RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

I am sorry to hear about your brother as well John. You do him proud by your words and actions.

To the topic at hand....

I could not agree with you more. I have seen this attitude as well. However, I also see another attitude forming on occasion. People, as described in the above quote, are not necessarily the same as those folks who trully enjoy shooting/experimenting with new equipment/gear. More often than not I see the two lumped together because they both share the same type of gear. It is not necessarily the gear that is to blame but rather the attitude of the person behind the string.

I am not really directing my comments at anyone in particular but rather just as a general observation.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

You're not going to believe this, as much as I prefer the older bows over the stuff they're parading around in the catalogs today, but I had a twinge of that very thing last summer. Our club does a qualifier for a WMA that requires a proficiency test for their annual archery hunt. This guy showed up to qualify with an original Bear Whitetail... yeah, the one with all those wheels.

Even though I owned one of those a long time a go and shot with it a lot and knew it most always put the arrow where I aimed it, I just knew the guy wasn't going to get the job done. I didn't tell him that, but it sure stuck in my mind.

Well, he did. Very decent score, by the way. The guy obviously was not a newbie with a $5 yardsale bow, as I had suspected. My humility was restored. [&:]

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

I love Bob Ragsdale's saying:

(by memory) A bow does nothing but determine the speed of your arrow. Everything else is up to the shooter.

I'm sure you can buy better materials with more money, but you can't buy more accuracy.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

I agree with most. Put in a machine almost every bow will shoot the same arrow in almost the same hole repeatedly. Some just do it faster than others. Given the human factor things can change. Depending on the physical characteristics of each bow, some just make it easier to duplicate shot after shot. That's why most GOOD target shooters are toting around longer ATA, deflex risers, high brace, round wheels, and lower draw weights.
When it comes to the bows most of us shoot it's much the same. A lot of the bows will just shoot more accurately, easier, and more consistently. Of course a lot can be said for buying a less pricey bow and spending the difference on MUCH better accessories. And take some of what's left and get some good coaching lessons.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

Well said, BG.

I see you, or did, shoot a very good bow.

I have had some good bows in the past, but my 3 Martins have been an extremely good and comfortable shooters and extremely dependable. Nary one problem in all the years of have had them, and they have been hunted hard. They have deserved the right to hang near my faithful M1 Garand. :)

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

You may shake it up however you wish. The newer innovations dramaticaly reduce vibration and recoil over many, many of the older bows and that has been proven by a variety of methods from what I've read...and especially from what I've experienced. Hardly a "catch-22," in my opinion.

A 60# bow with 50% letoff is easy to shoot and "basically" quiet...compared to what? The more modern bows have many superior features from the cam (vs two cams) to the dampening. I would personally find it a very hard argument to make that we should go back to the old manufacturing methods.

Your points are carefully couched in well-rounded terms, but they remain mostly subjective in nature. Most people are not sorry for buying quality.

Someone made the argument that the accessories make much of the difference...to which I would respond: apply the same guideline...do your homework, but buy the best you can afford. You'll only have to do it once.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

Its better to buy a cheap bow and some books so you know what to do with it. I have about 30 archery books, many of which are junk but knowledge goes further then bow quality.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

I am not saying or implying such. I do believe the debate is that there are some, even many, who believe that all of today's gear is so far superior over earlier gear, that the earlier gear is now junk, maybe always was junk, definitely archaic, almost an impossibility to hunt with, once upon a time accuracy fell somewhere off the edge of the earth, they are louder than a 155, and you need a winch to pull and hold the string. Hell, according to some shooters, the prior year model is outdated.

As I said; many of today's bows need all these vibration absorbers, shock absorbers, torque controls, silencers, ported limbs, recoil pistons, etc, because a lot of what is out there today was designed to feed and quell the appetite of "zoomies" who only what to compete with Mickey Thompson on the Salt Flats.

Maybe I have always been just lucky or know how to pick a bow. I have never had a problem with all the vibration, shock, auto-torque, that apparently I was supposed to have and now requires today's bows to have all these buffer aids to make today's bows far superior to earlier bows.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

Good post, c903. I see what you're saying.

RE: The more expensive the bow the better
 

c903,

Its O.K. if you are to cheap to buy a new bow:D;)

You don't have to defend your old junk to me:D

;)