Developed just 55 years ago, compound bows are the youngest type of bows out there. It’s come a long way since then, becoming the second most powerful type of bow after crossbows.
Because of the modern technology it employs, these bows can shoot arrows faster, stronger, and more accurately than any other type. This makes it a huge success for both sport and hunting activities.
So what affects the capabilities of a compound bow? This will be the focus of this post.
What’s the Maximum Distance of a Compound Bow?
Archery, especially with compound bows, is one of those sports that you can perform better if you understand the physics behind it. However, you don’t need to know everything about how an arrow is made to start shooting.
It goes without saying that the single most important factor in how an arrow performs is the archer’s level of experience. There are lots of other factors to keep in mind, though.
- Environment: Everything from weather conditions to forest foliage and humidity.
- Arrow specs: Things like arrow spine stiffness, weight, material, and design.
- Angle: The angle with which the arrow is shot.
- Bow specs: Things like material, length, and much more.
The two most influential numbers in archery, though, are draw weight and draw length. These are determined according to the archer’s build and physical strength.
These numbers can make or break your shot. Ignoring best practices with these two numbers is usually very tempting for the inexperienced archer. But the downsides of going over the draw weight and length suitable for you will come at a cost.
Draw Weight
Draw weight is simply how much pressure the archer has to exert to draw the bowstring to a draw length of 28 inches. It’s measured in pounds and is calculated on the standard 28-inch draw length. This is the calculation standard because it’s the average that adult archers can do comfortably.
Why It’s Perfect for Beginners
Compound bows draw weight works differently than other bow styles. The most noticeable difference is that it has a mechanical stop to indicate full draw. So if your bow is set to 26 inches, the bow’s mechanism will lock the bowstring once it’s pulled to that distance from the grip. It would be extremely difficult —and damaging— to draw any further.
The other great thing about compound bows is that it’s the easiest bow type to hold the string in place once you reach full draw. With longbows and recurve bows, the further back you draw, the more effort you need. To keep your bowstring at full draw, you’d have to be exerting the full draw weight to keep it there.
Compound bows, on the other hand, have a draw weight curve; once you hit the full draw, the draw weight drops usually to 20 pounds, depending on your bow’s specs. Their draw weight is calculated in “peak weight” which is the highest point in that curve.
Always go for a draw weight that you can work with comfortably. This will improve your accuracy since your arm won’t be shaking just to keep the string pulled back.
How Draw Weight Impacts Speed
Since draw weight is the force you transfer to your arrows, it gets the biggest share in what determines an arrow’s speed and force.
The higher your draw weight is, the faster the arrow will go, the flatter its flight is going to be, the easier it would be to “point and shoot” with a compound bow.
The Most Common Mistake With Draw Weights
Draw weight’s impact on arrow speed is why too many archers go above the draw weight that’s comfortable for them. This can cause a lot of issues like straining your “archery muscles” or simply losing focus on your aim because you’re struggling to pull your string.
There’s also the fact that going over the draw weight you’re comfortable with might not actually increase your arrows’ speed by much. Archery standards say that the higher your draw weight is, the heavier your arrow should be.
Adding pounds to your draw weight will make your arrows go faster, but you’ll also need to increase your arrow weight, which will make it go slower.
Draw Length
Draw length is the distance between the nock of the arrow on the string and the grip or pivot point of the bow at full draw plus 1.75 inches. Having the right draw length means this bow fits your arms like a shoe. Draw lengths are essentially the “shoe size” of archery.
How draw length impacts speed
In theory, every inch of draw length should add about 10 FPS (feet per second) to your arrow’s speed. The problem is that a lot of archers will set their draw longer than they should just to gain speed.
The Most Common Mistake With Draw Lengths
Much like running with the wrong shoe size, having the wrong draw length on your bow will affect your accuracy. More importantly, it can cause serious injury.
Having a long draw will force you to lean backward, making your posture unstable, or fully extend your arm putting the inside of your elbow in the way of the bowstring. That can be a painful injury.
Maximum Distance
While they probably won’t win you any flight archery medals, a compound bow can shoot arrows for impressive distances. With perfect conditions, a compound bow can easily shoot an arrow over 1,000 feet.
Effective Targeting Range
The bow’s ability to shoot 1,000ft on a good day doesn’t mean you can kill a deer from that distance, or even half of that. That goes for all types of bows.
Each type of bow has a range in which the archer can effectively hit a target or make a kill. For compound bows, this range is 30-60 yards. It takes a lot of skill and a powerful bow to hit game from 60 yards away, so most archers will aim for the 20-40 yards range.
That said, it’s still possible for seasoned archers to hit a target hundreds of yards away. The longest shot ever recorded was from a whopping 930 feet!
Conclusion
If you’re interested in target archery, they’re the best type of bow to start with. But if you’re interested in hunting, it might be a bit too heavy or clunky to handle without startling the animal you intend to hunt.
The compound bows mechanism makes it incredibly easy to use for beginners, but it may also make it seem complicated. Another really good option for beginners that is much simpler and easier to understand is recurve bows.
Remember that nothing beats getting the real feel of these great tools. Visit an archery shop and hold different types of bows in your hands, see how it feels. The bow technician will be able to help you greatly, and you’ll have better insight into what works for you.