Short Draw length elk setup.

[rhsmith3]

I’m around 27” draw length, what’s out there that I should be looking at. I’ve shot a Hoyt carbon spyder for years, just trying to get a bit more speed. So thought I’d get the slides take

 

[Beendare]

A compound has more than enough energy to kill anything in NA with your draw length And a BH tuned 420g+ arrow With an efficient BH.

If you are shooting a Recurve or Longbow, it would make sense to bump your arrow weight up a little- like 11-12gpp.

 

[rhsmith3]

Ok; let me re phrase. What new bows should I be looking at to maximize my effectiveness with a short draw.

 

[Bump79]

Ok; let me re phrase. What new bows should I be looking at to maximize my effectiveness with a short draw.

I personally would look at a shorter brace speed bow. Like a PSE Omen but with the smoother mods. That would be the top of my list.

 

[wesfromky]

Everyone will call out their favorite brand, but really, you should just go shoot as many of the newer bows as you can and pick the one that feels best, without focusing on to much on speed. Then really tune it well and spend some money on high quality heads that you can get super sharp. Efficient arrow flight combined with crazy sharp fixed heads will more then make up for a bit shorter draw.

 

[camelcluch]

The Spyder is more than enough for elk. If you want a new bow, take your with you and shoot side by side with the new bows. See if it’s worth the upgrade.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Ok; let me re phrase. What new bows should I be looking at to maximize my effectiveness with a short draw.

If by maximize effectiveness you mean maximize speed, just look for a bow with the highest speed rating (IBO speed). However, high speed is typically achieved by reducing brace height and using a more aggressive cam profile, both of which make a bow less "forgiving" and more difficult to shoot well. The overall effectiveness of your bow is a combination of its capabilities and your ability to shoot it well. Your current bow is a very effective weapon and fully capable of killing an elk. You might gain 10-20 fps by switching to a newer bow, depending on what sub-model of Carbon Spyder you're shooting now and what bow you switched to. If you have the itch to upgrade, go try a bunch of newer models and see what you like...but don't expect a massive improvement in bow performance.

 

[Trial153]

SE2 cam or a S2 on the PSE Platform of your choice. Super efficient at 26- 29 inches

 

[MattB]

Ok; let me re phrase. What new bows should I be looking at to maximize my effectiveness with a short draw.

Since you are already familiar with Hoyt, I would look at their turbo and also see where your DL puts you in terms of efficiency on the RX-8.

 

[nphunter]

That Z5 cam from Hoyt was a great cam and your current bow will shot well and compare to a lot of the new bows. Not very many companies make bows that are efficient at that draw.

You really need to decide what is important to you and go from there. I shot a Hoyt carbon Spyder turbo for years and killed several elk with it. I enjoyed the bow, I switched to a RX4 which I didn’t enjoy due to it being too short ATA at 29” and actually shot it worse than my CST. I also killed several elk with that bow.

The thing about bows is you can’t look at the IBO and take much away as far as speed with a short draw. Most bows at short draw don’t come close to their IBO speed because you’re shooting off of the bottom of the cam. You want to shoot off of the top of the cam to shoot a bow bow it was designed, you will be shooting it faster, and it will have a much better valley at your DL if your shooting a smaller cam.

The Omen goes to 30” with the smooth cam and 31” with the faster cam. That means you will be shooting off of the very bottom of the cam which is not efficient and it will not meet IBO. Hoyt however makes several bows that max at 28” that will have your shooting off of the top of the cam and even though they are rated at a slower IBO they will meet it and most likely shoot faster than the omen which is rated for much faster.

The problem with Hoyt is that all of their bows that max out at 28” (#2 cam) is that they are short ATA which isn’t as forgiving at a longer ATA bow. The brace height is also shorter on these bows which also makes a less forgiving bow than longer brace height bows.

You really only have a couple factory options. Buy a more forgiving bow that is slow or a faster bow that is less forgiving.

You could also have a custom shop bow built and have a forgiving faster bow. The first thing you need to figure out is what bow you want and then which size cam will give you what your looking for.

PSE offers 6 cams and you can find one that maxes close to your draw length. ATA plays a big role in this too. A small cam will draw longer on a longer ATA bow.

I just went through this same thing and my #1 priority was a forgiving bow, #2 was draw cycle and #3 was speed. I went and shot all the PSE bows and target bows to see how all the different cams drew. I bought a Mach 34 which is a long ATA bow with a long BH and put a small cam on it. I built it myself because I didn’t want to spend $2100 on a new bow from the custom shop. I decided to go with the EM2 cam which is their smooth draw small cam. I ended up with an awesome bow that maxes out at my draw length, I’ve always bounced between 27.5-28” draw, this bow maxes out at 27.75”. Doing all the work myself I’m only in the bow $1300 after selling my stock components. To put it in perspective an Omen with an S2 only IBO’s at 345fps at 28.5” with a 5.5” BH. It’s pretty impressive what you can do out of the custom shop. Hoyt use to do similar things.

Here are the specs:

34 1/16” ATA
6 11/16” BH
27 3/4” DL (down to like 23.25”)
3.6lbs

I’m currently shooting a 453gr arrow at 266fps with 63lb limbs. That’s a 341 IBO or higher depending on the calculator which is 5-10fps higher than any of the factory Mach 34’s. I have 70lb limbs ordered because I lost draw weight going to a smaller cam.

PSE also offers a M2 cam which would be possibly faster, it also draws longer. A person could also build an Omen with a SE or S2 cam and it would be a rocker but probably not real forgiving due to the 5.5” or smaller BH.

I will also say I’ve killed elk with all of my bows and they all worked equally well from 60-75lbs and arrows from 330gr to 500gr. The last 6 seasons I’ve killed 5 mature bulls with 490gr arrows and mechanicals with a 27.5” draw. This year I’ll be shooting a 450gr arrow with a mechanical and have zero doubts they will work very well.

 

[nphunter]

Also just an FYI, that carbon Spyder with the #2 Z5 cams exceeded its IBO by several fps. Not even the new Hoyt’s are doing that anymore. You will probably gain 5fps max depending on the bow and most bows you choose will be heavier as well.

 

[Skerhunter]

Your spyder is just fine for elk! I used similar bows set at 60lbs at 27” and it kills elk just fine. 400-450 grain arrows with fixed blade broad heads. Quartering to/frontal shots always buried to the nock. Broadside pass throughs. Also watched multiple bows with the same specs perform the same (Matthews/pse).

Go shoot the new bows if you want one, the draw cycles are way better now. I have an rx-7 and it pulls/holds way easier than my previous Hoyt carbon bows (70lbs easier than 60). Bowtech also offers bows made for shorter draw lengths. Their new cam system is also much improved. Whether you gain speed or not, it will make shooting it more enjoyable!

 

[TX_hunter]

S2 Omen maxes out at 28.5" draw length.

I love my E2 Omen. It hits a legit 355 IBO at 30". The S2 cam is even faster.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

What arrow are you using right now?

 

[roosiebull]

Ok; let me re phrase. What new bows should I be looking at to maximize my effectiveness with a short draw.

Don’t get too caught up in speed, you aren’t that short of draw, but bows with 6” or less brace height would be a way to make back some speed

Are you looking for new or used? What ata length do you prefer?

 

[Tradchef]

Man when I shot compound I’m a 27” draw and loved speed bows. I liked longer ata and shorter brace height. I shot pse, hoyt and bowtech mainly. I don’t think you are going to find much for short draw specific that is going to get you a lot on your Spyder. That was a great bow. I shot around 400 grains for whitetail and lopes and 450 for elk and Mulies and pigs and had zero issues with anything. The speed bows didn’t give you a huge boost but it helped. I did see the Mathews TX5 was a slick little bow. I don’t like short ata in compounds but that thing was putting up good speed. The Hoyt Z1S is another one. But again your current rig if ya shooting it well I’d stay put and just go shoot some and see what you think. I don’t think the speed difference is going to be that much unless you just want to upgrade. My set up now is kicking out 167fps with a Doug fir arrow and kills elk fantastic so I think whatever you decide you’ll be just fine

 

[mod-it]

I have a 27.5" DL.

While I understand wanting hunting arrows going faster, I've learned it just isn't that important. I keep my hunting arrows around 420-430 grains and that usually yields around 260-270 fps. It is a setup that is plenty fine going through an elk ribcage but not one you want to hit a near side scapula with. I only take very low risk shots that are broadside or slightly quartering where both lungs are presented.

To get that fps I generally need a "speed" bow. IBO 340+, brace height 6". I prefer an axle to axle between 31"-33", much shorter and the bow seems a lot more critical to shoot to me. I'm currently using a Bowtech Solution in "performance" mode. 6" BH, 32" a to a, claimed 346 IBO. My current arrows are 425 grains and I get 265 fps at 65 lbs.

I generally use a 3 blade 1-1/8" fixed BH.

 

[2Stamp]

I'm usually a 27.5 DL, depending on bow I may get 28. My arrows the past 6 years have ranged from 450-490ish, leaning more no the upper end. Currently they are 460grs at 272fps out of a 70# PSE Fortis with the S2 cam. For a shorter DL, I think it's ideal to use that came on a PSE. I can't speak to other brands. I'm only comfortable using a fixed blade for elk. Point is I've never worried about speed. I try to maximize the bow for my draw length arrows in that 450-490 range.

 

[tdm]

I'm a 27.5" draw length as well. I would agree with prior posts that new bows aren't necessarily faster, just smoother and easier tuning.

My hoyt faktor turbo is the same speed as core SR on comfort (435 gr arrow). Performance mod only bumps up 8fps. Not overly significant, but I do like the increase during hunting season with these mods. I have had a chance to play with other bowtechs with similar outcomes.

Save some money in the short term and drop arrow weight 25 grains just to see point of impact at 50 yds with current setup. Easy method to see what incremental speed differences equate to at yardage. You will find the speed increase is only a small difference in point of impact 40 to 50 yds. You have to decide what is significant to you.

 

[arwhntr]

I'm a 27" draw also. Just picked up the 29.5" Mathews Lift. For reference, with 424 grain arrows I'm getting 283 FPS on the chrono.