Trad bow speeds

[Buckskinbob]

Any of you guys chrono your trad bows? I know it isn't necessary but I'm curious what speeds others are getting.

I have three bows that I hunt with, one is a laminated flat bow and is shooting 500 grain arrows at about 175 fps, and two howard hill bows, one shooting 700 grain arrows about 150 and the other shooting 800 grain arrows about 175. A bit less then howard hill says the bows should shoot but I believe those are all close to average speeds for trad. I'm interested to hear what yours are shooting.

 

[geewhiz]

I shoot a 64" super Kodiak. Pulling about 59 lbs at 30 inches. Shooting a 657 grain arrow 172fps.

 

[Buckskinbob]

I shoot a 64" super Kodiak. Pulling about 59 lbs at 30 inches. Shooting a 657 grain arrow 172fps.

Nice, my flat bow is the same length and 58 pounds, I put some heavier arrows on it and it was only getting about 145.

 

[geewhiz]

Nice, my flat bow is the same length and 58 pounds, I put some heavier arrows on it and it was only getting about 145.

I don't have a ton of experience hunting with trad gear but I did kill 1 bull elk with it and achieved better than expected penetration. I am very pleased.

 

[Buckskinbob]

Sounds like 657 grains at 172 is good nuff! I'm still a beginner as well. I got a bear with the flat bow this spring which was a pass through with the heavier arrows at 700 grains. So they could have only been going 145. have been trying to kill an elk but so far unsuccessful.

 

[grizzly63]

I'm a short armed guy and chrono'd several of my recurves. 26" draw 55 lb. Howatt Super Diablo was fastest at 187, the others were 150-170. They will all work if the shot is in the right place and the blades are sharp. Do not remember which arrow I was using. Aluminum or Carbon.

 

[Buckskinbob]

187 has got to feel pretty flat shooting, I notice a huge difference from 150 to 175

 

[ImBillT]

With no fiberglass an “average” trad bow used to shoot a 10gr/lb draw weight arrow around 150fps. Faster was considered good performance. With tip top design, a good piece of wood and excellent tillering that number could potentially reach 180fps, but even 170fps is considered pretty high performance. With glass or carbon 190-200fps can be done. There are probably some bows capable of exceeding 200fps with a 10gr/lb arrow. All of the above assumes a 28” draw length. Obviously a longer draw will result in higher speeds.

I tried to chrono a couple bows a few months ago, but I couldn’t shoot through the sun shades accurately enough. I could stand to the side and hit the target fairly near center, and then try to shoot over the chrono and I couldn’t hit the target and I kept getting extremely erratic numbers when I did get a reading. I’ll try again sometime.

 

[Buckskinbob]

With no fiberglass an “average” trad bow used to shoot a 10gr/lb draw weight arrow around 150fps. Faster was considered good performance. With tip top design, a good piece of wood and excellent tillering that number could potentially reach 180fps, but even 170fps is considered pretty high performance. With glass or carbon 190-200fps can be done. There are probably some bows capable of exceeding 200fps with a 10gr/lb arrow. All of the above assumes a 28” draw length. Obviously a longer draw will result in higher speeds.

I tried to chrono a couple bows a few months ago, but I couldn’t shoot through the sun shades accurately enough. I could stand to the side and hit the target fairly near center, and then try to shoot over the chrono and I couldn’t hit the target and I kept getting extremely erratic numbers when I did get a reading. I’ll try again sometime.

A bow shooting 700+ grain arrows 200 fps is what I'm gonna try and find for my next one.

Shooting through the chrono definitely took me a few tries, I believe on overcast days or if you find a shady spot you can shoot over it without the diffusers

 

[ImBillT]

A bow shooting 700+ grain arrows 200 fps is what I'm gonna try and find for my next one.

Shooting through the chrono definitely took me a few tries, I believe on overcast days or if you find a shady spot you can shoot over it without the diffusers

With a rifle you can definitely shoot without diffusers. I always start without them. I started without them with my bow too. Couldn’t get a reading. Probably just light conditions that day.

If you want to beat 200fps with a 700gr arrow with a trad bow, you would need a really fast 70lb bow, or you’d have to go over 70lbs. Again, that’s assuming a 28” draw length. There are some reasonable assumptions you can make about how much draw length will increase speed. Luckily I have a 31” draw. I’d like to know what velocities I’m getting. I’m shooting 61lbs at 31” and 658gr. I might have a slow bow shooting 150fps or a fast bow shooting 200fps. I don’t have enough experience to know the difference.