Just wanted to make sure this was right

[Al_D]

If I'm shooting a bow that's 45x# at 28", and my draw length is 28.5", would that mean I'd be shooting a 47# bow essentially?

[Tom]

Pretty close I'd say, most bows are between 2-3# per inch over 28.

[Al_D]

Thanks Tom.  Some of this is finally starting to make sense to me at least  

[Rob DiStefano]

COULD be about right - IF you believe that 45@28 label on yer bow, and IF that IS the correct MEASURED weight.    :D

[nick straatmann]

If your bow sais 45x it sounds like your shooting an old bear. The exact draw weight will be written under the arrow rest on the sight window. But like others said that is not exact.

[59Alaskan]

Could be Bear or Pearson or maybe others did this as well.  Sometimes the actual draw weight is written under the strike plate,sometimes not.

45x means it weighed over 45# at 28".
x45 means it weighed less than 45# at 28".

You will even see them marked 45xx or xx45 (or more "x's" even).  I have a Pearson marked xx45.  I haven't scaled that one yet.  It feels about 42-43#.

I have a 45x# Bear that scales at 53# and has nothing written under the plate.  I bet it was the fastest 45# bow in the shop LOL!!

I would guess around 48# for yours, but I say that knowing I have also seen alot of variability.

[Al_D]

Thanks everyone.  Ceme24 you're on the money.  It's a Ben Pearson Cougar.

I was always told that each x is supposed to be 1 pound. If the x's are to the left of the number, you take that many pounds off of the number. If the x's are to the right of the number you add that many pounds to the number.

Example:   xx45 should be a 43# draw weight and   45xx should be a 47# draw weight

If your bow is marked 45x@28", then it SHOULD be a 46# bow. As stated above, the only real way to know for sure is to put the bow on a bow scale.

Bisch

[Al_D]

Thanks Bisch.  I'm just looking at a rough estimate for terms of arrow purchasing, nothing more than that.  Appreciate it all.

[Burnsie]

I have never understood the whole X45 thing?
Someone had to apparently weigh the bow to know that it weighed 1 or 2 pounds (or whatever) over/under 45 lbs.  At that point why not just write the correct weight on the bow and forget the XX's.  Makes even less sense when they wrote the correct weight under the side plate??

[ozzy1977]

I have a mid 70's bear grizzly,  marked 45x#, on my scales it comes out dead on 50 at 28"

[nineworlds9]

Yes the X's are 'supposed' to indicate "approximately" 1 pound over or under the marked weight.  So 45x=~46/47# or x45=~43/44#... BUT scales in those days were prolly not as accurate, SO it doesn't surprise me that a 45x bow might pull as much as 50 or an x45 might hit 46.  Such is the name of the game with old bows.

[graybarkhunter]

My Kodiak Hunter says 40x... And 43 by  the strike plate.. Seems fairly accurate to me

[KenH]

Get a $7 electronic luggage scale and measure the weight yourself, at your draw.  It ain't rocket surgery.  

Al_D -- I'm not sure a pound or two difference in draw weight is worth messing with in calculations for arrow spines and such.  You'll get differences in draw weight of a pound or two depending on how exacting you are in your anchor point and other things.

[dougedwards]

I have a not so old bow that says 47# @ 28" but on my draw board actually measures 43.8# @ 28".  This is with a digital luggage type scale that has proved pretty accurate on many other bows.

But the thing is.....it is what it is!

If it pulls well and shoots well then it won't matter what poundage is on the label.  I have also seen various 45# bows shoot the same arrow with a 20 fps variance between them.

Normally for every inch beyond 28" of draw you can estimate 2.5 lbs of draw weight.  

 Doug

[Wheels2]

Only way to know for sure is to put them on a scale.  I have found production bows to run a few pounds heavy.  It is one of those things that you worry about, but shouldn't.

[mike g]

Then again you weigh a bow on 6 diff scales and get 6 diff weights....
    When I ordered my last bow I ask the bowyer to put the actual weight on the bow....

[Bladepeek]

And which of the 6 scales will he be using?        

It's really not that big a deal for me. I have a pretty accurate digital scale and have weighed all of my bows, recorded the weight, distance from center cut, actual string length, brace height and nock height. What do I do with all that information? Not a darned thing, but it keeps me occupied    

Actually, I do use most of it when playing "what if" games with Stu's calculator.

[Stumpkiller]

Originally posted by nineworlds9:
BUT scales in those days were prolly not as accurate, SO it doesn't surprise me that a 45x bow might pull as much as 50 or an x45 might hit 46.  Such is the name of the game with old bows.

I don't believe the scales were any less accurate in the 60's.  After all - we could put a man on the moon back then and we can't now.

Pearson, Shakespeare, etc. sold bows to distributors.  Retailers ordered stock in 5# increments.  If you order three bows you might get two 45's and a 45X (or a 45+ from Shakespeare) but it was close enough.  Bear didn't even bother with the "x"'s.