Alphamax 35 redux....
 

As you all know I had a terribly frustrating time with my Alphamax- so I took the advice of some others and took a couple of weeks off from shooting it. Totally different animal than the 2 Binary cam bows I had.

Last week, I was geting ready to put it up for sale, and after thnking about it rationally, decided I would come into the bow fresh one more time before I gave up on it. I knew the bow shot well (my particular one, as well as others), I;d seen what others did with my bow- and I had my moments of extreme accuracy as well- it was all me , I knew it was not an issue with the bow, and dagnabbit, this stubborn SOB was NOT going to let the bow shoot ME.

I put the TT back on, timed it, reinstalled my sight,took the grip off, and practiced-drawing and aiming-arrow nocked with the very real danger I could send one through the wall or patio door of my(rented) condo! I took note of how the bow did and did not torque (i.e. bets grip) , where my "tightest anchor" with my nose on the string was , etc.

Today I hit the shop- and after a few arrows to get my sight in the ballpark I came to two conclusions-

1) not all of my half dozen ICSH 400 group- even after turning nocks [:@]

2) My "at home practice" helped

Once I figured out the goofy arrows and culled/marked 2 of them (3 group perfect, 1 shoots a bit low every time, and 2 shoot high right about 2 inches but group together) - My groups were excellent- I shot about 50 arrows, and my lefts and rights were very tight- and my ups and downs as long as I did not pull out of the peep which I did a few times. I found myself about halfway through the session getting a little sloppy with my follow through and again mentally worked myself through it and I was back to shooting tight groups- as I knew while the bow was tuned, I was not attuned to the bow. Here's a pic of the 1st group I shot once I culled the arrows and got the sight dialed in (I was aimig at where the white ring meets the blue, I have astigmatism and cannot really see an X on a target at 20 yards or more)




Before I left I chronoed the bow (had not done so previously). If you are lucky enough to have a #2 cam and a 29" draw length you will be a happy SOB with this bow speed-wise- it surprised me. I ended up putting the 28.5 module in mine when I took off the grip and am STILL very happy.

For comparisons sake, my GT500- 28.75" AMO, 62 pounds, 301 grain CT Cheetah, loop, meta peep, tie in nock point, the best I could get with extreme cam tuning was 312 FPS. It shot my 386 grain ICSH at 279-280 FPS.

My AM35 dead nuts at 28.5" AMO (with the grip on). 60 pounds even, Meta peep, loop, tie in nock point, and one Fuse silencer shot 311 FPS. My ICSH at 388 grains (they vary about 4 grains). shot 279-280. So considering the AM35 is 2 pounds less draw weight, and has a heavy silencer on the string and is 1/4" less in draw length- well Hoyt has definitely underpromised and overdelivered. I suspect with the 29" module I was at 315-316 FPS

I'm going to continue to work with the bow and narrow it down to either the Alphamax 35 or the Admiral.

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Like I eluded too in your earlier post,seems like you let a setup issue get in your head and really affect your confidence in yourself and the equipment.

I am really surprised at just how well I am shooting my AM 35,better than I shot my xtec and I owned it for several years and the am for just a few months.AND yes,the speed is a plus.I am getting 292 out of a 280 grain arrow at 57#'s(yes,I know it is 5 gr light,shop didn't have 70 grain inserts,need to order some) That is @ 28".

Anyone interested in an xtec,thinking of a 32 now.:D

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

My suggestion is to keep the Admiral and the Am,at some point,you may find yourself picking up 1 more than the other and that will be the"one".

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Oh absolutely- I knew all the time it was me (once I got the Limbdriver issue worked out)- It totally messed with me- and until I got the Admiral out and was able to settle myself down, I was having major probs with the 35- subconcious.

The valley on the AM35 also takes some getting used to-I know that was making matter worse- On the D & E mods it's VERY narrow. the valley on my GT500 and Admiral are much better- you really lock in and can relax much better with the binaries- but I'm working out what I need to with AM35- need to be more concious how I "lock up" at full draw (back tension, and bow arm EDIT- SHOULDER)

And yes, the bow is quick too- Surprisingly so. My shop owner has noticed that the 29" draw 35s are faster than the 29" AM32s (#3 cams) as well as the 30" AM35s (#3 cams). I've heard of guys getting 319-320 out of the 29" AM35- I'd say it's very feasible considering what mine is doing.

Will head up friday and run a few more through it- I really need to do something about arrows- unfortunately the arrows I use in the Admiral (Maxima 350s) are too stiff for the AM35. Will have to shoot these 3 ICSH for awhile- as I bought my GF an engagement ring today so needless to say-I'm a bit strapped for cash at the moment

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

This was actually one of the deciding factors for me going with the 35.Hoyt states the #2 cam on the 32 only goes to 27.5 so I was going to have to shoot the 32 with a #3 at 28".I knew that would cost me quite a bit of potential ke so longer a-a and more speed,I was sold on the 35.

Not untill later did I find out you can get the 32 to 28" with the #2 cam,just have to use the E mod off the 35 #2 cam (or so I have heard)but I can imagine it would be about like a spiral cam at that point.I also found out that you can order the AM's through the custom shop with the katera specific draw length cam(Z3 cam).IMO,that would really be a shooter with the 32.More speed and smoother draw for the short draw length guys.

This is what has me thinking about the 32 now.I was going to pick up a double bull this weekend but I am thinking I could put that money toward a 32 and sell my xtec and the bow would be payed for.[&:] but I would like the DB as well.:D

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Actually yes, with a D or E module the valley IS much like the Spiral cam- not quite that bad, but similar, just with more letoff.

I've heard about the Z3 cam version as well- It is def a smooth drawing cam and the valley is a bit more "relaxing". We were shooting my dealers Katera (6" brace) for grins yesterday through the chrono to compare to my AM35- His is a 28"/70 pounds (maxed), peep, loop, brass nock, cat whiskers (smallish), and he got 321 FPS with the 301 grain arrow (obviously under IBO weight) and he got 289 with my hunting arrow (388 gr)- Def shows just how fast the AM35 is. But the amount of effort to draw his Katera at 28/70 was about the same as the effort required by 28.5/60 AM35- Katera is super smooth. Amazingly smooth for the speed.


Of course the speed isn't the priority in the grand scheme of things.

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Im thinking about ordering an AM with the z3 cams as well before hunting season. Hoyt says about 6-7fps faster and a smoother draw. Sounds like a winner to me;)

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Glad to hear you have the bow shooting well for you Jeff. I know there is nothing so frustrating as having a bow that you like to shoot but that doesn't shoot well for you for some reason.

...dem stickin' arrows....

:D

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Glad to see you're working those demons out. It's tough sometimes, I know exactly how you feel.

RE: Alphamax 35 redux....
 

Well (some of) the arrows are not grouping great , but they were deifnitely far from the main culprit Frank! I'm not blaming anything but myself.

I will say I'm pi$$ed about the arrows though- I had only been shooting 3 of them- and always the same 3. Then I took them out of my case for awhile and when I went back to them (when I started shooting the AM35), I must have been shooting a different 3 of them- and then,, the Limbdriver problem, and my confidence went to crap and it snowballed.

anyway- I gotta do something about the arrows and soon.

Muzz- exactly-I got myself so screwed up- As I;ve said before, I'm not gifted or a natural- I have to work VERY hard to be a medicore shot- and when something throws a curveball into "the works" it can and often does mess with me. I've battled TP at several points in my life- and I could feel it coming on again because my confidence was shot.

No longer though- working through it