Well, color ME stupid!

[GF.]

Took the 'new' bow to my old archery club this morning to get a little 3D practice in before I head into the woods to play for keeps.

And the good news is that My #2 pin is all I really need for any shot I'm seriously going to consider. Shots that look reasonable and go downhill (as from a tree stand are pretty straightforward; put the #1 pin as low as I dare and touch it off.

So here's the not so great part....

There is a scale there, and my "#70" bow - which has a Bowtech sticker on the limbs which declares that it's a #70, and which came with a 'birth certificate' that says it's a #70... will just barely drag the needle on the scale past the #50 mark.

I asked one of the guys if the scale was pretty close and handed him the bow to draw, since he told me he'd be able to tell instantly... because I think he shoots a #50, and he said there's no way in the world that he'd be able to roll over a #70. Yup. This bow is a 50. NO doubt about it.

So, considering that the first thing I had to do on this bow was re-cable it (to the tune of $85 in parts) and now it turns out that the guy went to some real degree of trouble to pass it off as what it is most definitely NOT, I'm wondering just how badly I can trash his e-Bay rating 6 or 8 months after the fact, and what good that might possibly do me anyway.

Any suggestions?

[Sidekick]

Can you adjust the limb bolts and make it 70#? They are seldom preset at their max draw weight. You can usually figure about 3 lbs per full turn of the bolt. Make sure both top and bottom limb bolts are adjusted the same.

[GF.]

Nope. This puppy's already maxed. The guy just plain hosed me, unless the poundage sticker just 'accidentally' jumped off of one of his bows and glued itself to the next one over I had been in a shop looking at compounds at one point and had drawn a few #70s before - with no trouble at all - so when this one felt about like I had remembered a #70 ought to feel, I didn't really look into it.... though I do recall asking the guy who tuned it for me to check the weight, and I guess he just never did.....

The only good thing is that honestly, this bow seems pretty fast to me already, even though (come to find out) I'm probably shooting a whole lot closer to 7 GPI than 5. (Makes me wonder what she'd do at the lighter arrow weight, but the thought of a 250-grain arrow kind of worries me.) And since it's basically too damn heavy to be much fun on an Elk hunt, I was starting to wonder if #70 wasn't kind of overkill for treestand hunting a bunch of not-very-big whitetails anyway. Especially after a couple hours up a tree on a cold day.... So I had actually been wondering if I wouldn't be happier with something a little lighter for deer (like maybe a #60?) and a stouter, but easy-carrying tradbow for Elk.

It really chaps me, though, because in some respects, I feel like I'm at an age where I'm just not likely to wear out too many more items, so I really want the stuff that I've got to be what I really want it to be; and a #50 seems more like a specialty rig than the all-rounder that I had been looking for this set-up to provide.

So I guess I have to figure out how to track down the seller and maybe even give him a chance to redeem himself before I put the word out on him that he's a total P.O.S.

[Sidekick]

I don't keep up with all the latest and greatest in bows anymore but it seems odd that 50 is all it will do. Is there a different way of stringing the cable to the cam? I had one like that once. I wouldn't give up on it just yet on the outside chance that there may be something that you're missing. Good luck with it. Have you tried an internet search for adjusting your model?

[GF.]

Does seem odd. I guess that's why he was willing to take a chance and re-label it as a much-more-in-demand #70. #50s were going real cheap when I was pricing out bows last Spring, because well, not many people feel a need to go that light on a compound. Old men, little kids and girly-girls; not Real Men Like Me.

I'm still kind of curious that I was able to convince myself that it had to be what it said it was, but when you don't have a scale to check it with and you've got all the documentation from the factory... well, looking like it's from the factory, anyway. I just chalked it up to being in pretty good shape from all of the years of shooting recurves.

Bass-turd.... Doesn't get much lower than that in fresh water.... Sure wish the guy who tuned if for me had done as I asked when he set it up in the first place. You'd think a shop owner would tumble to there being something amiss, wouldn't you?

[ncboman]

fwiw, I seriously doubt the sticker on your bow has been replaced/switched. Ever tried to pull a sticker and reuse it?

Most likely your cables and string are not sized to exact factory lengths/settings. A ratnest for sure.

think I'd find a like bow (or someone that has one) that's right and take note of the exact cable measurements for comparison. If your's isn't up to specs, I'd contact the manufacturer for corrective suggestions.

[GF.]

I'm inclined to agree with you , NC, except that this sticker does seem to show some signs of having been diddled with....

Cables should be correct, since I had an authorized dealer do the work, but I suppose I could look into that. If the serial number on the bow appears somewhere other than on that suspect sticker, then presumably, BowTech should be able to clear things up a touch.....

I wonder if there are any measurements that I could make that will tip me off...???

[ncboman]

brace height
axle to axle

... and brace height at the limb bolts.

a to a will probably be most telling if the wrong cables are on it.

[Twanger]

GF - it may well be the string/cable is not the right size.
Several years ago I had the string and cable replaced on my 70lb Mathews MQ-32 and it seemed easy to pull though the lmbs were bottomed. I believe I killed 5 or 6 deer that year with it. I took it to a different shop for a string change and we put it on a bow scale and you guessed it - 55 lb. I was not the monster I though I was... man was that 70 lb bow easy to pull!

Turns out the cable length was wrong. So - you might have that checked.

[GF.]

OK, you guys have convinced me

Lemme see here... Brace height would be what, maybe a little low of spec? And Axle-t'-Axle would be longish, right?

Not that it's probably going to be that obvious, given the design of the bow. AA might have to be off by only a few mm, I suppose.... And it is possible that the bow was designed for a longer cable, assuming a longer draw mod, and is now acting 'long'

If that's the issue, I certainly hope that it's not been doing any damitch to shoot it 'loose', but holy **** - if I think it's pretty dang fast now, what'll it do cranked up another 20 pounds? I was thinking on Saturday that it's 'fast enough', but then I got thinkin' about what might be possible; the siren song of speed, dontchaknow.....

And then, too.... If it's not doing any harm, do I dare mess with it at this point in the season?

But one other item... Would you guys suggest that I go to the same shop that re-cabled it for me and have him check it out, or should I visit another BT dealer in the area? The only one I really know of is the outfit that generously offered to charge me $70 (or whatever outrageous amount it was) just to tell me my draw length; don't know as I'd really care to find out what they'd want for an 'expert opinion'....

Probably gonna have to start with whatever serial numbers I can find on it and maybe a call or two out to BowTech so I know what I'm looking for..... Can't do anything today, though - don't bring it with me to work