I'm with "little-else" on this. The thread was all about losing arrows BUT speed limits ARE about overshoot safety, particularly when overshoots are likely to occur.
Safety is, ultimately, down to the archer; responsibility in attitude; awareness of hazard and associated risk ; skill ; arrow velocity when coupled with a bad / inadvertant / inexperienced shot.
Note that Rules of shooting require 150yd overshoot when a bow is shot with a release (NO mention of
compound last time I looked).
My recollection is that 60lb
compound limit came in mid/late '80's as a range limiting restriction, after some significant overshoots (several arrows beyond the defined range, and with some mention of a kitchen window).
These were the early compound days in uk, with wheel (not cam) bows and the range limit effect seemed to be adequate. I doubt that with a modern cam bow, built for speed, the 60lb limit remains sufficiently effective. Going to a velocity limit seems , by far, the best approach although it might require chronograph equipment to verify it, possibly requiring some changes to inspection regimes as well.
I don't have direct knowledge of current
recurve capability but, from past experience, I rather doubt that they are achieving much more than~220fps. (I needed 200 fps with 50lb
recurve on a 30" alloy arrow, and that was marginal at 90m /100yd; 220fps ~+10% velocity ~ +21% energy, is quite a lot).
I became aware of the IFAA velocity limit of 300fps some years ago (for ALL bow types, by my reading). I suspect that that may be a reflection of what was being achieved at the time, limiting further increase, rather than an attempt to reduce velocities.
Now my real point... At 300 fps, an arrow passing 1m above the butt centre is likely to land close to, or beyond, the 150yd prescribed overshoot. Mr I Newton's theories have something to do with that calculation.
Shooting from fingers, there is some premonition of an accidental release, and instinct will usually kill the shot.
With a release, no feel, no instinct, no kill. Its just GONE!
Does anyone shooting a release claim to NEVER have had an inadvertant release? Before coming finally on aim?
During draw, does anyone really know where that arrow is pointing, with any precision? That's why I picked the 1m high criterion.
If 300 fps lands at the range limit, is the range really too short? Should the range required be made longer? OR should we reduce the velocity limit to, say 250fps? (Like cutting CO2 emissions, politically inconvenient but actually necessary?)
This is a concept argument. Numbers used are, I believe, not unrealistic. I don't want to see our sport killed (as firearms were by Dunblane & Hungerford) because the non-archer world sees it as being unacceptably dangerous (should there be a sufficiently public "incident") or us being irresponsible.