I've been shooting now for about 3 years. I still have my original bow, a Browning F5 Tornado. It's a nice bow but I'd liketo get better performance (read more speed). I have a very short draw, only 26", so with a bow that has an 8.25" brace I'm not getting much. Other factors I believe adversely affecting the performance are the bow is currently set at about 64/65#, has a Whisker Bisquit, peep w/tube and using leeches for string silencers. I'm shooting carbon arrows which weigh about 340-350 grains.

I'd love to get a new bow but alas my wallet can't get me there just now. So, I'm looking for whatever advice that can be offered to modify this rig to gleen the best performance possible.

Here's what I'm thinking but would like some advise from you more experienced archers:
[ol][*]Replace Whisker Bisquit with something like a QAD or Ripcord. How much will this help?[*]Remove the peep and tube and replace with a Hind Sight. How much will this help?[*]Replace the leeches with a string silencer that mounts on the string rather than through the string. Will this help?[*]Possibly replace the String itself. Are there differences in performance by upgrading strings?[*]Upgrade my cable guide. Will this help?[/ol]
I'm guessing technically all the above will help some but the real question is which ones will help enough to make a preceiveable difference and what should the order of priority be?

My thoughts are to try to unload the string as much as possible because I cannot control draw length, I cannot change the brace height on this bow and I've worked up to about as high a draw weight as I believe I can hope to handle. After all, I'm no spring chicken any longer. Actually, if I were to purchase a new bow, I'd be looking to stick with a 60# draw. I can draw a bit higher but figure in the field after being on stand for several hours, anything heavier and I might not be able to make the shot when the time comes.

Thanks for any and all advise.

Viking14028

honestly, doing all of the above most likely wont help all that much with speed...

the bisquit might be eating a few fps..heard upto 10fps...new rest is going to cost a decint bit of change...worth it?? your call.

string leeches and such dont hurt speed much at all because they arent in the center of the string..actually heard reports of some guys loosing speed when loosing the leeches...

loosing the tubed peep will help some..

strings and cables will help...if you havent replaced them yet, its most likely past due for that anyways...lots of good materials out there and builders that can build you a set of strings and cables that can pick you up speed. Gibblet on this forum is an excellent string builder..contact him if your looking for a good set of strings and cables.

still dont know how much speed you can expect to see...

speed doesnt kill....a well placed arrow does...ya, you might see a slightly flatter trajectory, but..in the end, if you know the yardage and put the arrow where it needs to be, the animal or target aint gunna know if it got stuck with an arrow going 350fps or 200fps...

not trying to start another speed debate, but i feel some guys think speed is some kind of magic cure for something...long bows have been used for mannnnny years and have brought down the biggest game and their speeds really dont touch even your setup...

good luck...

The best things you can do is to lose the tubed peep. They are noise makers, and speed eaters. Also get a String Suppressor and lose any string silencers. The String Suppressor will also take some Vibs out of the bow. A Quality string would be a must if you are going to a tubeless peep and also might gain you a few fps. Not sure what the above will gain you, but it could easily be 20 fps or more. I don't think the speed is a necessity, but I do think you would be very pleased with the overall changes in your Bow.

Dan

You have gotten some very good advice, if it were me, i wouldnt do a thing, i would save my money for a new bow and set it up like the other posters have said. The mean v suppressor is great, get a G5 meta peep, no string silencers and onmost new bows you will get all the speed you would need for hunting.

Check out www.archerytalk.com the classified section, there are always new in box leftover bows for sale from archery shops and you can get a great deal.

I bought a leftover 07 Diamond Black Ice NIB for 479 dollars. This bow was going for 650-699 dollars when it first came out!

Thanks all for your responses. I've actually stumbled onto a very sweet deal on a used 2007 Black Ice complete setup with STS suppressor, Limb Driver rest and new Vapor Trail string that I'm going to jump on.

I will still follow many of the suggestions I've received though because I'll keep my Browning F5 Tornado too.

Again, thanks for all the comments.

Viking14028

good choice on the black ice. ive heard great things about that bow. you will not have to worry about speed even if you shoot 55 #s.