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Foam core vs wood core

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6K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  schlaggerman 
#1 ·
In an earlier thread I mentioned being able to shoot better with my Black Widows vs my DAS. I thought it was a matter of brace height; the Widow having a higher brace which is more forgiving. Yesterday I read the Korean men's olympic shooters prefer wood core limbs because they are snappier. Is it possible, everything else being equal, a wood core limb gets the arrow clear of the bow quicker than a foam core limb? Could this be the reason for my seemingly being able to shoot better with the wood core Widows? When I release the string on the Widow I get the feeling of "thunk", when I release the string on the foam core DAS I get the feeling of "thuunk". Let's here your opinions.
 
#2 ·
You are comparing apples and oranges here. So lets have a got at this. Others will give more information or experience but here is a start.

Widow limbs are comprised of laminated wood and fiberglass and shoot arrows in the 9 pounds per inch and higher and are a high end hunting outfit. Widow bows are set to be whisper quiet as it is a hunting bow.

Olympic foam core limbs are designed for completely different type of shooting and can shoot arrows starting at 5 grains for pound. Oly bows are not as quiet but can shoot accurately out to 90 meters. Also the limbs are built for stability and repeatable draw.
They are in a different environment and shoot 144 arrows in a day in the heat or of the weather conditions.

Erich
 
#5 ·
that ain't apples and oranges----its more like apples and bowling balls. LOL!

totally different bows, length, grip, balance, weight, limb design, overall design perimeters.

To me, if they shot similar, something would be seriously wrong.

oly type limbs are not designed for hunting--though we are using them for that with our WARF/DAs etc bows. but a noisey bow is a non-issue on a FITA range.
 
#7 ·
that ain't apples and oranges----its more like apples and bowling balls. LOL!
Bowling balls are right on, my 48# Carbon Longbow felt a real dog after shooting my W&W with 48# Winex limbs which felt amazingly smooth in comparison.

If Foam core is the Korean ladies choice I expect I'll be accused of shooting a girls bow but a small number of the Estonian women can outshoot most of the Men so when somebody says you shoot like a girl, in Estonia it's a compliment. lol
 
#6 ·
do you cant both bows, shoot both bows upright, cant one shoot the other upright? too many variables really to make much of a conculsion.

at the distances most of us shoot, let's say out to 40 yds, I doubt that any set of oly limbs makes much difference compared to any other oly limbs. Gitnbetr broke the state indoor record with a pair of foam/glass limbs that are considered inexpensive. i don't know that the above is true at 90 meters for world class shooters.

On a tested a did a while back it took me 900 shots and a biostat program to find out that I shot better with a pair of Border TXG's than I did with two other top of the line oly limbs. So I can say, at least me, limbs at not the biggest factor in me shooting well or not.

rusty
 
#8 ·
just wanted to inform all that the fita world record for 70m is 351 for women and only 349 for men.......
 
#9 ·
And to pile on just a bit more, the only person to ever top 1400 in a full FITA round (1440 possible) with a recurve was a Korean lady named Park. She shot a 1405 a couple years ago. Don't know what limbs she was shooting at the time, not that I think it matters.

Dave
 
#11 ·
The feeling I get from shooting the foam core limbs is one of "mushy" compared to the wood core, now maybe that feeling isn't as much from foam vs wood but a general difference in the bows. I like my DAS a lot, I'm not trying to knock it, just trying to determine if I would like wood core limbs better. I don't own a pair of wood core ILF limbs for my DAS, but it would be interesting to see if the feel at the moment of the shot is any different. Anyone out there own both foam and wood core limbs for their DAS? Is there a difference in feel?
 
#15 ·
The feeling I get from shooting the foam core limbs is one of "mushy" compared to the wood core, now maybe that feeling isn't as much from foam vs wood but a general difference in the bows.
I would be willing to bet what you are feeling isn't so much the difference between wood vs foam limbs as the difference between the risers & bows. In a earlier post you said it was the feel "at the shot". The DAS is probably absolutely dead at the shot and the BW is a little lively. You may interpret that liveliness as the bow being snappier and the "dead" DAS is mushy by comparison.

Just my $.02 worth. YMMV!
Dave
 
#12 ·
There are differences in feel but they don't run along the lines of foam vs wood as much as they are just individual differences. What you are most likely percieving as "mushy" is the total lack of stacking. Others call is "smooth". If you measure the draw weight of your Widow at your draw length +/- one inch and do the same with your DAS you will see it. This low weight gain at full draw is an advantage to accurate shooting, but if your whole style is developed around pulling into a wall, then you may not be able to realize it.

Milo
 
#13 ·
I own several different foam core and wood core limbs. if you put a clcker on the DAS to make sure you are hitting your draw I doubt the shooter could identify what limbs they were shooting if they were blind folded.

there are some limbs that seem to be easier to get thru the clicker. i don't know how to explain mechanically the reason. the limbs have the same smooth force draw curve. my guess is it hase to do with string angle. keep in mind I am stringwalking so not releasing the arrow from the nocking point all the time. this means I have to set the clicker off on short range shot by moving my bow arm shoulder. i think it is easier to get the same form for getting the arrow thru the clicker when using a short range crawl with long limbs as compared to medium or short.

For me the limbs with the best manners for a stringwalker has nothing to do with the core material, as I can't tell the difference. The shape of the curve seems to have a great deal of influence on if I like the limbs or not. I a stuck on the old Hoyt formula for the chord and rise of the limbs curve. this formula may not give your the fast limb today but I get them thru the clicker better at short range.

I am a believer in Borders TX and CX limbs. they have a less radical recurve and lams that add to the torsional stability of the limbs I have them in both wood and foam core. I can't tell which is which when they ar on the bow. stingwalkers like torsional strength in a limb.

if you get a limb with a lot of torsional strength it can effect the amount of paradoxing the string does and thus effect your arrow spine. So you may have to do some serious tuning to get thing working for you. the best thing is does is help minimize the troque you may put on the string releasing an inch or two under the arrow nock. IMO

Limb in general make a small contribution to accruacy compared to form in general. At my skill level limbs are something to fiddle with for fun. I don;'t have a single pair of limbs that I can out shoot.

rusty
 
#14 ·
I don't think it is fair to characterize foam limbs vs. wood limbs as mushy or firm. It really depends on the limb itself and, to a certain extent, how they are setup on the bow. I've owned and shot many different ILF limbs, both foam and wood, and I've had both types that felt soft (mushy) and firm. My favorite limbs, Sky and Samick Extremes, both have a tight feel,,aren't mushy at all, and have solid feel on the shot. One wood, the other foam. My least favorite were Kap Winstorm and Hoyt FX. To me, they both felt soft, spongy, and had a lot of limb flutter. One wood, one foam.

The other thing that may affect the feel of the limbs is how much preload you have set on them and the length of the limbs. Black Widows, with their high brace heights, tend to have a lot of preload and a tight strung feel. If the DAS is set with a lower brace and less preload the bow won't have that same tight feeling. Also, if you are using limbs with a longer working section the bow will feel softer, even with the same preload.

I've shot the Widows a fair bit and it is a very different bow than a DAS. There is a lot to be said for having a bow, like a DAS, that can be made to fit the shooter. But, sometimes, a shooter finds a type of bow that fits just right and that can make a big difference.
 
#17 ·
from my own shooting---an unscientific--- gut feeling kind of thing; I've got a fair selection of FITA type limbs. all are pre-owned ones. Just in terms of the my very subjective perspective I'd say that my old hoyt carbon-woods of several different models are "better feeling" than the carbon/foam limbs. They are all different weights etc and I switch fittings around and shoot them all on my Warfs, DASbows, MOrrison ILFs, a Hoyt Matrix and my Das Warf-Lynx. (I really need to stop tinkering and learn to shoot--I know!)

I don't quite know how to describe it, but I'd say that the carbon-woods feel a bit "silkier" and the carbon-foams a bit "harsher" over the whole collection of limbs. just vague opinion--nothing scientific at all--and a more skilled more sensitive archer might feel the opposite.
 
#19 ·
I just received a set of Pro Accent limbs from Altservices for my DAS, I have them set at 47lbs. My previous limbs on the DAS are Winex at 53lbs. After initial shooting I'm leaning toward favoring the Winex limbs. According to ads the only difference in the constuction of these limbs is the type of foam core used, Winex has honeycomb foam and Pro Accent has syntactic(?) foam. The otherdifference right now on my limbs is I have a set of limbsavers on the Winex limbs, as supplied by David, which really seems to make a difference is noise. I've ordered a pair of limbsavers for the Pro Accent limbs and will report back once I get them installed. It's hard to compare performance of limbs of different weights but my initial thought is the Winex limbs are a little quicker.
 
#20 ·
I have pairs of both (WinEx and ProAccent) that are the same length and poundage. On a Spigarelli 2001 riser the shafts that tuned perfectly with the ProAccents tuned weak with the WinExs at the same poundage. At 2# lighter (limb bolts out as far as they will go) the same arrows still bare shaft a bit weak. This would indicate to me the WinEx are shooting faster from this riser than the ProAccents. YMMV.

Dave
 
#21 ·
Dave, That's the same feeling I got shooting the two limbs, Winex has better speed. That would probably be a plus for hunting. David Sosa told me the Winex limbs were discontinued, is that true? They're still listed on Win & Win's website. I have gotten the Limbsavers installed on my ProAccent limbs and shot a 300 round with them tonight. The Limbsavers pretty much took the hum out of the limbs. Thought I was going to break the 270 mark tonight but had two bad ends near the end that cost me, ended up with a 265. Just a note on the equipment used: DAS 60" at 47lbs, shot instinctive off the shelf with a Saunders Fab Tab.
 
#24 ·
I'm not a practiced target archer and I believe what happened on my 300 hundred round last night was things were going so good that I started to speed up the shot sequence and I got sloppy. It cost me. When I shoot with the compound guys that automatically slows me down, but last night I was shooting by myself and I guess I got ahead of myself. Last week shooting with the compound guys I shoot a 269, I jerked one arrow into the 2 ring, and that cost me my 270. I'm determined to break the 270 barrier and then shoot for 275, we'll see. At least it gives me a goal.
 
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