Well... I was really disappointed.
 

Went on down to gander to get my bow adjusted a little. Asked if they had a chrono and asked if I could send an arrow through to get an idea of how fast my bow was. I think the IBO on it was like 302 or somewhere close, but I'm shooting 60# not 70 and the string is probably 3 or 4 years old.

Sent my arrow flying through, figured I'd probably be around 240 or so. Yep.... nope lol. Big ol 217... Well now I'm really considering a new bow. Would kind of rather upgrade than replace my cable and string.

Ideas? Looking at my father in laws Liberty I or a brand new Bear Charge package.

I worked at that Gander Mountain for 4 years in the archery department... Trust me that chrono lies out of this world. One day my bow shot 262 the other day it shot 290. That chrono isn't truthful!!!

I feel a little better but was thinking about giving the NAP blood runners a try but if I'm not shooting around 250 I don't know.

I was disappointed with my speed also when i sent an arrow through the crono. My bow is rated at 302 and i clocked in at 240. I did this shortly after buying my bow new and i looked at the guy working at the shop that i bought the bow from and he told me that those numbers are rated with out string silencers, peep sights, and at full poundage and draw length so those are some things to look at also.

I don't go to Gander to get my bow fixed if it needs to. They always try to lie and con you out of money.

This is going to sound rude but it is not intended that way. Archery manufacturers love people that think the way you are. If your not shooting 330fps you shouldnt be hunting(what a load of feces). I routinely shoot through deer elk and bear @ 190fps from my recurve, about the same or less from my longbow.
Can you put an arrow where you want it with your current set up?
Are you confident shooting this bow?
If you feel that spending the extra money is in your budget then go ahead but dont do it for the reason that your current bow is inadequate.

That was not rude what so ever, I totally understand IBO speed too (to the previous poster) I do like the bow, and now that I've had it adjusted and with the new arrows I hope it shoots as well as with my old arrows.

I just wanted to possibly try mechanical broadheads and now I don't know, would I be able to use rage 2 blade? Or possibly the bloodrunners?

Hey, about the bloodrunners, i just shot a deer with the 2 blade bloodrunners with my bow. now im 15 and i shoot a bowtech soldier with a 28" draw and a 50 pound pull. i got a complete pass through with my bow at 20 yards with the bloodrunner 2 blade, heres what the bloodrunner did at 50 pounds, http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/...ic,3643.0.html i say go for it!

Holy Cr*p! hmm anyone else have anything to say about the blood runners?

heres a few videos i found,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koGtxU6z4k4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTM68Laceb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB_hZ9D8B6A

My bow is rated at 310. The rating is based on an arrow that weighs 5 gr/lb of draw weight. So basically a 350 gr arrow. My arrows weigh almost 500 gr. How fast does my bow shoot? Don't know the fps, but it is fast enough for me. I've yet to hear an opinion from any of the deer I've shot.

I think you were better off not knowing your speed! If you really are shooting 217 fps, RAge is absolutely not a good option for you unless it is on the end of a 10 lb spear traveling 217 fps. A cut on contact fixed blade will give you the most worry-free results, as well as a much higher percentage of pass throughs. I shot Slick Tricks out of my Barnsdale bow when I was younger, and that bow MIGHT have been shooting 220, and I got pass throughs on every deer I shot with it. A new bow is an option of course, but I would stick with what you've got for this season, and tinker with a new one through the winter.

speed matters not

recurve and longbow hunters shoot in the 160-180 fps range and they kill a hell of a lot of animals

I wouldnt say speed doesnt matter.

I mean the faster the bow the flatter it shoots. The flatter the less pins you need out to 40 yards, the less pins the less you will have to deal with when picking your shots. Comparing what traditional bows do compared to compounds is really tricky. Its more of an apples to oranges deal.

To the OP..if I were you I wouldnt change your bow or BH's this year. If they have worked for you in the past just roll with them. No use trying something out you won't be 100% confident in with this years time frame. I also wouldn't run out and purchase a new bow just yet. You will prob rush your decision trying to get one plus get it set up, shot in and get comfortable with it.

Take your time from now to next summer and look at bows. Whatever you want to buy this week will be much cheaper this summer since itll be considered a year old. (assuming your looking at the 2010 bows with the 2011's coming out).

I would also spend a good bit of time on archerytalk.com reading posts on bows in your price range and poundage needs. Start looking at some of the classifieds over there and itll give you a good idea of what you can get with your $$$. See the thing is a ton of folks just bought 2010's for this season. When the 11's come out they will feel the need to sell their "old" worn out 2010 bow and buy an 11. You will get some great deals by them making that mistake.

GL with what you do.

Apples to oranges I don't think so, both traditional and compounds are designed to do 1 thing and that is get an arrow to the intended target. Compounds will do this with much greater eficency. Flatter trajectory means pins that are closer together=more confusion, no bow can defy the laws of gravity.
If you really have your mind set on mechanical broadheads then reconsider the arrow they are attached to.

Wow, I feel pretty good about my bow after reading this. It is rated for 70 lb draw but I am only shooting it at 57 lb. I chrono'd it a couple years ago at 248 fps. The next day I shot my first deer with a bow and had a complete pass through. The guy who owned the chrono was drawing 64 lbs and only shot 254 fps.

If you watch Ted Nugent, he only shoots at 50 lbs and kills plenty.

flatter means nothing from 0-20 yards, where most all bowhunting shots occur

c'mon, admit it, speed means mine is bigger than your's, its a pissing contest

I'm shooting a compound this year, MUCH faster than my Zipper recurve. I set the draw weight to something I'm comfortable pulling sitting down and cold - maybe 60-62 pounds. I'm shooting 525 gr total weight because my bow shoots it really well. I wanted to go 700 grains but never could find the right combo.

my point is ........ forget about speed. the author of this thread really wants to go drop $500 on a new bow becuase he's 30 fps slower than he wants to be?


geeessh ..... remember, only in the past 15 years has speed mattered - the decades and centuries before that, when bowhunting was recurves and longbows, speed was pretty much irrelevant

alot of good comments here about bow speed. I am shooting at 247fps, and I am perfectly happy with that. This is my first compound bow and I worry more on shot placement than speed. Its more than capable of putting meat in the freezer if I do my part and hit my target.

What's your arrow weight?

Flatter traj. on a fast (300+ IBO)means prob 1 pin out to 30 yards not more pins..this takes all confusion out of the picture. Speed lets me use a 500grn arrow with a huge BH that hits like a sledge hammer, yet I really dont have to pay attention to the distance the deer is at cause my single pin is all I use. As far as my speed is greater then yours brags...I dont have anywhere near the fastest bow on the market nor do I care to BUT not really having to care about the distance of my shots(reasonably speaking here, Im not taking 50 yard shots) is a huge asset compared to folks using slower bows and have to decide which pin to use. Ive been using a compound for 25 years and there is no way you can convince me the speeds I shoot at now aren't an advantage over where I started with 4 pins out to 40 yards.

Traditional bows are oranges due to the instinctive shooting and (usually) demished range for the shots. No let off, and honestly is not for everyone. Same as Xbows..they are technically the same as what you use...you don't see any difference between the 2???

You really think the millions of dollars spent on and invested by bow companies to get a faster bow is just for bragging rights? There's no other advantage except for someone to say mines bigger then yours?

No, I don't want to go out and drop $XXX on a new bow because I'm 30fps slower than what I "want to be", I was just hoping to possibly be able to try out mechanical broad heads. Don't get me wrong I'd love to be shooting 260+fps but I killed my buck last year shooting the same bow that I have now, and it did the job (granted he was only about 15ft away).

I have also been looking at new bows since the beginning of the season and at the father in laws since last year.

That one is currently set up shooting the max that it can, at 82# with 80% let off, the only thing that's keeping me from buying his is that the price tag is a little steep.

Yes I still say it is not apples to oranges because a bows only job is to deliver an arrow to the intended target. Yes a compound bow is more efficient in doing that than a trad bow but the result is the same. And 1 pin to 30 yards you are still either holding low or high depending on the target distance. UNLESS your bow is capable of vefying the laws of gravity.

Agreed! A 525 grain arrow at 250 fps has a 5" drop from 20 yds to 30 yds.

I was never arguing the traditional vs compound point, and in all honesty that point is fairly moot doesn't really have anything to do with what I was saying...

Guess this thread got kind of hijacked lol.

Sorry wasnt trying to hijack the thread the only reason I brought up the trad bow was to point out that a compound is more efficient. If you are comfortable with the bow your shooting, then don't feel like you have to buy the latest and greatest to get a few more fps.

Before you buy a new bow it is a good idea to shoot the arrows you will be using, the draw length you will be using and the draw weight you will be using. If the bow fits you and you like how it feels then shoot it through a chronograph to verify the speed so you know what you are paying for. This is all done before buying the bow in the off season so you have plenty of time to tune and tinker with it. When you attach a string loop and a peep you will loose a few more feet per second.

At 217 fps you must be shooting a pretty heavy arrow, what does you arrow weigh?

They're Beman Hunter ICS 340, and are 9.3g/inch. 30" DL... so... 279 w/o broadhead 379 with.