IBO ratings are well...overrated When looking at the average speed of a bow, give me the AMO anytime. Hey, I like to know the rated speed of a bow I might be interested in as much as anyone, just too many manufacturers doctor the tests and manipulate the conditions when it comes to IBO ratings. As a matter of fact I always look at the AMO rating, but not always the IBO. Whats your opinion?

CM, I have found that is a company over rates the IBO of their bow, then they over rate the AMO too.

That said, I have not owned bows from alot of companys in the last few years. I have been staying pretty much with the same few.

I have found that Hoyt, Mathews, and Dartons are usually fairly close to their claims.(within 5fps)

I have not had a new Mathews for probably 4 years now. I had found back then that the Mathews bows(at least the ones I set up)were actually drawing about 1/2 to 3/4" longer than claimed.

The only two bows that I have found to be way off of their claimed speed in the last five years or so is a Parker Feather Mag II, and all three of my 2003 Hoyt Protecs.

The Parker was roughly 15fps slower than claimed. My buddy had the exact same bow, it was the same speed as mine.

The Protecs would all achieve the IBO rating at 28.5". This puts them at least 12fps over the rating, and possibly even 15fps over the advertised speed.

I agree with you that the AMO speed would more closely equate to the average hunting rig. Most bowhunters use a heavier arrow for hunting, and bigger peep sights, along with maybe a kisser button. This all slows a bow way down.

Considering that I personally know that a 154-fps "stick" will do the job, I have never considered either the AMO or the IBO when choosing recurve or compound. The "high-speed" consideration is highly overrated and the cause of many tuning and shooting problems, and much wear and tear on equipment.

Maybe you could enlighten me to some of the hardships one encounters, tuning wise of course, when setting up, maintaining, and wearing out moderately high speed bows.

You may get a little bit technical...having set up THOUSANDS of bows, I`ll try to keep up.

I`ll get some aspirins, and be right back.


BTW, I do agree with one point.....150fps will get the job done.

What would be the overall specs of the "….moderately high speed bow," and what are the physical specs of each shooter shooting the same bow, and what is the level of shooting skill and tuning experience of the shooter….and I don't mean that the owner/shooter understands what is simply stated in the "owner's manual?"

The rule of thumb is "physics."

In all honesty neither really strikes that much of a cord with me anymore. I tend to look more at the bow's physical characteristics and shooting characteristics before I give the speed rating any consideration. However, and again honestly, I probably would not buy a bow with under a 300 fps IBO speed rating simply because I know there are plenty of bows on the market right now that have at least that speed rating and that are also quiet, accurate and fun to shoot.

So I guess you could say the IBO rating.....and on another note, not all companies list AMO ratings for their bows so it is difficult to use it as a comparison figure.

I prefer the EIEIO rating.

If it will kill a cow, it's good enough for me...

Good guide for the AVERAGE shooter:

http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazin...=76&tocid=1055

LMAO!