New Bow (Hoyt RX4 vs 2006 Bowtech Allegiance??)

[Billy Goat]

Thank you. Just I shot it through paper the other day and I'm pretty sure it was a little nock low and left. Kind of embarrassed to admit that I've never touched the tuning on it since I purchased it. The fact that it was still almost perfect after all this time might be another testament to the bow!

How much do you guys fuss with tuning bows on your own? I feel like I'm just going to screw it up if I try anything.

I think to really learn to shoot you need to learn to tune. It's not that hard. A fair amount can be done without a bow press.

You won't screw anything up if you make marks and record everything in a notebook. Makes it easy to undo any changes.

Honestly you would probably be better served to spend the money on a few upgrades and a bow press rather than a new bow.

Lots of online resources for tuning. Easton has produced a decent tuning guide.

 

[treillw]

Shot the PSE Mach 1 today through a chronograph. 29" draw, 80% letoff, 435 grain arrow, bow maxed out - 293 fps with a hostage brush rest that was rubbing against my fletchings.

Impressed.

 

[TurboSportTSi]

Current bow is a 2006 Bowtech Allegiance. I figure it's been ~15 years, my bow has to be a dog by now. I've been going to the local shops and shooting a bunch of bows over the past few weeks. I like the Hoyt RX4, PSE Carbon Air Stealth Mach 1, PSE Xpedite. I've shot Prime, Matthews, etc.

I put together a spreadsheet comparing a bunch of different bows - brace heights, axle to axle, etc, and it's kinda overwhelming to figure out how some of them will be different without putting a sight on them and shooting them 60 or 70 yards (more than the basic test fire you can do at a shop). So I put the Allegiance specs in the spreadsheet to give myself some sort of reference and was surprised that it fell right in with many of the others in terms of speed, etc.

So I figured I'll just shoot the bows I like through the chronograph and see for myself (435 grain arrow, 29" draw, bow maxed out):

• Allegiance - 274 fps
• RX4 Ultra - 285 fps
• RX4 Turbo - 299 fps

Obviously the Allegiance is still the lowest speed, but I had high hopes for the RX4 Ultra, as it is the "western tailored hunting bow". But for $1600, I feel like they can keep the extra 10 fps. Kind of disappointing, as I was looking for an excuse to buy a new bow! Am I missing anything? The Ultra might hold better than the allegiance. But I'm kinda shocked that there isn't more of a difference.

I feel like if I was to get another bow, I'd have to go for the TurboW (somebody should trademark that name) to make it worth it. 25 fps seems to be a better jump. Surprisingly I like the draw of the Turbo more than the Ultra. The Ultra pulls "really" hard initially and then tapers off until it abruptly dumps into the valley and makes the arrow jump off the rest. To me the Turbo feels like I'm pulling say a constant 60 pounds and it smoothly goes into the valley. I would expect it to be the opposite. The Turbo doesn't have any points in the draw cycle where the cam really takes off and it feels like the string is going to get ripped out of your hands. I was letting it down and pulling it back, as if I was running a cleaning rod into a gun barrel, and it just felt constant and good. Total opposite of my expectations. I even asked the salesman if the bow was maxed out.

So some questions:

• How much difference will there be in shooting gaining 10 fps?
• How much difference will there be in shooting gaining 25 fps?
• How hard is the Turbo going to be to shoot? I've never shot a "speed bow". I'd like to get into playing at 100 yards. I don't see myself ever shooting an elk over 60 yards, unless it's a follow up shot.
  • It's like I could shoot the Ultra to 100 yards with more stability, but it's not practical for hunting.
  • If I could only shoot the Turbo to 60 yards comfortably, that's probably my max range on an animal anyway.
• I'm sure this isn't an easy answer, but generally what is the rule of thumb for arrow weight and speed on elk?

That's enough drivel for now. Anyone care to offer some thoughts to help me sort things out?

Thanks!

Just to add my $0.02 here, I just upgraded my '93-94 era compound for a 2015-2016 flagship bow and was pretty disappointed in both the mass weight and the speed. Both 70 lb bows, I clocked 255 on the old bow and roughly 290 on the new, but with a much more difficult draw cycle, though a much better letoff and wider valley.

I'm not 100% sure the change was worth the hundreds of dollars. Just to give you some perspective as your change isn't nearly as drastic.

I guess the moral of the story is that I did get an upgrade, but am a bit disappointed in the bang for the buck. I'm not sure I would consider you current bow a dog.

Good luck with your journey. Sometimes better is just better...nothing wrong with that!