is holding reflex overrated

[Selfbowman]

Well this got heated.😁 For me set is dead wood no matter where it is in the wood bow or any bow. I am convinced the fastest wood bow in the world would have as much reflex behind the handle with little or no set. The more reflex you have in this application the better. That being said my hunting bow that has taken a 500 pound animal has 3” of set from setting in a stand strung all day. Happy hunting. Arvin

[BowEd]

I gotta agree on the reflex importance and the sweet shooting accurate stroke of a flat or slightly string followed bow for hunting.
Although when I shoot a highly reflexed bow long enough and get accustomed to it it is just as accurate as the flat or string followed bow but with extra punch.

[PatM]

Are we going to ban people from talking about bow making if they cannot make bows themselves because of disability?

 If they trash people who do make bows, sure.   But Tom claims to make bows.

[rps3]

I like the question. I too strive for maintaining reflex in my bows with minimal limb mass. It seems to be a pretty good indicator of how well I designed and tillered a particular bow, but I will admit... I shoot a flat profile, or slightly string followed bow more accurately, easier.

[HH~]

The wood yer using has the say in good reflex. Can burn in, fire harden , temper 6-8 times, the wood in that particular stave only be as good as god made it. When ya get a good tree , you’ll know it.

HH~

[bassman211]

Not over rated at all. It is what I strive for on each and, every bow that I make. I am experienced enough now that my bows turn out even ,or reflex up to one to two inches. That is my goal. I have a few that hold nearly three inches of reflex, but many that are hanging on my wall have up to 3 inches of set from my early days of bow building, and do OK.

[sleek]

While I can agree that heat induced reflex will or may differ from the “natural” reflex the log/ stave started with, it doesn’t change my point. If you started with a certain amount of reflex, in either variety, I would argue it is preferable to lose less than more, and if it is preferable, then set in either variety matters.

This clown cross posted with me, and I just find nothing worth responding to in the drivel.

I hope my reply didn't come across as rude. I was literally just giving the shortest answer I could as I was in a hurry. My answer was only valid towards induced reflex as that's what I always deal with. With natural reflex you would be totally correct.

[wooddamon1]

Good discussion to read through for a newbie, thanks guys.

[SLIMBOB]

Don’t sweat it sleek. I never thought for a moment it was rude. And besides that, I’m old school. The school taught my generation that “sticks and stones...” yada yada. Just a friendly debate on a topic that could only interest a small gaggle of bow makers.

[darinputman]

I personally like to keep as much of the heat induced reflex as I can. As a matter of fact this is something I strive for whether I'm making a static or a longbow and I rate it's importance about even with proper tiller.
   I use to not be able to manage to keep much as I would always overstress my limbs during the tillering process. But I keep getting better with each bow. I like to try and tweek my designs just a bit and see what happens along the way but a fast, well tillered bow with as little set as I can manage is always my goal.
   Speed is a personal thing as to what each bowyer considers  fast. But everytime I began a new one I always dream of a speed demon faster and easier to shoot than any bow I made yet, and although I am let down from time to time I really enjoy the learning process.

[bassman211]

Badger said it best, and excuse my Steve if I am quoting you wrong. "Give nothing up to set". At that time my bows were taking set, and through a chrony I just couldn't get Tim Bakers criteria of 100 plus  bow poundage with a 10 GPP arrow for a decent self bow.... which would equate to 140 fps with my 25 inch draw length. My numbers would be 133,135, etc. 6,7 8 fps below what they should have been . Now my bows are 10 to 20 fps above that number building bows with no set, and up to two inches of reflex. It took me more years than it should have, but thanks to the guys on this forum I finally made it.

[Yooper Bowyer]

I think Baker's rule is meant for a standard 28" draw.

[HH~]

If ya cant handle alittle set which is going to happen if you put a bunch of arrows thru a wood bow, ya better just back it or yer going to have that "gee, I think I just ate a bug look on yer face".

H~

[Selfbowman]

Does not happen often but when it does its a gem. For hunting if I can get a string on somethins gonna get an arra put in it. Does it matter if bows hold 3' of reflex. .  .Not a damn bit. Think the SB with the most kills I have (prolly 20-25) is a sting follow HHB with low string tension at brace. It's a killer and all those whitetails dont know it has No reflex at all.

Here's a new Gem that I put 4" reflex in and after keeping it strung for several hours and 50 arrows it hold 3" every time. It's a killah!

HH~

You be bad!!!

[H Rhodes]

I too try to keep the reflexed profile, but some of my favorite hunting bows have an inch and a half of string follow.  If a bow is quiet, accurate and hits hard enough to get the work done-then it’s a good bow in my book.  I think that sometimes the desire for speed and power overshadows the subtle advantages of a bow with slight string follow. You may not want to take her to the dance, but when nobody is looking - she is probably more fun than a beauty queen.