Speed doesn't matter?

[Gdpolk]

15fps and I'll stick with my old bow still because that 15fps isn't enough to change my effective kill range anyway and I have memories in my old bow.

If I could get a bow that was the same weight and shot the EXACT same it would take at least 50-75fps to make me consider going to a newer bow. That could buy me a few yards at no loss. However that kind of gain without giving up anything else simply isn't possible. Speed is in my opinion the least important aspect for me. Any bow of legal draw weight is fast enough to ethically hunt with. So, I focus on more intimate things like the feel, ergonomics, sound quality, etc.

[Hoyt]

I'll take the new 10 to 15 fps faster one every time. Speed is right up at the top of the list with me.

I figure with today's high dollar custom bows everything else should be a given. Some people just like different looks, lengths, styles, etc.

Identical bow, faster, swap..yep.

[Mike Mecredy]

I'd take them both, and since they're identical, look the same, same string, same length, same weight etc. I'd put a better string on the slow one so it'll shoot as fast as the other one.

[cahaba]

One thing I would have to do with a faster bow is train my brain again on how to hold on the shot. It wouldn't be worth the change for me as my favorite bow has plenty of speed and I am used to the way she shoots.

[hvyhitter]

I'd just shoot a heavier arrow and be back down to the same speed..........or....... I could shoot lighter arrows out of the bows I have but then I'd have to get new arrows and retune everything. Too much of a PIA for me, I'd rather spend time hunting than tuning...........YMMV

[The Night Stalker]

I said it before and I will say it again.  Speed does not kill, silence kills.  That being said, I like a great performing bow but it has to have that quiet factor.  Do the math!  Speed of sound in seconds  vs dropping a body in  3/10 of a second.  The deer here are extremely wired right now at the end of gun season.

[Thumper Dunker]

For most stuff Yes but for varmits speed does kill. A slow arrow on a coyote at 20-30 yards is a miss. OK for the most part any arrow at a coyote at 30 yards is a miss. They can hear your arrows coming they can see your arrows coming. You might not need 300fps but the closer to 200 the better. But your also only shooting a 25-45 lb animal. I shoot a 475 grn arrows from a 55-60 pound bows Would I use this on a 400lb animal No.
Coyotes are never calm coming in they are going to be edgy so a faster arrow is better.

I do like my shots as close as possible. With in 20 yards. I have seen coyotes do amazing things to doge an arrow.  But speed is completely worthless without being able to hit that spot with that bow.
I would take both home.
Just like rifles you need your deer guns and then you need your varmint guns.   :rolleyes:

[champ38]

I would take the faster one...and then I'd tinker with it to try and make it faster.

[Tajue17]

the quieter one.

[Stumpkiller]

I would say there is more you can do to make a fast bow quieter than a quiet bow faster.    


And probably they'd meet each other about in the middle.    

[BigJim]

The joke of the whole speed thing is that there is seldom ever more than just a few feet per second difference in speed (3-5fps) between the "fast" and the average (taking in account similar bow designs and not so similar at times). Set up means a lot in perceived speed.
Problem is without proof, it is only opinion. Wanna upset someone quick? show them (using a chrono) that their bow isn't what they thought it was.

With anything, there is always a tradeoff, more this, less that. Where it the happy medium. Not all trades are issues or problems.

You also can never prove a point. If there weren't  people on both sides, there would be no proving to be done.
BIgJim

[threeunder]

The way I look at it is there are many things I want out of a bow.  If I were to prioritize those things, speed doesn't make it to the top spot on the list.  As a matter of fact, it doesn't make the top 3 for me.  Others are different.
I use to be a rifle nut and I was one of those guys who never bought into the whole magnum craze.  Much preferred something that was better handling and a joy to shoot.  That preference has made it to my trad shooting as well.
Its okay if speed is at the top of your list (or anyone elses), just not at the top of mine.

[ChuckC]

Yup, at some point speed matters, and it is nice if my bow is fairly fast, but that is not the most important thing in my mind.  How it feels in the hand is most important, and then, if it feels good, how it looks is somewhat important.  But strangely, how it looks might be more in terms of bow shape and style vs pretty eye catching wood and trinkets.

I have been known to toss my longbow w quiver up the side of a mountain and climb up to it using the brush as hand holds in order to get to the ridge I was trying for.  It is tough to do that with a beautiful bow.

ChuckC

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Guaranteed the faster one!

It's been made quite clear here that everything b/w the 2 bows is exact except the speed....I'm sure most people here choosing the slower one are only doing so to prove a point. Those saying that 2 to 3 fps is more realistic haven't properly read the proposal. 2 bows, identical, 15 fps difference...THAT'S IT!

Speed obviously isn't that important to anyone here as we shoot trad bows...if it was then we'd have wheels on them.

The only time that I have ever seen two bows that were 15 fps different and shot nearly identically, was at a shoot when the guys were comparing their Hill style bows. In these comparisons, they were not quite identical at times, because some of the slower ones had more hand shock than the faster ones. Actually, I saw more than 15 fps differences that day with near identical poundages, arrow weights and draw lengths. I also saw how two people shooting the same bow and arrows with nearly identical draw lengths could get a 15 fps difference from each other. Then someone took out a Schulz all bamboo and let a few of us, that he trusted to not over draw it, try it out. Some bows were slower, some bows were faster, but that bow was the winner by a wide margin. It may be to much to ask at times, to expect two bows to have all things identical and have a wide spread in chrono readings.

[ChuckC]

OK  a fair question... Am I paying (again) for the "new bow" if I chose to take that one home, or am I simply choosing to walk away with the one I want ?

If it is free, sure, the new one is fine, but if I have to pay (again) for the privilege of shooting a few fps faster, nothing else being different, nope, keeping what I got.

ChuckC

[Dave Lay]

does a hypothetical bow make noise? if so, i would think it would be alot louder than the exact same slower bow with the same arrow etc.. in that case i will stick with my old bow ....

[kat]

For me, the answer is simple.  I would choose the faster one.
I gap shoot; and you are offering me a bow with a flatter trajectory. Less variation in gap. After all, I am promised that EVERYTHING is the same, other than speed.
If I wanted less speed, I could accomplish that with more silencers on the string, and a heavier arrow. If you wanted more speed out of a bow; well if it is tuned well, that just ain't going to happen.

[Recurve50 LBS]

I'd take the one that is quieter.

[Stephengiles]

I buy bows strictly on karma. If the faster bow likes me better sure, if not, no.