Who Invented The Compound Bow

Have you ever wondered who invented the compound bow which you so often use in archery and makes your job extremely easy? We are here to enlighten you on the matter. This article gives you information about who invented the compound bow that you can learn and understand.

As a hunter, you must know who invented compound bow which is Holless Wilbur Allen. This information will give you an understanding of the inventor of the compound bow that is significant in the archery history.

The scientist who invented the Compound Bow

Holless Wilbur Allen, Jr. was the inventor who invented the compound bow in history. He was an American inventor and manufacturer who transformed the bow which had remained the same for about 700 years and made it into a more convenient compound bow reducing the effort on the part of the archer. This compound bow that invented by him is more powerful and accurate as compared to the already existing bow at that time and is a faster shooting device.

The bows present in his time before his invention was recurved bows or longbows which were similar to the bows used in wars and required about 70 pounds of force to draw the strong which further made the arrow be shot at a velocity of 175 feet per second (fps).

The main drawback of these bows was that it required that 70 pounds of force to be put throughout while aiming at the target and finally hitting. With the constant force required it became difficult to aim and hit well. 

The inventor Allen saw the problem being faced by the archers and tried to help it by employing his study of physics and energy storage and transfer. He ameliorated the bow and rendered them better off by reducing the amount of constant energy required by employing pulleys as well as cables in the bow.

The use of pulleys and cables reduces the constant force which was to be applied in the case of traditional bows or even increasing force which was to be applied in the case of the longbows. With the new equipment, he arranged the pulleys in a way that allowed the weight of the draw to be largely reduced during the last inch so as to ensure that the archer could aim the arrow without straining and also so that the bowstring also remains under tension. 

This new compound bow made by Allen got the patent in the year 1969 having faced a lot of resistance initially. When the compound bow finally came into production in 1975, the company was selling about 60,000 bows every year. In the present times, one can hardly find any other bows except for the compound bow invented by Allen. However, some modern changes have been made to further give the pulleys initially employed a better substitute of non-circular cams, but the model remains exactly how the creator initially planned it. 

This modern bow does not require the archer to maintain constant force like that with the conventional bows. If the string has been pulled with a force of 70 pounds, the compound bow only requires a force of 14 pounds to hold it at full draw. The energy applied gets stored in the bow making the arrow go at a speed of 340 fps which is roughly twice as that of a longbow. 

Sadly Allen met with an accident causing his demise in the year 1979, but, he has made a place of honor in the Archery Hall of Fame in Springfield, Missouri.

Comparison between the two bows 

A compound bow is generally used for target practice and hunting with a levering system installed in it. This bow blesses the user with a mechanical advantage as against the normal bow making the limbs of the bow slightly stiffer as compared to recurve bows or longbows. The rigidity of the compound bow makes it more energy-efficient since a lesser amount of energy gets dissipated in limb movement. Further, the bow’s sensitivity to certain changes in humidity and temperature has also been put to a halt with the usage of better technology and more rigidity. 

The cam system in the bow made of eccentric structure maximizes the storage of energy throughout the draw circle granting a let off in the end during a hold position which then requires lesser strength. In other longbows, the energy required keeps increasing because of the linear draw weight curve and finally ends up with more energy being stored at the back and lesser energy in front, making the bow heavier.  The compound bows on the other hand, takes up and saves more energy in the beginning further allowing a let off. This change in the weight profile of the compound bow is what makes it faster, more accurate and easy at the end of the archer. 

The compound bow also gives a choice of cam to the user. The design and formation of the cam is directly responsible for the acceleration of the arrow. The soft cam accelerates the arrow more gently as compared to a hard cam. An inexperienced archer generally makes use of a hard cam while gradually changing to a soft cam with experience. In addition to this, the pulley system in the bow is generally inclusive of rubber-covered blocks which behave as draw-stops. This helps in providing a strong solid wall which the archer can draw against to bring in more power. 

There is a feature to adjust these draw stops as per the requirement of the archer depending on the archer’s optimum draw length. This feature helps the archer to receive a consistent anchor point as well as a consistent amount of force which is imparted on every different shot initiated by the archer. By this means, the speed as well accuracy of archery gets better further improving the overall experience playing archery.  

Conclusion

Thanks to the invention of Holless Wilbur Allen, Jr., the person who invented the compound bow without it which archery would never have reached the level where it is now. The life of an archer has become extremely easy with the usage of a compound bow which is not only efficient in terms of the power used but also has a faster pace in comparison to the traditional bows. Today, when we think of it, it becomes difficult to imagine the state of archery with the usage of longbows or recurve bows. 

As a conclusion, we should thank to Holles Wilbur the person who invented the compound that important for archery fiedl today.