# Older bows VS. New bows??



## Harperman (Sep 3, 2006)

here's the question......Of those of You on here that have shot the older, long A-T-A bows, with wheels, or soft cam/Energy wheels, like the Hoyt ProStar's Supremes,etc.., or the PSE Mach 9's, and 11's, and bows such as those, how do these older bows compare to the newer bows of similar design, such as the Barnsdales, Hoyt's ProTec w/ wheels, or the Montega, or the Merlin bows with long A-T-A, and wheels??.....I'm still looking for a deal on a Barnsdale bow, just to see for myself why folks love these bows so much, or put another way, what makes the Barney bows better than some of the older wheel bows...I've been told that the Hoyt wheel bows, such as the Caribou, Montega, and ProTec/Pro Elite with wheels, and long limbs are great shooters, and the old PSE Mach 9 that I had was a very easy bow to shoot, very smooth, and quick for a wheel bow....Since the main stream thinking in Finger shooting is long A-T-A, the list of potential bows is pretty long, once the older, out of production bows are taken into account...BUT...I wouldnt want to buy a bow, love it, and not be able to get parts for it if I needed them...So, what do Y'all think, as far as a heads-up comparison of the old bows VS. the new bows???......Jim


----------



## Ancient One (Nov 22, 2009)

Jim,

The Barnsdale isn't a cure all by any means. It is a really well made bow. The reason so many finger shooters love them is because they can get them NEW....And they are for all practical purposes the only bow you can get with a deflex riser and round wheels that is NEW and has a blend of old school forgiveness and new materials in it's build. That's it. A lot of the big draw is that each is pretty much a one of a kind depending on the options you order. You won't go to a big shoot of any kind and see a dozen copies of what you have in your hand.
For what it's worth from someone who has two Barneys and wouldn't take a cotton farm in Georgia for them, I think I could possibly shoot better scores with my old metalflake sunburst painted Provantage carbon plus, but it's eighteen years old, and the history of provantage risers breaking across the shelf keeps it in the corner and me shooting the Barneys.... The Prostar is an awesome finger bow period...So is the Oasis. The Mach 5's and Mach 5 Carbon II. But let me also say that the shoot thru on the Barney is the greatest thing since sliced bread.. None of these bows will shoot themselves, but the Provantage is the closest thing I've ever seen to one that would......48" 1 5/8" deflex in the riser, 10 1/2" BH and a round on round wheel....And slower than cold molasses


----------



## IBBW (Mar 29, 2005)

*Ha*

I've played with as many bow as I could afford, from the mild to the wild. One thing I never was able to get past was less than a 40 ATA. That kills off most of what is out there unless you want a round wheel bow (nothing wrong with that) that is way expensive. I think many of the old bows are great. They are still. I hunt with a 92 today. My back up is another 92. They hang next to a 2005. I use it too, but I cannot shoot it as well. I am not sure why but I got a few suspicions. I wish my old bows were quieter. That is about the only real complaint I have though it has never really seemed to matter. They are hunting bows and are way faster than anything I can buy (new) that I can shoot as well. New is new. New is nice. Once the new wears off, it's gone. Whats left after the new is gone? Will it be a bow you will keep for years or will it's sore spot or flaw rear it's ugly head? Will it's performance leave you feeling........blah? I have had that happen. I think we all have. I pick up as many of the old bows (I still use) whenever I come across them and can afford them. Ask the wife. I got bows or parts of bows everywhere. I have used many these parts and built some pretty interesting bows. I consider myself lucky enough to have owned a few good hunting bows over the years. Two I killed over 25 deer apiece with. God I loved those bows, it seemed like every time I dropped the string a deer went home with me. It was no accident and I know deep down some bow guy somewhere spent a many a sleepless nights and long hard days working out every detail till he felt they were perfect. Maybe they were. Unfortunately we have progress and so they go away. I am glad I started bow shooting and bow hunting when I did otherwise I would have never seen the evolution of bows and bow hunting. 

What was the topic?

Oh yeah, I think a hunter (finger shooter) should get something 40 to 43 ATA unless you have a really long draw then crap, it doesn't matter. If you got a 31" draw you can make any bow fast. Some of the best shooting and fastest bows that stand out in my mind were the PSE Mach 5 and Mach 5X w/synergy cams. Great finger shooters. Fast and accurate. makes me want to puke now, I sold mine. What an idiot. Hoyt Defiant supreme w/command cams. In my mind the best flippin bow Hoyt ever made. period. Many Dartons, Viper, Lightning (in 50-60#). Some of their early CPS bows were nice. I still got my Maverick CPS. Shortest bow I own at 39 inches. Still a shooter. I still got my old Oneidas too. Keepers. I feel ya on the inability to get parts for these bows. It sucks. There are some good (new) bows out there still. They are just not as many choices or diverse as they once were. That is what makes me want to erp. That is why I keep scouring and scrounging ebay, craigslist, yard sales were ever I might find a gem until they are no more. I hope they hold out for a few more years. No I do not believe the bows they offer finger shooters compare to them. I have not ever held or shot a Barney but I have shot a Redman. Close to the same bow Gus? :boink:


----------



## Harperman (Sep 3, 2006)

WOW!....Uncle Gus, and IBBW, thanks very much for the great posts...Uncle Gus, as You know I have been P.M.'ing You about some of the older Hoyt's, like the SuperStar...I reckon that I'm being a pain in the butt, maybe, but heres the thing.....From 1989, untill about 3 years ago, I shot TRAD bows, and Trad bows only....I did own an Onieda AeroForce X-80 "Screaming Eagle" once, for about a week...I had strained my shoulder loading a deer in the bed of the truck, and couldnt shoot my Black Widder'....70# is alot of recurve, 'Ya know!...Anyway, the thing is, I missed the "Transition" period, between the steel cable/round wheel Compound days, and the bows made in the last 3 years....I've been like a fat kid in a candy store shooting and trying out all these new bows the last couple of years....I have 3 great bows now, and have owned some top shelf stuff in the last 3 years..Problem is, that I'm really getting tired of fist-fighting this T.P., and I KNOW that I can shoot well, with a clicker, and I figured that some of the older top-end Target bows were the best thing ever, back then, so why wouldnt these same bows shoot well today?....That old PSE Mach 9 that I had was the eye-opener for me, really..it was made in 1999, and was a good shooting, extremely easy bow to shoot well, very forgiving, and still had enough arrow speed to shoot 3-D with...Sooooooo....here's what I'm thinking.....piss on the arrow speed, with a Clicker, and 5 pins, surely I can do allright at the local 3-D shoots, and I am likely guilty of trying to use arrow speed to make up for the "Freezing" under the target....I'm sending a Money Order off in the morning for an old Barney bow that I just bought, and I'll maybe put some wheels on my Hoyt Pro Elite, just to see how it shoots like that....I shot a Hinge release all summer, and I actually surprised myself, and some of the fella's at the bowshoppe this summer...I've shot a clicker with my OLY. recurves, so I reckon now I'll see what a wheel bow, and pulling through a Clicker is about....Uncle Gus, and IBBW, thanks for the posts....Oh, yeah, IBBW, for the record, I have one of those 'Ol Faithfull bows also, She's kinda ugly, and shoots a bit harsh for most folks, but my Martin Scepter is ALWAYS there waiting for Me to come back to Her!....L.O.L....And after I warm her up for a day or two, She performs for Me...L.O.L....Take care!.......Jim


----------



## Unclegus (May 27, 2003)

Yes, TP is a pain in the butt. I've controlled TP since around 79 with a clicker. I understand it's the hardest way to do it. Of course, that's the way I'd do it. It's good to be unclegus again...... If I was to ever start over to break TP, I think I'd put s scope on with very little power and a circle in it about half inch across, or just shoot a housing with no lens....


----------



## fuelracerpat (May 6, 2008)

what I like about the Barney over some of the older bows and my experience is with the late 80's very early 90's long ATA bows, mostly Hoyts, Pearsons and PSE's is the grips. Like Unclegus said, I went to the Barnsdale because it was 1. New and 2. State of the art materials; other than that and a better understanding of what a grip that isn't as prone to torque. 
It is essentially the same bow I was shooting in 1991-92 when I quit shooting for 15 odd years. When I began shooting again I drug some of my old stuff out and started shooting them and could still shoot them fairly well, but I had to start worrying however about parts, some of my old bows stored in the closet in cases had the strings give up right at the nock set. One of them had even pulled a pylon off the e-wheel when that happened. I tried to find a replacement and could not. 
For me personally any bow in 43-44" ATA and shorter starts to become very critical for me to shoot well. The Barnsdale at 64# and a true draw of 29" with carbon or carbon/aluminum arrows of the proper spine shoot 20-30 fps faster than I used to shoot wood core laminated limbs and XX2413 shafts at 80#. The speed is a plus but NOT the end all of todays bows.
For a *target* bow, there is no other current production bow on the market that I am aware of that is in the class of the 47.5 " ATA Barnsdale for a long draw archer.


----------



## big cypress (Jul 31, 2006)

love to have barnsdale but won't spend the $$$$$!!!! currently have supernova i'm trying to sell had a protec that i sold both had cams which i find i don't like . just bought a hoyt superstar in great condition and have a provantage . i prefer the provantage although i haven't shot the new bow much yet but i think it's mass weight is a little high . really like wheels and 48'' a to a .


----------



## archer619 (Mar 24, 2013)

I agree with you. I currently shoot a Darton Apache from 1995. I am amazed at the power of this bow even for its age.


----------



## Jesse Schultz (Sep 11, 2013)

I would like to ask a question. The first compound I ever shot was a 1990 Browning. I was 14 years old and don't know any of the specs, but I could robin hood, two or three arrows in a row. My finger bow now is a 2002 Hoyt and it is like 35 or 37 inches. I can shoot this bow fine. Why do I keep hearing longer is better. Please explain the physics to me, and use real words not initials please


----------



## 2413gary (Apr 10, 2008)

for me the shorter bows are accurate but not forgiving if I was perfect so was the short bow I don't have to be perfecrt to hit the middle more often with the slower longer bows
Gary


Jesse Schultz said:


> I would like to ask a question. The first compound I ever shot was a 1990 Browning. I was 14 years old and don't know any of the specs, but I could robin hood, two or three arrows in a row. My finger bow now is a 2002 Hoyt and it is like 35 or 37 inches. I can shoot this bow fine. Why do I keep hearing longer is better. Please explain the physics to me, and use real words not initials please


----------



## hunter 57 (Jan 14, 2011)

Deflexed risers, long axle to axle ( making for less acute string angles = less finger pinch) and low let off( usually 50 percent or less) Those attributes made the older bows more conducive to finger shooting ... When I was younger and had better physical abilities I preferred 26 to 30 pounds holding weight on my fingers for a consistent clean release ..........


----------



## Jesse Schultz (Sep 11, 2013)

Okay fellers thanks


----------

