80% vs. 85% let off?

[chasewild]

I’ve got a Traverse with 75% mods and my bow scale arrives Thursday, so I’ll let you know what I find out.

Have you noticed the same thing as myself and the OP with the 85% mods and consistency/forgiveness?

 

[Gorp2007]

Have you noticed the same thing as myself and the OP with the 85% mods and consistency/forgiveness?

Full disclosure: I bought this bow last year and it’s my first foray into archery since 4H about 20 years ago.

With that out of the way, I feel like I’m able to be more consistent with the 75% mods because it’s harder to get lazy and just camp out in the valley. I also pulled off the grip and replaced it with hockey tape which has really improved my consistency because I’m getting better feedback regarding hand pressure.

I’m still not Levi Morgan, but I don’t have as many WTF arrows because now I know exactly what I’m doing wrong when I mess up a shot.

I do find myself getting tired sooner, but not sure how much of that is going to 75% and how much is going from 57 to 65 pounds.

 

[Gorp2007]

The traverse I'm shooting with 85% mods is actually 82% let off. I wonder if the 75% mods will actually be 72%?

Tonight I measured 66lbs with 20lb holding weight, so about 70%.

LCA Bow Scale 2.0 mounted in my garage. My first time doing any of this, so don't forget to bring your grains of salt. Tested it with a 44lb kettle bell and it was within 0.1 pounds. I'm not independently wealthy, but it's a Rogue so it should be relatively close to 44 lb.

 

[chasewild]

Tonight I measured 66lbs with 20lb holding weight, so about 70%.

LCA Bow Scale 2.0 mounted in my garage. My first time doing any of this, so don't forget to bring your grains of salt. Tested it with a 44lb kettle bell and it was within 0.1 pounds. I'm not independently wealthy, but it's a Rogue so it should be relatively close to 44 lb.

Thanks for this.

Just got back from my shop. Shot the traverse with the 75% mods. Couldn't do it. Going back to my E35.

 

[kcm2]

I've gotten reports of WCO's carrying the handheld scales to test letoff. I haven't seen it but I have never run into an officer in archery season.

Pope and Young won't recognize a kill with more than 80% letoff, either.

 

[MT257]

I've gotten reports of WCO's carrying the handheld scales to test letoff. I haven't seen it but I have never run into an officer in archery season.

Pope and Young won't recognize a kill with more than 80% letoff, either.

According to this on the P and Y site there is no maximum for entries any more..

Pope and Young Club | Preserve, Promote, and Protect Bowhunting

Pope and Young Club - Preserve, Promote, and Protect Bowhunting

pope-young.org

 

[Holocene]

I followed this thread earlier in the year when trying out new mods on a few of my bows (Mathews Halon 32, Mathews VXR 31.5, and Mathews Halon X Comp).

Lots of good information and feedback here, but wanted to add some of my experience in case anyone else stumbles on this thread and is trying to make a decision between high and low letoff.

So, I shot 85% letoff bows for 7 years, because that's what came on my bows and I didn't know any better. I hunt primarily and shoot some 3D but not in serious leagues or competition. No coach or friend pushed me toward anything different. I did catch an Inside Out Precision video on letoff, which planted a seed...

Finally, this past two months, I engaged in a serious, exploratory trial period with two new bows (the VXR and Halon X Comp) with intentions of 1) really fine tuning my draw length for a solid, steady float and 2) fine tuning my release with a hinge, which I switched to last year and have been using exclusively for a number of reasons. Padgett's online articles from ArcheryTalk and his website were super instructive. The Jesse Broadwater online Vimeo course was good, too. It was like having virtual coaches. I bought two new bows, various mods, and started experimenting a lot (I have a press and full shop at home...).

RESULTS OF TWO MONTHS OF EXPERIMENTATION =====

The 75% (Halon X Comp) and 80% (VXR) mods are a REVELATION. Stunningly good for the kind of shooting I do. I would describe my style as:

• Slightly aggressive into the back wall, aiming for about 16-18# holding weight.
• Hinge release shooter who simultaneously rotates my rear elbow down while "relaxing" the release hand and keeping my front arm steady -- the feel is very similar to a recurve bow release. There is some motion in my shot compared to two years ago, when I shot a Wiseguy index release with a very stiff "command style." Now keep in mind, when I say "motion" I'm talking about barely perceptible micro movement. Not big sweeping movements or anything.
• Very focused on keeping my shot aligned -- push pull in a direct line to and from the target.

The low-letoff bows have fantastic feel and responsiveness. They feel like firearms with really fast lock times -- which I enjoy a lot.

This is big -- hold weight of low letoff bows was not an issue for me at all, as even with the 85% letoff bows I wanted to hold around 16-18 pounds anyway, so I was really yarding on the cables. With the 75% and 80% mods, I am holding near or right at the appropriate weight.

End of day, I can shoot either bow fine (it's what you get used to) but feel much more in control and consistent with the 75% and 80%. No more 85% for me -- hunting or target shooting. I can hold the 75% letoff bow at 65# draw for up to 30-45 seconds no issue. Do you really want to hold longer than that when taking a shot on an animal? I know guys do, but that's way down the list of qualities I want in my shot...

My draw is 31", preferred weight is in the 65-70 range, and I shoot a 470 grain arrow at about 280-300 fps. I don't need more speed, so am able to get away with the smooth 65# draw weight and resulting hold weight in that 16-18# range. If someone needed to pull 75# or 80# because they have a short draw length or want to shoot a really heavy arrow and still achieve okay speeds (275+), then I can see how 75% letoff would make them hold 20+ pounds -- which would be tough to manage.

Last thing -- the 75% and 80% mods shortened my draw length by about 1/8" or 3/16". To fine tune after the switch, I took out three twists in my string (this kept peep the same) to lengthen it by 3/16" and voila I was back to perfect draw length. Another option is to shoot off the riser, which I tried and liked with the VXR. But I did NOT like shooting off the riser with the Halon X Comp because in that era, Mathews had not profiled the riser edges so the riser was literally cutting and scraping up my hand. Tape and tennis grip and all... I might take a file to the bow if I ever want to shoot off the riser again.