Ah, but this is the "General Bowhunting" forum. Target archery isn't factored into this equation. (Okay, so you're right - it would help a lot in a 3D shoot.)
That's not exactly true. You should've seen what happened at my sister's wedding reception...... This is all supposed to be fun, isn't it?
For hunting, I really don't see the need for a bow that does more than 290ish. I've only tried to tune a bow for broadheads beyond 300fps two times that I remember, and both of those bows were difficult to tune for broadheads, to the point that I wasn't comfortable shooting fixed heads on them. Not because the bow wasn't in tune, but because anything less than a perfect shot seemed to be a LOT further off the X than "slower" bows I've tuned for broadheads, they would inconsistently plane when you had a less than perfect shot. With that said, no matter the IBO rating of a bow, I tend to tune my setup to shoot around 275-285fps, while pulling between 60-65lbs, and I like something with at least 7" of brace not because of "forgiveness", but for clearance of my arm when I'm bundled in cold weather gear. Exact numbers for speed/draw weight on a setup will fall wherever necessary to tune the bow correctly. This year I'm shooting a Destroyer 340, and rather than juicing it out for speed, I'm shooting a 487gr shaft with a high FOC. I've actually got a 100gr brass insert in the front, and a 100gr head as well. At 64lbs, I should still be getting just around 280fps. Another thing, once you get beyond 285ish fps, your sight picture gets cluttered in a hurry with pins. I actually like a bit of pin gap in there to give me a better view of things when I'm splitting pins on odd distances. The other thing with a hunting setup........is that I won't shoot past 30 yards unless I have time to pull out the range finder. Just a personal rule I've set for myself a couple of years ago, too many things can go wrong past 30 yards and if you don't have the time to click the animal with the range finder you probably don't have any business shooting at that animal. Just my thoughts........most of these theories go out the window though when I'm talking about a open class 3D setup.
And for the record, when I was really competitive in the hunter class for 3D, I shot all my best scores with a setup that was doing about 284fps. At 35 yards and in, you simply don't need it and I felt there was an advantage to seeing better definition on my targets with a bit of pin gap.
Great post, Matt. Another thing (when I was shooting "fast" bows).....I couldn't see my arrow in flight (every time....or even most of the time). Maybe it was my old eyes. But, the speed had to be "a" factor. Is it imperative? Probably not. But, I sure love seeing it. That's one of the beautiful things about shooting 180fps.
Jeff, I agree that seeing the impact for hunting is critical. I use neon yellow fletching and it stands out like crazy to me against animal fur. I like the flatter trajectory b/c I have missed a few animals in my day that were due to arrow drop. One was a muley in CO at 33. I had ranged the rock that was in front of him to be 30 and did not compensate. Was that my fault? Yes. Would my current set up have killed him? Yes. Everyone always just says to use a rangefinder, but when you are crawling around after these things, you can range objects, but then you have to guess from that how far they are. If you wait to range the animal in the open, then you often will have missed your opportunity all together. Just my based on my experiences anyway. Am I right? I don't know, but I like it. Jim Davis 3G Tactical www.3gtactical.com
There is actually a really good article on this topic right here on this website. On the top on your screen click the "interact" link and then the following drop down option which is "bowhunting knowledge". Just a few articles down you will find one titled "benefits of arrow speed". Its a pretty lengthy and in depth article written by the staff of this website.
Excellent post RJ!! User error or did this deer duck your arrow? In the 15 years I've hunted with my recurve one doe possibly ducked my arrow. I can't honestly say that's what happened though. Maybe I shot to high too. Tell me how you really feel.
I already knew you liked a little of "both." :D You're also one of the few guys I know who sets pins the same way I do, based on the trajectory of the bow though, so you can't be ALL bad.... Roger, I was using you as an example because while you ARE chasing all that speed, what would that bow shoot like with a 475gr arrow??? Probably around 315fps, which at 30yds is only going to change your trajectory arch about 1/2 inch!!!! So realistically, you could shoot a 475gr arrow out of that bow and have ONE PIN to 30yds, and gain 10ft/# of KE, not that you need any extra KE, but look at it like this, if that arrow is absorbing that much more KE, then the bow is MORE efficient, and in return, going to be QUIETER!!! Deer most certainly jump string, seen it many times, especially when watching a video in Slo-Mo. VERY good post!!! Likewise, I have to agree, really fast arrows with WINGS on front have been a PIA for me as well!!!
