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What Makes A Bow Accurate?

In the machanics department look at what the profesionals target shooters us.long ata ,less vertical twist.longer brace hight, les horizontal twist.long stabilizer less of both.paralel limbs .less jump.heavyer bow less of all those and just plain more stable.heavy arrows more consistant.all of these things add to consistancy.these thing mater more with finicy speedbows and long distances.a crapy tune will magnifie à shooters imperfections 2 fold.i know ...the answer was not short and ultra lite ...like i want.
 
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Oh ...that did not sound very oh so mighty hunter hero of me.i ment you suck at shooting,go burn some boot leather .then someday you will be a big man like me.but when that day doesnt come ask me if you are first.and i will just say no.
 
I installed a Death Grip on a PSE SS 28" ATA and killed a nice black bear with it. This particular bow was nice and compact but was easy to torque so this product worked very well.
 
I can’t find any studies or results like in long range firearms forums with millions of data points for barrel length, harmonics, humidity, bullet weight and on and on, but I would think that Olympic level archers and their training teams and scientists would have this knowledge.
 
I haven't read through all of the comments but I agree with MFJJ. Everything else being equal, a bow will be more or less "inherently" accurate based on its design. Bows with a more reflex riser and greater brace height will be "inherently" more accurate than ones with a short brace height and deflex riser. A longer riser and overall longer bow will be inherently more accurate than a shorter overall bow just because of newton. That doesn't mean a hooter shooter will shoot an inherently more accurate bow any less accuratly than one with less inherently accurate characterists..... it will shoot both the same.... accurately, because its a machine and will repeat the process the exact same way each and every time. These accuracy traits of each bow come into play when the human element is a variable which is now introduced. Torque, follow thru, fit, etc. all have a bearing but again, those characteristics mentioned above on riser design, riser length still hold true. Now, with those super accurate characteristics also come trade offs like speed and performance.
 
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PSE just came out with a bow made for both hunting and target shooting and it is both reportedly fast and accurate due to some of its inherent designs. It is almost a straight up riser for more speed but is a longer ATA for more shoot ability and forgiveness...... its a balancing act for every bow and bow manufacturer. I like what MFJJ discusses as he not only looks for performance but also for forgiveness. In a hunting situation especially over the long haul, you're probably going to want an amalgam of all of those characteristics.
 
woodsdog2 said:
PSE just came out with a bow made for both hunting and target shooting and it is both reportedly fast and accurate due to some of its inherent designs. It is almost a straight up riser for more speed but is a longer ATA for more shoot ability and forgiveness...... its a balancing act for every bow and bow manufacturer. I like what MFJJ discusses as he not only looks for performance but also for forgiveness. In a hunting situation especially over the long haul, you're probably going to want an amalgam of all of those characteristics.
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Which bow is this?
 
Bows are so unique to every individual. It's very hard to make a true blanket statement. There are features that make a bow more accurate for one person, but less accurate to another based on body size, form, physical ailments, etc... Honestly what makes a bow accurate is the person behind the string.

I do believe that a single cam bow, with an ATA of around 32-34 inches, with a brace height around 6-7 inches, at a true IBO speed around 320-330fps is one of the most forgiving platforms for most archers. Not a golden rule, but a good starting point for most adults from a pure shootablity aspect.

"Everyone wants to be a perpetual motion machine." - Isaac Brock
However this is obviously unattainable, but if it were there would only be one one bow on the market, which would be unfortunate.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I've always heard that longer ATA length and higher brace height makes for a more forgiving bow. There's obviously no advantage with the sentient string-puller out of the equation because a reverse limb crossbow with a 4" ATA can be pretty dang accurate.

I've spent a lot of slow Mondays shooting $300 bows and $1500 bows back-to-back. The more expensive bows were usually faster, had a more defined backstop, and had less vibration...usually. But there wasn't any consistent difference in accuracy even when shooting paper for me and my coworker, both of whom have won local 3d shoots.

Far bigger gains to be had concerning equipment with arrows, releases, sights, and just tuning it. An expensive bow off-the-rack is generally more shootable than a $300 Bear combo, but 20 minutes negates that in my experience.

Most cases I've seen where people put bows in a hooter shooter result in an article with a lot of waffling about how cheap bows are good, but for some silly reason (nice aluminum risers vibrate less) it may be worth it to you to shell out cash.
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I agree. I have shot Hoyt Rx5, a couple different Matthew’s, and a Bear Species… of the 4 or 5 compounds I’ve used, the cheap Bear Species was as accurate if not more so but it wasn’t nearly as fast.
 
Here’s LAS’s review of it. Best thing is you can purchase it online but it’s not a cheap date at almost $1600!!!
 
Bare shaft tuning out to 30yds once its shooting a bullet on close range paper. Bare shaft it into a good foam target until it impacts square and groups with the fletched arrows.
Always be a tick over spined on the arrow and a goid FOC 12-15%
Helps for sure.
 
One can't deny physics. Even though most modern hunting bows can be shot with a good degree of consistency, a target bow will produce more consistent results. Consistency leads to accuracy. There are many factors to consider with what makes a bow consistent and repeatable. But the basics are;
1 Longer ATA.
2 Higher brace height.
3 Lower let-off.
4 Good grip geometry.
5 Good Bow/Cam design and adjustability.
6 Good strings/cables

One of the most important and overlooked aspect pertaining to consistency and repeatability with hunting bows or target bows is the limb pocket design. A limb pocket that can be locked into place is going to be very stable. Loose fitting limb pockets with loose fitting limbs will produce inconsistencies in the bow.
 
Halfstep said:
One can't deny physics. Even though most modern hunting bows can be shot with a good degree of consistency, a target bow will produce more consistent results. Consistency leads to accuracy. There are many factors to consider with what makes a bow consistent and repeatable. But the basics are;
1 Longer ATA.
2 Higher brace height.
3 Lower let-off.
4 Good grip geometry.
5 Good Bow/Cam design and adjustability.
6 Good strings/cables

One of the most important and overlooked aspect pertaining to consistency and repeatability with hunting bows or target bows is the limb pocket design. A limb pocket that can be locked into place is going to be very stable. Loose fitting limb pockets with loose fitting limbs will produce inconsistencies in the bow.
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What are your thoughts on riser length vs ata? Also does the reflex matter? Yeah, I follow along with Podium/ MFJJ as a basis for comparison but I think that's the only place I've heard anyone mention those to factors.

Thanks!
 
Horn said:
What are your thoughts on riser length vs ata? Also does the reflex matter? Yeah, I follow along with Podium/ MFJJ as a basis for comparison but I think that's the only place I've heard anyone mention those to factors.

Thanks!
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I personally don't think one will notice any difference in their accuracy with a long riser compared to a shorter riser. But the longer riser design will give better performance than the shorter riser. That is why bow manufacturers build their bow with them. They like to claim the long riser bows are more stable and accurate but the real reason they use them is for better performance.

ACTIVE brace height is the brace height measured at FULL DRAW.
PASSIVE brace height is the brace height measured at REST.

The long riser allows for shorter beyond-parallel limbs. With a long riser beyond parallel bow, as one draws the bow, the limb tips move toward each other. The active/passive brace height doesn't change from rest to full draw.

With a short riser bow, as one draws the bow, the limb tips are moving toward the shooter. This increases the active brace height of the bow. The short riser bow may have a 7" passive brace height at rest but have a 9" active brace height at full draw. That loss of 2" of brace height will account for 20 fps.

In regard to the reflex/deflex design, all that matters is the active (full draw) brace height of the bow. At full draw, the archer is interacting with the bow at two points, the grip and the string. The active brace height is where the string leaves the cam at full draw. The closer this active brace height is to the bow hand, the easier the bow is to torque. The closer the active brace height is to the release hand, the harder the bow is to torque. The active brace height is a lever. The shorter the lever, the easier it is to torque and the longer the lever, the harder it is to torque.

If one bow has a reflex riser and another bow has a deflex riser, but the active brace height of both bows is the same, then one bow is as stable as the other. Traditionally, with older bow designs, deflex risers would have a longer active brace height and be more stable. But with newer bow designs with long risers and shorter limbs, a bow can have a reflex riser but still maintain a longer active brace height and be more stable.

If one bow has a 2" reflex riser with 10" limbs and another bow has a 0" reflex riser with 12" limbs, then both bows will have very comparable active brace heights. Both bows will be equally stable.
 
Halfstep said:
I personally don't think one will notice any difference in their accuracy with a long riser compared to a shorter riser. But the longer riser design will give better performance than the shorter riser. That is why bow manufacturers build their bow with them. They like to claim the long riser bows are more stable and accurate but the real reason they use them is for better performance.

ACTIVE brace height is the brace height measured at FULL DRAW.
PASSIVE brace height is the brace height measured at REST.

The long riser allows for shorter beyond-parallel limbs. With a long riser beyond parallel bow, as one draws the bow, the limb tips move toward each other. The active/passive brace height doesn't change from rest to full draw.

With a short riser bow, as one draws the bow, the limb tips are moving toward the shooter. This increases the active brace height of the bow. The short riser bow may have a 7" passive brace height at rest but have a 9" active brace height at full draw. That loss of 2" of brace height will account for 20 fps.

In regard to the reflex/deflex design, all that matters is the active (full draw) brace height of the bow. At full draw, the archer is interacting with the bow at two points, the grip and the string. The active brace height is where the string leaves the cam at full draw. The closer this active brace height is to the bow hand, the easier the bow is to torque. The closer the active brace height is to the release hand, the harder the bow is to torque. The active brace height is a lever. The shorter the lever, the easier it is to torque and the longer the lever, the harder it is to torque.

If one bow has a reflex riser and another bow has a deflex riser, but the active brace height of both bows is the same, then one bow is as stable as the other. Traditionally, with older bow designs, deflex risers would have a longer active brace height and be more stable. But with newer bow designs with long risers and shorter limbs, a bow can have a reflex riser but still maintain a longer active brace height and be more stable.

If one bow has a 2" reflex riser with 10" limbs and another bow has a 0" reflex riser with 12" limbs, then both bows will have very comparable active brace heights. Both bows will be equally stable.
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Thanks for your detailed response! Lots of good info to consider in there so I had better think on that before I comment any further
 
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