Average draw weight, 1968 compare 2008

[marlon]

born 1970 and yes i shoot 100# plus bows.

[Ia Hawkeye]

Born in 1939 and at almost 70, shoot 42#. (Deer and small game)

[myshootinstinks]

Well, to each his own. Whether it's a 42#er 0r 100#er, the best it can do is make an entrance and an exit wound, two holes.

[Swamp Pygmy]

Tom I just wanted to add though that our situations are very different.

I'm sure Australia has a much different vibe than the us. Especially for younger generations coming into the sport.

The US in engulfed in the big antler mentality. And quick fixes. One of our top tv show hosts is cutie pie Tiffany Lakosky. Her big sales pitch is: "Even I can do it!". In reference to the trophy bucks she takes by hunting with compound bows (they sell) overlooking acres of food plots made of blends (they sell) specifically for deer.

Most of the hunting strategy is to essentially bait them. Put food plots in isolated sections of woods and form the plot where you can guesstimate where the deer will enter. They took most of the hunting out of hunting. Instead of chasing the big buck they'll either bring it to them, or rather wait a few years and literally grow one by managing the habitat and food resources.

Most of the info out there isn't about finding deer trails, what acorns deer prefer, ripening times of different species, etc. It's mostly about bringing deer in- rather than you finding the deer.

I think in Australia (not that I know much about Oz, forgive me if I'm wrong) you guys still do much more spot and stalk and ambush hunting. Though I'm sure waterholes play a large part in hunting many regions over there, which isn't much different. But anyway I got wordy, all I'm trying to say is I think our cultures are probably hunting with different aspects in mind. US is more about getting trophy deer faster and easier to the busy hunter with less time. I couldn't say what Aussie hunters do because I don't really know them... but I'm sure the media infiltrates us harder at ground zero than when it gets across the pond.

[Doc Nock]

Some years back, a friend asked if I'd be interested in his dad's silver medallion Bear bow and accessories.

I wrote to a collector on another site to ask for the value to make a decent offer. The bow was 40#.

What was shared, as George stated, in the mid 1960's that was the standard fare for draw weight..40-45#. If it had been one in the 50# draw, it'd have been worth more as it would have been more "rare."

I've stumbled onto some older gents who indicated that was the norm as well.  Back through to the 1950's, but that might be regionalized by geography. This is in E. PA.

[TonyW]

Confirmation for George also comes from vintage arrows - you find 99% of them to be rated for 40-50 pound bows.

[goodolboy94]

I am a strictly traditional hunter that hunts only with my longbow and poc arrows and alot of my buddies are bowhunters and i have almost converted one over to traditional archery and by the way im 22 so there is hope for the future of our great sport not all "kids" as you "old timers"  say are inside playing video games and listening to mp3s

[Holm-Made]

What's a mp3?  Is that like a record player or something?  :rolleyes:

[Rico]

Alot of those earlier bows were shot with sights or a sight reference style and if you use the same style of shooting today probably a light weight bow is still a good choice.

  I think  alot of trad archers that are shooting more Instinctively and do not hold at anchor can easily bump  up a few #'s with no ill effects.

[SteveB]

Those "site reference styles" where called instinctive and you shpt the instinctive class.

Its only fairly recently the retro trad movement has tried to redefine the term.

Steve

[myshootinstinks]

The amount of time you hold at anchor is a factor in bow weight.  A snap shooter can shoot a heavier bow than one that anchors for a couple of seconds.  I've seen a few snap shooters over the years that were very good but most,(that I've witnessed), could not achieve decent hunting accuracy beyond 15-20 yards.  
   And  yes, before the word "traditional" was coined in reference to archery, many used sights and we thought nothing of it. Whatever works for ya.

[michaelschwister]

I was thinking today the issue is hunter age, as well as in the 60s. I was talking with Dale at 3rivers last week and he opined most guys were dropping into the 40# range when just 10 years ago it was mid 60#s. I know alot of my hunting friends are heading into their 60s and doing very well killing with mid 40# bows. I think maybe the same thing happened back then. My first two store bought hunting bows were 45 and 48#, and they were heavy for a teenager. When in our prime we can handle much heavier bows, even on cold days. My guess is the next generation of trad archers will be shooting 70# longbows and recurves when they are in their 30s. It has been so for tens of thousands of years and will be again. A 70#+ bows are much better for longer shots, which is fine for a young guy with 20/10 vision. No need shooting past the distance you can pick a hair and 40# is more than enough for 15-20 yard shots.

[TomMcDonald]

Originally posted by Swamp Pygmy:
Tom I just wanted to add though that our situations are very different.

I'm sure Australia has a much different vibe than the us. Especially for younger generations coming into the sport.

The US in engulfed in the big antler mentality. And quick fixes. One of our top tv show hosts is cutie pie Tiffany Lakosky. Her big sales pitch is: "Even I can do it!". In reference to the trophy bucks she takes by hunting with compound bows (they sell) overlooking acres of food plots made of blends (they sell) specifically for deer.

Most of the hunting strategy is to essentially bait them. Put food plots in isolated sections of woods and form the plot where you can guesstimate where the deer will enter. They took most of the hunting out of hunting. Instead of chasing the big buck they'll either bring it to them, or rather wait a few years and literally grow one by managing the habitat and food resources.

Most of the info out there isn't about finding deer trails, what acorns deer prefer, ripening times of different species, etc. It's mostly about bringing deer in- rather than you finding the deer.

I think in Australia (not that I know much about Oz, forgive me if I'm wrong) you guys still do much more spot and stalk and ambush hunting. Though I'm sure waterholes play a large part in hunting many regions over there, which isn't much different. But anyway I got wordy, all I'm trying to say is I think our cultures are probably hunting with different aspects in mind. US is more about getting trophy deer faster and easier to the busy hunter with less time. I couldn't say what Aussie hunters do because I don't really know them... but I'm sure the media infiltrates us harder at ground zero than when it gets across the pond.

Yep, I think you've hit the nail on the head there.
Don't get me wrong, there are WAAAAY more compound shooters here. Walking into any archer's shop here will tell you that.

But I've never seen a blind or treestand here.
I'd never heard of them until I started reading on Tradgang and looking at videos on Youtube.