Yesterday at a 3-d tourny I shot my Superstition through a chronograph and averaged 186 with a carbon arrow tipped with 125gr. My aluminums with 250gr shot at 169. I knew my bow was fast, but something tells me that these readings are too fast...what are ya'lls opinions? Thanks
Without total arrow weight, your draw length and the bows weight at that draw, we don't know much of anything about what the bow is doing.
Yup, what David said. All my bows shoot right around 190fps. at 28.5" draw and 9gpp. They all weigh in at 52-55#s at my draw. Shawn
Ok 55@28. 27" is my draw. The carbons are at about 500gr and the aluminums are at 656.
I did notice that the other guys were shooting right around 160fps with similar draw weights and lighter arrows.
My Hatfield, 55#@28" and draw 29+ gets 180+ with 500 gr. arrows. That is with silencers on the string so your speeds are probably about right.
sounds right to me.
Most "new" bows shoot about that. But speed is what speed is. Don't mean to sound like a jerk but, It's where you put the arra, not how fast it get's there.I (and I think most of us) get at times, caught up in the whole speed thing. We shoot this way to get away from that and be natural. Learn to shoot the best you can and take shots at game you are sure you can make. Above anything else. Have fun!
I totaly agree with you Houseman, it just surprised me that my bow was faster than the others. I know that it all comes down to shot placement and close shots...if it was about the speed, I would still be using my Mathews at 316fps. Longbows are just funner.
500 grains in carbon with a 125 point head. Sounds a bit heavy to me. I'd guess your carbon arrow is less than 500 grains. Likewise, your aliminum seems quite heavy for an arrow correctly spined for your bow. Regardless, unless you know exactly what your arrow weights are, and those of your buddies, as well as the actual weight you're drawing at your draw length, the numbers really don't mean much.
I have been at this almost 30 years- so I sure know the speed/wt./placement debate/falacies. . . however, a faster arrow has meant less trajectory for me (better performance). This has translated into better placement/accuracy at varied and longer distances (35+ pretty easy). I am shooting carbon 550grs (230FOC) out of my bows 55-58# at 31" draw. It has just given me better accuracy and even longer ethical range compared to the 700 gr.+ alums I use to shoot.
2c of thought
Orion leatherneck and i loaded his aliminum arrows just to show him how much the extra tip weight would give him more penetration,and that is the actual weight ,and they flew perfect but i would say he has a 26 inch draw as a watched him shoot.
Gatorgar, that's sounds about right.
Houseman, "I (and I think most of us) get at times, caught up in the whole speed thing. We shoot this way to get away from that and be natural."
So...You are hunting with a 20# bow for rhinos, right? Folks interchange "speed" when they mean "performance"..If you take draw weight into consideration, then you too are thinking performance and "speed" whether you want to admit it or not....O.L.
Those aluminums flew like darts out of that longbow with 250 up front. Not to mention they made the already quiet bow completely silent.
I have to dosagree a bit, if he is drawing 27"s and getting around 52#s he is about 9.8 gpp. and only 27"s that is a smoking bow. As I said I shoot carbons that are 9gpp. and draw just shy of 29"s and I get only 192fps, that would indeed be a smokin bow he has. That would get him up to 215fps. at 9gpp. and a 30" draw or darn near there. OL could figure it out. Shawn
656gn at 169 fps from a bow generating 52# makes me green with envy! :banghead:
OL said it sounds right and i dont get this speed thing. Who cares.As long as you can hit what you aim at and have enough energy to penetrate the game you are hunting thats whats important.
LBB, "have enough energy to penetrate the game you are hunting thats whats important."
I agree, and exactly where are you going to get that "energy"?
I like an arrow doing about 180 and I get that out of 1 bow at 12gpp or so. I could make that same bow shoot 270 or 100.....Just with what arrow I choose. A different bow, I might have to go down in GPP to get 180 or go up in draw weight. But 180 is 180....O.L.
QuoteOriginally posted by Orion:
500 grains in carbon with a 125 point head. Sounds a bit heavy to me.
Orion,
My 29" BOP GrizzlyStik Sitkas with a 125 gr point and 75 gr insert up front weigh 504 gr. So it is very possible to obtain 500 gr+ with a carbon arrow. There are a lot of folk achieving it with 100 gr inserts and 200+ gr points up front.
Bill
Heck I've got carbons with FOC's at 20+% that only weigh 300 and other that weigh 900! :) ..
"That would get him up to 215fps. at 9gpp. and a 30" draw or darn near there. OL could figure it out."
A decent bow at 28" will store about .94 SE/PDF, so lets call it .9...So 52#x.9 gives us 46.8ft/lbs stored. A decent bow will give us 80% efficiency so that's 37.44 we should see in an arrow around 9gpp. He's getting 38 at 9.something...In the ballpark...At 9gpp 38ft/bs would be 191 fps...Again in the ballpark with Blacky's tests with fingers from decent bows. The 52# weight is a guess, his draw length may or may not be 1/2" off, don't know if he weighed the arrows on a good scale, so with all the possible variables, he's within reason unlike some of the magic bows that puts out more KE then the bow stores! :) ....O.L.
I know it's the wrong traditude but I enjoy my bow shooting fast.
I shoot on the line with new archers getting lessons and using student bows from time to time.
My bow shoots much faster than theirs and I'm not ashamed.
Wildman, I didn't say it wasn't possible, just unlikely. A lot of folks don't use weighted inserts,(We don't know in this case.) and without them and a 125 grain head, most carbons won't make 500 grains. Only point I was trying to make is that without accurately measuring arrow weight, and bow weight at draw length, and even the accuracy of a chronograph, the results one gets can be meaningless and/or misleading.
Thanks OL I knew you would be close! Shawn
Speed doesn't matter?
I bet nobody would try 2 bows of equal #'s that shot well for them and say "I'll take the slower one" :)
O.L how could I figure out my stored energy for my bow? Would that tell me alot about how good/.bad my bow design is?
Thanks
Bob
Bob it's tough to get it accurate with spring scales and a marked arrow. Digital scales off a shooting machine is the best way to go but not doable for most. Being off .2# times the 18 or 20 measurements add up to a lot of error. With care a fellow can get close. Just take a weight measurement every inch back to what ever draw you want. Add those up, that gives you inch/pounds. Divide that by 12 gives you ft/lbs. Divide arrow ft/lb by stored ft/lbs gives you efficiency. Divide the stored ft/lbs by the draw weight gives you SE/PDF (stored energy per poind of draw force)
At 28" we've seen SE/PDF's as low as .838 and as high as .953...That's a 13% difference so assuming equal efficiency there would be that much difference in performance. I picked .9 just for a number in the middle.
At 30" the numbers run from a low of .905 to 1.037, the same 13% split. An interesting point, shorter draws result in less storage but the efficiency doesn't change much and can be higher at 24" then at 28 or 30". Many think efficiency drops at lower draw lengths, it doesn't, just energy storage....O.L.
I shot my RER recurve through a chronograph a couple of days ago. 63# @ 29". Shooting 700 grain arrows at 168 fps. My release may not be the cleanest, but my gut feeling is that your numbers are too high. But then again, maybe my numbers are too low.
I built that bow and I am gonna stay out of this.
No offense intended toward the bowyer. I'm sure it is a fine bow, and since I wasn't there I should maybe keep my opinion to myself.
Alex, Sounds like Bob built you a great bow. Enjoy it brother! :thumbsup:
Wish you guys weren't so far away, I'd love to do some shootin' with you and your friends :campfire:
I have a superstition and I get that kind of speed or better with a 29" draw and 8 strand df97 string. No accuracy problems either.