# 2017 Hunting Bow Speed Test



## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

Cool thanks.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

Lucas where are you located?


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> Lucas where are you located?



I live on the cold side of the border in Toronto, Ontario.


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## mgwelder (May 4, 2014)

The Bear was the fastest![emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106] 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


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## drw679 (Dec 12, 2011)

was the reign 6 on performance or comfort? Great job! Im near Niagara Falls NY. pretty close.


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## HoosierArcher88 (Jan 10, 2013)

I'm kinda suprised the SS was below 300fps. I woulda figured it would have put out 306-310


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

Im really starting to love the Reign 6, but why does it cost $1000.................


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

drw679 said:


> was the reign 6 on performance or comfort? Great job! Im near Niagara Falls NY. pretty close.


Reign 6 was in performance mode. I flipped over to comfort a couple days after the test and lost 8-10 fps.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> Im really starting to love the Reign 6, but why does it cost $1000.................


It is a very nice bow. Very quiet (though I haven't verified with a decibel meter) and fit and finish is excellent. The draw cycle isn't my favorite, though. Not as smooth as I like - a good hump before the valley.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

AT Video said:


> It is a very nice bow. Very quiet (though I haven't verified with a decibel meter) and fit and finish is excellent. The draw cycle isn't my favorite, though. Not as smooth as I like - a good hump before the valley.


Have you handled the Cabelas Fortitude, Credence or Influence? Any thoughts on these bows? The season is approaching so I need to get organized.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

HoosierArcher88 said:


> I'm kinda suprised the SS was below 300fps. I woulda figured it would have put out 306-310


Some of that may come down to draw length. I will measure the DL on all six bows when I have a chance, to see who might be playing fast and loose with their settings. The Xpedition folks are adamant that when they say 29.5, they mean it.

I will say that I enjoy shooting the Xplorer more than I thought I would. I'm on the tall side and I don't normally like short bows, but the Xplorer feels quite nice. Draw cycle, though on the stiff side, is really smooth. I much prefer a smooth draw that's a little stiffer than a draw with a big hump in it.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> Have you handled the Cabelas Fortitude, Credence or Influence? Any thoughts on these bows? The season is approaching so I need to get organized.


I have not had a chance to shoot any of those. I did a budget-friendly hunting bow package comparison last year, though. The Quest Forge was my favorite, mostly because it easily had the best accessories. I probably shot the Diamond Edge SB-1 the best of the group, but accessories are not very good and there was some minor fit and finish issues.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

I did see this thanks. Do you need to buy these bows for your tests, or do the manufacturers send them too you? Perhaps I can reach out to Cabelas to see if they can send you a Fortitude? How does it normally work (I'm assuming you cant buy all these bows but if the manufacturers send you free stuff, doesnt the question of bias open up?).


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> I did see this thanks. Do you need to buy these bows for your tests, or do the manufacturers send them too you? Perhaps I can reach out to Cabelas to see if they can send you a Fortitude? How does it normally work (I'm assuming you cant buy all these bows but if the manufacturers send you free stuff, doesnt the question of bias open up?).


The manufacturers send me the bows. I have to send them back, but can buy them if I choose to. Still debating whether or not I will buy one of the hunting bows when I'm done with them. My current hunting bow is a few years old, so I'm thinking about it for sure.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

AT Video said:


> The manufacturers send me the bows. I have to send them back, but can buy them if I choose to. Still debating whether or not I will buy one of the hunting bows when I'm done with them. My current hunting bow is a few years old, so I'm thinking about it for sure.


Have you ever contacted Cabelas to see if they will send you the Fortitude, Credence or Influence? If I could find credible tests on these 3 bows then that will really help to simplify my decision.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> Have you ever contacted Cabelas to see if they will send you the Fortitude, Credence or Influence? If I could find credible tests on these 3 bows then that will really help to simplify my decision.


I have not. At the moment I am a bit overwhelmed with bows and can't take on any more. Currently have 6 hunting bows, 2 crossbows and 1 low-budget target bow that all need review videos and comparison videos. After I finish this current project, I can start looking at getting in more.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

AT Video said:


> I have not. At the moment I am a bit overwhelmed with bows and can't take on any more. Currently have 6 hunting bows, 2 crossbows and 1 low-budget target bow that all need review videos and comparison videos. After I finish this current project, I can start looking at getting in more.


HAHA thats awesome. Good problems to have IMO!!!!! Appreciate all the work you do.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> HAHA thats awesome. Good problems to have IMO!!!!! Appreciate all the work you do.


I have no complaints. The bow testing is mostly on my own time, but I asked for it. No turning back now.


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## HoosierArcher88 (Jan 10, 2013)

AT Video said:


> Some of that may come down to draw length. I will measure the DL on all six bows when I have a chance, to see who might be playing fast and loose with their settings. The Xpedition folks are adamant that when they say 29.5, they mean it.
> 
> I will say that I enjoy shooting the Xplorer more than I thought I would. I'm on the tall side and I don't normally like short bows, but the Xplorer feels quite nice. Draw cycle, though on the stiff side, is really smooth. I much prefer a smooth draw that's a little stiffer than a draw with a big hump in it.


I couldn't agree more with your preferences. BTW, i failed to mention earlier, THANKYOU for taking the time and means to perform this test for us!.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

HoosierArcher88 said:


> BTW, i failed to mention earlier, THANKYOU for taking the time and means to perform this test for us!.


+1 +1 +1


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

HoosierArcher88 said:


> I couldn't agree more with your preferences. BTW, i failed to mention earlier, THANKYOU for taking the time and means to perform this test for us!.


It's been a great time doing this testing and I'm glad people are watching the videos. Hopefully it's helping some folks make good decisions.

One day I'd like to be able to handle a big 10-12 bow test, but I think I'd need another person for that. And a pile more rests/sights/peeps. For now I'll keep trying to do 4-6 bow projects. There's definitely things I can do to make them better (like measuring draw lengths before doing the chrono test). It's a learning process.


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## johnno (Apr 11, 2006)

Any reason you couldn't bump up the draw to 30" - asked for the bows to be in 70# - and shoot a 350gr arrow - to give a better IBO standard?


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

johnno said:


> Any reason you couldn't bump up the draw to 30" - asked for the bows to be in 70# - and shoot a 350gr arrow - to give a better IBO standard?



This would be very useful to compare.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

johnno said:


> Any reason you couldn't bump up the draw to 30" - asked for the bows to be in 70# - and shoot a 350gr arrow - to give a better IBO standard?


That's a fair point.

Because I am also doing reviews on the bows, I wanted to get them in my draw length so I can shoot them as best I can. I suppose I could ask for 70-pound bows for the speed tests, but not sure my skinny frame could handle pulling 70 pounds very often. Perhaps I need to hit the gym this year.


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## UniGram (Dec 11, 2010)

I think its a great setup. Only a small percentage of archers are shooting 30" and 70#s. For us "normal" armed guys IBO speeds is an Unicorn!
I would however have liked for the bows to be same true draw length, I shoot 29" on my Xpedition and 28" on a Centergy.


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

UniGram said:


> I think its a great setup. Only a small percentage of archers are shooting 30" and 70#s. For us "normal" armed guys IBO speeds is an Unicorn!
> I would however have liked for the bows to be same true draw length, I shoot 29" on my Xpedition and 28" on a Centergy.


I really wish I had measured ahead of time. We just recently got a draw board in at my club, so I had never measured for draw length before. Was always just a feel thing. In the review/comparison videos I will make a note of the actual draw length compared to where the manufacturer lists it.


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## FDJ360 (Aug 22, 2014)

johnno said:


> Any reason you couldn't bump up the draw to 30" - asked for the bows to be in 70# - and shoot a 350gr arrow - to give a better IBO standard?


I'd rather see the bows be set at 28" and 60#'s to give a more realistic speed. Most bows in the classifieds have the aforementioned specs. I'd take honesty over the WOW factor I'll never see!


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

AT Video said:


> I have not had a chance to shoot any of those. I did a budget-friendly hunting bow package comparison last year, though. The Quest Forge was my favorite, mostly because it easily had the best accessories. I probably shot the Diamond Edge SB-1 the best of the group, but accessories are not very good and there was some minor fit and finish issues.


Lucas if by chance you get to a Cabelas in the next week and are able to shoot a Fortitude, please let me know. I'm a week away from pulling the trigger on that bow. It would be great to have it reviewed by a pro to give me some peace of mind!!!!


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

meatman said:


> Lucas if by chance you get to a Cabelas in the next week and are able to shoot a Fortitude, please let me know. I'm a week away from pulling the trigger on that bow. It would be great to have it reviewed by a pro to give me some peace of mind!!!!


I'm afraid I won't have a chance to do that. And I am far from a pro, but appreciate the kind words.


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## fragmag (Jul 16, 2013)

Great videos man, love the work you do!


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## Gospels (Aug 15, 2017)

cool!


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## Lucas Cooney (Mar 10, 2017)

fragmag said:


> Great videos man, love the work you do!


Much appreciated. Thank you.


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## meatman (Jun 2, 2017)

Has anyone here shot a Cabelas Fortitude? I'm really curious to hear about the valley. Is it jumpy at full draw?

They dont have them in store and I would need to buy one just to test it (cant always return it, but still...). Nearly pulled the trigger on one but its back to MSRP   Waiting for it to drop again.


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## mthayr (Jun 27, 2017)

Very cool stuff, looking forward to seeing more impressions on how each shoots. +1 on the draw board measurement - guessing you'll set the let-off to its highest on the models with adjustability?


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