The Age of Speed
It is impossible not to notice the addiction to speed that has come to a head in the last couple of years. The idea of wanting more speed out of archery equipment is not a new idea, but the 2007 line-up of bows brought new players to the table and previously unheard of speeds advertised. I will admit, I have always loved a fast bow ever since my Hoyt Superslam Supreme and (at the time) super-lightweight aluminum arrows. It was a badge of honor to show up to a shoot with a 280 fps speed limit and be told to turn down the poundage to fall within the acceptable limits. Of course back then I had to shoot near 80 pounds with an overdraw and 2413 arrows to get near the mythical 300 fps barrier. This year I was shooting my Elite Envy at 61 pounds with a 315 grain Victory arrow at around 340 fps. Times and equipment have certainly changed!
So what does all the speed get us? Well, I did shoot a very nice Pope and Young antelope and a mule deer this year. Of course I certainly don’t attribute harvesting those animals to the speed of my bow. In fact, I am sure I could have done so just as easily with a 280 fps or less bow. The real key was practice, tuning, practice, practice, practice. When it comes down to it, all the speed in the world is not going to make up for mis-judging the distance by 5 yards or a shaking pin because that buck won’t take that last step out of the brush and you’ve been holding at full draw for nearly a full minute.
What I do think speed does is to help level the playing field. While adding a few fps to the very top end bows every year, the biggest change has been to bows for short draw archers and those who cannot pull heavy poundages. Having a 30 inch draw and shooting at 70 pounds isn’t nearly the advantage that it used to be. Anyone with a 27 inch draw and a 55-60 pound bow can breach 300 fps with any number of bows now. While I certainly wouldn’t give up my 30 inch draw length, it is nice to see bow manufacturers pay more attention to youth, women and “height challenged” men by giving them more choices and higher performance.
I love technology; always have and always will. It is fun to see some of the changes and serious design work going into today’s bows. However, in the end it is the human at the end of the string that matters. No amount of technology will ever make up for a lack of practice or lack of understanding of one’s equipment. Please practice, and please take responsible shots!
Now if you’ll excuse me while I go fire off a few shots from my slow Hoyt UltraElite, clocking in at measly 310 fps at 57 pounds…