What is a Compound Bow?

The compound bow was invented in 1967 by Holles Wilbur Allen. His invention, dubbed the compound bow utilized pulleys and cables that greatly increase the power of the bow through the use of a leverage system. The limbs of a compound bow are much less flexible than their longbow or recurve bow counterparts. The much stiffer limbs on a compound bow result in much more power. The physics of the pulley system make it possible to pull the string back. A feat that would be impossible to do without the leverage afforded through the pulleys.

In addition to its ability to 'store energy', the compound bows ability to maintain its performance through sever temperature and moisture changes is also a big plus. This means more consistency throughout varying conditions. This alone is a big plus for bow hunters who never know what type of temperature or humidity changes they are going to encounter.

The leverage afforded by the pulleys means that the limbs can be made of a much stronger material. Materials like magnesium and aluminum are both lightweight and strong. Both of these materials are popular for use as compound bow riser materials. These stiffer materials allow more energy to be stored in the compound bow.

The leverage of the pulleys increase (compound) the force applied to the string and also provide another advantage known as 'let off'. One a conventional bow, it requires as much force to hold the string in it's fully drawn position as it does to pull it back. This is not true in a compound bow. Once a compound bow is drawn back between 50-80% of its draw, the amount of effort required to hold the string in place is greatly reduced and it takes very little effort to hold the string in its fully drawn position. Compound bows can be adjusted so the 'let off' occurs at the proper position for the archer. Since it takes such little effort to hold the string in its fully drawn position it allows the archer to hold the bow in a steady position. Less fatigue also increases steadiness and increases accuracy too. To further increase the accuracy, some compound bows can be fitted with stabilizers and dampeners too.