Talk me into or out of a new bow…would I notice?

[GreyBeck]

I have a 2014 I think Bowtech Fuel. A shoulder injury had me abandon archery but now I want to try again. I’m a lefty (draw arm) and it’s my right shoulder that aches after shooting a bunch. I shoot my bow almost as well as my son shoots his Mathew’s Atlas. Almost. It’s killing me! So my questions are:

1)Currently at 65lb draw, I don’t find it difficult but would going lower help the shoulder? Fly casting hurts too (cast right) so my hunch is no…u have a fk’d up shoulder

2)do any of the newer bows have noticeably smoother draw at the same lbs that would make it drawing easier to where I could still have 65-70lb draw weight but it FEELS easier?

3)is the technology and improvement in bows over the past 10+yrs enough to improve accuracy?

Don’t answer if you own a bow shop - they all just say to buy a new bow or 3….

 

[Shawn_Guinn]

I’m right handed with a rough left shoulder so I’m a bit sensitive to bow weight. I think when it comes to new bows vs advertised weights the Mathews line of lifts or lift x’s is hard to beat. For absolute light and smooth pse any carbon model wins but I don’t particularly get along with the cam as I like a different feel. The Hoyt RX line hasn’t been light since the rx3 or 4. Now the new magnesium alloy bows are going live but I have not shot one. I’m going recommend going to big shops with left options and let a bow pick its self. Now will you see a difference or is a newer bow better my answer is always yes…life’s short buy a new toy

 

[06 SB]

I am right handed with a bum left shoulder. Years ago when I first injured it, I dropped from 70 pounds down to 60 then backed off the limbs to 55. It helped a lot. I ended up hunting at 60 pounds. The deer I shot all had complete penetration so I kept all my bows since at 60 pounds. I shoot a Mathews Lift X 29.5 and the draw is good but it is not butter smooth. I would look at Elite offerings with comfort modules. I would also reach out to Nate at Average Jack Archery to see what he suggests. He is a shop owner in PA but will be honest with you. He also carries both Elite and Mathews and tests a decent amount of bows. Check out his YT Channel.

IMO, YES, technology has improved accuracy with better sights, and more stable bows

 

[kcm2]

Get some shockwave treatment on your bow arm. Helped mine immensely.

 

[sodaksooner]

Not to schill for Mathews, but I have been shooting a 60 lb Prime Inline 5 for the last few years. Nice bow, smooth, good draw cycle. That said I picked up and shot a lift X 33 at 71 lbs this year. I bought it. Super smooth, good draw cycle, nice valley, decent back wall and pretty low vibration even though I am shooting relatively light arrows. Both of those bows are light years ahead of my 10 year old Prime Alloy. It's fast but the draw cycle is a bit harsh, and a small valley. Still shoots good but not as pleasant to shoot as the new ones. FWIW, I was shooting 60 due to a shoulder injury (and a missed opportunity at a bull due to that and the higher draw weight) Thankfully that is healed up now.

 

[Diamondback]

#1 if you have good medical, go get your shoulder looked at and taken care of. If you can't do that...

#2 back your limbs off down to 50, the bow you have should be able to do that and it will be night an day difference without spending $500+ for new bow. A tuned 50lb compound will kill deer just fine.

 

[JoshOR]

Same boat, avid fly fisher with an on and off right shoulder twinge, right handed. I’ve had years where I shot a ton, shoulder hurt, I’ve backed off, shoot a bow maxed at 60lbs, shoulders happy. Once and while I think I need a 70lb bow, I don’t. I went from a 2015 bow tech prodigy to a 2021-2 revolt x. Night and day on shootability. Way more forgiving, does it feel easier? I don’t know, I like shooting it better. I’ve been to the doc for the shoulder, just over use for me, nothing to fix except strength around it…. Enjoy the journey!

 

[JeffRaines]

A couple thoughts... first and foremost I dont work at a bow shop or own one.

I think that people WAY overthink poundage, arrow weight, FOC, diameter, etc. much the same way people go way too deep into cartridges/bullet weight/etc.

I want to be doing this until I get old. Something tells me drawing more weight than you need to is only going to make problems worse and appear sooner... it's just logic. Rest assured that your arrow at 50lb or 60lb, if placed correctly, will kill just as good as it would if it were launched with 70lb or 80lb draw weight. It won't bounce off. The extra poundage and few FPS you pick up from the extra draw weight isn't going to make much, if any, difference on a marginal shot, as much as people want to believe. It's the same logic with cartridges - if you shoot an animal in the ass it doesn't matter if it's with a 30-378wby or 6.5 creedmoor. You need to pick a draw weight that you can practice with pain free, and retain good form. Regardless of what everyone touts, rest assured your form and repeatability is better at lower draw weight. Again, it's logic. If it's easier to do, you can do it longer and better... much the same way shooting smaller, lesser recoil cartridges make it easier to shoot.

Ive never shot that Bowtech so I dont know how it compares. One thing I can tell you is that you can save a boatload of money buying used if you decide you want a newer bow. Guys go out and buy the latest and greatest every year and put up their one year old bow for sale... even better value can be had if you look 2+ years old. Wanna know a secret? Barely anything changes at all year over year... it's almost exactly the same bow save for some minuscule upgrade and big marketing(quietest bow ever! smoothest draw cycle EVER! 70 feels like 60! deader than dead in the hand! etc).

As far as accuracy, I think we've been on a plateau for some time with that. I think with most anything made within the last 10-15 years... the limiting factor is the archer, not the bow. With that said, there are some bows, grips and other things(ATA, let off, etc) that can/will improve accuracy depending on the archer. Some people just jive better with a Bowtech grip, some people like the Mathews grips. Some people can shoot short ATA bows great, but I shoot longer ATA bows better. Its not that the bow itself is "more accurate", rather the shooter is more accurate with the bow.

TL;DR New bows aren't more accurate. Less is more when it comes to draw weight(stick with 60). Buy used if you want something newer.

 

[blackveltbowhunter]

My crew went go cart racing this past weekend. One kid was a natural and picked it up quickly shaving a bunch of time off his lap time over the several hours there. But once he got to a certain time it seemed he couldn't improve. Quickly he concluded he needed more power, different tires, better brakes, he was evaluating approach angles, cornering speeds, etc.... The track manager finally broke it to him that the leader board record holders had thousands of laps and dollars wrapped into shaving the few seconds that separated him from them.

The parallels in archery are identical. If you are not shooting enough to notice better equipment then you wont. If you are dedicated to making very small improvements to your game, it will likely cost a lot to make that small improvement.

If you like your current setup back it off until its comfortable and go forth and hunt anything you want with confidence. If you wish to explore the possibility of making your groups fractions tighter, or increasing that range a few extra yards, albeit with significantly more cost in time and money. Then a new setup is worth a try. That is all it is, a try. It may not shoot as well as your setup now, it might shoot way better. Or most likely, it will have a small but higher plateau that hours of frustration and practice may finally allow you to benefit from.

I will add, effort in=effort out. If it FEELS like 60 but says 70 it came with a speed penalty. If it feels like it pulls 8 pounds more than the scale it probably has a speed increase. A decade is a decent amount of time in the bow world, accuracy wise you may not benefit, efficiency almost certainly so. The smoothest bows I have shot in some time with draw weights being equal are the Bowtech SS34 in comfort mode and the Hoyt RX8 ultra. The RX8 was also very smooth if looking for easy pulling draw cycle in a shorter ATA bow.

 

[OMB]

Prior to this year, I got my last new bow in 2007. In 2012, I had an opportunity to upgrade and said no, because it didn't feel like it was a lot better. I basically said the same thing every single year until a few months ago, and I'd guess I was probably right for the casual bowhunting that I was doing.

I decided to go all in on a primo archery tag this fall and with that, looked at getting a new bow. I shot everything, and yes, they're all better across the board from my 2007 Bowtech Allegiance. Still love it, but a Lift X 33 does everything faster, smoother, lighter, and most importantly, quieter. I'm never going to be one to get a one or multiple new bows per year, but I've seen the light on upgrading every 5-7-10 years now, and wish I had sooner.

 

[billysmals]

This is a loaded question that will have a few different opinions

My take, and it's just my take...Bows are lot like cars. A new model comes out every year, but what changes? Not much if you measure year to year. Is the 2024 so much different than the 2025? Not to me. But comparing a car from 10+ years ago, is way different. I have a 12 year old KIA, and my wife has a 2024, it's way differnent in the two cares. Compare my wife's 2024 to a 2020? That's how I would describe bows. Anything from 5 years and in, a few changes from year to year. There's still a difference, but it's less noticeable. But compare a bow from 10+ years I think the changes are much more apparent and noticeable.

I think newish bows are more forgiving and less punishing if you have a form breakdown. That's the main difference between bows in the last 5 years compare to something from 10+ years ago IMO.

I echo the suggestion to check your shoulder out and see if you can PT/Rehab it. Even if you do change the poundage and get a new bow, you will still enjoy a healthy shoulder.

If you plan on shooting at 60lbs, most things will feel pretty smooth as long as it doesn't have "turbo" in the name. Also most of the IBO ratings will give you an idea. Faster stuff is less smooth than the slower stuff as a general rule-speed comes from somewhere.

 

[5MilesBack]

Just turn your bow down.

I have a 2006 Bowtech, 2007 Bowtech, 2014 PSE, and a 2020 Mathews. They all draw 70lbs, and 70lbs is 70lbs. They have different feeling walls, but the draws all seem comparable. The difference for me between them all is at the shot. The newer bows just seem to get smoother and quieter at the shot.

 

[Billy Goat]

Are you rotating your bow arm shoulder up? The shoulder should sit level, but some people tend to pop their shoulder up as they settle in.

Where does your right elbow point when you are at full draw?

Probably not the issue, but just double check that.

 

[sndmn11]

I think the big gain in newer bows is easier tuning. Elite, Darton, Mathews, Bowtech all have Allen wrench adjustable ways of moving/tilting cams. I can tune those bows to two different arrow spines in a few minutes with adequate broadhead flight. The advantage to that convenience is one can then experiment with finer tuning without a hassle.

If you buy into clean arrow flight being the most important way to successful broadhead penetration and summer scores like I do, then this ease of tuning is invaluable.

On the matter of lower draw weight, there isn't a downside in my eyes. Our testing of 60lb vs 70lb bows doesn't show a huge difference in velocity, and dropping to 50lbs is equally as mundane. If a person is after a certain velocity, adjusting arrow weight is fairly simple. The only caveat to that is I have seen a linear drop in velocity when taking up to 7lbs off draw weight, anything more than that and the efficiency dips.

If a friend came to me and said they wanted a new bow, with tuning tech, and weren't sure of future shoulder health, I'd tell them to buy a LiftX with a 55lb mod and go have fun.

 

[GreyBeck]

thanks. i think the answer is to go to a local shop and shoot some new bows. i've been to the doc several times and just done w/cortizone shots and not getting surgery - partial tear + tendonitis - it just gets sore w/over use andcertain exercises. it's more the movement/motion than weight so the draw #s i don't think matter much. fly casting is the #1 irritant and since i had been doing that and shooting my bow last weekend, the bow may not be the issue...or maybe it is so i need a new one. it's in my head that a new bow may help....was trying to talk myself out of it.

 

[sndmn11]

thanks. i think the answer is to go to a local shop and shoot some new bows. i've been to the doc several times and just done w/cortizone shots and not getting surgery - partial tear + tendonitis - it just gets sore w/over use andcertain exercises. it's more the movement/motion than weight so the draw #s i don't think matter much. fly casting is the #1 irritant and since i had been doing that and shooting my bow last weekend, the bow may not be the issue...or maybe it is so i need a new one. it's in my head that a new bow may help....was trying to talk myself out of it.

What mfgs does your shop carry?