# Realm X Full Review



## WVaBuckHunter (Sep 30, 2010)

I took some time this evening and did some testing with my Realm X. I figured that I’d share my thoughts on the bow, and show some numbers as well as the draw force curves for both the comfort and performance settings. I’ll also talk just a bit about the tuning.

I basically did everything twice for this review, once for each setting. We’ll talk about both, but let’s get the subjective stuff out of the way first. 

Finish- the bow is black, and the finish seems to be really well done on the bow. I’m not a big stickler on the finish of a bow as long as it’s durable, and doesn’t look like a kid did it. This finish, though, looks to be well done, but only time and use can tell me about the durablilty.

Looks- You can be the judge here. Sorry for the bad background in this first pic. I was in my workshop.

























Grip- I like the new grip. The grip is thin, and flat. From what shooting I was able to do
This evening, the grip felt nice and seemed very repeatable. 

Balance- I like a bow that is well balanced, and this bow seems to want to tilt slightly backward with no stabilizers on the bow. This doesn’t bother me, as I would rather have a bow that tilts backwards than one that is front heavy and wants to tilt forward. This way I can balance the bow with weights on the front bar. 

Draw cycle- As I said, I tested the bow on both settings. The comfort setting is just that, comfortable. The bow has a very smooth draw cycle and generous valley on this setting. The performance setting wasn’t bad either, but does have more weight on the back end of the dfc and has a shorter valley and more holding weight. We’ll see this in the dfc pictures that I’ll post.

Ok, all of that stuff is opinion. Let’s look at the specs out of the box.

The bow measured 33-7/16” axle to axle, 6-1/2” brace height, and weighed in at 4.55 lbs. I checked the cam synch on the draw board and the top cam was hitting a little before the bottom. I added 1 twist to the correct cable and both cams were dead on. I set the bow to 28-1/2” draw length setting and measured it on the draw board. It measured 29” on the draw board, so it came in 1/2” long. I also checked the draw length once I changed the bow to the performance setting and the draw length remained exactly the same.

Now let’s look at the data. We’ll look at the comfort setting first. I used the draw board on my Bow-A-Constrictor press and a Last Chance Archery digital scale to plot the DFC. Here is the draw force curve for the comfort setting.









You can see that the bow hits peak weight at about 6” into the draw cycle, and then loses about a pound. It flattens out for a few inches at about 59.4 lbs, before smoothly transitioning into a generous valley and comfortable holding weight. The peak weight here is 60.34 lbs, and the holding weight is 11.27 lbs. This puts the letoff just a tick over 80%. 

I shot 3 different arrow weights through my chrono, and I shot each one 3 times. Here are the results. These numbers are on the comfort setting at 60.34 lbs, and 29” measured draw length. I shot through a shooting Chrony.
Arrow 1 339.6 grains- 303.5 fps, 303.2 fps, and 303.2 fps/ Calculated IBO 333 fps
Arrow 2 396.3 grains- 282.1 fps, 282.2 fps, 282.1 fps/ Calculated IBO 331 fps
Arrow 3 435.4 grains- 269.9 fps, 270 fps, 269.2 fps/ Calculated IBO 331 fps

In the comfort setting, we can say that based on this test that the bow IBO’s around 332 fps.

Now we’ll look at the bow on the performance setting. Here’s the dfc.









You can see that dfc also hits peak weight at about 6” into the draw cycle. Then it also drops about a pound and then holds that weight for about 1” longer than the comfort setting, then it drops about another 1/2 pound and holds that weight for about 3-1/2”, before starting into the shorter valley with a higher holding weight. This dfc is much more “plateau” like in shape, and we can see why it generates more speed. The peak weight registered at 60.76 lbs and the holding weight is 16.39 lbs, which puts the letoff in this setting at about 73%.

I shot the same 3 arrows as before, and here are the results.
Arrow 1 339.6 grains- 312.8 fps, 312.8 fps, 312.3 fps/ Calculated IBO 341 fps
Arrow 2 396.2 grains- 290.7 fps, 290.5 fps, 290.9 fps/ Calculated IBO 338 fps
Arrow 3 435.4 grains- 278.6 fps, 278.2 fps, 278.5 fps/ Calculated IBO 339 fps
This puts the bow at roughly 340 fps IBO in this setting.

The bow tuned very easily for me. I set the nock point at 1/8” high and center shot at 3/4” and shot through paper. I had to raise the nock point to 3/16” high and I had to put 1 twist in each right side yoke. This gave me bullet holes with a Maxima Red 250 and Bloodsport Punisher 350 spine. 

In my limited time with the bow, I am overall very pleased. We’ll see what the future holds as I shoot the bow more. Thanks for reading.


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## griffwar (Nov 15, 2012)

Good review


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

VERY good review. Thanks for posting up


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## tfanz (Jun 12, 2014)

Good job &#55357;&#56397;


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## 1goodarrow (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks for a great review


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## 3 Blade Rage (Mar 17, 2010)

Great review! Thank you


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## Crapshot (Oct 18, 2013)

Thanks. I bought an X and wanted to know how long the DL actually came out at. 1/2" long.

Any of you guys know what what the DL was coming out on the Reigns?


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## BucksnBass525 (Feb 21, 2009)

Looks like 5-7FPS off advertised IBO, not a deal breaker but certainly no where near advertised. Certainly explains why it feels so smooth in comfort.
Great review, and nice data to back it up, well done.
Looks like a great bow, the Realm and RealmX are on my short list for 2018.


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## Razorbak (May 26, 2004)

great review!!!


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## Adamsdjr (Aug 17, 2015)

BucksnBass525 said:


> Looks like 5-7FPS off advertised IBO, not a deal breaker but certainly no where near advertised. Certainly explains why it feels so smooth in comfort.
> Great review, and nice data to back it up, well done.
> Looks like a great bow, the Realm and RealmX are on my short list for 2018.


Chrono could be off 5-7 FPS, either way.


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## WVaBuckHunter (Sep 30, 2010)

BucksnBass525 said:


> Looks like 5-7FPS off advertised IBO, not a deal breaker but certainly no where near advertised. Certainly explains why it feels so smooth in comfort.
> Great review, and nice data to back it up, well done.
> Looks like a great bow, the Realm and RealmX are on my short list for 2018.


The bow may be a little short of IBO, but keep in mind that I didn’t test at 30” and with an IBO weight arrow. Those calculators get you close when trying to figure the IBO of a bow, but there’s a lot of variables. Some bows and cam systems seem to shoot a lighter arrow a little better than a heavy arrow, and the Bowtech cams seem to be this way, and have been in the past. Some bows lose a little more efficiency when shortening the draw length. Those calculators use a perfectly linear scale when figuring speeds based on arrow weight and power stroke length. The only true way to get a real IBO number is to test the bow at IBO specs. Also, when I get a little more time, I’m going to do some tuning and see if I can’t squeeze a little more out of it. We’ll see how it goes.


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## huntertroy (Feb 16, 2010)

Thanks for the review. Interesting that the two realms we measured at shop were dead on for draw length. I guess it's hit or miss


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## BucksnBass525 (Feb 21, 2009)

WVaBuckHunter said:


> The bow may be a little short of IBO, but keep in mind that I didn’t test at 30” and with an IBO weight arrow. Those calculators get you close when trying to figure the IBO of a bow, but there’s a lot of variables. Some bows and cam systems seem to shoot a lighter arrow a little better than a heavy arrow, and the Bowtech cams seem to be this way, and have been in the past. Some bows lose a little more efficiency when shortening the draw length. Those calculators use a perfectly linear scale when figuring speeds based on arrow weight and power stroke length. The only true way to get a real IBO number is to test the bow at IBO specs. Also, when I get a little more time, I’m going to do some tuning and see if I can’t squeeze a little more out of it. We’ll see how it goes.


Looking forward to it.....


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## ppkaprince98 (Mar 13, 2008)

I agree on all the subjective opinion stuff is pretty useless IMO. "super smooth to draw" "stacks em in there" and "dead in the hand" doesnt help much these days as most new bows have this.

Bow specs
Chrono speeds
Draw force curves (in both settings)
Measured DL
How it tuned for you.

All great info with data to back it up. 


Great review. 
THanks


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## Predator (Jan 18, 2003)

BucksnBass525 said:


> Looks like 5-7FPS off advertised IBO, not a deal breaker but certainly no where near advertised. Certainly explains why it feels so smooth in comfort.
> Great review, and nice data to back it up, well done.
> Looks like a great bow, the Realm and RealmX are on my short list for 2018.


I certainly appreciate his review but don't take one guy's experience on one chrono as the gospel for what these bows are doing. Bowtech is not known for missing IBO so we'll have to see how this plays out over time with a lot of data points. I'd be surprised if they are much different than advertised specs - we'll see.


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## enkriss (Apr 10, 2009)

Wow that is interesting.

Comparing to my reign 7. The DL is dead nuts on performance and 1/4" short on comfort. I did not like the bow on performance. It has very little valley and really wants to take off.

On comfort the valley is huge. On 30.5" setting it draws 30.25", hits peak of 61.38lbs very early and holds only 5.29lbs. A little to much letoff...I will have to play with that.


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## BucksnBass525 (Feb 21, 2009)

Predator said:


> I certainly appreciate his review but don't take one guy's experience on one chrono as the gospel for what these bows are doing. Bowtech is not known for missing IBO so we'll have to see how this plays out over time with a lot of data points. I'd be surprised if they are much different than advertised specs - we'll see.


Not taking one guys experience or one guys chrono as gospel, but I bet if it were 2-3 over IBO the bandwagon would be full-LOL.
This is the 3rd occasion where I am hearing they are falling more than a few short, that said I also stated that it would not be a deal breaker for me.
Looking forward to more reviews and also shooting the bow myself......


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## Bullhound (Feb 5, 2004)

Very good review of that bow. While I've not owned a Bowtech since the Insanity, I've set up and tuned about half a dozen for folks. Bowtechs that I've dealt with consistently hit IBO speeds. I would like to see results after OP has more time to play with this bow. Another thing I find odd is that this bow likes 3/16" nock high setting & came in 1/2" long on draw. These things are not what I've seen prior on Bowtech Bows.


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

Great review and info.

My Realm x is under 1/4 long on draw and hits ibo right on the nose even at 60 lbs limbs not the 70 like ibo is tested at. Only thing I wish was that it was 35 ATA lol


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## ShootingABN! (Nov 1, 2005)

Awesome thanks for taking time to collect the data and post!


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## eskimoohunt (Dec 21, 2008)

Great info


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

That was fantastic. Thank you for sharing.

I'm excited to try out the new grip, as that was the thing I liked least about the Reign 6.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

Crapshot said:


> Thanks. I bought an X and wanted to know how long the DL actually came out at. 1/2" long.
> 
> Any of you guys know what what the DL was coming out on the Reigns?


The Reign 6 I tested was bang on its draw length. The only one of the 6 hunting bows I tested this year I can say that about. Three were about a 1/4-inch long, one was 1/2-inch long and one was more than 1-inch long.


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## WVaBuckHunter (Sep 30, 2010)

This was a review right out of the box with minimal tuning. Hopefully I will have some time in the next couple of days (I’ve got a busy schedule this week) to do some more with the bow. When I get the chance, I will post results. Good, bad, or ugly. Lol


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## Toddk31 (Feb 11, 2007)

BucksnBass525 said:


> Looks like 5-7FPS off advertised IBO, not a deal breaker but certainly no where near advertised. Certainly explains why it feels so smooth in comfort.
> Great review, and nice data to back it up, well done.
> Looks like a great bow, the Realm and RealmX are on my short list for 2018.


My shop ran numbers on their Realm X's yesterday. They were at 347 IBO grained out and 343-344 with a heavier arrow.


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## bowtechnow (Sep 15, 2008)

I ordered a dark earth today. 


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## Omega (Jul 5, 2004)

Great review, WVaBuckHunter. The Realm X looks like a winner.


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## Scottie/PA (Mar 22, 2006)

Bullhound said:


> Very good review of that bow. While I've not owned a Bowtech since the Insanity, I've set up and tuned about half a dozen for folks. Bowtechs that I've dealt with consistently hit IBO speeds. I would like to see results after OP has more time to play with this bow. Another thing I find odd is that this bow likes 3/16" nock high setting & came in 1/2" long on draw. These things are not what I've seen prior on Bowtech Bows.


I am not seeing these issues with the Realms. They are tuning pretty much level, draw lengths have been real close, and they are getting IBO speeds.


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## BucksnBass525 (Feb 21, 2009)

Scottie/PA said:


> I am not seeing these issues with the Realms. They are tuning pretty much level, draw lengths have been real close, and they are getting IBO speeds.


Glad to see this is the trend, the Realms are still on the 2018 must shoot list.
Thanks Scott, post some pics!


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## WVaBuckHunter (Sep 30, 2010)

Ok, I found about an hour this evening to play a little. I started by shortening the cables on the bow to bring the ata in from 33-7/16” to 33-1/4”. I then added some twists to the string to bring the cams back close to the factory timing marks (I actually have the cables covering the dot) and to bring the peak weight back down a little after shortening the cables. The peak weight is now at 61.46 lbs.l and holding weight came down to 13.79 lbs (around 78% letoff) The draw length is still 1/2” long. On this bow to bring the draw length into spec, it will not hit peak weight. The cams are synched for the draw stops to hit at the same time.

I set the nock point back to level, and here is what I got.









I shot the bow through the chrono with the same 3 arrows.
339.8 grains- 314.8 fps/Calculated IBO 342
396.6 grains- 292.2 fps/Calculated IBO 338
435.4 grains- 280.3 fps/Calculated IBO 339

I then shot my Prodigy through the chrono as a check, of sorts, to the chrono. I see where others on this thread are saying that they have seen the Realms easily hit IBO. 

The Prodigy measured 1/4” long on the draw board, so it is at 28.75” draw length, and it is pulling 70.26 lbs on the LCA scale. It has a loaded string so I entered 20 grains on the calculator. 

Arrow 1 350 grains- 324.8/Calculated IBO 343
Arrow 2 396.6 grains- 307.2/Calculated IBO 342
Arrow 3 435.4 grains- 293.6/Calculated IBO 341

I know the chrono is real close because the Prodigy hit dead on the IBO. Which I’ll say again that the calculators only get you close. They’re far from perfect. 

Anyways, I got to thinking about the prodigy losing “Calculated” IBO speed with the heavier arrows, as well as the Realm X, as well as other Bowtechs that I’ve had in the past. So I made a 306.6 grain arrow,IBO weight, for the Realm X.

At a measured 29” on the draw board (actually set in the 28.5” mod position), and 61.46 lbs, with the 306.6 grain arrow, it shot 329.3 fps. 

Which gives it a Calculated IBO of 345 fps.

These bows seem to lose some speed when using a heavier arrow according to the calculators. But please keep in mind that the calcs use a perfectly linear scale of 3 grains per 1 fps, and this isn’t always true.
I didn’t have time to replot the dfc’s, but will try to at least plot out the performance curve when I get some more time.


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## Jlbflyboy182 (Oct 13, 2016)

Great review and appreciate the data. The short version. I bought one and love it. Shooting better than I have in a while. Is it the bow, probably not. Did it help my confidence? Probably.


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## Avitohol (Feb 2, 2017)

Great review. Thanks.


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## bigblock534 (Aug 29, 2008)

Thanks for the review. I can't wait to get my X. My Realms draw length was dead on.


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## JC88 (Mar 13, 2004)

Great review. Thank you!!


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## 1goodarrow (Jan 26, 2010)

1goodarrow said:


> Thanks for a great review
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Maybe me is exactly 1/2 inch long


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## 1goodarrow (Jan 26, 2010)

1goodarrow said:


> Maybe me is exactly 1/2 inch long
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Meant to say, mine is exactly 1/2 inch long


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## Shadow76 (Mar 19, 2017)

good info


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## 1goodarrow (Jan 26, 2010)

Does anyone know where the laser reference marks are for Cam lean? BowTech has all the other laser reference marks on their website except for the realm and realm x


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

Great review. I absolutely love this bow!


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## golfernash (Feb 6, 2007)

Bump to see if anyone has the laser reference marks


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

Just eye ball it and start. These bows are by far the easiest to tune in the industry. Far easier than shimming mess PSE has going on.


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

WVaBuckHunter said:


> Ok, I found about an hour this evening to play a little. I started by shortening the cables on the bow to bring the ata in from 33-7/16” to 33-1/4”. I then added some twists to the string to bring the cams back close to the factory timing marks (I actually have the cables covering the dot) and to bring the peak weight back down a little after shortening the cables. The peak weight is now at 61.46 lbs.l and holding weight came down to 13.79 lbs (around 78% letoff) The draw length is still 1/2” long. On this bow to bring the draw length into spec, it will not hit peak weight. The cams are synched for the draw stops to hit at the same time.
> 
> I set the nock point back to level, and here is what I got.
> 
> ...


I am surprised to see you were 1/2" long on draw. I have not measured an X yet, but most other Bowtechs are within 1/4" of correct.


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## Hoyt1945 (Nov 30, 2006)

Good review....They advertise that the realm weighs 4.3 pounds, your weight of the bow was 4.5...I think all bow companies advertised weight is lower than actual.


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

Hoyt1945 said:


> Good review....They advertise that the realm weighs 4.3 pounds, your weight of the bow was 4.5...I think all bow companies advertised weight is lower than actual.


Agreed. Mathews really screwed up the industry with dishonest spec. techniques.


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## Gkman19 (Feb 25, 2015)

Good review. Thanks for the info


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## Karbon (Jul 5, 2006)

FWIW...

My Realm (not an X) is running almost dead nuts at 27.5. Not even a hint long.


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## 2016Cubs (Oct 25, 2017)

Great review. That is on my list. It was helpful. 


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

I think it's the best bow of 2018 other than the RX Ultra.


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## MELLY-MEL (Dec 22, 2008)

Karbon said:


> FWIW...
> 
> My Realm (not an X) is running almost dead nuts at 27.5. Not even a hint long.


Same here.


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## foudarme (Mar 24, 2006)

my realm X was long too...I haven't measured it exactly (forgot it) out of the box but now he runs 29.1" after having added 7 or 8 twists in the string...I have owned previously a rpm, a btx, a boss and a reign and all was dead nuts at 29. I have an hoyt carbon defiant turbo which is 1/2" longer at 29".


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## bow_hunter44 (Apr 20, 2007)

AT Video said:


> That was fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
> 
> *I'm excited to try out the new grip, as that was the thing I liked least about the Reign 6.*


You and me both....


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## K-Z0NE (Jan 13, 2007)

Realm is dead on like Reigns ...X is running 1/4-3/8 long mostly. 


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

The new Hoyts are spot on. Just measured one this morning.


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## Arthur1034 (Feb 11, 2018)

Thorough review. Thanks for the input; you almost convinced me to go give it another look.


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## BigMickeyG67 (Feb 15, 2018)

Great review! Thanks!


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## Adam634 (Jan 2, 2013)

Thinking of getting one, what does it do for performance to have to drop mod in lower setting to get your actual draw length?


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## 1goodarrow (Jan 26, 2010)

WVaBuckHunter said:


> Ok, I found about an hour this evening to play a little. I started by shortening the cables on the bow to bring the ata in from 33-7/16” to 33-1/4”. I then added some twists to the string to bring the cams back close to the factory timing marks (I actually have the cables covering the dot) and to bring the peak weight back down a little after shortening the cables. The peak weight is now at 61.46 lbs.l and holding weight came down to 13.79 lbs (around 78% letoff) The draw length is still 1/2” long. On this bow to bring the draw length into spec, it will not hit peak weight. The cams are synched for the draw stops to hit at the same time.
> 
> I set the nock point back to level, and here is what I got.
> 
> ...


My realm x is exactly 1/2 off on draw length according to the published draw mod/post positions


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## hunter9264 (Mar 7, 2018)

Great review, thanks. I have not had a chance to shoot a Realm X yet but it is on my list of bows to try.


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## SloePoke (Jun 6, 2018)

I've been hearing that the Realm series is more stable than it's predacessors due to a wider limb pocket and limbs. I know they also flattened out the grip. Is there anything to it, or is it not really noticeable?


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## muscleman6 (Oct 9, 2017)

so far i am not impressed with the speeds of the realm x.i used to own a cpx insanity that shot 342.6 fps with a legal weight arrow at 29" draw,which was actually better than ibo.i miss that bow


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

SloePoke said:


> I've been hearing that the Realm series is more stable than it's predacessors due to a wider limb pocket and limbs. I know they also flattened out the grip. Is there anything to it, or is it not really noticeable?


100% true ^^^


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## BucksnBass525 (Feb 21, 2009)

The Realm has the best grip in the industry if you ask me, that and the wider platform makes it balance very well.


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## THE ELKMAN (Jan 2, 2013)

agreed ^^^


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## westender (Sep 25, 2017)

1goodarrow said:


> My realm x is exactly 1/2 off on draw length according to the published draw mod/post positions
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Nice to have rotating mods to take care of this issue which is common on so many different bow brands and models.


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