Long weekend, bear hunting,(nothing yet, no sightings even!) barbecues, family stuff.....OK, now back to the fray---

Jeff (and everyone for that matter) I respect you views and certainly see what some of you are saying. To an extent I agree that much of the basics can be tested "offhand" by individuals simply trying each bow---but only to an extent as they all need to be done on an apples to apples comparason utilizing exacting techniques for true values to become readily apparent, as opinions alone cannot be deemed a true governing factor. For instance, take a guy who has been shooting recurves all of his life-- 30-something years, then all of a sudden this new fangled piece of equipment comes out and is touted as the greatest thing since the bikini. Does anyone think he will welcome it with open arms, whether a better technology or not??[:'(] I personally witnessed this phenomenon some years ago at the introduction of the compound to the world as virtually thousands of loyal recurve/longbow fans tried their hardest to see the "intruder" away. They almost succeeded even! But here we are, 30-something years later, and the compound is still around.....

Fast forward from that first scenario to today--- now we are in the midst of the search for the next generation "perfect" compound bow. The lines are drawn on three sides---twin, solo, and hybrid as the current contenders. We also now have internet, so everyone can banter back and forth about anything whether true info or not. This stirs the pot even more. What we are seeing is a "suplex" (seems like a good term) of the same thing we saw back then with the recurve shooters who hated the thought of the compound bow. People have once again gotten comfortable with "their" bows, and will "test" them and "conclude" to others on public forums exactly what they want to, irregardless of any true and honest technical findings that may be shown to them to prove otherwise. This is what I see, same as almost 40 years ago......as they say, the Archery industry is much like everything else in life--- very cyclic. I thus must state again my point that true technical tests do not lie, they are not biased, they can be done with machines or with humans doing the testing for the most part, and if all equipment is tested equally with same brace heights, same ATA, same number of string strands, same amount of dampening doo-dads, etc, etc, etc., such results then MAY in fact and PROBABLY will be far different from those "tests" done by our buddy Bubba and friends over a six pack on a Saturday afternoon, who may or may not be just a bit biased by hype, popularity, and loyalty, or swayed by advertising towards one or another of any bows tested, sometimes without even knowing they are doing so. Even if they are not aware, I still contend that it is much like the scenario above irregardless and things are obscured by personal preferences/loyalty.

I have my preferences like anyone else, but I do base my findings for preference on much technical data that I can read and discern, as stated previously. This helps me immensely long before I ever shoot the bow as I will have a good handle on how it will shoot and feel just by looking at the info such as speed and hysteresis values, ATA, brace, Riser geometry, draw force curves, and what kind of eccentrics and limbs are on it, etc---the more I want to know, the further I read. Once a person learns how to "read" this info one can easily determine what bows will fit their "preferences" and what ones that will not.

If some feel this is "overkill", that's OK-- hey, it's America, do your own thing! Test 'em my way, your way, or whatever way. I'll do what I can to help where I can for those who want to listen. But if it makes some feel better, this will be my last post on this particular topic.

Remember--- As long as we're all shooting a bow,(no matter what kind) well I guess that's all that matters, isn't it? Recurve, Twin cam, Solocam, Hybrid cam, Longbow, Crossbow, Footbow, whatever. It's all ARCHERY my friends, and therefore it is all good. It has to be for us to ever survive so our kids and grandkids can enjoy it! Good shooting, Good hunting, Pinwheel 12