No bow is more accurate than another per say, just put them in a shooting machine and watch what happens. However there are certain designs and set ups that are more forgiving and easier to shoot.

Price has absolutely nothing to do with it! There are some low end hoyts and Reflex bows that will shoot just as well as the expensive target bows because the specs are the same or close. And in the right hands any of them will shoot well.

Remember some of the best indoor target shooting scores to date were shot with older style bows that were severely out of tune by todays standards. Form and release technique is much more important than the equipment you use.

Here is a good website for learning about the basics of bows.

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowselection.htm

The general guidlines for a forgiving bow are usually these:

Normally the less reflex you have in a riser the better, or better yet look for a deflex riser. Good luck on that, because they are hard to find. Deflex risers are usually slower, but more forgiving. In most cases a more forgiving bow is going to be slower, not always though. Just remember, speed doesn't kill.

Here is the difference between deflex and reflex, look at the grips of the bows and the angle of the riser.

This is Dartons target bow, the Executive Vegas. It has a Deflexed riser. See how the grip is lined up almost straight with the ends of the limbs. It also has a longer Axle to Axle (ATA) and smoother drawing cams. This is not a speed bow by any means, but it shoots nice.


Now this is one of the short axle to axle hunting bows in dartons line up. Look at how the grip is set way back towards the archer, it does not line up with the limbs at all.


I guess I could have used hoyt bows now that I think of it, but oh well, this shows my point.

The Reflexed riser (the one that sits back toward the archer) is less forgiving because it promotes torque when you draw it. A true deflexed riser would actually have the grip forward of the limbs, the bow I showed is actually more like a nuetral grip, not a deflex design in my opinion.

Here is an easy explanation of what happens. When you pick up a bucket of water with the handle in the normal position the handle is deflexed and the bucket of water balances in your hand do to the weight of the water and the bucket. Try putting the handle down inside the bucket and picking it up. The balance point is all wrong and it will be very hard if not impossible to hold steady and lift up. This would be a reflexed design. That is an extreme example, but it shows the basic physics behind it. So a reflexed riser is easier to torque than a deflexed is. Thus making it less forgiving.

The up side is they can make a bow faster with a reflexed riser, and since speed sells, guess what all the new bow designs are.

Normally a longer Axle to Axle bow will be more forgiving to shoot as well. However I think this has a lot to with bow weight and riser length. The newer short limb bows with the long risers shoot just as well as the older long ATA bows, at least in my opinion. I own a bowtech that is 30 inches long and I shoot it just as well as my 35 inch bow. However the shorter bowtech has a much longer riser than the longer bow does, I think this helps.

Brace height can make a difference as well, normally you want to go with something around 7-8 inches of brace height. I personally don't think it makes a huge difference, but longer brace heights do give you more arm clearance.

I think a lot of it has to do with the size of the archer as well. Smaller archers tend to shoot short ATA bows or bows with lower brace heights well. I am pretty small, so maybe that is why it doesn't effect me as much.

Cam types can make a difference as well as let off. Smoother drawing low let off cams are usually thought to be more forgiving and accurate. I actually prefere higher let offs though. I think it depends on your shooting style actually.

The absolute positive most important thing is that your bow FITS YOU. Nothing else matters if the bow does not fit you. The draw length has to be correct and the draw weight has to be something you can draw comfortably. You could have the most forgiving bow on the market and if it draws too long and you have too much draw weight you are screwed pretty much.

Another thing about ATA, longer draw archers have trouble with them because of the extreme angle the string is at full draw. Shorter draw archers don't notice as much. My personal opinion is if you are anywhere near 6 feet tall and have more than 27 inches of draw length you should be shooting at least a 35 inch long bow, not a 29-31 inch bow. Just my opinion though and nothing more.

Good luck,
Paul