I can only give you my own experiences, so take it for what it's worth. I've shot some faster bows than I own now, and I've set my by up for more speed--I didn't shoot it as well. I've shot tournaments where I shot a better score with my selfbow than I did with my longbow--and the selfbow is WAY slower.

There's gobs of variables that come into play--you listed a lot of them yourself. There's also the mental thing--if you believe in a bow, you'll shoot it better. Some guys put more faith in a bow that costs more--not saying you do, but that's just a thing some folks have. I used to know a guy who could shoot the lights out with certain brand names that he knew cost a lot. With a bow that didn't cost much, he couldn't--it was purely a mental thing. I have no doubt in my mind that if he could have been convinced the cheap bow cost $1,000, he would have shot it great too.

I didn't know you were thinking about a PLX. Safe bet would be take advantage of their "try before you buy"program. I liked the new BW longbow just fine--HUGE improvement over the old design, IMO--but to me, performance was very average. I didn't shoot it through a chrony, but it seemed to be noticably slower than my Crusader. It wasn't a "dog" by any stretch, just not a speed demon.

As far as that goes, my Crusader isn't a speed demon either. When I chrony'd it, I averaged 187 fps shooting just under 10 gpp (30.5" draw). Not bad at all for a longbow, but not as fast as some. I can pick up a little more speed with a different (lighter) string, but when I tried that my shooting suffered a little. I could also go with a shorter bow and pick up a little speed, but I didn't shoot the 64" quite as well as I do my 66".

I wouldn't shoot the first two ACX bows I had my hands on (both made by O.L.)--I was afraid to. The limbs seemed downright delicate. I'd heard of some folks unstringing them accidently by grabbing the end of a limb to pick them up. Larry and John have modified the design just a tad--or that's what I've heard anyway--so that may not be the case anymore. I know the new factory in MI is still selling them faster than they can make them.

Wish I had something I could send you to try out--heck, you might not like a Crusader at all. The only one I have is my personal bow, and (sorry) it's not leaving! lol

Chad