Bear Montana as my first trad rig?

[43.6N]

I was lucky enough to snag two used Bear Montana longbows with what look like fairly new Flemish twist strings.
One in 55lbs, the other at 40lbs.
Great deal from a family friend who owns a pawn shop.

I gave them both the once over, and then started shooting them with some 400spine arrows I had lying around. The 40lb bow is noticeably smoother, quieter after the shot, and seems to throw the arrow more accurately.

It’s been at least 15yrs since I’ve spent any time with a trad setup. How much of the difference would you guys attribute to the individual bow vs the arrow spine vs my admittedly poor form?

 

[nevadabugle]

While not my first pick for a first bow, both of them are capable of shooting an arrow better than most of us are capable of shooting.

If you are trying to shoot the same spine arrow out of both, I can guarantee one is tuned closer than the other. Although I would guess the 40 pounder needs a full length 500 spine and the 55 pounder would be closer with a 400. Sounds like your results are opposite that.

If one is noticeably louder with more hand shock, play around with the brace height to see if that improves the louder one.

Just my quick 2 cent and your mileage may vary....

 

[nevadabugle]

One more thought. Depending on what arrow your 400 spines are think about the Grains Per Pound. A lighter GPP will always be louder, so the heavier bow with the same arrow is a much lower GPP. I reccomend atleast 9-9.5 GPP. So close to a 400 grain arrow out of the 40 pounder and a 500 grain arrow out of the 55 pounder. If that arrow is sub 400 grains, its gonna be loud out of the 55 pound bow.

 

[43.6N]

One more thought. Depending on what arrow your 400 spines are think about the Grains Per Pound. A lighter GPP will always be louder, so the heavier bow with the same arrow is a much lower GPP. I reccomend atleast 9-9.5 GPP. So close to a 400 grain arrow out of the 40 pounder and a 500 grain arrow out of the 55 pounder. If that arrow is sub 400 grains, its gonna be loud out of the 55 pound bow.

Yep I think that’s what it was. After reading your post I dug out some heavier points that I used on my compound rig a few years ago. It put me much closer to the 500gr overall weight. And the heavier bow quieted down dramatically when I shot it off the back porch