Upgrading an older bow

[sporty]

I'm trying to upgrade a Bear Whitetail 2 as much as is practical. I bought it "used" (don't think it was ever shot) and set up with top grade older stuff - Fine Line front sight, peep, good arrow rest, etc. it's a 50-60/30".
I shoot well with it, but was impressed by my son's loading speed with a WB so bought one. It was good, but then I went to a Hostage... less drag.
My objective is to make it as fast, accurate and quiet as possible. It has enough power, but hi perf cam would be nice too...Or at least more letoff. Right now it's rated at about 45%... Tough on an old man, but do-able.
My thoughts are: a Hindsight to replace the peep, stabilizer (what brand), and limbsavers ... Is there a new technology string that's better than ?, Next issue would be weight of arrows/heads... is there REALLY that much difference in 20 - 40- GRAINS of weight? How about length of arrow? I'm shooting a 31"carbon but could go shorter...
Thanks for any ideas, experience, or suggestions....

 

[2fas2c]

My suggestion would be to take all the money you're going to spend trying to wring more out that bow and buy a better, used, bow on one of the archery sites. You can find them for $200 to $300 there. You'll never wring enough speed or make that bow quiet enough to suit you.

 

[sporty]

Thanks, but the question still stands.... Any hot rodders out there?

 

[wihill]

Well, if it were me - and I was absolutely resolved to keep my bow and get it faster...

- I'd skip the hindsight and go to a no-peep
- shim the limbs a little bit (maybe an 1/8th) to up the poundage on the bow a few pounds
- Get everything off the string but a tied serving knot where the arrow would knock up / or a copper bit - which ever was lighter. No dampeners of any kind.
- Shoot off the string
- put an STS type of device on the bow
- with a hostage/WB rest, I get it as far back from the shelf as I could to try and get a bit of an overdraw
- cut the arrows down to a half inch longer than my draw allows before smacking into the rest
- Drop the weight on my arrows/tip until I was at or slightly below the AMO limit (350gn for 70#, 300gn for 60#, etc...) while still maintaining AT LEAST 11% FOC
- Get my letoff set a 65% or lower
- make sure my cams/bow itself was in perfect tune / time with each other.
- possibly look at investing into an aftermarket string that doesn't stretch as much as the old one I'm working with has over the years...


... and pray that something doesn't let go at the wrong moment.

Honestly with the time and possible cash investment, there are some mighty quick bows for not a lot of money on the market - especailly the used market.

AFA weight on the arrow - my bow shoots 254fps with 415gr, 266fps with 385gr, and 289fps with a 352gr arrow, all 70#, 28"DL - KE stays the same through out the entire range, but the bow is noticably quieter with a heavier arrow.

Stabilzers - the only one I prefer at this moment is from Stealth Archery (google it) - all of my bows have them, and I love them. The 8" holds better than my buddy's 12", and they're very customizable.

 

[sporty]

Thanks a lot... This will actually go 65# ...Really the only issue I'm concerned with is noise.. I got my deer this year and am happy with the shot. This bow will blow an arrow through an animal the same as another at 30 yards. The bow will do it again next year if I can... Not that long ago this Bear was one of THE bows to have.... Now there's just more bows... Better? maybe.... I appreciate all the tricks... I'll start with the trims.