ORIGINAL: MQ1shooter
OK, Range... quick question for ya: If a particular bow's FDC causes you to "ramp up" to peak quicker than another -- but they both reach the same peak holding weight -- will the bow that ramped up quicker maintain more of a "push" behind the arrow for a longer power stroke, thereby resulting in faster arrow speed? Just wondering.
It'll depend on how quickly the quicker ramping bow drops to the wall. If it quickly builds to peak then holds it there a long time then quickly drops to the wall, then yes, it will store more energy and provide more "push" to the arrow, yeilding faster speeds.
However, where in the cycle a bow hit's peak doesn't determine which bow will be faster, it's purely a function of how much energy the bow stores. When you look at an FDC graph, the area under the plotted curve represents stored energy. If the area is identical, it doesn't matter what the top line looks like, the energy release will be the same. That said, the funkier the top line, the more variable the energy release to the arrow and the harder it may be to tune. Supposedly, FDCs that gradually ramp to peak then drop gradually to the wall are the easiest to tune with the widest variety of arrow spines, as the push of energy into the arrow is very consistent and even. This is one of the reasons the really aggressive SCs and DCs like stiffer arrows than the charts indicate, they are simply ramming a bunch more energy into the arrow very quickly, sustaining it then dropping off quickly. It takes a stiffer arrow to resist paradox.