Defiant 34 too slow???

[Bulldawg]

I shot a defiant 34 last year and killed a bull at 60 yards shooting 260 fps with an expandable broadhead, and I don't really ever plan to shoot an arrow any faster or switch to fix blades any time soon.


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[OR Archer]

The Defiant 34 is an awesome bow. Much easier bow to tune than a Turbo and is a more forgiving set up. The little bit of extra speed you will get really isn't going to help you kill anything better.

 

[boom]

thats gonna be my next bow. i'll take the opportunity to swap to a left handed setup. because of that, i will drop down to 60 limbs..maybe 65.

i just need to learn how to hypnotize my wife.."that is the bow we need...(repeat)"

oh...and "please do the dishes...(repeat)"

 

[Tilzbow]

I'll throw my 2 cents in here having just returned from shooting the Turbo. I've never shot a speed bow and always thought the jumpiness and short valley would have no impact on me since I draw, anchor, and then trigger my release with back tension and I never have an issue collapsing once I'm at anchor and into my aiming sequence. That said, I found this bow to be very jumpy between hitting full draw and settling into my anchor and realized I relax just a little between drawing and settling into anchor. In fact I once triggered my release when I relaxed just a hair and imbedded one of the shop's practice arrows in the wood backing. I'm sure the kid at the shop is laughing about this now that I'm gone! Drawing got a little easier after I figured out the draw cycle but the jumpiness would take some time to adjust to but I'm sure after a week or two it'd be a mostly a non-issue. I'm concerned about the "mostly a non-issue" in a adrenaline charged hunting situation.

Note, I was being really careful and slow drawing the bow which made the more harsh draw cycle that much more noticeable. I was being careful because I hadn't warmed up and I've had three shoulder surgeries over the past 20 years. I've also been nursing a torn labrum in my draw shoulder for the past year that's progressively gotten better through much rehab and is good enough that I'm back to shooting. The Turbo definitely isn't shoulder friendly.

After shooting the Carbon Defiant Turbo I shot a Carbon 34 and the difference in draw cycle was amazing. Shooting two arrows were enough that I'm not willing to sacrifice ease of shooting the smoother bow for 25 FPS more speed that I really don't need. Plus I'm certain the Turbo setup would be a little harder to tune and fixed blades would be more sensitive at the faster speed.

So for me, I'll stick to the non-turbo models for now.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I fight the narrow valley on my turbo. I use a trigger release so if I relax it yanks me forward. Hasn't happened in the field as I am usually jacked up with adrenaline but it does and will happen in practice. Once or twice out of the several times over the last 18 months it has tweaked my shoulder when I collapsed.

I have also had issues with getting and keeping the bow tuned and timed. Mine is back in the shop now and among other things I am trying to get them to fix the timing.

 

[Idaho Brad]

Shoot was is comfortable and what you can be most consistent with. Put it behind the shoulder and let it rip.

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[Boreal]

Forget what everyone here has said. You clearly need the turbo. Just send me the Defiant34 and I'll get rid of it for you.


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[Hoytman 88]

I just sold my 2016 Turbo and replaced it with the 34. Speed is seductive, but if you gack a shot cause everything wasn't just perfect, its not doing you any good. I shot the 2016 Turbo from last march till December, it killed everything I pointed it at to the tune of 35 animals. not braggin just want you to see that it wasn't hanging on the wall, we spent considerable time together. I used it substantially and found it to have a lil more attitude than I needed. I shot both the 14 and 15 Turbos and loved them, neither of them are for sale, the 16 was just not for me so I let it go. best of luck

 

[camping1601]

I can't remember the last time I paid any notice to speed when buying a bow. Way down the list of what matters.

 

[KMT]

Your bow is fast enough. And if broadheads aren't flying right, your bow isn't tuned right.

 

[boom]

i've never actually shot an arrow thru any chronograph..maybe once. like in one arrow.

 

[Brendan]

I'm torn between these bows. So much that I have both and am shooting / comparing them side by side until I decide which one I like best.

So far I have re-strung and re-tuned my '16 Turbo, smaller bottom draw stop peg, limb stop on, shortened up on the draw length, and am currently shooting a thumb trigger or tension release - and I'm liking it a lot better. It was mentioned earlier in the thread, but I'm more convinced now - I really think you need to be damn sure your draw length isn't too long with the non-existent valley, because it's just too easy to start to creep forward if it is.

I have a chrono and will be comparing speeds for both using identical draw lengths and arrows once I get them both tuned...

 

[JollyRoger]

Before I bought my Defiant 34 (2016 model) I researched several other bows... to the point I was blue in the face. It was slower than others, but I shot the Defiant 34 the best and that's the one I ended up getting. I havent ran it through a chrono, but it shoots well and is accurate.

When I go to the range or shoot 3D with my buds my 'slow' Defiant hammers the targets with the most depth. Good enough for me

 

[Felix40]

I really wish this didn't get bumped back up because I was able to resist commenting before.

It seems to me that if you are creeping forward you have problems with your shot that should be addressed. We have all heard that backtension is important but maybe that gets forgotten too easily. A really small valley might actually be a good training tool for some guys. If you are having trouble with collapsing a small valley will force you to pull through the shot instead of relaxing and creeping around at full draw.

As far as the speed thing goes....there are lots of 8+ year old bows that are as smooth and fast as the new Defiant. I know its a good shooting bow but I can't see what forward progress Hoyt has really made with it. Everyone is talking about how fast bows are hard to tune but that couldn't be further from the truth. Build some heavy arrows and get them to shoot the same speed as a slower bow if you want to. They will be more stable, have less wind drift, and hit harder.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I had rather have speed. They're all accurate and forgiving to me, but not all of them are fast.

 

[justin davis]

I'd rather have accuracy and forgiveness over speed

 

[Brendan]

It seems to me that if you are creeping forward you have problems with your shot that should be addressed. We have all heard that backtension is important but maybe that gets forgotten too easily. A really small valley might actually be a good training tool for some guys. If you are having trouble with collapsing a small valley will force you to pull through the shot instead of relaxing and creeping around at full draw.

I agree with you to a point - but the issue (for me) isn't pulling through the shot, nor is it the draw cycle. It's that period where you draw then start to settle in and find your anchor and the target, before you commit to start executing the shot. I do agree a bow like this can be a really good training tool, but what happens if you have to draw and hold for a minute or two waiting for a shot opportunity? I think this can be trained - but the Turbo 100% isn't as forgiving in this area, and forgiveness is important in hunting situations because we all know how quickly things can go south when you're staring down an animal and not sitting on the practice range...

Personally? I'm liking the Turbo a lot more with some of the changes I made, despite some of the issues above.

 

[Muley15]

I'd rather have accuracy and forgiveness over speed

I stopped chasing speed once I realized accuracy and forgiveness wins every time in hunting situations. Dont get me wrong, speed is fun for shooting targets in the backyard but in real life hunting situations I have learned my lesson. I shot a turbo a few years back and had no issues shooting targets. Once I got into western hunting and taking shots in awkward positions, a more forgiving bow was needed. I shoot a carbon defiant 31 now and absolutely love the thing. In the past 3 years I have had Nitrum Turbo, Halon 6, Prime Rize and now the CD 31. Still got the Rize as its a fantastic shooting hunting bow. The other 2 are gone. My CD31 at 28.5"/70lbs is spitting out 425gr arrows at 292 fps which is a bit over IBO.

 

[Yotekiller]

I shot all of the bows mentioned and for me the 34 was to slow and I didn't like the valley of the turbo. I ended up buying an Xpedition Xcursion 6. I liked the draw and the valley much better than the turbo and its faster. With a 28" draw and 65lb limbs maxed at 67 I'm getting 284 fps with a 472 grain arrow.

 

[cowboy300]

I shot a Nitrum Turbo last year and switched to a Defiant 34 this year. I much prefer shooting the 34 and am more accurate with it. I compensated for the speed difference by switching to lighter arrows to maintain around 280-285 fps. I will say the 34 pulls so smooth I am thinking about 80lb limbs for it.