shadowshooter

This ought to go over well. Where do you stand?

hunter9022

Im not a big speed fan, to hard to control for me.

splint2004

Nothing Wrong with a fast bow . I shoot a fast bow but it is forgiving, over 7 inch brace height. I wouldnt shoot an unforgiving bow just to be fast though

PABowhntr

The term "speed bows" doesn't really apply in the sense that it once did. Speed bows generally referred to units with very short brace height, radically reflexed risers and extremely stiff drawing cams. They also tended to be louder with more recoil and vibration.

Nowadays with parallel limb style bows companies are capable of creating more manageable speed bows. The parallel limb design tends to creat a relatively large brace height and also channels away most bow jump thus making many speed bows today a relative dream to shoot. The Bowtech Allegiance would be a perfect example of this.

bigbulls

Provided the bow is a forgiving one. IE... a 7 inch brace height or more, narrow grip, decent ATA length, smooth drawing cam(s), low shock, etc... I will take all the speed I can get.

Reason... The faster the bow is the heavier an arrow I can shoot at moderate speed of around 260 - 280 fps. I would rather have a forgiving bow with an IBO of 320 fps than an equally forgiving bow with an IBO of only 300 fps.

Given equal weight arrows the faster bow will generate about 10 more foot pounds of kinetic energy and a considerable ammount more momentum.

If there was a forgiving bow that would do 400 fps IBO I would get it.

driftrider

I think that there isn't really a clearly defined line between the "speed bow" and everything else. When you consider that IBO speeds for perhaps 50% of the production adult bows today are above 300fps it's hard to define what is truly a speed bow and what isn't. I think that it used to be that bows weren't nearly as efficient as they are today, so getting a lot of speed meant making a lot of sacrifices. Microscopic brace heights, ultra-reflexed risers, overdraws, wicked cams, etc...made a bow fast, but a PITA to shoot well. Today we have bows like the Allegiance that are as fast or faster than the "speed bows" of 10 years ago, but still not too hard to shoot well. I have rather little experience with modern compound bows. I owned one bow before my Ally, and I barely shot it over the 13 years I've owned it, and before that my only serious archery experience was with recurves as a Boy Scout (and I have the Merit Badge to prove it!), yet with just a few practice sessions I went on to shoot a 294/400 on my first 3D course, and can shoot palm sized groups at 40 yards. I've never chrony'd my Ally, but I'm shooting 380gr arrows and just comparing it to other bows it's very fast. I guarantee that I couldn't shoot a speed bow of 10-15 years ago nearly as well as my Ally. That is, I think, the greatest thing to come of the current technology. Not so much that bows can shoot arrows of realistic length and weight over 300fps, but that it can be done with a bow that doesn't require the skills of a master archer to hit what one's aiming at consistantly.

Mike

PABowhntr

shadowshooter

I have been shooting compounds since I was 12. I'll be 37 in a few weeks. I still don't know much about them. I do know that in designing a compound bow,there are alot of things to consider. I am a short bow freak. I shot the diamond stinger for 4years. ThenI met a fellow from Texas who designed his own boows. The one I shoot is a Shadow. Here are the specs:
ata 40"
B.H. 6 3/8"
65#
28" draw
321fps @ 5.01 gr./# bow weight.
Kenetic energy 74.5#

You can believe me or not, but I have hunted with this bow for 2years out of tree stands,ground blinds,and stalking through the thickets. The long axle has never been a problem. I personally never had a one cam bow that shot what the mfg. said it would shoot, though they were quiet smooth and very forgiving. Then again, if you take the old Black Knight, it was fast,but hard to control. The Shadow blends both qualitys. It is fast,quiet,smooth and very shooter friendly.

Speed has nothing to do with control if the bow is set up right. Dave(who owns the bow company) has a league every year. I have seen 2 mathews shooters switch to his bow as well as high country,peasrson, and xi. The scores on the league more than doubled for ok to average shooters. I feel that 300+ is a magic # as long as the bow don't try to jump out of your hand when you shoot it.

Sniper151

To me a quality bow that is trouble free, accurate and forgiving will give me the speed needed for hunting. I shoot 33 7/8" 2514 XX-78’s from a Hoyt ProTec set at 67 lbs. cronographed at 252 fps. Very smooth, forgiving set up and I’m not running to a shop every few weeks to replace screws, cables, strings or cracked limbs.

shadowshooter

Allare good points. Materials and craftmanship have come along way. The Shadow is modled after a bow that was around back in the early 90's. The mfg just didn't have the know how on how to make it work properly. The bow was ahead of it's time. However, it has been reborn and is making gut piles allover Texas.I was never a "speed freak" until I picked this bow up.This bow will deffinatley make a name for itself in the years to come.