Two questions about shooting weight.

[rolltidehunter]

Chris... i am 5'5 160lbs soakin wet!  my hunting weight is 53lbs@26.

when i shoot my friends bows that are 60lbs at my draw its tough... but i know i could build up to it in a few months where i would be comfortable.

i know if i shot a 60 pounder everyday by the end of the summer id be ready to hunt

[Bowwild]

Three pounds heavier is very noticeable to me and I shoot a lot. All my bows are 45-49 pounds at my draw length. I usually buy my bows 52-54#@28" which gets me where I'm comfortable.  I just sold a perfect pair of 59# Predator Limbs (53# at my draw) because they were just too much for me.

I'd go with the advice of 5# higher and make sure you maintain the form you've mastered. Control the bow vs. the reverse.  You may find you can get to 50 but I'd do it in two steps, at least.   You might warm up with the 40, then shoot the heavier weight a few shots. Keep going back to your base, the lighter weight to make sure your form is retained. Increase the number of shots at the heavier weight until you've discovered your answer.  Of course the same model bow with multiple sets of limbs would be an ideal way to go.

These new ILF bows sure offer some options for stepping up or down the draw weight a bit.

[PaddyMac]

I'm going the other way. From 62# @ 28 to 55# @ 28 and that wasn't enough of a reduction, so now I'm getting new limbs made at 46# @ 28 plus adding 2" in length. I'm 53 and as I get older I find that it's not the muscles that are the problem, but the tendons and ligaments and stuff.

Yeah, having a TD recurve is a big advantage in that way.

[Night Wing]

Thought I would add my two cents in here.

I've been bowhunting with compounds and trad bows for 47 years. When bowhunting with trad bows, the lighest recurve I've killed a deer with was 36#. The heaviest recurve I've killed a deer with was 44#. The last 5 deer I've bow killed with a recurve, the shot distance has been between 12-17 yards.

The two recurves I bowhunt now with are 37# and 42#. These bows; when bowhunting whitetail deer, small feral pigs (I like to eat tender young wild pork) and javelina with an arrow tipped with a very sharp 2 blade broadhead waiting for a broadside lung shot at 20 yard shots and under......kills these animals, with a short recovery distance because no animal goes far without lungs, just as easily as any 45#, 50#, 55#, 60#, 65# or 70# recurve or longbow.

Two years ago, one of my friends got the notion he wanted to move up in poundage from 45# to 55#. He practiced for 4 months with his 55# recurve. Bow season came along and he shot a doe at around 18-20 yards. He gut shot the doe and I think it was because he was overbowed, but he doesn't think so. We trailed the deer for at least 300 yards. We never found the deer, but the coyotes found it during the night. BTW, the next season, he went back to his 45# recurve.

Don't under estimate what a 40# recurve or longbow bow can do if you do your part in placing an arrow tipped with a very sharp 2 blade broadhead where you want it to go (hit) on an animal. In my book, accuracy trumps poundage.

[copperhead95]

calculate 3# of weight for every inch lost, for example, a 50# at 28" would be 47# at 27" etc. ive been shooting since i was 12 and started with 46# bow. ive found that i can shoot a higher weight within a couple of weeks. 5-10 lb increments will reduce strain.

[7 Lakes]

If everyone in the world dropped 5 pounds in bow weight, the next day the world would be full of more accurate archers.  The worlds archers would likely be shooting hunting weight bows well into old age instead of seeing specialists about their rotator cuff.

[Archie]

I have been shooting since I was in my mid-teens, and generally preferred to shoot a heavier bow.  I'm 6 feet tall, pretty athletic, worked out with weights for much of my life, and now am 39 years old.  I've got recurves at 60# and 49#, and longbows at 80#, 65#, and 48#.  I have always been strong at drawing bows, despite my average size and long draw length.  But last Thanksgiving, I was pulling the 80# LB for exercise, drawing with my left arm (I'm a righty), and tore a muscle in my left shoulder.  The injury hurt my shoulder enough that it affects me now even when I draw right-handed.  I am shooting the 48# LB exclusively now, and frankly, see no reason why I need anything more.  I wish I had figured this out sooner, and hope the injury heals and fades off the scene.  But I want to keep shooting until I'm 80 years old... so I will echo what someone else said... "Dick in Seattle" is a wise man, indeed.

[Davesea]

I am turning 50 this year.  Just got back into archery about a year ago and started with a 48# big five.  Been shooting it for a year and decided to go up to 60lbs.  Today at the flat range I grouped the best at 30 yard I ever have and it was with my new (used) 60lb big five.  It doesn't feel like a strain at all to draw the bow, I do lots of rowing and can do 20 pull ups....  So not sure where I will go from here but I will go back and forth to my 48# to see what I prefer.  I am definitely in this for the long haul so I don't want to injure myself over time by drawing a heavier bow.  Got enough miles already and looking forward to many more.
Dave
Seattle

[TDHunter]

Not sure where you Hunt but with your 25 inch draw You'd need close to a 50lb bow just to get the 40lbs to be legal in many areas.

If you can shoot your bow all day with out fatigue then you should have no problems working into something 50 or close to it.

[Wheels2]

How is your current bow marked for poundage?  Given that you are shooting that Bear, I would think that  you could find a used one marked 5# heavier that the one you have now, buy that one and once used to it, sell the lighter one.

[Bonebuster]

I agree with TDHunter.

Unless you have a physical problem, getting to a slightly heavier weight shouldn`t be too much of an issue.

Everyday shooting should not be "work", but if you can shoot alot without ANY sign of fatigue a slight bump in weight shouldn`t cause you grief.

One thing few of us do before we shoot is stretch ourselves out a bit. This is something ALL of us should do, even if you are very physically fit. I do this every time I go out to shoot, and before/while I`m hunting. It doesn`t take much, just some gentle stretching to get the blood flowing.