[NW Bow Hiker]

Does "hand shock" or post shot vibration really matter if the bow is still quiet? Does it affect accuracy? Why does it seem to be such a big deal in bow reviews? I am looking at two new bows and one of them has some noticeable post shot vibration, however, it's still quiet.

I'm fairly new to archery so I'm not sure how important hand shock or lack there of is.

Thanks for the help.

 

[cwhandyman]

arrows long gone by the time you feel it. bow designs today it very minimal, now go back 20 years and there were some real shakers then

 

[Strodav]

Most of the bows I've tried in the last couple of years have very little hand shock if any if tuned properly (in time and in sync), and the string dampener is positioned properly, so I'd look for a bow that feels dead in the hand. If you do find one with some hand shock, you might be able to tame it with a good stabilizer, limb and string dampeners.

 

[NW Bow Hiker]

Granted, when I shot the bow it didn't have a stabilizer or sight. I don't like to add much stabilizer weight in my bows though.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Matters to me. Less shock the better I feel shooting lots of arrows. Bows today have considerable less shock.

 

[deebright]

All depends on the shooter. Just let the bow have it's hand shock and don't worry about it and you will shoot just fine. Like someone already mentioned the arrow is long gone by then. Now if you think about it and try to compensate for it that's when it is a problem.

 

[NW Bow Hiker]

All depends on the shooter. Just let the bow have it's hand shock and don't worry about it and you will shoot just fine. Like someone already mentioned the arrow is long gone by then. Now if you think about it and try to compensate for it that's when it is a problem.

That sounds like a good answer. Thanks

 

[thare1774]

I like a bit of "feedback" with my target bows and a little noise doesnt bother me. As long as everything is tuned right and the arrow is flying nice I dont worry about either. Hunting bow is different, I prefer a bow with minimal shock/vibration and noise with no accessories on it. So I know once its all put together ill have the perfect huntin bow.

 

[badbow148]

For me less shock means less noise and vibs.

 

[Carbofastdirect]

Most of the modern hunting style rigs have little or no hand shock worth worrying about. Target bows on the other hand are a different matter. Some kick like a mule, tuned or not.
When training hard I often shot 2000 arrows a week, too much vibe and you can do damage.

 

[Skeeter 58]

Hand shock, which is actually bow vibration, is something all bow manufacturers tries to get rid of. A bow with little to no vibration is simply more classy and sought after by most archers.

Thus the reason why bows comes with all the little do-dads [string and riser silencers] to help keep the noise and vibration down.

Vibration = noise and noise = vibration, generally speaking.

Now then, does it matter to everyone? Nope. Does it matter to most of us? Yup.

I have an old bow from back in about 1989, and I have a 2013 bow. The difference is like night and day. I've killed critters with both but when I shoot the old bow, everything alive notices it within a one mile radius.

I like quiet bows best.

Skeet.

 

[TheScOuT]

It matters to me...I can't stand a bow that vibrates. Every bow I have shot that had an increased level of vibration was also loud. To me...it is a clear indication of poor engineering on the manufacturers part. I don't want to shoot a bow that is poorly engineered.

 

[Karbon]

To me, yes.

 

[bearleft]

With any of the new bows if it's timed and synced your good to go. My 1994 PSE Mach 8 "WOW" !

 

[mongopino915]

Sound and vibration: Less is better and should not need tons of extra rubber gadgets on the bow and string.

 

[dhom]

Shooting at targets yes. For hunting? After I shoot at a deer I could not tell you how my bow felt on the shot, I am too focused on the deer.

 

[straightedge123]

Most all current bows manufactured have little hand shock. The only tme I think about it is when I have to try and tune one of the old bows at the shop that somebody brings in for a workup. You can pretty much look at it and know that it's not going to be pretty when you paper tune it. Back in the day when I was shooting those I didn't give it a second thought. But sometimes shooting some of the old bows just makes me cringe.

 

[MiStickSlinger]

Yeah it matters, but I haven't shot a bow in a long time that I noticed it much, even shooting the heavy weights

 

[mtngoat162]

hand shock is personal preference really, i've shoot older bows that hand shock was horrible, but still able to hit what i aim at, but you just have to keep in mind, hand shock translates to vibration, and vibration translates to noise..... target bow doesn't really matter too much as you're not trying to put the sneak on fellow archers. but noise would come into play in a hunting situation as it would allow deer to possibly "jump" the string/noise.

 

[Finnbow]

I'm working on my form and strength, getting back to this sport.

I have to limit shooting my Browning Rage One (down @ 43 lbs) to less than 50 arrows per day. Right hand / shoulder/ back are fine but my left hand starts getting pain around the bicep... it must be the joints suffering from vibration / recoil / hand shock. Happens after a few weeks of shooting.

It tunes fine (including bareshafts and BH) and backyard 20 yds accuracy is okay to me. It does not shake or rattle when fired but there must be some vibration at work.

I can shoot my Mathews No Cam (@ 58 lbs) as much as I like for weeks and never experience anything strange with my bow arm. I do limit Mathews,too... Because:

I had the same observations five years ago when I overdid everything (with these bows @ 50 lbs and 70 lbs) - and did it in a bad form, ruined my right shoulder and it stopped all my shooting (including firearms) for a couple of years.

Browning with more vertical limbs did the same to my bow arm back then so I shot mainly Mathews.