I posted this on FB and want to share it with you guys... Because I'm a nice guy like that...
>>> Bow Stacking Test <<<
In continuation of the last thread I posted, I tested some bows to find out if we can put a rule of thumb or an average weight gain per inch on stacking... I did DFC's on 6 bows from 28" to 36" draw length... I drew the bows to get a feel for when they started stacking and when they felt like they hit the wall... I was surprised to find out that the numbers were a little lower than I expected... I was thinking just under the half pound mark... What I was not surprised about was that the numbers were all mostly very close to each other even with different draw weights and bow lengths... I tested a 40 and a 49# nitro recurve, a 43# cobra recurve, a 42# raven R/D, a 35# x 56" straight limbed all glass bow and a 27# old school recurve... The bows had 61", 62" and 63" strings except for the 56" bow... I got numbers for feel of when the bow really starts stacking... Feel when the bow hits the wall and measured at 36"... The numbers are, difference in weight gain compared to the last inch... Here is the order the numbers will be in... Each bow has a different weight so I will list the weights... 27#, 40#, 42#, 43#, 49# and 35#...
For feel of the stack, .11 - .15 - .19 - .20 - .20 - .25#....
For feeling the wall... .18 - .30 - .25 - .24 - .25 - .30#...
At 36" of draw... .25 - .34 - .36 - .38 - .39 - .77...
Most bows started stacking around the 31' to 32" mark... The 56" bow at the 28 to 29" mark... The wall for most bows was felt around the 33 to 34" mark and the 31" mark for the 56" bow...
I am sorry that I could not test more of a variety of bows... Conclude what you want from this test but as a rule of thumb I think it is fare to say that you can feel the average bow really starting to stack when it starts gaining around .20# and start hitting the wall at a .25 to .30#...
Granted the feel of the draw is subject to the archer and everybody is sensitive to stacking a little differently... This is not a test on smoothness of draw or stacking through the draw cycle of your bow... This test was done to give you some kind of a reference to when a bow is beginning to hit the red line... If you stay under these numbers you should be good... If you are over these numbers your bow is probably stacking early... I hope this comes to some use for some of you...