what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

is there anything more important than another when determining how shootable/forgiving a bow is?...brace height?..cams/wheels?...bow length?...bow weight?...etc. i am looking for a new hunting bow. i am willing to sacrifice some speed for accuracy. my past experience dictates that i need a forgiving bow. any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. i am heading to the bow shop in an hour, anticipating the 'most expensive bow is the one for you' gibberish........thanks guys

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

if speed isnt an issue for you, id go for the highest brace height you can find.
(along with a bow that feels good to you)

my current bow has 8.5" and it is very forgiving. heck..even i can shoot well with it...LOL

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

i just walked in the door from the archery shop. seems like i am more confused now than before. i asked to shoot the most forgiving bows out there regardless of price. darton mag 33, sq2, hoyt havoctech, buckmaster g2 and the pse excellorator. the mathews and hoyt felt the best and were only a few feet difference in speed. the darton g2 and excellorator all felt the same with the darton shooting a little bit faster. all bows fell between 260 and 266 with the darton graphing at 277. so heres my dilemma: although the two highest price bows had the least vibration after the shot, they run anywhere from $70-$250 dollars more. somebody will need to confince me that it is worth the extra money.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

Slap on some limbsavers and a good stabilizer, and save the extra jack if vibration is your only concern and never look back...

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

I feel that all the speed in the world isnt going to do you any good if the bow is noisy. Rangeball is right though, a good stabalizer and other noise dampening stuff will help. I just like to know that the bow is quiet from the get go. Brace height is my biggest thing when it comes to forgiveness. It helps a lot.

Its all in what you can afford and what you like honestly. Whichever bow feels the best to you is the one you should get providing the price is what you are willing to spend also.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

rangeball, is it fair for me to use this philosophy or are there some advantages that i am overlooking?..p.s. do you know what would be the fps gain the g2 would get with an additional 10lbs of pull?..thanks

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

muzzyman, price really isn't a factor here. not that i have extra cheese to throw around just for grins, but i am willing to spend it if need be. i know right now the 'cool' thing to have is a mathews. i am just wondering if there is a comparable bow in terms of speed, forgiveness etc. out there at a fraction of the cost of a mathews.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

It's Cool to have a What? A Hoyt, yea!
Hoyt! Hoyt! Hoyt!

Think I am bias? Maybe......

I get 290's fps @ 70lb 354gr 29" draw , And dead Quiet!! CyberTEC ----->

Edited by - grndzer on 01/30/2002 14:04:58

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

squidkid, generally speaking one can usually expect a gain of roughly 20 fps per 10# increase in draw weight, assuming the same arrow is used. Among the bows you tested, I'd really recommend you follow your instincts and get the one that felt the best to you, and don't worry about the money difference if your choice happens to be cheaper. They are all quality bows, so go with your gut... The vibration can be tamed with today's technology...

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

Also look at how much draw length adjustment you can get on the bow for fine tuning.

Darton's CPS cams are VERY flexible for draw adjustments. Mathews will force you to buy another cam module for different draw lengths outside of a few string/cable twists.

Not sure what other cam systems you were shooting on the Hoyt, PSE, or Buckmstr.

When you say "felt the best", do you mean draw feel or shot feel? Don't forget to compare how the draw feels on all the bows as well. Is there a sharp valley that'll rip your arm out of the socket if you creep a bit? Or are some of them more smooth?

Just some things to think about.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

Weight is possibly the sneakiest factor. Even good archers who have been shooting for a long time are sometimes overbowed. At the PSE shooting school, in my class, almost everyone was a competent shooter up to sponsored "pros" (local), Only one shooter out of 30 wasn't overbowed, and there were two that were borderline. All three were the pros. That tells me something. I am very wary about just going the macho route.

Also turning down a bow ten pounds is not going to feel the same as buying one that was 10# lighter. As Rangeball points out, one can get a velocity increase if one raises the weight of the bow 10#s, and don't increase the weight of the arrow. But with a 60# you would be talking a 350 grain arrow, to go to 70# and still be within the five grain limit. So you would be nearly shooting a 6 grain arrow in the 60# bow, so why not just drop the arrow weight, and pick up about half the amo/IBO difference, depending on draw length.

Brace height is a factor in shootability, but I think it has been over-emphasized recently. It is very real, but the press has been emphasizing it to give us happy feelings about the new micro bows that need a high brace height. That is worth knowing about, but I shoot my C2 better than I shot my Rival pro. The C2 has a one inch lower brace height. Forgiveness is a very small part of shootability, so I don't spend too much time worrying about it. And it has to forgive the problems I have. I have spent a lot of time working on my grip. I see it as being one of the fundamentals I really need to work on every day, I work on it even when I don't have a bow in my hand. So brace height doesn't bother me as much as it may bother some. One has to find one's own issues to work on.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Weight is possibly the sneakiest factor. Even good archers who have been shooting for a long time are sometimes overbowed. At the PSE shooting school, in my class, almost everyone was a competent shooter up to sponsored &quot;pros&quot; (local), Only one shooter out of 30 wasn't overbowed, and there were two that were borderline. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Ossage, just currious, how was it determined that they were overbowed? I'd like to know if I'm shooting a good draw weight.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

squidkid, your post states you are looking for a forgiving bow. you may start with a martin phantom magnum. i know the bow is short a to a, but can be shot very easily. the latest craze is short bows, but good form will overcome a lot of obstacles with shorter bows. for the money, around 285.00, you cannot buy more bow for the money.

RE: what makes a forgiving/shootable bow?
 

I'd have to agree with Keith. I have a Martin Panther Magnum and I doubt there is a better value on the market than a Martin. They have some very well built bows for some extremely reasonable prices. If you want a longer ATA for a bit more forgiveness, then go with a non-magnum model. They are usually a few inches longer.