Rangeball

I' m putting way too much thought into something I don' t really need, ie a new bow. But what else is there to think about when you' re lying in bed starting at the ceiling when you can' t sleep because you' ve had too much caffeine?

I keep thinking of the pro' s and con' s of more energy than I have versus the same or less. On one hand it' s " you gain a smoother draw cycle and maintain or lose just a bit of the energy of your current bow" and on the other it' s " you only have a 28" draw, you need a higher energy bow to fling the same ke as the gorillas like Frank, Art and Matt, as well as have the high end momentum recommended in Dr. Ashton' s study" . The subject of last nights contemplating was the latter, and what bow currently on the market would do that.

Enter the Black Knight. Tall brace, to be specific. Dual Cam, 36" ATA, long riser, shorter limbs, IBO of 342-350. With a 500 grain arrow, 70#s and a 28 3/4" draw, I figure (based on my current bows performance, which uses a bowtech PF cam) it will fling a 500 grain arrow 270-277. Perfect. Flat enough trajectory out to 30 yards, 83' #s of ke, and .6083481 of momentum, more than the .57 Dr. Ashton promotes. You could hunt tanks with this rig.

But, to get that performance, what would I be giving up? Is the BK easy to shoot? Much shock that can' t be controlled by a stealth and limbsavers? Easy to aim? Solid wall? Hard draw cycle? Noisy?

I' ve never shot one, and would love input from you guys who have, especially if you can compare and contrast it' s shootability with the Patriot or other well know quiet and smooth bows.

500 fps

I guess it all depends on what you are used to. It will definitely not be as smooth or recoil free as a Patriot, but I don' t find its shooting characteristics objectionable at all. I think the extra speed is well worth the attributes you are giving up. It can definitely be shot accurately, especially since they went to the Pro riser in2002. My first 2004 bow will be the BK, hopefully soon enough to get into the woods before this season is over.

Kanga

RB.

Compairing my Pat Dually to the BK.

The BK has a slighter smoother draw cycle, about the same recoil and vibration but to my ears the BK was quiter and of course about 10 fps faster.

The BK that I shot was the short brace option. I found it to be a very good shooter and almost traded my Pat in on one.

But I do know that next year I will be getting a BK2 (thats if my wife will lets me)

mez

RB, I shoot the 2002 BK 2 in a tall brace. The bow has a fairly harsh draw cycle. The valley is very short but falls off nice when you hit it. The wall is very solid, you could overdraw the bow but would take a concerted effort. You can' t creep at all, the bow will let you know if you do and you will have to draw again. I don' t think that the bow has much kick or recoil, very nice to shoot. I shoot a level on my site but find I don' t need it much, the bow holds steady at full draw and torque has not been a problem. I have a carbon impact stab and limb savers nothing on the string but a loop. When I have shot the bow with other people around everyone has commented how quiet the bow is. The speed is obvious in a crowd, it is almost amusing. I shoot both gold tips and beman matrix 340' s, the matrix arrows are definately quieter.

The bow is forgiving and accurate. This I can say without reservation. I purchased mine about a year ago. I was shootin a Golden Eagle Pro Revolution with fingers. The bow was 42 inches ATA and I had never even touched a release. From that to a speed bow, with a sub 7 inch brace a release and 6 inches shorter ATA. I will shoot groups at 50 yards but not closer. If I do I will be replacing nocks and vanes. I shot my first robin hood this summer at 30 yards. You do need an armgaurd if you have a coat on. The brace height will get you there.

I don' t have a lot to compare the bow to. A buddy has a new Razortech and is having all kinds of torque issues with the short ATA. He shot my bow and to him, it was much more steady than the shorter Hoyt. This would be expected. I shot his bow and there is no difference in recoil or vibration IMO.

If you want to try a used one let me know. I' m going to get new BK 2 when they come out.

Rangeball

Mez, I' ll keep that in mind. Great thing about the BK is if I decide I can' t live without going this route, the ' 03s specs will do what I want. Are ' 02 specs similar?

What kind of speeds are you getting at what set up and arrow weight?

mez

RB, I' m shooting 29 inches at 70#, loop on the string, limb savers, factory cable slide. I forget what the birth certificate was on the bow, I can look at the factory speed.

Beman Matrix 340, 473 grains, (125 gr tip, 4.1 inch flex fletch vanes X 3) I have not shot this arrow through the chrono but have shot it on the techno range and the speeds come in between 276-280. The pro at my shop says the techno speed runs consistantly 15 fps slower than the chronograph. Take that for what it is worth.

Gold tip 5575, 420 grains (125 gr tip, 4.1 inch fles fletch vanes X 3) Shot these through the chronograph before I tuned the bow and was getting 310-312.

I believe the specs are the same on the 02 and 03, I think the only difference is the string, mine is a winners choice. Pat or Jeff B could help you out there.

tnichols

RB

The BK2 is a awesome bow. I almost bought one until I shot the VFT. I really like single cam bows. The bow is set at 70#, 29" draw, shooting 28" Camo GT 5575 XT 390gr arrows. The bow chronoed with this setup @292fps. I have one word for this bow " ACCURATE" . I bought a dozen of the 5575' s 1 month ago and I have robinhooded 6 of them. Had to order another dozen today. Shot a nice buck with it 2 weeks ago complete pass thru and arrow was stuck in the ground 6" on the other side.

Rangeball

Mez, is that 29" draw what you measured it at, or what a shop or bowtech said it was? Does bowtech have issues with actual longer than stated draw lengths? Those speeds are impressive, and sound just like what I' m looking for should I go this route.

mez

29 inch module, what the shop said it was. I have not measured it myself. These bows are fast. It is clearly obvious when shooting in a crowd, even the buddy with the razortech set up 70# @ 30 inches and beman carbon arrows there is no comparison. You can see the difference with the naked eye.

Bill L

Range,
" This is a bad time of year to buy a bow, unless you really need one." Didn' t I just hear that? I have actually put a few arrows through the BK Tall (2003). It beats my Carerra hands down in most every aspect. The guy at the shop I go to had one with 29 inch draw, turned down to 60 pounds. It pushed my ICS 340 (right at 450 grains) through the chrono at 286. Cranked it up to 70, and same arrow chronoed 311-313. As mentioned, I did shoot it, and did not find anything not to like about it. I am leaning to the VFT because I think it is a touch smoother drawing, a little quieter, and maintains good speed. I think I want to stay with a single cam for now as well. That may change with the " Santa" bow we spoke of earlier. If I found out that my dealer could not get me a VFT any time soon, I imagine the BK would have to come home with me. Good luck.
Bill