Why is this bothering me?

[awbowhunter]

What are you hunting with the set up you have? If whitetail. I'd get rid of the hit insert and go to 100 grain.

Honestly if you can shoot it good the way it's set now why change?

I also agree with a previous post if your shooting the original strings I'd change those to vapor trails or something similar.

 

[bojangles808]

yea are you just shooting whitetails out of trees in WI or on the ground spot n stalking game? if out of a tree just stick with what you got, 50 grains isnt gonna matter much for 20-30 yard trajectories but if you;re spotting and stalking and shooting out to 60 70 80 then yea get down to 425-450. change your strings now too before season before those zebras start acting up

 

[ozyclint]

Can't believe you would hunt with a bow that's only 80fps faster than my recurve.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

While I agree that 500 gr at 262 fps is plenty of arrow to get the job done, I, too, would be bothered by my bow shooting 10+ fps slower than it "should" and would want to figure out the root cause (for the sake of academic curiosity if nothing else). I would check the following aspects of the bow, the arrow, and the chronograph:

• Bow
  • Measure draw weight, draw length, ATA length, and brace height to confirm everything is in spec.
  • Is there an abnormally high amount of weight on the string...extra heavy peep sight, lots of silencers, etc?
• Arrow
  • Confirm arrow weight on a scale. Also use a known weight to check the accuracy of the scale (e.g., 7 pristine US nickels should weigh a combined 540 gr).
  • Check for vane contact. Shoot a bareshaft through the chrono and see if the speed reading is closer to expectations (after accounting for elimination of vane weight).
• Chronograph
  • Vary your distance from the chrono slightly.
  • Try shooting through the chrono indoors and outdoors.
  • Shoot through another chrono and compare the speed readings.

 

[Ho5tile1]

My V3X 29 with threadz strings on it pulling just over 78#s 29 inch draw 546 grain arrow 283 fps same set up on my VXR 28 but ghost xv strings is 282 fps. On my V3 31 same setup but 73ish pounds is 272 fps. A few years ago I was using a bowtech Realm @ 29 inches 650 grain arrow 72 pounds getting like 260 fps had no problems killing deer even killed one at 55 yards took a second for the arrow to get there it seemed but it found it’s mark, went through like butter


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[tim tarras]

While I agree that 500 gr at 262 fps is plenty of arrow to get the job done, I, too, would be bothered by my bow shooting 10+ fps slower than it "should" and would want to figure out the root cause (for the sake of academic curiosity if nothing else). I would check the following aspects of the bow, the arrow, and the chronograph:

• Bow
  • Measure draw weight, draw length, ATA length, and brace height to confirm everything is in spec.
  • Is there an abnormally high amount of weight on the string...extra heavy peep sight, lots of silencers, etc?
• Arrow
  • Confirm arrow weight on a scale. Also use a known weight to check the accuracy of the scale (e.g., 7 pristine US nickels should weigh a combined 540 gr).
  • Check for vane contact. Shoot a bareshaft through the chrono and see if the speed reading is closer to expectations (after accounting for elimination of vane weight).
• Chronograph
  • Vary your distance from the chrono slightly.
  • Try shooting through the chrono indoors and outdoors.
  • Shoot through another chrono and compare the speed readings.

I agree that this is plenty of arrow and speed but more about why it is shooting slow.

The 262 was after it was tuned and all measurements spec'd out. All there is on the string is 2 monkey tails. dloop and plastic peep.

I verified the scale using my 50 gram weight from my rcbs charge master then reweighed it on the charge master and they matched at 500 grains ( assuming the extra weight is from the glue). I have not shot it shot it bare shaft and will give that a try.

I will try shooting at various distances to see if that makes a difference. I have shot it through 2 different chronographs and the speed matched within a couple of FPS. The one Chrono is mounted to the wall so I won,t be able to take that one outside and will ask the other shop owner if it would be ok.

 

[tim tarras]

Thank you to everybody for the ideas. Just getting it out to talk about has help me be less obsessed with it but going to check everything out.

 

[Maverick1]

Ever since the Arrow weight vs Speed thread read here, the “lack of speed” of my bow has been bothering me. It’s to the point that the good idea fairy is starting to talk to me. I know the 13FPS really won't change anything in normal hunting ranges but it's still in my head that I if I do something about it I'll get that extra speed. The funny thing about this is if this were a rifle and off by 100FPS I wouldn’t even think twice about it.

The bow is a Mathews V3X 29 with a 28.5” draw length, 70# with 80% let off is shooting 262 FPS but according to the calculators should be around 275FPS.

My arrow is right around 500 grains, Black Eagle Rampage in a 300 spine. Below are the weights of the components.

Help talk me off the ledge before I start to change things like my switchweight cam mods, arrow weights, Bow string or heaven forbid a new bow.

Edit: Bow was tuned to get the 262. It was at 257 before the tune.

Arrow weight (28.25" CTC Long)	245.78
Brass HIT Insert	50
Iron will collar	25
tip	125
Total Flecthing	24.4
Bohning wrap	5
nock	21.6
Total Weight	496.78

Lots of mental masturbation going on. Skip all that. 13 fps at 40 yards has minimal impact on arrow drop or penetration. Your setup is fine and will be more than sufficient to kill anything you hunt. (Or, go spend $2000 on a new setup, if that’s what you want to justify. LOL.)

 

[Stalker69]

Sounds like that is what he wants to do, but needs " support" to convince him. I will tell you, have not checked my fps in years ( several bows). I have 2 chronographs but they shoot great, kill what they are supposed to, as long as I do my part. That is a far bigger factor then speed, in my opinion.

 

[tim tarras]

A new bow is out of the question. Living 3 hours (Was 6.5 hours until January) from the family for a new job has taken all free money away.

 

[jmez]

There is a sure fire method to calming your mind about speed. Don't shoot through a chronograph. Tune your bow and shoot it.

If you do shoot it through a chronograph and it disappoints, just keep shooting it through different chronographs . You eventually find one that aligns with your confirmation bias.

 

[Stalker69]

There is a sure fire method to calming your mind about speed. Don't shoot through a chronograph. Tune your bow and shoot it.

If you do shoot it through a chronograph and it disappoints, just keep shooting it through different chronographs . You eventually find one that aligns with your confirmation bias.

This is the best answer yet. They could probably make alot of money if they made a chrono that was off by say 25-50 fps for bows, and 100-200 fps for bullets.

 

[PurpleDriver]

You mentioned a new bow wasn’t an option, but I wouldn’t recommend one anyways. Your bow is a 344fps IBO. Getting the highest IBO on market, 360fps IBO, would not be noticeable to most of us.

If the bow is over 1 yr old, the zebra strings have stretched and the bow is no longer in factory spec.

Just my experience with a few decades of Mathews bows and Zebra strings.

 

[LitenFast]

You mentioned a new bow wasn’t an option, but I wouldn’t recommend one anyways. Your bow is a 344fps IBO. Getting the highest IBO on market, 360fps IBO, would not be noticeable to most of us.

If the bow is over 1 yr old, the zebra strings have stretched and the bow is no longer in factory spec.

Just my experience with a few decades of Mathews bows and Zebra strings.

This, my 70# Ventum 33 with stock strings maxed out is only pulling 68#. Could be the entire issue that you just need new strings


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[Zac]

Never obsess about a single specification. You should only worry about results. Anyway if it makes you feel any better Jesse Broadwater shot 260 for most of his competitive career. He shot that speed for everything including Redding.

 

[spenpet]

I’ve always tried to shoot the heaviest arrow I can that gets me between 275fps and 295fps.

Hasn’t failed me so far

This right here answers op’s question… this arrow isn’t getting you the speed range you want… drop it by 75gr and it will…

 

[doc holiday13]

Loose 50 grains by going with either the Easton 15g HIT or IW titanium 15g HIT AND going with the 10g titanium collar. FPS needs is subjective. But acceptable pin gap is really what you should be concerned with.
My last bow was 74#@ 30" draw shooting 265fps with a 520g arrow. Current bow is 75# @31" shooting 285fps with a 550g arrow. The extra 20 fps is very significant on pin gap. I've actually completely skipped having a 30 yard pin so I have a 20 and 40 yard pin

I'm debating whether or not I want/need a collar.. This season I'm ditching the idea of them.

At the end of the day I found that chasing FOC introduced more uncertainty in consistency. I'm happy with performance my 11% FOC arrow.

 

[KHNC]

425-435 on arrow weight , including a 100gr Ramcat head, has been my goto for many years and well over 100 bow killed big game critters. Not all with Ramcat heads , but all with that arrow wt at a 28.5" draw. 280-290 fps depending on the bow. Destroyer 350 was just over 300 fps.

 

[mod-it]

I ran your numbers through the calculator I normally use. My experience with said calculator is it comes in a bit hot if actual published IBO is used, but dropping IBO by 3 to 5 fps usually gets it to my actual numbers.

The calculator allows for IBO rating, draw weight, draw length, arrow weight, and weight on the string. I assumed 20 grains of weight on the string, that your bow is actually hitting 70 lbs of draw weight, and that draw length is 28.5".
Your specs came in at 262 fps once I lowered the IBO rating down from 340 to 332. While we all know that bow manufacturers flat out lie about IBO, 8 fps high is quite a bit. Also, knowing that Mathews generally comes in a 1/2" long on draw length, that does seem pretty low for your bow. At 29" of draw length I had to lower your IBO to 327 to get to your 262 fps.
Whether the shop said everything was in spec or not, I'd double check it. I would bet it is not making peak weight, I've seen a lot of shops have a 1/4" tolerance on axle to axle and brace height, the right combo will definitely put the bow under peak weight. Checking actual draw length on a draw board would be a good verification as well.
While it is true that 262 fps with a 500 grain arrow will kill anything in North America, I too would be curious why it does not make a bit closer to IBO. At least within 5 fps or so.