Human physiology and heavy draw bows ??

[CJC]

i am 6 feet 5 inches in height, i tip the scale at around 270 pounds.   i do lots of stonework for a living.  stonewall building etc..  i am not a weak man.  i shoot 43 # at my draw (31 inches) because anything more than that does not allow me proper form.  i have a pair of 58# limbs that i occasionally screw on and i can shoot them pretty well, but not hundreds of arrows at a time.  i beleive that if you are shooting 20 arrows a day heavier weights are fine, but if you shoot alot of target (as i do) there is no way the body can hold up to that kind of tension.  my hats off to all pulling those heavy bows!  whatever gets it in the x ring!!!

[Shawn Leonard]

I believe it is just the attitude of some people, I am fairly big and shot real haevy bows for some years. 80-90#s, than I went down to 60-65#s and was comfortable with that for years, now both my shoulders are shot(not from heavy bows)and I now shoot 52-55#s. I worked with a guy who was a music teacher, he was 5'10" and about 175#s, he shot hill bows from 82#s up to 100#s, he had no problem with those weights, funny thing is i was in the weight room with him a few times and he had trouble benching 140#s. He said it was that he used different muscles to draw a bow and had used them since he was 3 and started out with a bow that was about 20#s at his little draw. By the way I can still shoot those 80# weights without even working into them, but my body dose not like it. Shawn

[Justin Falon]

I have been shooting heavy bows for probably 25 years.  Mainly those hill style bows 85-100 pounds.  You must modify your shooting style and thus your aiming style.  I am a snap shooter.  I probably don't ever anchor very well.

Close shots are pretty easy from about any angle on deer size critters and complete pass throughs are a given.  

Got to work up to that weight though and I must admit that since I built my 74# longbow several months ago, I seriously doubt whether anything heavier is both necessary or needed.

jf

[Horne Shooter]

I normally shoot around 54# at my 29 1/2 draw.  I'm 6 ft. 2" 200 lbs. and I lift weights about 4 days a week.  When I was getting ready to go on my Aussie Buffalo trip last year I started shooting my 77 lb recurve and it got to be second nature.
When I got back, shooting my regular bows seemed incredibly easy.  Now 17 months later, when I string up the 77 pounder it seems like I'm hauling back a log.  I think it's just what you train your mind and body to do.  I did notice though that when I was shooting heavy and went back to a light bow, it really helped my shooting accuracy and form.  Great subject BTW.

[Diamond Paul]

If it was just mental, all you would need to do anything physically demanding is the belief and willingness to work at it until it was reality.  I think there is something to the physiology argument.  Some people are naturally designed to be capable of things that others aren't.  You can have all the belief in the world, and all the time to train, but if God didn't send you to this world with natural speed, you ain't gonna run the Olympic 100 meters!  I think the same thing applies to bows: everyone has different limits, and some people just naturally have higher ones.  Good luck with whatever weight you can shoot, Paul.

[KSdan]

It must have a lot to do with style.  I have watched those heavier bow guys and most snap shoot and do not draw to their full potential.  I see big ol' boys drawing only about 26" or so.  Nothing wrong with any of that- I just wonder if they would get just as much out of a longer draw with more consistent anchor.  I am a good size guy- 6'4" #215 former athlete and a #55 @ 31" draw is pretty hefty and even then causes me a sore shoulder if not careful.

Sorry the "mental" card is silly.  Everyone's body is different.  The angles of joints, muscle structure, etc. is different for every person. Training and attitude can only take you as far as your body mechanic limitations.

Enjoy who you were created to be!

[Missouri Sherpa]

I used to draw a compound @ 80 pounds and when I switched to a longbow 65 pounds was comfortable to me.  I have been shooting that weight for over ten years and never think about it being heavy.  I think years of shooting trains the muscles you need even if you are not a big person.  Regular continued use makes it easy.  I shoot fairly often but I usually only shoot a couple dozen arrows at a session. Sometimes infrequently  I may shoot more if someone comes by to shoot with me but that isn't common.  I have never been to a shoot or shot in a league so I don't have any experiences to draw on regarding how many times I could shoot my bow.  I only use bows to hunt with and figure I will only need to be able to shoot it once, maybe twice at my intended target.  I ordered the first new custom bow in my life; a new shrew classic in curly birch, bow bolt, 65 pounds at 29 inches a couple of weeks ago so I hope I don't weaken too much as I age.   I feel you should shoot what you comfortably can handle to hunt with, no more no less.  Why would you want to hunt with less?

[Legolas]

As a physical therapist for 34 years I am aware of the scapular motion we call retraction that uses the muscles that go from the spine side of the scapula to the spine. These muscles are used for  back tension. I think beginners try to use the elbow flexors (biceps) and miss the "archers muscles" needed to pull the string back. It is interesting to look at different shooting and see folks that never really use the rhomboids and middle trapezius muscles correctly. The good development  of this movement is probably what allows the pulling of larger poundage. Just arming it won't work.

Paul

[McDave]

Maybe to add to what Legolas said, from more of a lay point of view, I came to bowhunting from many years of rockclimbing and mountaineering.  I was quite slim in those days, and could easily do 20 pullups.  Easily, because I was using my back muscles primarily to do the pullups, and not my biceps.  I found it rather easy to learn to use a 65# bow, at the time, using the same muscles I used in rockclimbing and for doing pullups.  The years have passed, and I don't shoot my 65# bow much anymore, and carrying a few more pounds myself, I'm happy to crank off five pullups, but I still feel quite comfortable hunting with a 60# bow.