Why have draw weights dropped over the past 12 years or so?

[DaveT1963]

I better pass on this one......

Two quotes from a compound kid that hunts the same place I do.
To his buddy, "There is no way his bow has enough power to kill a deer."
To me, "holy crap, that arrow didn't even slow down when it hit that buck, jeez, look at all the blood."
A 52@26" longbow.

[Tedd]

Maybe shooters today have the luxury to know more about draw weights because of the internet forums?
Also, try to find a consistent and repeatable source for wood arrows that match weight and spine requirements for a 61l@31" modern recurve.
The woman drawing the heavyweight bow might not pulling it to it's marked weight and she must be Hercules offspring. Most men would not be comfortable with a 70s plus lb bow. I know a team full of division 1 athlete women who lift daily and are bigger and stronger than the average male and I doubt any could be comfortable shooting bows beyond 40lbs

[NBK]

Originally posted by duncan idaho:
And to paraphrase Don Thomas: "Traditional archery is not for everyone, it was not meant to be easy". No, shooting 55#'s and up is not easy, it requires training and dedication. Most do not seem willing to make the sacrifice.

Duncan, I agree with what you're saying and also with Dons quote above.
Reading Don's article in TBM August/September 2015 "Achilles Shoulder" he himself ends it with the advice to shoot the bow necessary for the job.
That's the only advice an archer needs in this discussion.

[mgf]

Actual draw length is a good point. I started my stick bow shooting in a large club after dumping the compound.

There were a bunch of guys who had great looking gear and heavy bows...mostly longbows. I had a 55# Howatt hunter that shot like greased lightning. I was always amazed at how SLOW their bows shot. The arrows just lobbed in there.

I was shooting an elevated rest and vanes. At first I thought maybe it was the feather fletching that made them fly o slow.

Now I realize it's because those big guys shooting those heavy bows probably weren't drawing 22" before releasing.

If you're going to draw that short, you need a bow that's real heavy at 28".

[longbow fanatic 1]

Originally posted by NBK:
     

Originally posted by duncan idaho:
And to paraphrase Don Thomas: "Traditional archery is not for everyone, it was not meant to be easy". No, shooting 55#'s and up is not easy, it requires training and dedication. Most do not seem willing to make the sacrifice.

Duncan, I agree with what you're saying and also with Dons quote above.
Reading Don's article in TBM August/September 2015 "Achilles Shoulder" he himself ends it with the advice to shoot the bow necessary for the job.
That's the only advice an archer needs in this discussion. [/b]

You're right, Mike, Don and Duncan. Shoot the bow necessary for the job. I may have come off too strong. The bow necessary for the job is regulated by the game departments of each state. In Illinois, it is 40#@28" draw for whitetails. My only point was that if someone chooses to shoot 40#s, they should not be criticized for shooting 40# instead of 50, 60 plus pounds. I get tired of the traditional archers consuming their own trad friends, or other archers, arguing over silly issues of whether one archer is being ethical. When an archer choose to shoot a bow which meets state law or we are demeaning to people who physically can't shoot a heavier bow, it lesses us all. If I choose to hunt moose or elk, I would work very hard to shoot a bow necessary for the job and I think all ethical archers would do the same. I've always been strong physically but as I have aged to now 50 yrs old, injuries have taken a toll on my athletic prowess. We all age differently and for those of us who can age gracefully and maintain youthful strength, God bless you! For the rest of us, we may struggle with injuries, disabilities and diseases which limits our abilities as we age. Most of us have no idea what others are going through personally. We are all brothers and sisters in this wonderful love of archery.

[atatarpm]

longbow fanatic 1  I thank you for your second post there are other threads such as "argument for heavy bows" that are the other way around.  I personally have no problem with what people shoot or why they shoot them. I have chosen for me what I wish to shoot and expect others to do the same. Traditional Archery is a mastery of ones self not a mastery of things.

[longbow fanatic 1]

So true, Richard.    

Not everyone needs to always start way light, the compound kid I quoted from three years ago, that was so impressed with my Robertson longbow, took my advice on a more fluid shooting system.  I picked up a 55# Pearson Rogue that was heading out to a garage sale, way better bow than I was expecting for $10, like new.  One evening, I told the kid you dump the wheels I will show you how to use this thing, showing him the Rogue.  Last August he did. The bow with a half dozen 1918s with field points and screw in Bears seem to work for is new 27" draw.  He was waiting by my rig one evening this fall, Subaru Outback and 4x8 cargo trailer.  He offered me $50 if he could use my deer cart.  I told him no, that I did not pay that much for the stuff I gave him, but he could certainly use my cart.  My that was a huge doe, hole straight through, it dropped in less than 50 yards.  The next night the wife and myself went to our favorite restaurant for prime rib.  We did not get a bill, we got change from the $60 that the kid left to pay for our meal.  Now he wants to learn how make wood arrows.  What goes around comes around I guess.

[distantbear]

I am not that is correct? I still shoot a 65# bow at 65yrs, It's just comfortable.

[dbd870]

I have a friend who is 72, he now hunts with a crossbow during archery season as he can no longer draw any kind of vertical bow. He says at least part of the reason is the damage done over the years by using 70-75# recurves. If you are hunting really large game that is one thing, but if you are like most of us east of the MSRiver and don't chase anything larger than whitetail I don't see anything manly or noble about using a heavy bow when a 45-50# one will do the job just fine. Use what makes sense for the task at hand.

[Brock]

he should not be in bowhunting season with that contraption anyhow....  when I cannot draw a hunting weight bow then I will stop bowhunting and start giving more to others that can and pick back up my black powder .54 with open sights.

[mgf]

Like it or not cross bows are being made legal during the regular archery season in a lot of states. My state is one of them.

On what grounds do you say that somebody shouldn't do it?

[dbd870]

I have no problem with them for those in his position.

[Brock]

Originally posted by mgf:
Like it or not cross bows are being made legal during the regular archery season in a lot of states. My state is one of them.

On what grounds do you say that somebody shouldn't do it?

just because the AMA and the hunting personalities are promoting it as the largest cash product in hunting the past 5 years....it is NOT a bow...is not hand drawn and shot..uses a mechanical trigger on a rifle stock and most come with scopes.  Want to use it during rifle season..fine...but dont try to tell me I got to like it in bowhunting seasons or call it a bow.  It is not.   Surprised it is not BANNED from being mentioned here like its vertical cousin.

[Sixby]

Easy answer to the thread is that we have all gotten 12 years older and fewer and fewer young people shooting stick bows. The good thing is that there are a lot of great bows being built that will shoot an arrow as hard and flat at 45 lbs at most would at 55 lbs 12 years ago. So we haven't lost much.

God bless, steve

[mgf]

Age sort of did it for me but not because I'm weaker. I just got tired of not shooting as well as I thought I could. Rethinking draw weight was only part of it.

As much as I love to hunt, most of my shooting is just shooting. I can shoot right outside my back door and often shoot for long hours throughout the year.

I've done a lot of things in my life...learned a trade, started businesses, went to college and built a career. I was a "technical" scuba diver for some years and went to depths in places and using breathing gasses that most divers only read about. Oh and I raised two kids mostly by myself.

But I'll say this. Trying to shoot a bow well has probably been the single hardest thing I've ever attempted.

Somebody could criticize my choice of equipment but I'd challenge them to make the case that it's because of a lack of work, dedication or "sacrifice".

The simple fact is that I'm not satisfied with my accuracy and precision with my 45# "hunting bow" or the 37# bow I'll be shooting as soon as the sun comes up.

If I thought that adding weight would profit me something...anything, I'd pile it on. If I can't achieve my accuracy/precision goals with 45#, I doubt I'll get there with 60 or 70.

[BWallace10327]

Originally posted by Brock:
he should not be in bowhunting season with that contraption anyhow....  when I cannot draw a hunting weight bow then I will stop bowhunting and start giving more to others that can and pick back up my black powder .54 with open sights.

What you will do is up to you.  Congratulations on already having that figured out.  I've said it many times and I'll continue to believe that a crossbow is for 2 types of people; the lazy and disabled  I feel this is their intended market anyways.  It isn't right to shame a person who can't draw a bow for using one, just like it isn't right for an able bodied person to drive around walmart in a hover-round.

[mgf]

I think crossbows are for only one type of person...those who like to shoot a crossbow.

Back in the "old days", when I first started shooting a bow, I only knew one guy who owned a crossbow. He just thought crossbows were "cool" and bought one. And, he wanted to hunt with it.

I work with a guy who dumped his compound for a crossbow when they were made legal.

I don't think he wants to be an "archer" or a "traditional archer". He mostly wants to harvest a few deer on the back side of his own farm while it's still tolerable warm...which means the archery season.

Personally, I think it should be legal for him to snare a few if he wants. It's his land.