A few more final thoughts---

First, I think that lighter arrows and faster bows will continue to evolve, just as they have since the invention of the bow and arrow as depicted in my previous posts. Personally I feel none of us have a right to throw up barriers on technology advancement for any reason other than safety..... That being said, I firmly believe the implemented 280fps rulings in certain formats is completely ludicrous at this stage of the game and should in fact be upgraded. Those speeds were implemented back in 1994 by the ASA and to freely allow the industry to continue it' s evolvution we must also increase those speed restrictions every few years to keep in line with the progression of new technology and new strength/safety capabilities of the equipment thereof. Bottom line. What would have happened if everyone said " that' s good, don' t need anything lighter or faster" about the model A Ford at 30 mph? Same thing.

A lighter arrow is not a bad thing--in fact it helps with trajectory and creating a larger hit window no matter the distance, giving the shooter a chance to hit the kill zone more frequently with a less-than-perfect yardage call, especially at distance. This is due to the extra speed that is exhibited from these lighter arrows. If of the same configuration and speed the heavier arrow will produce more KE yes, but if the ligher arrow is travelling at a much higher rate of speed coming out of the bow it will still produce decent KE, and produce a much larger hit window at the same time, so that arguement is neglible at best for everything except very large game, especially at realistic bowhunting distances. Now we are only left with the arguement of safety, and as stated the technology is much more advanced now than when the ASA implemented the 280fps ruling and the equipment much stronger. (IBO basically copied them, but DOES allow under 5 grains per lb to reach that " miraculous" 280 marker!) BTW-- Does anyone know where the 280fps came from? It came from certain manufacturers whose bows at the time did roughly 280 and they wanted to ensure that they could stick with their same configurations for a few years.(essentially " sandbag" and reap the rewards financially) Other certain people were " convinced" (LOL) of this and their organizations received a substantial " reward" .(sponsorships) Had nothing to do with any proper testing during the period or anything, the number was basically pulled out of a hat because certain bows at the time ran that particular speed. Money talks.....

HELLO!!!----

They don' t run that speed anymore, and the sandbagging needs to stop! Most every compound bow on the market can safely run much higher than 280 even tho they have been " reigned in" for the past decade, short-draw archers can safely shoot less grains per inch because of their lesser powerstroke and stress on components, so they too can easily reach 300+ if they are educated about these principles and realize the safety is not an issue and they can. We will always have a few occasional incidents of failure just as we always have, but there is no reason to restrict ourselves into believing this is the end of the line, and/or throw a big barrier up and/or post that light weight arrows (even tho stronger) or faster speed is " no good" or " unsafe" .

Back in the mid to late 80' s I regularly shot 3D courses with 210grain AFC 2100 carbons out of a variety of cast-riser bows at serious 330-340+ speeds, and altho the spine would go out of the arrows quickly and we found out eventually that we couldn' t hit anything with them,(LOL) we were shooting full 40 target courses every weekend, and even then, altho the bows were quite LOUD and you heard of failures frequently, realistically there were few incidents of people really getting injured, and EVERYONE at the time was way over the edge pushing the envelope.

With the now stronger-spined biased wrapped lightweight arrows, Straight and level nock travel, and new-age technology that is hundreds of times stronger than what it was in years past, the industry will see much higher strength, speed, and yes, safety ratings in the future. This is already happening and will continue, mark my words, like it or not. I remember people hated the first compound bow with a passion too, saying that it was no good and that it would never work and that we have no need for them or that much speed....where would we be now if we didn' t let go of that ridiculous thinking? This new technology might or might not come from HCA, but as mentioned the technology for the next step forward is already here, and someone will be refining it shortly. Good shooting, Pinwheel 12