which is faster?

[boing-whap]

A friend asked me if new bows are faster than older, (lets say 10 years) bows, we were talking about compound bows. I said the big difference was that the new ones were lighter, more quiet, and smoother to draw and release, but they were probably around the same speed. we were comparing identicle poundage, 60lb. Are new bows faster? or just made of different materials. I know projectile weight determines speed so we were assuming the same weight of arrow. Thanks

[BiG Boar]

They are faster. However its more than that though. They have more let off and are easier to shoot than the old bows. However my old browning blood brother 2 by ted nugent has taken a few deer as of late and nothing has yet to argue with it.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

older bows gained speed by having a short brace and extremly agressive cams ....
(Martin Fury, Hoyt Super Tec, High Country ...something with Hatchet cams) .... alot of them IBO speed at about 330 or more ... but were loud like shotgun and vibrated the enamel off your teeth

Newer bower have differant cam eccentrics and riser designs to generate their speed ..for instance my 101st has a brace height of 7.25" and IBOs at 340 .... and is a smooth shooter due to the Limb design ...

on average a mid-line bow from 10 years ago is slower than a mid line bow from today .... the newer speed bows shoot the same speed but are alot more user friendly

[2slow]

older bows gained speed by having a short brace and extremly agressive cams ....
(Martin Fury, Hoyt Super Tec, High Country ...something with Hatchet cams) .... alot of them IBO speed at about 330 or more ... but were loud like shotgun and vibrated the enamel off your teeth

Newer bower have differant cam eccentrics and riser designs to generate their speed ..for instance my 101st has a brace height of 7.25" and IBOs at 340 .... and is a smooth shooter due to the Limb design ...

on average a mid-line bow from 10 years ago is slower than a mid line bow from today .... the newer speed bows shoot the same speed but are alot more user friendly

Do the newer bows have the same let off as the older ones? I would like to get back into shooting bows but I have a bad shoulder that does not let me hold at draw for a long time (mostly recurve shooting in the past)

[boing-whap]

My PSE Mach 7 has a 60% let off (must be 11 years old) and my newer PSE BowMadness has an 80% let off, so you would be fine with a newer bow, and you can lower the poundage if you like. I've heard that APA bows are good for folks with shoulder issues, anyone back me up? BTW my older Mach 7 shoots at 320fps, not too loud, but my Madness is near silent in contrast. Speed is not my thing.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Do the newer bows have the same let off as the older ones? I would like to get back into shooting bows but I have a bad shoulder that does not let me hold at draw for a long time (mostly recurve shooting in the past)


alot of bows nowadays have 85% LO ... most are adjustable between 60 and 85 ....

there was a Bow company that advertised a 99% letoff ... Concept Bows ... I had one of those in my hands for a couple of days ... a P-90 model I beleive it was ... it was poorly made in my opinion ...

[bore]

Good info. Just getting back into shooting. What would be the benefit of a lower percentage letoff compared to a higher? Why make it adjustable? 60% vs 85%? Do you lose speed?

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Good info. Just getting back into shooting. What would be the benefit of a lower percentage letoff compared to a higher? Why make it adjustable? 60% vs 85%? Do you lose speed?

For ease of referance I am gonna use stupid numbers here but you will get the idea ..... lets say your bow is 100 pound draw weight

with an 85% letoff ...your holding weight at full draw would be 15 pounds
with a 60% letoff your holding weight at full draw would be 40 Pounds

so the higher the letoff the less weight you are holding at full draw and the longer you can hold hold it while waiting for that 170 Whitetail to give you a Broadside shot with beggining to shake like a dog crapping out razorblades

there typically is a tradeoff however ... the higher letoff bows have a bit more of a spongier wall ... the average hunter wont notice it but the hardcore Target guy will hate it as with a softer wall the pin will float slightly .... For a guy triing for a quarter at 90 meters this is no good ... so the Target crowd prefers the lower letoff 60% or less ... I had my target bow setup at 55% (old Hoyt Sprial Cams ... adjustible by way of post stop)
what it does is stops the draw cycle short of the end of the valley ...the differance is maybe an 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch .... and the differance can be made up by loop, or even other bow tuning methods.

You dont loose any noticable speed

If you are primarily a hunter that dabbles in target(the odd 3D or the odd paper punch) from time to time and only have one bow ....I would reccomend the higher letoff as it will make you the happiest overall

[bore]

Thanks for the excellent answer. Not sure if mines adjustable but I'm happy with it. Easy enough to hold. Older Hoyt model circa 1994