Riser geometry - does vertical center make a difference?

[JOE PA]

Just wanted to see if anyone else had an opinion about this.

I just re-acquired an old favorite bow, a Bowtech Pro 38 Dual Cam. The last one was a great shooter for me, and luckily, I found another after being dumb enough to sell the first one. I have already noticed a few things about it.

1. It feels lighter than it actually is.
2. It seems pretty forgiving for a bow with less than 7" brace.
3. It seems to aim very easily and solidly.

Only after noticing the 3 things above did I notice and measure that the low point of the grip is in the vertical center of the riser. Many bows have the shelf or even the arrow pass in the vertical center. Combined with heavy reflex, they seem to make a bow harder to get on target (for me), and feel top heavy.

I know Pearson redesigned the Bishop into the Generation 2, and moved the grip toward the center of the riser. Just wondering if anyone else noticed something like this with other bows. The Mathews Apex 7 also looks like the riser is of a similar design, where the Switchback series has much more riser above the grip than below. I guess the reality is that the shooter can shoot any bow well with correct form, but it just seems easier with some bows than others. Any thoughts?

[BGfisher]

Joe,

I don't know how many modern era bows have this geometry, but it isn';t many. Back in the 70's and early 80's this used to be the norm. The deepest part of the grip was the physical center of the bow. The shelf and rest was always mounted higher than center. How much I don't know, but probably about 1 1/2" or more.

Not having been as educated back then I would only assume this is one reason we set our bows up with uneven tiller. Usually the bottom limb was about 1/4" shorter in tiller measurement.

I do remember one thing about them though. They balanced better, both on my belt hook and at full draw. And they aimed better, too, without being top heavy. And shot just as well I might add. Just a tad slower.

[BGfisher]

Joe,

Don't know how long you've been shooting, but back in the 70's and early 80's this used to be the norm. The grip was in the vertical center of the bow and the rest was mounted higher. About 1 1/2".

Maybe this is why we run an uneven tiller with the bottom being about 1/4" less than the top.

What I can remember from those days is that the bows balanced better, both on my belt hook and at full draw. I think they aimed better, too just because of the difference in balance. They weren't so top heavy. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that most risers were straight or deflexed, whoo knows. It's too far back and I wasn't as educated as I am today.

[Rick James]

I suspect you won't see much here in regards to this. The Apex series bows I shot last year were the best pointing bows I have ever shot and also the best balanced. I do believe this is due to the center of the riser being located at the handle. You don't see this often now with the trend of parallel limb bows, it seems everything is top heavy mostly. I don't know what bow I will be shooting for indoor season this year but I do know that it will have the center point of the riser at the pivot point of the grip, and I know it will not have parallel limbs.

[TFOX]

YES,it makes a huge difference.


I even like to get out in front with the grip(deflexed) but they need alot of weight out front on the stabilizer but man,you wanna talk about forgiving.