Long Distance Spec.

[tel]

Throughout the board there are "that should get you to 100yd" type comments, but I was wondering - What would you say was the absolute minimum poundage limb/arrow set-up required to shoot the longest distances?

tel

[Max]

Hi Tel - I think cash has a little influence here. Late last summer, I was stuggling to transfer the draw weight from my arm to my shoulder using 38lb limbs. The club coach suggested I was over bowed and would benefit shooting lighter limbs until I sorted my form out. I did not want to lose the opportunity to compete at long distance, so I bought a pair of WinEX 36lb limbs, which claim to shoot as well as limbs up to 3lb heavier, due to increased mid range draw weight (around 16 - 19"). I combined these limbs with 670 ACE's with 85 grain points and the result is a bow very nearly as good as my 38lb bow. It remains to be seen just how it fairs in very windy conditions, but 36lb will do the job if the arrows are light enough and the limbs fast enough (which usually means a bit expensive).

Max

[joetapley]

tel

Limitation is on the sight position not the poundage. Length of stabiliser might be the limiting factor.

[Furface]

Originally Posted by joetapley

tel

.... Length of stabiliser might be the limiting factor.

Could you elucidate, please?

[Shirt]

If it's covering the target, it can be somewhat hard to aim...

[Max]

Surely though, accuracy and grouping are an issue here? I accept that just to get the distance, a fairly light bow will lob an arrow 100 yards at high trajectory, but then we begin to suffer from the same problem that longbows do and get killed by cross wind. Maybe the question should be how light can you go and still retain the advantage of relatively flat trajectory and short time of flight?

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Max

Surely though, accuracy and grouping are an issue here? I accept that just to get the distance, a fairly light bow will lob an arrow 100 yards at high trajectory, but then we begin to suffer from the same problem that longbows do and get killed by cross wind. Maybe the question should be how light can you go and still retain the advantage of relatively flat trajectory and short time of flight?

But that gets into a "how good is 'good enough'?", type of question - opinion, rather than fact. At least with the "what setup will reach 100 yards?" question, you can give definitive answers. The "least" setup for that I've heard of so far, was Murray's 34lb/ACEs...

Long rod covering the target... I had a friend in college who had to aim at 100 yards by placing the weight of his long rod over the target. 36lb limbs (IIRC) and X7 shafts. That was pre-A/C arrows, of course.

[Little Miss Purple]

Being a little person.... I shot at 100yards last year just to see if I could.

I was shooting about 30lbs on my fingers, I had v-bars with a 20" longrod on - this allowed me to see the target. I missed a fair few times but achieved a 1st class score, I'm sure if I was to continue to practice at this distance it would improve.

My arrows are ACC's 2L-04.

[Max]

Originally Posted by Rik

But that gets into a "how good is 'good enough'?", type of question - opinion, rather than fact. At least with the "what setup will reach 100 yards?" question, you can give definitive answers. The "least" setup for that I've heard of so far, was Murray's 34lb/ACEs...

But surely Rik that is the whole point? The "how good is good enough" question is important, because it has to be subjective. You have to ask "can I live with the additional variability that a lower draw weight will imply". Opinion and perception are important. You want to hear that someone else in a similar position to yourself can shoot good groups with this or that set up, without using unusual aiming techniques.

I am still debating my own strategy of going into the summer season on a lower draw weight kit. Will the improved form offset the external influences of the higher trajectory? What you tell me in your post is that, yes, here is an example of someone shooting 34lb with an ACE combination - that is important to me in terms of confidence in my own decision. Time and results will tell.

[JohnK]

I think Murray was still shooting in the low-to-mid-30s when he shot his first 1200 FITA (care to enlighten us, Murray?).

I also seem to recall that Denise Parker of the US shot a very high 1300 Ladies FITA with aluminium arrows and somewhere in the 25lb range.

Ultimately, it comes down to all sorts of factors (arrow weight, stabiliser length, tab shape/style, face shape etc.) so it's hard to generalise. However, I think it's safe to say that to get a workable sight mark with light arrows (like ACEs) at 100 yards most gents will have to shoot something in the mid-30s or above.

While a quick set of limbs may help (Border, WinEX, etc.), they may also require that you shoot a stiffer arrow, which could lose you a sight mark click or two.