[sack]

I have been shooting my compound bow for 10 years and happy with it. Upgraded to nice drop away arrow rest a couple of years ago with tune up. Curious what significant improvements with today’s bows. Only thing I can think of that would interest me is lower sound level with same arrow speed. Interested in experiences of those who have experienced shooting different bows last 10 years.

 

[maki00]

Like you I have an older compound bow (Hoyt) that I still hunt with. I have never had any issues with it (it's fast & quite). But after handling a few of the newer models, I can feel the difference. The newer bows are shorter..axle to axle, more compact, lighter & shoots faster. which I feel is easier to maneuver with in the woods/ tree stand. I will eventually look to upgrade to a newer compound bow.

 

[T.R.]

The newer bows are much lighter and shorter but that does not interest me very much. I might be too attached to my older BEAR Whitetail II.

TR

 

[sack]

Thank you for info. What I have is good enough for me. My older brother is looking at shopping for a bow next week or so. He is mid sixties and new to archery. Lighter and easy to maneuver with large range to start with easy draw weight to build from should be what fits his needs

 

[sack]

I am shooting Diamond Ice. 85 grain broad head seems to shoot flatter than 100 grain and still drops deer . I rarely need to get off top pin hunting

 

[sack]

Probably due to much much more practice with bow vs rifle especially when I lived in suburbia I am steadier shooting bow than rifle at 25 to 30 yds it seems when shooting rifle with iron sights with no shooting rest standing

 

[HIKayaker]

Well, you asked, so let's stir up the pot a bit...

Improvements in the last 10+ years are mostly higher cost.

I shoot an old Browning wood frame compound from the 90s. It is longer than the newer ones and also lighter. I prefer the longer bows since I still shoot fingers, rather than a release. Shorter bows make for a more acute angle from the knocking point to the ends of the bows. When shooting fingers, this causes an unacceptable pinch. The expectation for short bows is that everyone will be using a mechanical release.

Also the newer bows have a higher percentage of "let off" at full draw, some as high as 75%. The downside here is a much heavier pull though the draw weight about 1/2 way into draw. Almost like drawing a crossbow. A theoretical advantage of the shorter bows is that the "push" of the string against the arrow lasts longer and could give a greater acceleration and faster arrow speed. However the difference is only about 10-15% over the longer, older compounds. Plenty of deer have been killed with recurves and longbows at 1/2 the arrow speed of the compounds.

FWIW, I believe the shorter compounds are inherently less accurate than the longer bows. Notice that the target shooters all shoot longer bows, with lesser let-off. Likely this gives a more consistent release and acceleration imparted to the arrow. The biggest advance in the last 25 years, in my opinion has been carbon fiber shafts, about 1/2 the weight of the aluminum shafts. Higher speed arrows, flatter trajectory, same penetration. And the carbon shafts don't bend.

 

[sack]

Thank you. I have thought about disadvantage of excessive let off on release. Your explanation helped me. Seems that longer limbs and certainly more mass should help with dampening and sound. With the shortening and reduction in mass / weight seems vibrations would be tougher to dampen?

 

[alawrence]

I started with a PSE Stinger in late 2008. 32" axle to axle (ATA). It was an entry level bow with a short riser and longer non parallel limbs. Adjustable cam for length and let off. Well built, but there was always a bit of noise and vibration. It had a standard sliding cable glide and could be adjusted from 58# to 70# of draw.
Next bow was a local produced 2012 Forge Ventilator. 34" ATA with a fast cam that had zero valley to speak of. It was much lighter and moved the same weight arrow as the PSE at nearly 40 fps faster. The limbs were parallel and the riser was not as beefy as the PSE. It was also much quieter, but still used the sliding cable glide.
My present and last bow I will own is a Prime Alloy. To me, it is the apex of bow tech. It uses dual track cams, with parallel limbs. This takes cam lean out of the equation. That is something I had on both the PSE and Forge. The riser is a stiffer aluminum alloy than the other bows and has less vibration running through it. The cams have a deep valley that is very forgiving and easy to let down from a full draw. the cable guide uses wheels to control the cables and the guide rod flexes during draw and release. After three years of shooting with the same threads, my cables show like new due to lack of friction. This bow is not as fast as the Forge, but it is easy to draw and drops into a valley that can be held for a long time.
These are the improvements I have experienced.
1. Riser weight and strength
2. Limb angles are more parallel
3. Cam lean
4. Cam tech and design
5. Quietness
6. Speed
7. Vibration
Andew

 

[kraynky]

I shoot an old Browning wood frame compound from the 90s. It is longer than the newer ones and also lighter. I prefer the longer bows since I still shoot fingers, rather than a release. Shorter bows make for a more acute angle from the knocking point to the ends of the bows. When shooting fingers, this causes an unacceptable pinch. The expectation for short bows is that everyone will be using a mechanical release.

I have a very similar wooden compound, with tiny wheels for the pulleys. I't a Bear Kodiak Magnum, I think it's a 55 lb bow. Then I have a 50 lb Shakespeare......... sumthin. I had a Mathews MQ 32 way back when, that I might should kept. I think a shorter bow is more difficult to shoot well.

Gimme a slow heavy arrow and broadhead anytime. If I'm going to shoot a deer from 50-75 yards, I'll use levergun. :biggrin: After I got my rocket launcher (in it's day) I was shooting deer up to 45-50 yards, and now hunting lost it's challenge to me. I went to recurve then, and missed a whole season nearly because I wasn't ready, not confident. I realized how much I had started to take for granted with a compound bow. I think I've come full circle, and really don't miss a cammed bow.

I do enjoy reading about the new technology, but at a $1,000 for a new one all set up, well that is TWO Marlins! :biggrin:

 

[sack]

Thank you all before input.