Both Drew and Don are correct. Plus, how both you and the bowyer measure the draw weight with different scales, different string attachments to simulate fingers pulling, different measurement of the point of measure, and of course the difference in brace height mentioned by Don, will all affect the weight reading. To expand on each of these, your "reliable scale" may not be as accurate as you think. On the other hand, the bowyer's scale may not be as accurate as he thinks. A couple of pounds difference is not that much to be off either way, and both scales may be slightly off in different directions. You probably simply hooked the scale directly to the string and pulled until you got to the length of draw where you made your weight measurement. Some bowyers do the same thing. But others use a device that is much wider in order to simulate 3 fingers on the string rather than just the hook. That kind of device results in more limb flex at the same length of draw, thus upping the poundage slightly. Also, the way you measured the draw length may have been slightly different than the way the bowyer did. I have forgotten the precise criteria for the measurement, but I do recall it is not as straightforward as measuring from the back of the riser shelf. I believe it is done by adding a certain length to the measurement at the deepest part of the grip on the belly side of the riser and then measuring the draw length from that calculated point. An increase in brace height will also preload the limbs somewhat and cause the draw weight at a particular length to change. You could always contact the bowyer and ask him what procedure he uses to measure draw weight and then do your best to duplicate that procedure. Even then, a few bowyers may "cheat" a little and "adjust" the draw weight to meet the specs chosen by the customer.
The problem with an under-weight bow is that you can't add pounds back on. Your bow is definitely in a more marginal weight class for some animals. Bows of that weight (44#) can definitely kill elk and other animals of the same size, but I certainly would prefer the bow to be 47# if I were hunting something larger than animals in the 200 pound range like a large whitetail. I mostly hunt with bows that exceed 50#, and that is the minimum for elk in some states, as you probably know. I usually try to set a minimum draw weight when I order a bow and ask that the bowyer err on the high side by a few pounds if he cannot hit weight. I don't tend to notice an extra 3 pounds and in the field when I am bundled up and in an awkward position, I may not get a full draw and full weight anyway, so a little extra may not be a bad thing. On the other hand, the older I get, the harder it becomes to draw higher weights, so I tend to use lighter draw weights over time. You may eventually be glad that your bow is a little lighter than you thought it would be. A draw weight of 44# is great for most of the hunting most of us do and is a commonly requested draw weight by people having custom bows built for them. I have several bows in that draw weight range, and they shoot very well. I would not hesitate to hunt deer with them, and hope to use them to continue to hunt well into my old age.
Allan
Topic: new bow draw weight (Read 389 times)
