Sorry, Pinwheel, but I don't buy it. I don't care how long the guy's been building quality bows, he's wrong. I don't care how many triangles you draw on bows, it's still the deflex riser that's the more forgiving. In fact, a deflex riser bow would be a better fit to your triangles. So, maybe your triangles do tell you something. The bow that comes closer to fitting that triangle would be the more forgiving design.
Anyway, if the premise of his article were true, then my field scores with high bracke reflex riser bows should equal my scores with deflex riser bows. That is most assuredly NOT the case. My BEST score with a reflex riser bow is a solid 35 points lower than what I am accustomed to shooting with my ProTec, which is not as deflexed and gives me lower scores than I consistently shot with my ProVantage seriesbows.
You could say my form sucks. I wouldn't argue. I've been able to win more than my share of tournaments though, using bows that helped me compensate for my form problems. Believe it or not, just having a 33" draw is a serious form problem.
The bow's grip is a pivot point. It is being held in a human hand, which is connected to a highly flexible pivot - the wrist - which is connected to another pivot - the elbow - which is connected to yet another pivot - the shoulder.
A deflex riser bow is naturally a more stable shooting platform than a reflex riser. The grip pivot is in front of the limb pivots and cam. It holds steady because everything from the string to cams to limb pivots to the grip are all being pulled into alignment. The mechanical advantage is substantially reduced, which pretty much removes one pivot point from the equation.
The reflex riser puts the hand between the cams and the limb pivots.With the pivot pointbetween the cams and limb pivots, mechanical advantage is high. It is very easy to pull the string and cams in one direction while pushing the limb pivots in a completely different direction. It makes it a lot easier for all those other pivot points to affect the shot.
That is why mechanical advantage is NOT 'moot'. It can be CRITICAL, and the more prone you are to introducing torque into your grip, the more critical it becomes.
If you like reflex risers, then fine. Shoot the things. But don't go aroundsayingthey are just as forgiving as deflex riser bows. Mounted in a Hooter shooter, one will shoot exactly the same as the other. That much is true. However, once you put that human critter into the mix, then you have to look at kinetics and biometrics too, not just the mechanics of the bows themselves.
I swear, sometimes it seems like manufacturers assume all shooters are striving to be perfect little robots and are building bows to force is to become such. Bows must be mechanically correct,mechanical releases, mechanical rests, mechanical aiming devices and shot with mechanically perfect form. Hell on earth.
I'm not ready to surrender my humanity just yet. So, I like deflex riser bows that let me shoot well in spite of being human.
