good form. If any of the this is not quite right it will not work.

(big deal when hunting from both a blind and a tree stand or target shooting).

Don't hesitate to try things, I've seen many posts about form and how it should
be. But none to few about people with spine injuries or soft tissue damage like
torn rotor cuff. So read all you can about proper form but don't commit to what all is said.
(It's written with the perfect human in mind).

That's gettin' in to the nitty gritty of the bow stuff, what's really cool is
it's a hell of lot of fun to try and can last a lifetime.
Totally up to you.

[Bonescreek]

Taking your mind off other stuff is what they call the Zen thing about
shooting a bow.

Goes back to days of long bow.

You could see the path of the arrow from the archer to the target before
you hit the trigger on your release.



That right there is bow hunting mind set.

[upstream]

Update,
So my new PSE Drive #60 model actually max out at 63 pounds which is what I wanted and I was happy.
Finally bought a Ripcord Max rest and put it on just the past weekend.
Oh... What a difference and improvement.
I realised that the arrow rest is likely the most important component on the bow for accuracy.
After the new rest was installed, I got instantly tighter group!
I don't know how good the QADs are but I am happy with my Ripcord =)
Now new wish list:
Black gold Revenge sight.
A lighter weight Stabiliser maybe a Beestinger 6".

Stephen