Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Forgiveness Rating

O.K. So I've been out of the compound bow world for about 5 or 6 years now, and I'm looking at getting back into it. I found a great website that gives numbers on almost every bow you could imagine (except High Country). I've got it narrowed to about 5 different bows (based mostly on price). I'll post up another thread concerning these bows, but for now I've got another question. How much affect should I base my decision on concerning the "forgiveness ratings"?

P.S. - Here's the website I found.... http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowspecs7.htm

Assuming the bow is a quality name to begin with, I believe forgivingness should be the #1 priority. Speed is over rated and accuracy is the most obvious concern when it comes to archery anyway. So for me I'll take a 35+ inch axel to axel bow with a 7+ inch brace height over a 32" speedster with only a six inch or less brace height anyday. Your mileage may vary!

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I saw that when I was shopping for my first bow -- but ended up just going to a really good bow shop and shooting a few bows.

Of course I was limited to the manufacturers they had in stock (Hoyt, Mathews, Martin, PSE, I think), and to the models that would fit a right-handed shooter at my draw length and weight.

Ended up with a Hoyt Ultra Sport, which has a "forgiveness rating" of 81 -- on the low end of the Hoyt line. But it's a heck of an easy bow to shoot, and very quiet.

It seems the shorter and faster that you get, the less forgiving a bow is. I used to shoot an old PSE polaris express, with a finger tab, and fat aluminum arrows, I shoot it well, and killed 6 bull elk with it, then I got the high tech sickness, and bought a short, fast bow, a hoyt havoc, started shooting carbons, and a release. I got to where I could shoot well, but if you make one little mistake, and you usually reap the benifits. Just my 2 cents
Toby Joe

I noticed that trend too Toby. I went to a local shop and the "bow technician" will be out until next week. I'm gonna head back sometime next week, and I'll post up my results. I don't plan on buying next week, but who knows. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Newt,

I still shoot a late 90s vintage High Country Extreme. Its a dinosaur by today's standards but I can keep 'em tight out to forty yards. It has (memory serves me right) a 40" axle to axle length which is long by today's standards and a 7" brace height. It has the dead stop hatchet cams so it has plenty of speed (and noise <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />) and I find it very forgiving. I believe if you stick with a longer ATA length, say 36-38" and at least a brace height of 7" then you'll have a fairly forgiving bow. I ended up using some SVL limbsavers on my bow and it made a world of difference. I really like it now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

I think I've got it picked out now. I'm going to try to shoot it before I buy. My local shop deals in these bows. You guys let me know what you think.



Axle-Axle Length: 36"

Brace Height: 8.13

IBO Speed: 290



It should be a pretty forgiving bow, and it's one of the best prices I've found for the bows that I had originally picked out (275.00 give or take). Just so you'll know, Fred Bear makes Golden Eagle bows.



Here's the link... http://www.fulldraw.net/goldeneagle/mossy36.tpl

Oh, and thanks for all the input guys. I'll let you know how I come out. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

This is how I ended up. I didn't end up with the Fred Bear bow like I thought I would. I bought a PSE Triton today. It is a really good feeling/shooting bow. A-A length is 32" but the brace height is 8" so I think it should be a really forgiving bow due to the brace height. It's IBO speed is rated at 300 fps (I know that changes). I got it, sling, quiver, rest, 3-pin fiber optic sight, peep sight & stabilizer for 340.00. I thought it was a pretty good deal. I need to get a few more things before I can shoot, but I don't know if I can wait that long. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />