Schultzy

I'm surprised there still that heavy yet! We use to call them Hoyt's boat anchors years back. Good bows though!

PABowhntr

Good question. That was something that I was thinking about within the last few months. The two bows I was comparing...the Diamond Black Ice and the Bowtech General. Going into this year I was under the personal impression that the Black Ice was probably the ideal hunting bow for my own preferences. The balance was perfect, the axle to axle length and brace height were excellent especially in relation to the speed it was generating...and the shot feel was excellent. Very little recoil, vibration and noise.

So then I get my hands on the General. First impression is that it is noticeably heavier than my beloved Black Ice. A full pound heavier.Even before shooting it I am thinking..."I just don't like the weight of the bow." "It is too heavy." Then I go and shoot it. Wow. This bow has an incredible shot feel. It has even lower levels of recoil, noise and vibration plus it even holds a bit steadier. Hmm, but it is still heavy and I just don't know if I can get over that.

So, I put the Black Ice aside for a time and just hunt with the General. Initially I notice the weight but the more I hunt with it the less it seems to be an issue. Eventually I start wondering what I was thinking because the shooting experience is just uncomparable to anything else I have had the pleasure to shoot.

I guess my point is fairly simple. Weight, depending on how it is used in the design, can have definite benefits. The only time you are really going to notice it is if you compare it directly with something significantly lighter.

Doefever

I believe a heavier bow is easier to hold still, especially in the wind.

nodog

I don't buy it. It wont resist movement long as it will quickly become to heavy to hold, and stability is a tuning issue. 1 lb. is a lot and holding on target (not dropping your bow arm) is one of, if not the biggest form issue. The heavy benifits for guns doesn't apply with bows. A stab puts the balance where it needs to be. Many would feel the need to add one to an already heavy bow.

Hoyt's, since going heavier haven't shown the benifits mentioned in the tests I've seen. I grabed one a couple years ago and was shock at how much they weighed. No way I'd lug one of those things hunting all day. My 4lb. hoyt protec with it's added weight in acc.is already more than I care to carry.

Arthur P

A physical fitness issue. Or maybe a manliness issue?[8D]

True to a large extent, but far from the whole story.A bow with more mass really is easier to hold steady and it will be less affected by the movement of the limbs and cams than a light one will.

The heavier an object is, the more difficult it is to overcome it's inertia. Simple physics. Plus, muscle tremors in the shooter's arms and shoulders will cause less movement with a heavier bow, and for much the same reason. Now we have both physics and kineticstelling us that a well tuned bow that weighs a pound more than another well tuned bow is going to be more stable, all else being equal.

Then you have the experience of entire generations of tournament competitors, even going well back before the existence of compounds,who have proven that bows with more massare more stable.

Does that help in a hunting situation, putting that one arrow in exactly the right place? Maybe, maybe not. But it sure don't hurt. Well, besides thediscomfort of having to carry that blasted boat anchor around all day trying to get a shot that is.

kevin1

I'm thankful that my recurve weighs far less than what some of you are dragging around, the whole rig probably doesn't weigh 3 lbs, and I have no stability issues other than an occasional hangover. I'll confess to using a longer stabilizer though.

Arthur P

A recurve can be much lighter and not have stability issues, mainly because of it's length and the fact it doesn't have hardly any weight out there on the limb tips. Putting a couple of big honkin' pulleys out there on the limb tips changes things dramatically. More weight on the limb tips means you need more mass in the riser to offset the limbs' movement.

Of course, then you're getting into distribution of the mass, and that's another point that affects a bow's stability. I like having most of a bow's weight between my hands at full draw, another reason I very much prefer deflexed risers.

JNTURK

hmm...that has me wondering if it can be proven that a heavier bow does correlate to having better shot placement?? would be a good test to see...

Paul L Mohr

It doesn't matter if you "buy it" or not, those are the reasons target shooters prefer a heavier bow over a lighter one. And long stabilizers are not for balance, you can balance a bow just fine with a shorter heavier stab. The longer the stabilizer or the farther out you can get the weight the more the bow will resist side to side movement when you are aiming. It takes a bit longer to steady out, but will supposedly hold better once it gets there. It works, I have tried it.

For hunting no I don't think I would go pick the heaviest set up I could find. Especially if I had to carry it for a long time. However for target shooting it really shouldn't matter. The bow isn't going to be in your hand that long and you don't hold at full draw that long, or at least you shouldn't anyway. And you should be conditioned to hold that bow and shoot it several times in a day or evening.

Paul

burniegoeasily

I only hunt with my bows, so i like them heavy. Also, because I just like them that way. (burnie pounds his chest and grunts with all the power of a
Neanderthal )