Poundage ponderings...Your thoughts?

[NotThe10thMan]

Lots of different perspectives to consider.

I do believe I'd like to stay at a minimum where I'm currently at.  The strength to pull the heavier bows isn't really...a consideration.  If I'm currently unable, I know that I can work into it.  If I went down in weight, it would be due to concerns regarding my shoulder trauma, which..has not been an issue yet.

But, as Big Jim eloquently pointed out, I'm probably at more risk due to repetitive motion than I am from heavy poundages.  As strange as it seems, a heavier bow may be helpful in form development.  Also, since I've started shooting, I actually think my shoulders have been better over all, except for the ocassional bout with arthritis, but that wracks my wrists, knees, ankles, etc. also, so that doesn't really count.

I AM very happy to read of so many people successfully using lighter bows to get the job done, and it gives me heart comfort to know that's a viable option, if and when that day comes when I need to be pulling less.

Now the notion that I'm shooting too much????

That's a troubling notion, but a different thread altogether.

I'm happy I asked the question and got so many different perspectives to consider.

I hope y'all have a good one!

Mike

[BlacktailBowhunter]

I practice with my 42# Brushbow and hunt with my 52# Brusbow.

I noticed that most guys that I shoot with are way over-bowed. Their first 10 or so arrows are decent and then they can't seem to make a good shot to save their life.

I can shoot 42# for an hour with my friends, but I can't shoot 51# for an hour without suffering the effects of the extra 10# of weight.

For me it is all about good form. The only difference between my 2 bows is the weight. I always take both bows to the range. However, I shoot the lighter bow 90% of the time.

Also, the best shooters that I practice with are shoot 40# bows as well. That was a big part of why I went light.

[pitbull]

You may want to try a take-down for the next bow, that way you can buy many sets of limbs and experiment. Enjoy the ride!

[arrow flynn]

The newer hybrids will in some cases shoot an arrow 20ft per sec faster at 10. Lbs less bow wt should be a. No branerbut I still like my strait bows l would say if you like shooting those heavy wts do it while you can youonlygo around once.:

[PaddyMac]

Some really good thoughts here.

I've wondered lots of times if you can have a bow that is too light. I can hold my bow at full draw over 20 seconds. When I miss it is usually because i have a wobble (or roaming) in my bow hand/arm and I'm thinking if I just went up just 5 pounds it would help me stay steadier. I mean, draw weight could be the equivalent of a bull barrel on a rifle, right? (Or would it be more like adding weight to the riser, like Bob Lee is doing with phenolic?)

But I worry a lot about tendonitus in my bow arm elbow which is from an old injury. I shoot a lot, but per advice on here I try to put as much time between shots as I can.

I love to shoot my bow though. It just feels good. But a little more THWACK! wouldn't be bad, either.

I guess I better just buy another bow.

[Mark Baker]

I think Big Jim is spot on.   Here's my 2 cents...

I shoot heavy bows compared to most, but not as heavy as some....anywhere from 60 to 80 lbs.  Here's the thing...I've been shooting since I was 7, and this poundage since I was 18.  I can shoot a heavier bow now, than I could 20-some years ago!  It's all in how you practice.  Too many of us, I feel, shoot too many arrows per session, without rest between sessions.  It messes with our muscles, our joints, and our heads (since accuracy is 90 percent mental, this is important).  If your gonna shoot 3-d targets all day, by all means go lighter.  But heavy does have advantages.  

The "trend" these past couple years has been to say "modern" advancements makes it OK (to shoot lightweight for hunting)....but modern bowmaking really is not that much better than it was three decades ago....a few FPS doesn't mean SQUAT!  There are SO MANY other variables that affect how efficient your shot is (notice I did not say bow)....and the truth is, the lighter you go, the more responsibility you have to make sure those other factors are dead nuts right on!  You guys shooting 40lbs are setting yourselves up for wounding and losing a lot of critters, IMO over time....there is no way you can CONTROL all the variables.    That's why it has always been a kind of unwritten rule to shoot as much poundage as you can shoot accurately.   When I hunt, I don't shoot hundreds of arrows...really?!!    I've got other things I'm concentrating on.  

If you go lighter, you will be shooting lighter weight arrows, weaker spined shafts, more subject to cleaner form issues, and your accuracy, under pressure, has to be spot on...while you are likely breathing like you just ran a block into the wind!    Break it all down and examine it.  It's not as simple as just improving accuracy at the target butt, shooting groups....its reducing your "fudge factor" in arrow flight at impact, in the efficiency of your broadhead, in the momentum of your missile, in the unpredictable crosswinds that will cause the back of your shaft to drift....there is just too much that has to go right, with a lighter settup, to work every time.   Extra poundage allows you a heavier arrow, a stiffer spine, a cleaner release, overall a bit more momentum....and that extra "umph" peace of mind thing.

Too many of us are using the "modern" material and design thing as their excuse to drop weight IMO...   Make the decision to differentiate between targets, and hunting....and educate yourselfs about your responsibilities to the game, to the pastime we enjoy, to the way in which you practice.  There is a lot there.  

I'm 52 next month, and I can shoot heavier bows now than I could when I was 30...even with both elbows having tendonitis, and arthritis in my right hand.  

BTW...50 lbs in my book is not a light bow, really.  Dropping down in the 40's is getting pretty light, and will demand your attention to these things.  Ultimately, you must shoot what is legal, and, in you mind, what is ethical.

[Shinken]

Ditto what WINGNUT said...on page 1....

Shoot straight, Shinken

   

There are some bow and grip designs that work better for certain people than others. Some people tear themselves up shooting light weight bows while others suffer minimal wear and tear shooting very heavy bows for a longer period. Something to consider beyond merely the weight of the bow and the draw weight of the bow, as far as how much wear and tear the body endures, is how the person gets the bow back to full draw and how long that same person needs to hold the weight to get it on target. For myself, I beat myself up more with a pistol gripped 45 pound at my draw Grooves Spitfire than I do shooting a 64 pound longbow, when shooting left handed. The difference is in the holding time, the straight wrist and the straight extended bow arm, when shooting the recurve; and the more relaxed and more natural for my joints form that I use when shooting the straight gripped longbow. On the reverse of that, I have seen guys that could not shoot any bow without extending their bow arm out straight first, they simply did not have the arm strength to do it any other way. I have been told by a joint specialist/bowhunter that the longer a joint is under static strain the more compression and possible damage is possible for the joint. He also said that any draw that forces the bow shoulder to rotate up and over in the process of drawing the bow could throw the shoulder into a bad leverage position and puts more pressure on the area between neck and the upper back. He referred that to how most of the local boys were drawing their compounds and how many of them were under his care. He then showed me the draw he used. It was nearly the same thing that all of old time greats used, a spread draw from the down and relaxed position to level on target and a very short holding time. A little more of a spread draw compared to the swing draw than what John Schulz demonstrated, but effectively nearly the same. My wife was complaining of shoulder pains and adopted this draw and has had no pain since, plus her draw got a bit longer and her accuracy has gone way up.
   We can talk all we want about how fast something shoots, but the reality is how the bow fits us and how we use it has as much to do with our shooting power, accuracy and the levels of wear and tear on our bodies over time.  Proper nutrition and exercise can increase muscle and joint strength, we do not need to look at it like every shot we take robs us of our total number of shot we have in our bodies over a life time. We are not shooting bullets out of our life time unload-able supply  banana clip.
Saying all of that, show me two bows that feel the same, the faster one will be fun to shoot and the most accurate of the two will go hunting.

[NotThe10thMan]

Thanks, Pavan.  That's alot of information, and interesting stuff.

I truthfully dunno how I draw my bow. I think I just start pulling as soon as my arrow is nocked, bring the bow up, stop when I hit anchor, hold for about five seconds, and then release.  I guess I might have to pay attention to that.

I'm 95% self taught at this point.  It wasn't until I'd loosed my first 8,000 arrows that another Trad guy with some knowledge came by and informed me that my stance was an absolute abomination unto the Traditional Archery world, and that somewhere out there a monument to Fred Bear was crying tears of blood because of me.  It was a good enough stance for Judo, and that's similar enough for Archery, right?  oops...

In any case, I appreciate your thoughts and insight.  I'm priviledged to learn from these kinda things.

[frassettor]

I am able to shoot heavier bows then I currently do, but see no reason. I would rather shoot comfortably and knowing that a 58-61# bow will put down anything I will ever hunt, then try and shoot heavier.

Dead is dead, wether its from a 40# bow or a 100# bow, so shoot whats comfortable. Its all about shot placement    

[cedar swampman]

WE killed alot of whitetails back in the '70's using maple limbed 45lb recurves but of course everyonre shot field courses and new their equipment intimately. We kill things by shooting a scalpel(broadhead) and causing hemmoraging. Most animals are not that thick so placement is key. Shoot the poundage you can be accurate in all circumstances(positions,weather etc) and by all means have a ball!

[gringol]

According to the literature I've read, a traditional bow has a limit to it's speed that is realtively independent of draw weight.  i.e. light arrows shot from light bows can go just as fast as those shot from heavy bows.  However, a heavy arrow moving at 165fps has a lot more energy than a light arrow moving at the same speed.  Therefore, all things being equal, I'd go for a heavier bow (50# and up) IF you can shoot it accurately, consistently, and comfortably. I'd also go with the heaviest arrow your bow can shoot well.  

The archer is more important the the equipment, so do what works best for you.  That's why trad is so much fun.