does speed matter

[Grizz 53]

Hey Guys, I'm a little confused about speed. Every trad shooter I talk to says their not worried about speed, but when someone gets a new bow the first thing I hear is {how quick is it}. Whats the difference between quick and fast? I shoot 48# @ 29inches. I shoot a carbon arrow thats 401 grains. My brother-in-law shoot 53lbs with a heavy arrow. When we pull our arrows out of a 3-D target mine is always the hardest to pull out because it's deeper in the target. Is't penatration what it's all about anyway. Would like some input on this subject.

[Kingstaken]

Tarditional guys/gals are still guys who love  speed (girls see how I removed you from this crazy passion typically found in males), the more speed the better even for rubber bands, they want the fastest hoping it will help them with judging distance hoping that speed along with their broadhead will impact the anilmal so fast that it will give them that pass thru they desire.

[poekoelan]

Even primitive self bow guys chase speed.

[Grizz 53]

I always liked passthrough shots, especially from a tree stand. Seems like I always got a better blood trail.

[Mark Baker]

Speed is a good indication of the efficiency of the bow your shooting, but your right in that penetration is the name of the game, and there are many more factors to consider.   And like most trad guys I guess, I look at speed after I first judge the shootability of the bow.  

At most hunting distances, really 20 yards and less, there is'nt more than an eyeblink of difference between the fastest and slowest of bows...not a trajectory factor really either.  There are a lot more things you can consider to max your penetration out, besides speed.

[NDTerminator]

Everybody likes speed, within reason.  I sure do, but noise level of a bow is even more important, IMO...

[pjsnell]

Take two bows of the same draw weight, say 45@28.  Let's say one bow shoots a 450 grain arrow at 150 fps, and the other 180 fps. The 180fps bow transfers more energy into the arrow, and that arrow will have a flatter trajectory.  The faster bow is a more efficient tool.

But that is one factor.

[pjsnell]

I, on the other hand, am not so fast...

[Grizz 53]

Thats what I love about this longbow I'm shooting. At 177 ft per second it's whisper quiet

[James Wrenn]

It is pretty easy to slow down a fast bow if it has too much speed for you.It is a lot harder to get more speed out of a slow bow if you feel you need more.I will go with the one that is easiest to work with.  

[madness522]

Speed is good but quiet it better.

[Chris Wilson]

It is pretty easy to slow down a fast bow if it has too much speed for you.It is a lot harder to get more speed out of a slow bow if you feel you need more.

I like that line of thought  

[Littlejake]

Speed is good for race cars.

[PigStikker]

Guys,
read "The Unbearable Lightness of Arrows" in the recent edition of TBM and you will become enlightened.  Ashby has got it figured out, and this article summarizes his findings which are posted here.  The article also references his research threads here.

Matt

[bjk]

If speed didn't matter, we would all just run at the animals/targets with the arrow in our hand...some obviously faster than others, so in that case, we'd likely still be talking about it.

Speed matters...anybody who says otherwise is missing a pretty critical piece of the equation.

How much?  Well...why open pandoras box when I know what is inside.

[Jeff Strubberg]

If we didn't want speed, we would be using atl-atl's instead of bows.

My personal crietria run like this:

1. Feel

2.  Noise

3. Speed

4.  Looks


I'm sure we all put them in different order.

[Gray Buffalo]

That Jeff depends

1. Does it look good in my hands
2. Will the other hunters be envious
3. Does it hit what I’m aiming at

speed has nothing to do with it

     

[Chris Wilson]

Speed matters.

shootability matters.

How quiet a bow is matters.

The key is finding a bow that looks good and has a good balance of the three.

[Stu]

First, I don't chrono so all this is objective. That said, speed is plain old fun to see if nothing else.  I first want smoothness of draw, tuneability & stability in hand, but given that, the bow that appears to "zing" an arrow is just plain fun to shoot. I shoot rifles too, and always wanted a .220 Swift for one reason only: speed. A golf ball ripped off the tee and appearing to rocket away? Wish I could do it. Heck, I love fast cars, too.

But it's a balance. I've left faster bows on the bench and hunted with slower bows that were smoother, steadier, or just plain felt better to me. I like it but don't chase it.

[mcgroundstalker]

O.K., O.K., O.K. Now...If it looks good and feels good and makes all the right sounds...Don't care who you are...Any red blooded male is gonna #*%# fast!!!

That's Speed For Ya!!!

... mike ... :p