Nobody likes to admit they're getn "old" BUT...

[Pat B]

I'll be 65 in July and still shoot 55# to 60#.

[DaveT1963]

only 52 here... I used to shoot 70# and better but now I stick around 55#s.  Its not always a macho thing either - I just shoot heavier bows better.  I still shoot my 70 pound bows back occasionally and know I could work back into them as my hunting bow if I wanted to but 55 is working well for me.  I tried lighter for a few weeks - it just wasn't for me at all.

[Rustic]

I'm 60 and my 1st trad bow has a 35 lbs draw weight and for sentimental reasons I still own that bow. Furthermore, knowing that sooner or later I will have to decrease my draw weight, I have decided to keep it.

[Ray Lyon]

47# with the 56" bow will surprise you with the performance.  So this is your "last" new bow??   :rolleyes:    OK we'll play along with that fantasy. The good news is that with a Bear Take-Down, new limbs are not counted as a new bow.    

[ber643]

Like our well known Ron, I am 79 and will turn 80 in Oct. Unlike him, I've always had a slight frame, including arms, so 45 to 50 has been my bow weight ever since I got into bows in my 40's  My current lead bow is my 50# at 28" Anneewakee Addiction Recurve, "Blackie", which I only draw to about 26" (maybe 27 on a real good day) when I first switched to trad )in my 50-60s) I could only draw 25" but soon built back up to 27". As my age has increased my draw length has decreased, along with (of course) my draw weight - LOL. That's my 2 cents worth and I hope I can hang in there for a few more years, at least. I shoot daily as weather permits - both for strength maintenance and flexibility. I also do 30 vertical push ups (off a wall, car, tree) each morning as well as 30 reps on a sort of "bike exerciser" that you push with your arms as well as your legs (unless I'm sick or in pain - and sometimes even then). I felt my draw length decreasing markedly so about a month ago I started pushing back with my shoulders at the end of each rep on the bike's 30, and that has restored most of my former (lack of) strength - for what it is worth  
 

[ranger 3]

I just turned 68 Sunday and shoot a PLX 64" and a PSR 60" both 48@28 and went to them last year, they in very comfortable.

[woodchucker]

Thanks for all the responses, Gentlemen!!!!!!!!!!  

Many Thanks Again, My Friends!!!!!!!!!!

[styksnstryngs]

I'm really old. 14, man, that's a long time to be around!

[newhouse114]

I hunt elk and here on Oregon we have a min draw wt. of 50 lb to hunt elk. I'm 57 and still manage around 65 lbs, even after four episodes of impingement syndrome in the shoulders.

[dsturgissr]

Like Ron, shot and hunted with heavy 65 t0 85 pound pull bows for a lot of years. As I aged battled tendonitis for quite a few years. A lot of pain in my left elbow from drawing a heavy bow. At age 70 switched to shooting left handed and has worked out well for me. Have taken a bunch of deer and turkeys since the switch Now shooting 43 to 45# bows and seem to get as much penetration on game as I did with my heavy bows. A pass through into the ground on my this spring turkey. A new problem came up last year, have to use supplemental oxygen, learn to shoot with a tube in my nose and carry a back pack with my oxygen. Really looking forward to deer hunting this fall. I turned 78 in March.   Denny Sturgis Sr

[DennyK]

I'm 57 and here's how it went for me:

In my 30's-70+ pounds

In my 40's-60+ pounds

In my 50's 46-50 pounds.

woodchucker, at your current draw weight, look on the bright side, you may never have to change!  

                               Denny

[Frenchymanny]

Doc Holliday: Not me. I'm in my prime.

     

F-Manny

[Dave Lay]

I will hit 62 in a few months, and have always shot around 60 lbs. which still feels fine, and i shoot it as well if not better than lighter bows. But this year i did order a new 55 lb longbow thinking i would be dropping weight due to injuries over the past years and age, and considering retirement, im not sure how much bow buying i will be able to do in the future.  but i will probably continue shooting the 60lb recurve until i feel the need to drop weight

[highlow]

I'm 71. Ordered my first custom last year from Ben at Hummingbird. Was thinking around 50#s but he gave me good advice in that I'm not going to get any younger so keep in mind what weight I could handle in the next few years. Went with 44#s and couldn't be happier. Can shoot it all day with no shoulder problems. Took my biggest buck to date with it last September.

[Harry]

Be 75 this year. In past ten years went from 55-60 to 50 -55. Now shooting 42 to 47.

[Bluefeather]

I turned 60 last spring and after having shoulder problems most of the year I dropped from 60# to 45-50# and have felt great since.

You know you are getting old when you cannot justify getting a new bow because all of the bows you have will outlive you.

[Thumper Dunker]

I'm 59 and bows from 55-70 feels good to me.
Don't worry about the poundage shoot what feels good.

[Dave Lay]

Originally posted by Thumper Dunker:
Don't worry about the poundage shoot what feels good.

x2

[David Mitchell]

I'm 71 (and, Whip, you think it's hard to believe you're 60!  :D  ) I have usually stayed with bows in the 50-55# range.  I still have several of those around to keep my muscle tone for hunting, but I have recently purchased a couple of 40# bows for a lot of my shooting.  Since 99.999% of my shots are not at game I don't need to push it with ageing shoulders.  However, I do regularly shoot some with my 52-53# bows to keep in touch with that weight.  I have found that if I only shoot the lighter weights my muscles will adjust down to the point that the lighter bows feel like they require all I have to shoot them.  Don't want that to develop!

The big feral hog I shot back in January with my new 45# Bear TD wasn't aware that I had dropped to 45#!  The arrow zipped through without slowing down that I could see.