Arrow speed?

[Nativestranger]

Originally posted by Kirkll:
 

Can limb materials make this much of a difference?  

James,

To answer your questions without getting off on a tangent. There is no average speed for an aggressive R/D longbow, and limb material is just one part of the equation.

The shape of the limb typically dictates energy storage capability. The type of materials used in the limb can effect energy storage too in some cases, and will effect the mass weight of the limb.

There are  lot of factors involved that dictate how much of the stored energy gets transferred to the arrow shaft.

You can have two bows at identical draw weights with "aggressive" looking reflex to the limbs that easily shoot 20 fps difference. actually you don't need a chrono to see the difference either.  just step back to 30 - 40 yards and see which arrow is still in the target, and which one is in the dirt..... There are many archery hunters that prefer a flat trajectory that increases their accuracy at longer yardage.

But Of course..... everyone knows "Speed doesn't matter"      :rolleyes:  [/b]

Great post. What makes a bow more efficient than another with light arrows given the same energy storage? Are carbon foam limbs far better than regular wood glass limbs? How about narrow longbow limbs vs wide recurve limbs?

We took our bows to a shop with a chronograph to test our bows.  Some of the numbers came in high, I think, and some came in lower. The testing told us more about our release than all that much about our bows; a hard release is not only more accurate for me, but it also delivers a much faster arrow. I was surprised how often my release was soft. I will say that a certain longbow that I had at the time shot the same arrow slower than my wife's Lost Creek by enough of a margin to make me sell it.  It bothered me that I was pulling that much more weight and getting a slower shot with the same arrow.  It also bothered me that such a light spined arrow could fly so perfect out of that bow.  Funny thing, I suspected my wife had me on the fps thing and that my arrows may have been a bit over spined with that bow, but once I saw those numbers, that was it. I was also relieved to find that my remaining three Hill style bows and my Robertson longbows are not lacking in speed, relative to my wife's bow, but then she is shooting about 11.5 gpp compared to my 9.5 to 10.5 gpp with my bows.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by duncan idaho:
"But Of course..... everyone knows "Speed doesn't matter"

LOL...good quote

better yet, speed don't kill.    

[pamike]

i got caught up in experimenting with all my bows and speed tests...while it was fun to play it was VERY frustrating.  I could not control the "little" differences in form between bows and did get some strange results.  Bottom line if you really want to know sent your bow to Kirk and let him put it on the machine to test it.  

mike

[atatarpm]

Not being mean or triing to say something is all important but speed does matter in a way. The reason for the bow is to throw the arrow faster then you can throw it by hand.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

What makes a bow more efficient than another with light arrows given the same energy storage? Are carbon foam limbs far better than regular wood glass limbs? How about narrow longbow limbs vs wide recurve limbs?  

I've got to try and answer this question even though we are drifting out on the tangent a bit here.   :p

What makes a bow more efficient using light weight arrows over the next bow, is typically being able to stop the mass weight of the limb moving forward clean and transfer more energy to the shaft.

Carbon /foam limbs are much more desirable to some discriminating archers.... they can feel the difference and they do perform very well. but to say that they are "far better than regular wood glass limbs." would be a stretch.... A great comparison would be a bamboo fly rod vs a top of the line graphite rod.... both catch fish, but there is a world of difference in the feel, and the actual performance..... but by golly you'll always have guys that swear by those old bamboo buggy whips.

A guy could write a book or two on LB vs RC limbs comparisons, so i'm not going there. The highest performing bow in the world is going to be a very narrow limb static tip recurve bow. IMO

There is a large difference in measuring the "efficiency of the bow itself" and "How efficient the arrow cast is compared to the stored energy in the draw cycle."  you can increase any bows efficiency by shooting heavier shafts. but some of these, heaven forbid "Faster bows" will shoot those heavier shafts a lot with a lot flatter trajectory, and hit a lot harder..... THAT is good stuff for any archery hunter....it's still your responsibility to put the arrow where it needs to go.... But the straightest distance between two points is.... A flat line.... or is that one word as in  "Flatliner"    

For those of you that are not interested in exploring the details regarding the complex nature of what a bow is really doing, or care about the advanced physics involved.... that's cool... but keep in mind here.....there are many Trad bowhunter's out there there that find it fascinating and are interested in guys willing to do the prototyping and raise the bar a bit in terms of performance.....

Some of these sarcastic remarks about arrow speed being unimportant get old.... but those same guys are probably saying the same thing about arrow speed threads...LOL!    Gotta love it!

[LKH]

Core material can be a big factor in speed.  Also, for comparison your draw length should be noted.  At 26" I don't get anywhere near by partner even tho my bow is heavier.

Also, two bows can be made to the same design by the same bowyer and still come out different.  The materials are not homogenous and differences are impossible to detect.

I hunt mostly out west on the ground and speed is a big deal to me.  It helps extend my range and reduces my misses.

[Roadkill]

54 pounds at 26 inches my bow is  150 fps.  The  boe is a Pronghorn

[rraming]

Originally posted by JamesKerr:
I am curious what is an average speed for an aggressive D/R longbow with an arrow that weighs 11 gpp? One of my bows is shooting 171 fps and another one with similar design is shooting 154 fps. Can limb materials make this much of a difference?

You bet it can, I have found the same, had some shoot over 10 fps slower than others and the faster one is a little less weight. I would like to get the most reward for the weight I pull, regardless of what that is. Trial and error or asking others might save some money. Nothing wrong with slower but faster sure is nice

If one has two bows that have the same feel, the same length, the same accuracy, and the both quiet, but one is way faster.  The slower bow will get dusty or sold.  However, that feel thing and how one gets off a shot when hunting can make a huge difference.  I had a BW metal handle takedown years ago. I had a longer draw form with it, I fixed the cold hand problem by coating the grip, I could shoot tight groups at long range with it. However, I could not use that form at odd shooting angles and I was always distracted by the balance of the bow when not shooting.  My fix was to shoot with a shorter draw length and to shoot bows with better balance. If one has a shorter draw some bows will perform better than others.  Some bows seem to drop off at shorter draw, even if at 28" that particular bow may have been quicker. I imagine that there are a number of variables involved and different designs will have different mechanics that apply.