Bow speed

[madmaxthc]

Hi, Tradgangers,

I have a quick question regarding traditional bows speed.

I've always made my own Flemish strings, and when I was a beginner (years ago, before I started bowhunting), I got about 80ft/s out of my recurve bow. I later realized I wasn't twisting the threads properly, and the string was stretching easily. Ever since I changed my ways, but never measured the speed again. I did it today (same bow), and got 154ft/s, shooting 54# @ 29', with a ~600gr arrow. I was wondering though where this would sit as a hunting recurve, i.e. would you consider it a fast/average/below average bow? Just curious, since I've mostly heard compounders talking about speed, rather than traditional archers.

Cheers  
Max

[Ari_Bonn]

Perhaps a tad slow but still perfectly good for hunting.

[Jim Wright]

If you are shooting 600 gr. arrows through a recurve that's 54 lbs. at your 29" draw, that would be pretty slow. And if I understand you correctly it's hard to imagine that you have a change of 16 f.p.s. from the way the string is twisted or stretches.

[madmaxthc]

Thank you,

After your posts, I went back and found my old notes; the speed was actually pretty similar to the first test. I didn't remember correctly. I was just curious to understand what I should expect. Well, I have to accept it as it is I guess, as long as it's good enough for hunting. One day I may try something different    

Cheers,
Max

[David McLendon]

Black Swan Carbon Ceramic recurve 60#@28" 6.3gpp+/- 375 gr arrow 247fps+/- a bit depending on the draw. BCY10 I don't hunt with that set up, it used to be my 3D set up before an eye injury, still a blast to shoot.

[Blackstick]

Speed Kills, but it doesn't relate well to bowhunting.

[David McLendon]

So you say, but that is more than adequate for the bag of water that is a whitetail, pig no, elk no, I don't hunt a lot deer, but I sure wouldn't want to be shot at with it, especially with the range it has. But like I said it was set up for game playing, its a fast bow, ugly as hell but fast.

[newhouse114]

I only shoot about 165 fps but I do shoot a little heavier arrow.....about 230 grains heavier.

My go to longbows can shoot over 300 aph on an average day, regardless of what string is on them and as long as I have at least 8 arrows in my quiver.

[Terry Green]

Yeah it seems a little slow to me

[RC]

I killed 15 deer and pigs last year with a bow shooting 152 fps. I was shooting 610 grain arrows. RC

[moebow]

Arrow speed can be VERY dependent on your release technique.  A poor release can easily cost 20 FPS or more.

Arne

[Orion]

You're shooting a pretty heavy arrow. As others have pointed out, it's plenty fast. 150-180 is about the range for most recurves, unless they're drawn to 30 inches or more and or shot with an extremely light arrow.

Have you checked your draw length lately?  You may no longer be drawing 29 inches.  Mine got shorter as I aged.

[monterey]

There's plenty of hunters out there killing deer, elk and bear with selfbows that are slower than your rig.

[Sam McMichael]

Speed is not, in my opinion, a major factor to consider in a good hunting rig. A well tuned arrow, a very sharp broadhead, and god shot placement are the points of importance. Just about any bow of a draw weight suitable for the game you are after will perform just fine. The speed you listed is about what nearly all my bows produce, and I have total confidence in them.

Over the years I've chronographed a lot of arrows and bows of different weights.  I wouldn't be the least bit hesitant to hunt any critter in North America with your outfit.

The only change I'd make is to shoot 9 gpp instead of the 11+ you're shooting.

[riser]

Bow speed is 0 fps. ARROW speed is whatever it is.  ;-)

I've come across a couple of "rule of things" for recurve bow arrow speed.  It depends on arrow+point/head weight. But for 9-10 gpp arrows, I've seen...

Arrow speed in fps(+/-10) = 120 plus draw weight .

So...  45# recurve (@ your draw length) = 120 + 45 = 165 (+/- 10) fps

Some designs create more arrow speed than others, but most arrows, at "normal" hunting weights will be pretty close to this.

[Stumpkiller]

Not a bad rule of thumb - and you do specify 9-10 gpp.  I'd add a 5% +/- range for bow design and string (including silencers).

I like quiet and soft 'ol B-50 strings, some Flemish.  That's a cost.

If someone is worried about penetration with a slower bow, that can easily be remedied by going with a better penetrating broadhead.  We had one person a couple of years ago that got into using a blocked off double anchor, not pulling through the release.  The shot does not begin, until the bow string leaves the finger tips.  It is quite easy to lose an inch or more of draw while holding and another inch or two if the fingers forward on release with a blocked anchor.  The person I mentioned, picked up an average of 11 fps just by powering up his release more consistently.

[NY Yankee]

Don't get hung up on speed. There are guys who will get all upset over a 5 or 6 fps difference. The compound guys have a big pi$$ing match over who's bow is fastest and they will buy a new bow every year if they think something faster has come out on the market. It's just bragging rights and they need to use ultra light arrows to do it. 90 grain broadhead? Many trad shooters use 200, 300 grain or more. We will never get blistering speed from a traditional bow, no matter how light the arrows are. Why did the old black powder buffalo rifles kill so well? They used a big, heavy projectile fired at moderate velocity and dropped animals at will. You are shooting probably over 10 gpp and that is pretty good as you will have good momentum. Momentum  gets you penetration on game. Practice with your setup and be able to put the arrow where it belongs and you will kill critters with that setup. Sometimes, I think one of the worst things that happened to the shooting sports was the invention of the portable chronograph. That my 2 cents worth. Sorry for the rant.