I've always been a fan of bows with a lot of mass weight. Particularly my old Ebony Habu recurve. I've always reasoned that the heavier bows were less prone to shooter error...jerking/flinching/torque. But someone was telling me they saw a study somewhere that shows this to be false. What do you guys think?
I've never seen a study on it, but I tend to agree with you that more mass = more stability.
The errors you mention: jerking, flinching, torque, are pretty gross errors. One of those errors could easily throw an arrow 8" off target. If having a heavier bow only makes you throw it 7" off target, you might not consider that to be a great improvement. However, let's consider the minor variations we have in releasing the arrow from shot to shot that don't really even have a name. I'll bet that having a heavier mass bow will put more of those otherwise perfect shots in the 12 ring rather than the 10 ring, where a 1-2" difference in POI would make a difference.
More mass weight has always felt more stable to me as well.
I prefer a bow with some mass weight too.
Funny this subject should come up today. My R/D long bow is real lite. Easy to carry all day. But today I could not seem to get "into it". IMO a heavier riser helps me settle in to the shot. My 3 piece TD's are more stable for me.
I have found that a 2 pc bow bolt with a phenolic riser is a nice compromise....handles like a 1 pc, but the added weight in the grip area adds stability and dead in the hand on the shot...
All my ASL bows are very light, and since it has been many years since I have had much to do with heavier (mass weight)bows I may not have an informed opinion. I believe good form, rather than mass weight, makes the difference in performance, no matter what type bow is used.
True for me too....i'm just wondering when you're finally going to order a TallTines and be done shopping? :archer2:
I used to prefer the heavier risers my favorite for years was a Grable SST 2000 which was stolen. The last few years I have used and now prefer risers not nearly as heavy as the SST. I like about 2.25# total weight in a takedown recurve.
I also prefer heavier riser. Helps with a steadier bow arm for me. Gone to metal risers for that reason.
Like Guss says, I used to try and love lightweight one piece bows but with my terrible shooting form I would always get a flyer about every 6 shots. I tried several and loved some of them but just couldn't hold them on target constantly enough where I felt confident pulling them on a wild animal. Then I shot a one piece with phenolic in the riser and problem solved (mostly). If I get a flyer now its due to overdrawing the bow.
I do think bow poundage has something to do with it also. If a bow is a little to light in the poundage dept it can cause a less steady bow hand, making consistency tougher to maintain.
I'd like to see that study. Sounds like one person's fantasy to me.
There's a reason almost all target shooters and Olympic shooters shoot heavier risers. I suppose there's a point at which they might become too heavy, but a heavier riser is easier for most folks to steady and hold on target, in addition to its resistance to movement caused by minor shooting flaws.
I like my selfbows to be light in hand and never used a bow quiver on them. I prefer a bow quiver on my Treadway longbow though. For some reason the extra weight near the center helps me hold the bow steady and improves my shooting.
There are other factors though...last year I had bursitis in my left shoulder...I could lift my lighter bows but there was no way that I could get my 2 1/2+ pound bows up to shooting level
DDave
I don't know....I've grown to love longbows and I'm just as accurate with my longbows than any other bows I own....including heavier risered recurves......guess it all boils down to form....which I feel is paramount no matter if its recurve....longbow...or selfbow
I like a light to moderate weight longbow with a bow quiver strapped on it.
I guess as long as more mass weight equals more structural rigidity....you would be correct in theory..
If you are jerking/flinching/torquing then you have problems a heavy bow can't fix.
I do tend to shoot better with a bow quiver on, the extra wt does help steady the bow arm. On the other hand one of the best shooters I ever had was a clean light wt 62" Abbott longbow. I busted more nocks with that bow than any other.
QuoteOriginally posted by Red Beastmaster:
If you are jerking/flinching/torquing then you have problems a heavy bow can't fix.
I believe a heavy riser will hide these problems to an extent. If I give my 3# recurve 2# worth of jerking/torquing and compare the effect of same 2# jerking/torquing force applied to a >1# longbow and the difference will be clear.
I'm with Terry on this one.
Personally I prefer a light bow. I refer to my bow as "bitchy" because it lets me know immediately if I need to correct my form.
I know guys want all the advantages they can while hunting but personally I find if I am shooting a very forgiving bow, my form becomes sloppy.
As far as hunting goes, I'm just a poor hunter.
So over the years i have come to enjoy longbows, usually naked but sometimes with a bow quiver if it's more convenient. They just carry better for me. I also have a metal riser recurve that I shoot frequently and I may be a little more accurate with it, but not enough to matter.
I have found if I do my part, especially withe regards to shot execution, all my bows will shoot an accurate arrow. Even the low mass longbows
The more mass and weight the deer has the less accurate I become.
I agree with Kentucky TJ 100%
QuoteOriginally posted by kadbow:
The more mass and weight the deer has the less accurate I become.
I think this is the answer lmao
I like lighter bows myself
Look at the target bows that were popular from 1963 to 1968. Lots of riser mass in those bows. High mass risers stayed popular with the phenolic and magnesium takedowns too that were popular in the late '60's on. Folks wanted stability since they were shooting almost twice the distance we typically do now during 3-D events for most archery events. A heavy riser does make a stable shooting platform.
Regarding a recurve bow, I like something "in between" now, and my favorite bow is an old '60 K Special, which has good riser mass with stability but not a crazy riser weight like the '63 Tamerlane I bought new and used long ago for target shooting. Pretty (the Tamerlane) but not practical, so I will never shoot this type of bow again. Don't have experience with the lighter new custom bows, but I would suspect they can have good riser weight if that was ask of the bowyer prior to construction, using some of the heavy woods available now.