Short parallel limb bows

[niceguy]

Anyone thinking about buying a short A to A parallel limb bow for target will find some some good points raised in this thread.

Why Do Pro Choose............ - ArcheryTalk

[Tony_zelah]

I brought one on Friday a Hoyt Trykon sport, mind you the sole reason for getting it was because of the mass weight, any one on here who knows me personal will understand my reasoning for wanting a light weight bow

[Jachyre]

Some interesting points on the Archery Talk forum , but little use in helping people to decide on whether they should buy a shorter parallel type bow for target shooting.

Everyone seems to have their own pre conceived ideas what is best , you have to try a short parallel compound yourself to see whether it's for you or not.

I took a risk changing from a very long axle bow to a short axle parallel , but on my second round shot with the new bow i've scored a PB.

Admittedly my old bow wasn't the ideal fit for me , but scoring a PB with the new bow after shooting only 10 dozen arrows is encouraging .

[shadowphax]

I know people have all sorts of opinions about the pro's and cons of very short bows for target shooting, mine being just another.

I shoot a Bowtech Tribute, which is just about as short and parallel as possible. I'm no expert shooter, but I know the bow will certainly allow me to shoot to any potential I have.

I feel that my bow is very forgiving even though it's very short. Is this because the riser is actually very long? Compared to more 'normal' length bows by Hoyt, the Tribute's riser is very long indeed, it's just that the limbs add very little length as they are almost parallel before the bow is even drawn. Surely the length of the riser has a bigger effect (if any) on the performance of the bow than the length including the limbs, mainly due to most of the bows mass bewing in the riser.

Merlin make some very short bows, which also have very short risers as the limbs are not of the parallel design. People shoot these, love them and no doubt get great scores with them along with others like Mathews etc etc.

I wonder if clay pigeon shooters argue about the length of the barrels on shotguns and talk about the pros and cons of short and long barrel lengths?

I think what shoots well and feels OK for one person may not suite another. If there was as simple an answer to making a good bow as it's length, then I'm sure that manufacturers would all be making similar length bows (even allowing for the fact that hunters tend to like shorter bows). This would result in hunting bows being short and target bows being long.

Also, just because world class archers don't shoot short bows doesn't mean that they aren't any good. Maybe bow manufacturers that make predominantly short bows don't offer sponsorships to as many archers?

Just my thoughts, but I fully understand if others have their owns views. I haven't shot enough bows to be able to comment on all designs.

[Jerry Tee]

Part of the reason is that short bows are reguarded in the USA as hunting bows. Most manufactures then produce a target bow that is different, ie longer. This gives them the option of selling two bows to an archer instead of one. Sponsorship of target archers to shoot those longer bows reinforces the idea that longer bows are good for target shooting. Sound comercial tactics.

[Jerry Tee]

Originally Posted by Jachyre

I took a risk changing from a very long axle bow to a short axle parallel , but on my second round shot with the new bow i've scored a PB.

Admittedly my old bow wasn't the ideal fit for me , but scoring a PB with the new bow after shooting only 10 dozen arrows is encouraging .

But what would you have shoot with a long paralell limb bow? say a Consitutition?
Remember it's not as simple as short parallel long non papallel. There are a lot inbetween bows like a number of Mathews bows which are long at 40 or more inches but have short limbs toward parallel.

[chemistry]

Originally Posted by shadowphax

I know people have all sorts of opinions about the pro's and cons of very short bows for target shooting, mine being just another.

I shoot a Bowtech Tribute, which is just about as short and parallel as possible. I'm no expert shooter, but I know the bow will certainly allow me to shoot to any potential I have.

I feel that my bow is very forgiving even though it's very short. Is this because the riser is actually very long? Compared to more 'normal' length bows by Hoyt, the Tribute's riser is very long indeed, it's just that the limbs add very little length as they are almost parallel before the bow is even drawn. Surely the length of the riser has a bigger effect (if any) on the performance of the bow than the length including the limbs, mainly due to most of the bows mass bewing in the riser.

Merlin make some very short bows, which also have very short risers as the limbs are not of the parallel design. People shoot these, love them and no doubt get great scores with them along with others like Mathews etc etc.

I wonder if clay pigeon shooters argue about the length of the barrels on shotguns and talk about the pros and cons of short and long barrel lengths?

I think what shoots well and feels OK for one person may not suite another. If there was as simple an answer to making a good bow as it's length, then I'm sure that manufacturers would all be making similar length bows (even allowing for the fact that hunters tend to like shorter bows). This would result in hunting bows being short and target bows being long.

Also, just because world class archers don't shoot short bows doesn't mean that they aren't any good. Maybe bow manufacturers that make predominantly short bows don't offer sponsorships to as many archers?

Just my thoughts, but I fully understand if others have their owns views. I haven't shot enough bows to be able to comment on all designs.

I used to shoot clay pigeons for 3 years whilst at university and can confirm that people do argue about barrel length a lot! Some prefer short 28 inch barrels, especially for sporting (i.e. 'field'), as they are quicker to swing onto target. Others argue that long 32 inch barrels are much smoother to swing and thus allow you to be more accurate, as well as giving a tighter shot pattern giving more chance of a clean break at long distance (an argument the 28 inch brigade refute with talk of choke/pellet/wad selection...). Some plump in the middle at 30 inches....

Just another example of horses for courses!

[phil_r_58]

But then again, is it not true that as long as a bow is in good tune, with well matched arrows, a reliable sight and sight marks, they will go where they are aimed ? The limiting item in the combination will always be the archer.

[Marcus26]

I am not aware of a single archer who is sponsored by a company for a specific model bow. Hoyt doesn't care if their target shooters use UltraElites or Kateras, as long as they are winning. Mathews don't care if they use Apex's or Switchbacks. Bowtech doesn't care if they use an Allegiance or a Constitution.

When we decide which bow Erika will use for that year we are not told, we sit down and work out which is the best bow for her based on her requirements and what fits into her draw length. We don't worry about axle length or limb config, but grip is the #1 thing on our list. Because grip is so critical (her hands are 25% smaller than mine) we would say
Bowtech: Anything in 2007
Hoyt: The Elite series bows
Mathews: Apex 7, Prestige

Because of that requirement we can now totally knock out entire parts of the lineups. Because of Erika's short draw we can then knock out all but 2 of the Bowtech range, Equalizer and Guardian. This effects the others too.
Bowtech: Equalizer, Guardian
Hoyt: UltraElite
Mathews: Apex 7, Prestige

Then because Erika is a small girl, we have to factor in bow mass. That drops the Apex 7 off.

So there we go. We have found the bows that if Erika was sponsored by either one of these companies that she would shoot.
So for her it is a easy choice. Obviously for me it's different. I'll go through my choice process later, have to work.

[Marcus26]

Originally Posted by Jerry Tee

But what would you have shoot with a long paralell limb bow? say a Consitutition?

I have done direct side by side shooting of an Allegiance and a Constitution. I was given a Conny by the distributor to hopefully boost their sales so I had a good opportunity to set one up just for testing.
It was a nice bow, shot well. I scored a outter 10 indoor round with it. (40cm face 30 arrows)
With the Allegiance I shot 300/300. With the Conny I shot 298/300. The 2 shots I missed I feel I would not have missed with the right scope on the bow.
So for me it shot as well as my Allegiance. So I stuck with the Ally.
This year I have shot for periods of time
2006 Allegiance 33"
2007 Allegiance 33"
Hoyt Trykon XL 38"
Hoyt Ultratec XT3000 41"

I shot 300's with the 2 Allys and the Trykon. The Ultratec I didn't, but know I can. I did shoot a PB FITA900 with the Ultratec.
So for me it's inconclusive. I lose more points for bow cant than anything else, and I did not find the longer bows canted less. The UltraElite cants less due to the riser design though, but with the 07 Ally I can put weights out to prevent it too.