Chronoed my bows and.........

[highlow]

Just got a chrono from LA and decided to compare my bows. All were shot with an ICS Bowhunter 500 cut to 30.75 with a 100gr brass insert and a 145gr field point. Three shots each for an average.

1. Hummingbird KF 3 piece TD 62" longbow 44#@28-164fps
2. Timberghost LB 58" 48#@28 - 168fps
3.Border Black Doug Hex 5-H 64-66 50#@31-172fps
4.Blacktail Elite VL 62" 47#@28 - 175fps
5.Roy Hall Apache 60" 49#@28 - 170fps
6.Stalker Wolverine FXT 62"47#@28 - 171fps

....I find that the pretty bows don't shoot a heck of a lot better than the bare bones type. I have a 64" 51#@28 longbow made for me by Bamboo here on TG, nothing fancy, and that bow spits out the same arrow as my top end ones at 165fps. I guess the bells and whistles just aren't worth the added expense over the utilitarian ones but they sure do look nice. I had a lot of time on my hands this morning.

[PistolPete]

Yeah, the differences typically aren't that much. It's worthwhile to look at, but why most folks say speed doesn't matter.

[Alexander Traditional]

Interesting results. I've got a chrono myself,and have been meaning to go shoot some of my favorites through it.

I know it wouldn't change my mind if one I didn't like as much was faster than one I really liked,but it would just be fun to see.

[hockey7]

Correct me if I'm off, but the Border is approx. 41@28, and your getting 172. I'd say that's quite a difference compared to the others.

[highlow]

That's exactly why I got mine AT. Love all the bows I have and the results do nothing to change my mind about any of them. They all have different attributes that I like. Should have added that I took my first winter bow buck with that longbow Bamboo made for me.

[highlow]

You have a very valid point Hockey.

[Nativestranger]

Interesting. What's your draw length when shooting these through the chrono?

[ed cowden]

your numbers are on par with my numbers for about 40 bows I have shot here in the last year. What is surprising is that some of the longbows are just as fast as the recurves and some lite poundage bows shot as fast as heavier bows.

[md126]

In my opinion speed does matter but most quality bows are close enough that it's not a deciding factor

What's important to me is overall shootability. Forgiveness, hand shock, smoothness, noise, etc.... That's where there can be big differences between bows

[Jake Scott]

Was it a hybrid Timberghost or a one piece?

Interesting info.  Thanks

Jake

[McDave]

It's been my experience that bows tend to have less velocity deviation with heavier hunting weight arrows than with lighter target or 3D arrows.  Some shorter limbed recurves might shoot much faster than a longer longbow of similar draw weight and quality with arrows of 8gpp, whereas the longbow might shoot faster with arrows of 15gpp (but probably not dramatically faster).  Where you might (or might not) see more difference between bows is in other characteristics which are harder to measure, such as smoothness of draw, consistency between shots, reliability, and of course overall craftsmanship.

Some bows shoot much faster at long draws, but when we tested at an archery shop with our true draw lengths and hunting weight arrows the fastest bows were barely faster and in one case slower.  The shop owner had a shooting machine and wanted to draw 30 inches to the belly side to get a real test.  I convinced him that our bows were not made to be drawn that far.  He told me that it would give much faster speeds, at my draw it was no faster than the arrows that I shot myself. We did see that we had to really watch our release to maintain arrow speeds.

[Wheels2]

I played around with various limbs and found that I gained 8 fps going from a carbon/wood limb to an all carbon limb.  I gained another 10 fps going to a high priced radical curve limb.
What I did gain with the high priced limb was a smooth draw curve and a bow that only gains one pound of weight per inch for the last three inches of draw.
Some folk like it that way and some don't.
I can't recommend buying a bow or a set of limbs based upon speed only.  How they feel to you and how they react on the shot matters more.

[monterey]

I'm confused on the Border.  Did you shoot it at 50#  @31"?  Later in the topic you seemed to agree that it's 41#?

[Pheonixarcher]

Let's not forget that all bows were shot with the same arrow, and not a tuned to this bow, same grains per pound arrow.

[Possumjon]

Just out of curiosity I tested my hunting setup today at the club, shooting a 520 grain arrow at 155 fps out of my 45# recurve.... My 55# recurve shoots a 670 grain arrow about the same. I've shot lighter arrows and gotten higher speeds( about 165 fps with a 400 gr arrow for 45 pound and 175 fps out of the 55 pound with a 500 grain arrow) but penetration into the block target wasn't even half as deep. Just a little thought for speed vs. weight

[LongbowArchitect]

Both  arrow speed and arrow weight are important but weight is much more important for penetration than speed (momentum vs kinetic energy).

[highlow]

The Timberghost is a hybrid and I draw 28 inches. Sorry about the confusion with the Border. I shot it at 28 in. so Hockey is probably right about its speed being quite a bit better than the others I shot as I was most likely drawing only about 41-42 lbs as Hockey indicated. This was obviously not a scientific test but done out of curiosity. That arrow is tuned to all the bows I tested, believe it or not and form has a lot to do with the results of course. Do any of you know if the Border Hex 5-H have carbon or foam in their limbs?

[hockey7]

Pretty sure the 5H's are carbon, with their "hyper" core. Not a wood core, but more of a foam.
Wicked fast, stable limbs, but now discontinued with their new 6 & 7H limbs on the market.