Holless Wilbur Allen changed the face of archery forever when he decided that he could make a better bow by sawing off part of the limbs of a recurve bow and attaching pulleys to the new ends. In the early 1960s this mechanic decided to try improve the current design of bows by using the pulley’s mechanical advantage to pull more weight than normally possible.
As Holless was experimenting with different ways of using the pulleys, he discovered that by using one with an offset axle (eccentrics), he created one of the biggest advantages of compound bows, let-off. When coupled with a cam shape instead of a round pulley, the draw length, weight and force curve could be changed and improved.
On June 23, 1966 Holless applied for a patent “Archery bow with draw-force multiplying attachments”; in December of 1969 it was granted. Holles joined forces with a current bow manufacturer, Tom Jennings, and the first compound bows began to be manufactured.
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This is good stuff and I remember those days! People in archery today should be counting their blessings with all the wonderful choices of equipment.
i do count my blessings cuz i know how much difference there is
Those diagrams are mad; it is any wonder conpound bows seem so confusing to people that havent used them before when you find things like this?
used compound bows
I love the old patent drawing and reading the patents themselves. A lot can be learned from them. There are a lot of archery patents that never saw the light of day that can be very entertaining.
Owner’s Book for the Bear Compoundbow “Victor Tamerlane II” 1978, where can i find it please?
This is the exact information I was looking for. Mr. Allen must have been a smart man (is he still alive?). He changed the face of archery forever. Couple a compound bow with a carbon hunting arrow and have a very accurate hunting setup. At least now I know who to thank!
In several previous comments is said,that the compound changed the face of archery,but because
this ingenious apparatus is NOT a bow,archery didn’t change!Under pressure of the archery bussiness it is DECLARED bow,contrary all former well-founded rules and SOLD by FITA for the
money.Shame on the responsable FITA members: they created a black day day for this great sport!