The single cam eliminated the need to synchronize two cams. That top limb was the bow’s only part that flexed. Two cables connected to the cam, stretching up to the maple-and-glass top limb. Its lone cam mounted to the bottom limb, which was more of a rigid aluminum arm. Martin Archery’s Dynabo in the late 1970s was the first single-cam bow. They served their function, but grew larger over time and took on oblong shapes to increase let-off and further boost arrow speeds. The early compound’s cams were small, round wheels. Modern designs generate greater arrow speeds with less vibration.Ĭompound bows have seen many advancements since the above advertisement. Those early limbs also stood nearly vertical, while today they’re more parallel. Today’s limbs might use carbon, fiberglass or composite materials. Many of the early compound’s limbs featured solid fiberglass or a combination of wood and fiberglass. The compound bow evolved rapidly to expand Allen’s wish to boost arrow speed, while decreasing the amount of strength required to achieve greater speeds. Just three years later, several more manufacturers emerged, and together they offered archers over 100 models. Some companies push that shorter end, however, and produce compounds just 17 inches long.īy 1974, eight companies were making compound bows. Today’s compounds run from 28-inch hunting bows up to 40-inch target compounds. After mechanical release aids hit the market in the early 1970s, manufacturers started making shorter bows.
That wildly popular bow had only two wheels, and was lighter and easier to shoot.Įarly compound bows were fairly long, usually measuring over 40 inches, and most archers drew the bowstring with their fingers. That early four-wheel compound didn’t fare well commercially, but Allen let Tom Jennings play with the design. He eventually crafted an effective design, and introduced the Allen Compound Bow to the market in 1967. Using physics as his guide, Allen built bows equipped with cables and wheels to act as force-multipliers to boost arrow speeds. Photo Credit: Archery Hall of FameĪccording to the Archery Hall of Fame, Allen was a bowhunter who was tired of game ducking away from arrows he shot from his traditional bow. Holless Wilbur Allen’s son, Doug, discusses his father’s design. The compound quickly evolved into today’s market, with bows made of carbon and aluminum, with huge cams that deliver 90% let-off and arrow speeds over 340 feet per second. Holless Wilbur Allen, a 2010 inductee to the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum, applied in 1966 for a patent for the first compound bow.
But my oh my, these mechanical marvels have come far the past five decades. That is, it’s a piece of wood bent by a string.īy comparison, the compound bow remains in its infancy, celebrating its 54 th birthday in 2020. Yes, the longbow’s construction has advanced over the millennia, but its basics remain largely unchanged. Tracing their roots back tens of thousands of years, longbows are the great-grandfather of archery.
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