CamoHunter

Hi everyone,
I am looking at purchasing a new bow this fall/winter. Can you tell me what benefits a single cam has over a dual or 1.5 cam, or vise a versa. I am not getting into brand names. Just looking for opinions on which you prefer and why.

Mahly13

You have re-opened a can of worms that will never be resolved.
IMNSHO, there isn' t a lick of differance in the effectivness of any of the 1, 1.5, 2 cam bows.
You can now find 1 cams with a larger valley, and soft back wall, and 2 cams with a small valley and hard back wall.
PERSONALLY, I prefer a 1 cam bow with a solid back wall. Why? It works for ME (And I am NEVER happy with my cams being out of time in the SLIGHTEST...just anal...I know they will shoot OK....but I just hate knowing they could be off even a " little" )
There are people who have had GREAT success with ALL variations of the number of cams...and a far greater number who had problems with each style.
Shoot what feels good to YOU and works with your style.
GENERALLY, I find that shooting a trigger release with back tension (as I do) a short valley and hard wall work best.
When shooting a " purebred" Back tension release, a large valley, and soft back wall work better (as these releases need to move a lot more than something like a Chappy Boss).
No back tension, and a trigger....whatever feels good (Though if not shooting " off the wall" a larger valley may be more forgiving)

Straightarrow

They will all shoot well when tuned properly. A two cam is probably the ultimate when tuned to perfection, in regards to accuracy, and is generally perferred by target shooters. However, in my experince, few hunters know how to time one and a surprising number of bow shops do not know how to either. With today' s modern string materials, this isn' t as much of a problem as it was in the past, but when one is out of time, it will usually shoot terrible. A single cam does not have to be timed, though the cam usually is most efficient in a particular position. String creep will move the string nock down, so periodically you have to check it' s position. Once again, a well made, modern string will reduce the need to worry about this. Nock travel can be an issue on some single cams, however an out-of-time 2-cam has the same issue. Single cams tend to be quieter than 2 cam bows, however this gap is narrowing all the time.

I don' t have any long term experience with the hybrid cams, but it appears that they may be the best of both worlds. Timing is less critical than a 2-cam, and nock travel is probably better than most single cams. With the exception of the Darton, which is not a top 5 bow company (numbers sold), they are relatively new and I think a lot of their advantages and disadvantages are yet to be fully understood. At this time, Darton, Hoyt and Merlin and the only companies I know that are offering the hybrid cams.

I suggest you choose your bow, less on cam type, and more on how the bow holds, the feel of the grip, and how well you like the draw cycle. Good luck on your search.

tm

They all have their good & bad points. Basically if you shoot a lot of them and then pick the one you like best you' ll be more satisfied than worrying about the system. Not many bad bows out there that I' m aware of. Personally the new single cams shoot better for me, maybe not for you.

Macdaddy

I shot them both and it didn' t even come down to the type of cam. I didn' t like the grip fit of the Hoyt and that was that. I would not have had a problem picking the Hoyt as it is a top notch company that stands behind their products. I know there are guys shooting 300 60x rounds with Hoyt hunting bows straight off the shelf. I also know that my bow shop would " make it right" if there was a problem or recall or something like that. Most of the guys that I know choose for fit and feel. So maybe you should do the same.

I chose the LX.

CamoHunter

Thanks for your input guys. I just have never figured out the difference except for the possible timing issues. I like the idea of the single cams, and just about every company now makes one. When I started doing some research on the different cam styles it seemed like some companies thought the single cams and 1.5 cams were the best thing since sliced bread. I will be shooting quite a few bows before I make up my mind. Shoot straight!

CAJUNBOWHNTR

I will say this,I have fewer left and right flyers with a cam 1/2 or 2 cam bow versus single cam.I am shooting the darton cam.5 and I really like it.Draws like a 2 cam yet not as picky on tuning.

CB