Roskoe

I'm wondering here: What would be the difference betweentwo bows, say both are Mathews Switchback XT's; wherebow #1 was a 60/70 lb.backed off to 60 lbs.- and the other identical bow was a 50/60 lb. turned up to 60 lbs. Would the bow that was cranked up to 60 lbs. be faster? And would the bow cranked down to 60 lbs. be smoother? Or could you even tell the difference?

davepjr71

I'm no pro on this. But a few shop owners have told me that if you have a choice between the 2 you are better off shooting a bow at full poundage than a bow set to lightest poundage.

As for speed. I could and may be way off on this. But I would think that the fully loaded 60 lb bow would be a little faster. The limbs are cranked the whole way down on that bow while the other bow the limbs are cranked to a lighter setting. Yes, both are 60 lb draw but I would think it's the way the each bow unloads that is different.

So, maybe it's a matter of which one transfers KE better?

Paul L Mohr

In most cases the 60 lb bow maxed out will be slightly more effecient. Probably differs from manufacturer and cam types though. Would it be enough to notice? I doubt it.

As far as being smoother to draw, I don't know but it would be simple enough to check. Go to a mathews dealer and shoot both bows set up that way. Heck you can check the speed while your at it too. If you do it let us know what happens.

I will give you my opinion though. If are not planning on shooting over 60 lbs don't get the 60-70 lb bow. Get the 50-60 lb bow and set it at 55 lbs. Then when you choose arrows get them spined for 55 lbs and when you go to fine tune the bow you have 5 lbs in either direction to get your spine perfect. If you get the 60-70 bow and shoot it at 60 your only recourse is to turn it up. And this may hurt your shooting more than help it. Never get a bow with a max weight higher than you intend to shoot, it's just a waste. Not to mention a temptation to shoot more poundage than you probably should.

With the newer bows on the market and an average draw length there is just no need to shoot more than 50 or 60 lbs at deer sized game at 30 yards and in.

I have a little story for you (imagine that, me with a story).

My buddy has an older Darton Maverick. Probably early 90's with eccentrics and steel cables. This was a fast bow for the time it was made. He has killed many deer with it. He shoots 28 inches of draw at 73 lbs! When I got my Darton Yukon in 2,000 we took them to a shop and shot them side by side. My newer bow with the CPS cams shot the same arrow a bit faster than his did, but mine was set up with 26 inches of draw and a bit under 60 lbs of draw weight.

Not to mention my Yukon was smaller, lighter, more quite and had much less hand shock and recoil. And 75% let off, I think his is around 60%.

Now I have 2004 mighty might by bowtech and it will blow my darton out of the water, let alone his old maverick. And it will do it with virtually no noise and no recoil at all! This bow will darn near do what his will at 50 some lbs of draw weight and 2 inches less draw length. And it's 31 inches long with 80% let off!! I believe his bow is like 41 inches long and weighs around 6 lbs.

After shooting my bowtech he started saving up money and got a newer PSE. He seems pretty happy with it. I think he shoots it at 65 lbs. So he almost halved his draw weight and greatly reduced his holding weight, and probably increased his speed quite a bit too. I think he could have gotten away with 60 lbs but he is stubborn.

Paul

davepjr71

Along with what Paul is saying is there used ot be a tone of bows on the market that went over 70 lbs. It was all the rage to have a bow set at 75 lbs and if you shot less you were a wimp.

Now it seems that many manufacturers don't even offer some models over 70 lbs. The efficiency and performance of the new bows are truely amazing compared to the old bows. Also, many of those same guys that yanked for years on heavy draw weights now have bum shoulders.

Also, I finally found out what bow Paul has and got a good story out of it too.

When I was young and dumb I shot all the time (3 or more times a week)at 70 lbs with my 50% let off bow. Had the teenage mentality that if I could pull it bac keasy during practice I could when hunting. It was easy enough standing there in good weather. However, one season I blew a chance at a nice buck because it was cold that morning and I had cramped up and couldn't stand to take the shot in a bad body position. Couldn't draw the bow back without spooking the buck and had to watch him walk away.

Iactually shoot my bow at 65 lbs right now and will practice at 70 lbs once I get used to it and will drop back down before the season starts. That's probably an odd way of doing it but has worked since I learned my leasson.

Paul L Mohr

97 Martin Cheetah target bow (red with white limbs)
Alpine Micro youth bow
Darton Yukon
Bowtech Mighty Might VFT
Hoyt Rintec (target colors)
And some cheap plastic/fiberglass recurve

The rintec is my girlfriends target bow, light blue fusion and chrome cams

I shoot the Mighty Might most of the time. I hate the Martin!

If you wanted to know what I shoot all you had to do was ask.

Paul

davepjr71

Very true.

Thanks for the run down.