Good morning everybody. I am a, Italian traditional gun hunter mostly with gordon setter. I also pratice archery with a monolithic recurve Great plan Wolf Creek 60" 55# at 28" and a long bow Jerry Hill, stalker de luxe, 69" 50# at 28" I am planning to buy a compound and, after the needed training / practicing, start bow hunting At this point in time, my going in candidate is Hoyt Torrex 30" 60# at 27, 7" brace height. But I would be willing to pay a Bow Tech CP30 - 30" with 6.75 brace height or Bow Tech SR 34 - 34" with 6.75 brace height or Hoyt VTM 34 - 33.75 with 6.25 brace height If I knew the price gap is really equal to the performance gap :-) Being a very beginner I'd like to buy an easy to use product with a good level of stability and comfort Then my doubts are: is a 34" much more comfortable then a 30" ? is a 7" brace height much more comfortable the a 6" and between a 30" / 7" or a 34" / 6" ? All in all, I wouldn't like to buy a very good compound I am not able to manage properly since I am not skilled enough. :-( Thank you very much for opinions, experiences, advices
go with a newer Bowtech or Elite. With their tuning systems, they make tuning so much easier .. Bowtech has the Deadlock cam system and Elite has the "set' limb system ... I have the Bowtech SR350, I just put new string/cables on it over the weekend, with the Deadlock system, it tuned up very easy ... the SR350 is 33" a to a, and the SS34 is 34" a to a ...
Thank you very much. I still have the doubts about Axle To Axle length ad Brace height: considering that my draw length is circa 26,5 - 27" would a 30"ATA/6"BH be forgiving enough for a beginner?
I would recommend trying a Bowtech Solution SD. The SD stands for short-draw. It has an adjustable draw length module from 23.5" to 28.5", 7" brace height (BH), and 30" axle to axle. As far as being critical. I find a shorter 30" ax to ax to just require a bit more of my attention that the level is kept between the lines, but really not a big deal. I much prefer a 7" BH, it is less critical of follow through than a shorter BH such as 6". I have a habit of grabbing the grip of the bow when the shot goes off, it can be a problem for me if I'm using a shorter BH bow. How the rest is setup can help with forgiveness as well. Most cable driven rests are timed as a "forgiving" setup, they come up fully in the very last 1" of the draw, thus dropping fairly quickly when the arrow is sent. A limb driven rest can be easily timed by adjusting where it ties off on the limb. A rest that supports the arrow for longer is considered more accurate...if your form and follow through is good...but more "critical". A rest that supports the arrow for less of its length is not as pin-point accurate, but is more "forgiving". Hamske says that preferred rest timing is between 70% to 50% of the arrow's length (measured where the arrow sits on the rest at brace and at full draw), with 70% being more of a "critical" target setup and 50% being more of a "forgiving" hunting setup.
Thank you, I do appreciate your advice. Also the Bowtech CP30 has a quite wide draw length range even if less extreme (from 25" to 30,5") with 30" ata, 6.75 bh and a slightly higher speed of 331 fps. Do you think it could perform equally well? However, you are telling me that a 6" brace height is not comfortable enough even with a 26.5" draw length, am I correct?
No, I'm saying that it wasn't easy for me to shoot a 6" BH from my bad habit of grabbing the bow grip as soon as the shot goes off. You may not struggle with it if you have better follow through. I'm currently shooting a bow with a 6.5" BH and have no trouble, but I have been working on not grabbing the grip during the shot to break that bad habit. So, a 6" BH is more "critical" to form flaws than a 7" BH, but many with good follow through form don't even notice a difference between them. The CP30 you mention has pretty good specs IMO, a 6.75" BH isn't bad at all for "forgiveness", and I agree that it would be nearly the same as a Solution SD as far as forgiveness goes. But, I do not believe the CP30 would be faster than the Solution SD. They would actually be pretty close to each other and I think the SD would be a bit faster. The SD has a lower IBO rating because it isn't capable of being shot at the IBO specs of 30" draw length (at 70 lbs and a 350 grain arrow). It's IBO was established by shooting at 70 lbs with a 350 grain arrow but only at it's max draw length of 28.5". I'd guess the SD would come in somewhere around 335-338 fps if it was capable of a 30" draw length. So, both bows at your draw length I think the SD would prove a bit faster. We're talking maybe a 5-10 fps difference between them, so I'd get whichever one you like the most.
Yesterday morning I have gone to my local bow dealer. I have found out that my draw length is 27.5 And we have ended up with 3 options Hoyt Torrex XT: 30" ATA, 6" BH. 1200 euro Bowtech CP 30: 30" ATA, 6.75 BH. 1550 euro Mathews V3X: 29" ATA, 6" BH 1500 euro Prices includes 'reasonable quality' accessories Comments, opinions, suggestions are very welcome :-)
Italy is not the States. We have very few shops with a lot of bows in stock and even less, if any, with hunting compounds. With the growth of e-commerce it's getting worst. Instead of wisely saying "The bow I buy is the bow I have tried" I have to say "The bow I try is the bow I have bought" :-)
I am from North Carolina, not Italy. My first compound bow was in 1968, it was an Allen Original. I was the second person in North Carolina to have a compound bow. In 1974 I bought a 60-70 pound PSE Citation. Then in 1975 I bought a 45 pound PSE Citation for Target shooting. In 1979 I was right eye dominate but started shooting a bow left handed, I bought a right handed 60-70 pound PSE Mach 4 and learned to shoot right handed with my first mechanical release. My next bow was a Mathews Z7 and I started shooting a Scott release . I harvested 14 whitetails with 14 arrows in my first two years with this bow. In four years I shot 12 bears, and 24 whitetails. My last bow is a 60-70 pound Elite Impulse. It has been the smoothest and fastest bow I have owned. May switch up again this year.
Congratulations to Rustystud, really impressive. This morning I have bought the Bowtech CP 30, draw weight 50-60, draw length 27.5, mossy oak country DNA (I would probably have preferred the od green, but I should have waited for 8-10 weeks); it is expected to get to the shop in 10 days. I hope the 30"ATA/6.75"BH vs the 29"/6.0" of the slightly faster and shorter Mathews V3X29 will be a little bit more forgiving and a little bit smoother to draw. I have also considered that to benefit 100% of the bridge-lock technology, I should buy genuine Mathews accessories which are more expensive than the bow. By the way I have made a mistake in my #7 message : the good-quality-budget Hoyt Torrex XT equipment price tag was 1.300 euro (not 1.200) and I have thought an increase of 20% circa is a reasonable effort to move into the top of range.
With parts being hard to come by and a timely wait to get them in, I think in your situation the Bowtech is a good choice. It has a mod for changing the smoothness of the draw cycle, an adjustable mod for changing the draw length, and Deadlock cam adjustment for tuning. That is going to be very convenient. My old bow is a 30" axle to axle and a 7" BH, my newest a 33" A to A and a 6.5" BH. I'd say the pin float is a bit better with my new one but it is not a drastic difference at all at the target. People with longer draw lengths than ours can run into string angle issues with a shorter axle to axle, but those of us with shorter draw lengths don't normally find them to be a problem. I think you'll find that CP30 to be to your liking and you'll be able to shoot it just fine. Congrats on the new bow, come back after you get it and have sent some arrows through it and let us know how you like it.
Yes, thank you all. I'll be happy to get your comments and advice about my feed back after practicing a bit. It's crystal clear there is a huge gap both in experience and in expertise between Italy and the States about bow hunting.
It's also crystal clear there is a huge gap between me and a good experienced shooter. However the bow has arrived and it has been equipped with 3b 'the claw' wrist - index finger release Qad rest ultra hunter HHA Optimizer Lite single pin sight Alu tru peep hunter visette Avalon hunter tec-x-3d pro 8" stab (without weights) currently at 52 lb draw weight 27,5 draw length I find the draw cycle extremely smooth and totally dead in hand after shot, but I have no comparison with other compounds These are the two groups before lunch (after circa 12 6-arrows series between yesterday and the day before: it was snowing over here) For the time being, I only feel the need to practice. I have agreed with my bow shop buddy I will get there in a month circa to update the tuning: for sure I need to stabilize my anchor point. Thank you very much for all good advice you all gave me and hopefully you will give me.
It's also crystal clear there is a huge gap between me and a good experienced shooter. However the bow has arrived and it has been equipped with 3b 'the claw' wrist - index finger release Qad rest ultra hunter HHA Optimizer Lite single pin sight Alu tru peep hunter visette Avalon hunter tec-x-3d pro 8" stab (without weights) currently at 52 lb draw weight 27,5 draw length I find the draw cycle extremely smooth and totally dead in hand after shot, but I have no comparison with other compounds These are the two 22 yards groups before lunch (after circa 12 6-arrows series between yesterday and the day before: it was snowing over here) For the time being, I only feel the need to practice. I have agreed with my bow shop buddy I will get there in a month circa to update the tuning: for sure I need to stabilize my anchor point. Thank you very much for all good advice you all gave me and hopefully you will give me.
Everything you are saying is spot on. You need to be touching tight at 20yrds. Before I would tune. Form is the biggest culprit when people try and fail to tune their rig. As you are just starting out think about adding more anchor points. Options are hand in grip- look up correct grip Kisser tried and it's not for me Peep classic but some prefer to not use it Knuckle placement while in full draw String on center of nose String on side of nose. Back in the day.... Finger behind neck You can use them all or none. But the more the better for a beginner. Good luck. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
Congrats and enjoy ! I went from recurve to Hoyt compound to a Mission compound. Loved each. I don't know if tree hunting is a thing there but if it is remember to have your practice sessions from a tree. Whole different thing on angles. To this day I repeat my montra. Breath, bend at waist and do not grip, squeeze....
Thank you all. I have to say that being a below-average traditional recurve shooter and moving to the compound world, the perception of a new level of accuracy is overwhelming. I am sure it is because I am a very beginner, but I struggle to understand the importance of the anchor point, while I feel it can make the shot more comfortable, easy and consistent; in terms of accuracy, the anchor point can only be determined by the bow tuning: if I align the peep on the string with the circle and the pin of the front sight there is only one point where I can position my arrow hand. There is only one straight line connecting two points. Please don't take me wrong, I understand the benefit of being consistent in a good shape, what I am trying to say is that I can change my anchor point only by moving the visette. Am I right? It seems to me the attention I had to pay to anchor point with the traditional bow (plus whatever method to focus on the center) it moves, with a compound, to the 'intuitive forecast' of when to release according to my pin wondering around the target.
