Darton AS400,Maverick,Rampage comparison

[C-WOODS-SHOOT]

After seeing the thread about the new Dartons and me being a long time Darton shooter I decided to call the local dealer to see what he knew about them. He said he had already sold one and would be getting another soon. I told him to give me a call when it came in. He called me the next day and long story short, it came home with me. I set it up this afternoon and ran it through the cronograph along with my other two Dartons.All three bows are set at 58 lbs and 28'' draw length, and all have the same string accesories (string loop and peep sight).

2002model Darton Rampage
37'' ATA, 7'' BH,IBO 312 fps
278 grain arrow - 285 fps
322 grain arrow - 267 fps
465 grain arrow - 230 fps

2004 model Darton Maverick
38'' ATA, 6 1/2'' BH, IBO 318 fps
278 grain arrow - 288 fps
322 grain arrow - 269 fps
465 grain arrow - 233 fps

2007 model Darton AS 400
34 1/2 ATA, 7 1/8'' BH, IBO 320 fps
278 grain arrow - 291 fps
322 grain arrow - 271 fps
465 grain arrow - 234 fps

I did not have an arrow that weighed 290 grains which would be the IBO minimum 5 grains per pound, but by doing a little math and figuring the amount of speed lost per grain of arrow added I came up with 285 fps IBO rating at my draw length of 28''. I also brought home the 29'' modules and put them on to see what the increase in speed would be. The bow gained 9 fps. I'm not sure but I thoght that IBO speed rating was figured at 30 inches of draw length. So with the two inches of difference in draw length I would add 18 fps which comes to 303 fps. A far cry from 320 but it is slightly faster than my other bows.
When I shot it at the shop it was cranked all the way down which brought it to 63 lbs, 5 more than I usually shoot. It was also set one inch to long on the draw length. I shot it out to 30 yards and it grouped great. It is smooth shooting and quiet (probably ten times quieter than the Rampage).
I haven't shot it since getting it set for me except thru the chrony because it was dark when I got done. I plan on getting more aquainted with it in the next couple days if the weather permits.
I also came up with a better name for it; Dartech

[nodog]

Interesting. I emailed them 2 days ago for some info and it came today. I like the service so far.It didn't show any of the new bows though I think.

[willyd5]

RememberIBO is 70# Peak Draw Weight, exactly 30" Draw Length, and they must shoot a test arrow that weighs precisely 350 grains.I am a Darton dealer, and also shoot the AS400. How do you like it so far??

[willyd5]

This is a quote not my words, but somthing to think about when you look at IBO.

"Since most manufacturers rate their own bows - they'll usually give themselves a few added advantages by testing the bows with a bare arrow shaft (no fletchings), a naked string (no nocking point, peep sight, or silencers), and a drop-away style rest. This helps to eliminate friction and squeeze out a few extra fps, but doesn't necessarily reflect realistic shooting conditions. Manufacturers can also squeeze a few more fps by shooting the bows from the hard-wall (forcibly drawing the bow back a little too far) rather than from the soft valley And finally, the manufacturer's IBO speed is likely to reflect their "best" test, rather than their average test.

Since the industry has no independent testing authority to actually scientifically verify each of the manufacturers' claims, most bows end up with advertised IBO speeds that are optimistically high, and nearly impossible to duplicate. After all, most consumers don't have the benefit of a chronograph, and few people actually shoot 70# DW, 30" DL, and exactly a 350 gr arrow. And even if they did, there will always be some percentage of variance among scales and chronographs to help dismiss any claims of discrepancies. So there's really no way to hold manufacturers accountable for their exact IBO speed numbers. From our experience, they're all guilty of a little IBO speed padding. But in all fairness, most are careful not to get too carried away. A little padding and outright fabricating are different things."

[nodog]

ORIGINAL: willyd5

This is a quote not my words, but somthing to think about when you look at IBO.

"Since most manufacturers rate their own bows - they'll usually give themselves a few added advantages by testing the bows with a bare arrow shaft (no fletchings), a naked string (no nocking point, peep sight, or silencers), and a drop-away style rest. This helps to eliminate friction and squeeze out a few extra fps, but doesn't necessarily reflect realistic shooting conditions. Manufacturers can also squeeze a few more fps by shooting the bows from the hard-wall (forcibly drawing the bow back a little too far) rather than from the soft valley And finally, the manufacturer's IBO speed is likely to reflect their "best" test, rather than their average test.

Since the industry has no independent testing authority to actually scientifically verify each of the manufacturers' claims, most bows end up with advertised IBO speeds that are optimistically high, and nearly impossible to duplicate. After all, most consumers don't have the benefit of a chronograph, and few people actually shoot 70# DW, 30" DL, and exactly a 350 gr arrow. And even if they did, there will always be some percentage of variance among scales and chronographs to help dismiss any claims of discrepancies. So there's really no way to hold manufacturers accountable for their exact IBO speed numbers. From our experience, they're all guilty of a little IBO speed padding. But in all fairness, most are careful not to get too carried away. A little padding and outright fabricating are different things."

Yea, Yea, Yea. Hey, if they can get it fine with me. I don't expect too. I do like the ability to bulk an arrow up and still get some speed out of it though. So the IBO is a helpful guide.

I'm glad they feel that way. When I go to buy one I'll make the check out for 10 or 20 bucks less.

[C-WOODS-SHOOT]

willyd, I figured the manufactures did everything possible to up their IBO speed ratings. I don't know why I didn't think of the speed gained by shooting 70# as opposed to 58#.
When I got home from work today it was raining and slowly changing to freezing rain so I shot at a bag target outside from inside my garage. The bow is quiet and smooth. I had three pins sighted in in no time. Quiet, smooth, accurate, needless to say I like this bow.

[willyd5]

Glad to hear you like the AS400 c-woods. Darton has really stepped up their game this year. Everyone says they are using Bowtech cams, but Rex Darlington who owns Darton actually developed the cam that Bowtech uses.