Gain speed: increase peak weight on smooth draw or decrease it on stiff drawing bow?

[billysmals]

If you had the option to increase your peak weight on a smooth drawing bow to gain a little speed or take a stiffer drawing bow and decrease the peak weight to get the same speed which would you choose?

Essentially I prefer smooth drawing bows, but don't want something extravagantly slow. For example the bowtech SS34 or Proven is very smooth but also slower. Would you all increase the peak weight to 75lbs (or 80) over getting another bow that's faster (with a less desirable draw) and decrease it's peak weight to accomplish the same goal?

Just curious. FWIW I don't value speed very much, but I like a flat shooting arrow...

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

I would keep the smooth draw cycle and not chase the extra FPS, unsure what you want out of it. If you don't value speed then maybe look into running a lighter setup. I have gone lighter over the years. from close to 500 grains to now 460ish. I have a bow tech solution so I can flip my mods from smooth to performance and gain about 2-3 lbs in peak draw weight. didn't really seem worth it to me so now I leave it on comfort mode.
There is a lot of ways to manipulate it. I don't know if I would change something if you are comfortable with it, but then again draw cycle to me its something you can get used to once you've put a few hundreds down range.
just my thoughts

 

[Bump79]

My shoulder really dislikes a aggressive cam. Mainly one that tries to rip me off the backwall. Or slams into the backwall and wobbles side to side pulling off target when it hits the stop.

But I can pull 75# on a smooth draw bow after some practice really easy. If you're interested in a smooth cam - The Prime Core cam is really smooth. It's also well below advertised speed. PSE is another solid option.

All that said - the easiest way to gain speed is to lighten your arrow. Never sacrifice durability or spine but that's not hard to do now with the variety of components and GPI's of shafts today. Tackle the penetration side of things with you're broadhead design/sharpness.

 

[Wilderlife]

FWIW, there have been people on YouTube that have done comparisons between speed bows and smoother bows at a higher draw weight, and the general idea is that a smoother bow in a heavier poundage is nicer/easier to shoot than a speed bow.

So much of it comes down to personal preference, I don't know whether this holds any weight. Even the MFJJ reviews of the new Hoyts talk about how they're a little faster, so they're a little stiffer, but it's the type of thing you'd get used to after a few dozen arrows and it wouldn't really matter too much.

I shoot a Z1S at 77# so I've got high poundage and an aggressive cam and I still find it very nice to shoot, because it's pretty well the only compound I've shot extensively for the last few years. It's been at 77# for maybe 14 months now and I never really think about the fact that it's a harsher draw cycle.

I shoot it at 80% letoff as well as it seemed to dump into the backwall a little more at 85%. I didn't like that as much.

I don't see myself replacing it anytime soon, but if I were to get a new bow right now I'd likely look at a Hoyt Ax2 29.5 in 80# and shoot it at 75%.

 

[Ashy Larry]

I just went through this personally. I took about 5 years off from bowhunting after having kids but now that my oldest is interested, I’ve had the urge to bowhunt again. I got out my old Obsession DefCon6 (356-360 ibo) and felt like I tore half the crap in my shoulder. I work out 4x a week, am strong, and didn’t work out as much when I was shooting that bow before. I decided it was time to get rid of the speed bow and get a normal bow. I bought a used Lift 33 off the classifieds (thanks IdahoSwede). I got it set up with 65lb mods to gradually work back up to 70 during the offseason. After getting new strings and tuned I went to finally shoot it and WOW. Draws so easy I really wish I went 70 and saved my money on the 65 mods. The biggest difference to me is the first 5-6” of draw. On the Obsession it was immediate tension and pulled hard til it broke over. The Lift gives you the first 5-6” almost free and to me that is the shoulder-aggravating part of the draw.

 

[billysmals]

Thanks all for the responses. I have shot the Lift and it isn't too bad. I haven't shot a Prime or the Bowtech Proven. I have owned a PSE with the evolve cam and it was a gem, I just wanted something with better ATA so I sold it.

 

[dtrkyman]

I shoot 60lb speed bows, they generally max out at 62 63lbs, you get accustomed to the draw cycle and my faster bow exceeds most smoother bows that are 10lbs more draw weight!

If I buy a new bow it would be a 65lb max, 340 ish IBO.

 

[Tahoe1305]

I’m in the camp that thinks you’ll build the muscle if you shoot it enough and won’t even notice.

I went on a new bow hunt a few years back. With a shorter draw (27”) I wanted speed. I shot probably 6 of the flagship bows. I really wanted 70lbs. But found I struggled to shoot three arrows without embarrassing myself (I hadn’t shot in a long time before shopping).

Needless to say I got a 70lb V3X. After I got it all tuned up it was the same. It was tough to draw more that 5 shots cleanly. I shot it like that for a bit and after a few weeks forgot it was 70lbs. I put 75lb mods on it and struggled for a few weeks. But after shooting by a few thousand arrows over a few years. I don’t notice it at all. I can shoot 80 arrows now for comps at 75lbs without issue and I’d prefer the speed it gives.

It was humbling at first but with some work I have no regrets.