What do you guys consider to be overbowed?

[forestdweller]

I'm just curious, at what point do you consider yourself to be overbowed and what are your standards to determine if you are overbowed or not?

I'm getting ready to go up in draw weight from 40# but when I shoot I usually shoot around 200-300 arrows and need to be just as much in control over the bow as my first shot of the day.

I've drawed back around 65# before and can pull it back multiple times and hold for 30 seconds (with shaking of course towards the 30 second mark) but I've heard some say along the lines of if you can hold for 10 seconds you are not overbowed.

Do any of you guys shoot a different draw weight depending on if you are hunting or shooting 3D/Field?

I've noticed the top 3D guys don't even shoot 50# for the most part and most stick to 40-45#.

In Olympic style archery the top shooters don't exceed 50 to 54# or so on the fingers with most hovering in the high 40's.

What are your thoughts?

[Gdpolk]

I consider over bowed to be when your draw weight is too heavy for proper form or uncomfortable for what your doing. If all your doing is hunting and you only need 2-3 good shots with the ability to hold and aim well for 20-30 sec each, that bow will be a LOT heavier than a bow you need to make 200 shots with.

[Captain*Kirk]

You are overbowed when the bow controls you rather than you controlling the bow. That's when you begin short-drawing, early release and stop engaging your back muscles because your mind has gone into "dump mode" (get rid of this arrow!) and is the beginning of target panic for some...a road you do NOT want to walk down.
Most of the high end target bows of the past, the Tamerlanes, Temujins, Tartars and Sovereign Lord Mercuries were made in the 30-40# range. There is good reason for that.
You can hunt with whatever you feel confident with, It is, after all, ONE shot. 200 arrows in an afternoon is a different story altogether
If you are shooting well with 40, don't change a thing.

[Stumpkiller]

If you make a noise when you draw.

If you can't hold it at full draw for 20 seconds.

If you have to lift your bow arm above horizontal to draw.

If you can't shoot 60 arrows in two hours without your form collapsing.

If you take the clothespin test and find your draw is 25" instead of 29" like you thought.

You may be overbowed.

[Michael Arnette]

I think it's a little bit more subtle. Being overbowed is that fine line where accuracy is diminished at too high a level. For me it's right around 60 lbs and I'm a little more accurate with 50-55 which is I think the best trade off for most average men

[Tradcat]

This is just my opinion ONLY as it applies to a HUNTING situation. It's one thing to shoot a bow in my back yard in July in Florida when it's 95 degrees at whatever your bow draw weight is...BUT, I hunt in the Midwest in November. Imagine sitting motionless for 2-3 hours when it's 26 degrees and ask yourself this question: Can I draw that same bow as smooth and effortlessly now as I did in my back yard in July ? For me, the answer was NO. In that scenario I WAS overbowed and had to drop down a little in bow weight. Again... This is what I had to do. Everyone else has to do what's best for them.

[The Whittler]

You will be able to tell when you start out and have no problem holding and getting the shot you want.

Then after a few arrows you start to shoot faster so you don't have to hold as long and your shooting goes south.

As been stated when you draw back and it's smooth, you are in control not jerking it back fast and just letting it go.

As for going up in weight everyone's different but I would say 5# is a jump. Good luck.

[Red Beastmaster]

In my 20's and early 30's I was shooting 65#. Over the years I began dropping bow wt as my body and accuracy decline suggested. Now at 57yrs old I am shooting and hunting with bows in the 45# range.

I knew I was over bowed when I couldn't shoot a couple dozen arrows without a breakdown in accuracy. I was also having neck and shoulder pain that went away each time I got a new bow 5# lighter.

[Rob DiStefano]

"overbowed" is that state when the bow rules you and not vice-versa.  sometimes it only takes but a few pounds of added holding weight for the bow to be in control and not you, the operator.  

worse yet is when you feel in control of a bow during practice and exhibit reasonably consistent accuracy, but when on the hunt, in cold/bad weather, and yer tired, and the adrenaline is rising, and you need to make that perfect critter shot NOW, you may find yerself short drawing as yer holding weight was too borderline to begin with.

there is no sense in having a bow that controls you - very counter productive on all levels.

[KeganM]

I echo what's been said: when you are no longer in control, and your form and accuracy suffers, I believe you are over-bowed.

However, there are a number of accuracy tests to evaluate both consistency and accuracy, and if you are still able to do well then it shouldn't matter how heavy the bow is or how your form looks. If you can consistently shoot a 270 on a NFAA blue face snap shooting an 80# bow, then I'm not going to say that person is overbowed just because they couldn't hold at full draw for twenty or thirty seconds. They're accurate shooting their way so who am I to say otherwise?

For me, I shoot a high anchor and hold between three and five seconds on ever shot, so I can't shoot as well with bows much over 55#, and normally just stick with 45-50#. That's just me and what produces the greatest accuracy, though.

[Sam McMichael]

The ability to handle the bow, to me, is the deciding factor. If I can draw and hold for 10 to 12 seconds with good form and shoot comfortably for 25 arrows in a session, I feel that I am not over bowed.

As Rob stated, that poundage is not always totally static. In warm weather, standing upright at the target line does not equal the ability to pull that same bow in an odd position ( as might happen in an elevated stand) in freezing weather.

I can now, following shoulder surgery, shoot my 65# bow just fine for about 20 shots, but I can't do it nearly as well in the cold. In the past I could shoot it and my 78# bow for many, many shots. Now, I can't even string the 78# bow. My 53# bows are just about perfect for me now, so that is now what I consider a proper maximum hunting weight for me.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by GDPolk:
I consider over bowed to be when your draw weight is too heavy for proper form or uncomfortable for what your doing. If all your doing is hunting and you only need 2-3 good shots with the ability to hold and aim well for 20-30 sec each, that bow will be a LOT heavier than a bow you need to make 200 shots with.

"With the ability to hold for 20-30 seconds each"???

Where does this come from?  If i hit anchor and shoot within 3-5 seconds, why do i need to be able to hold it for 30?

[deaddoc4444]

IMHO   several factors here!  Moving up in bow weight is good to an extent !   Moving up in bow weight gives you the ability to also move up arrow weight and maintain the same arrow velocity . If I am shooting a 40# bow  and I shoot a 400 grain arrow at ( just a number ) 185 FPS  then moving up to a 50# bow  should give me the ability to shoot a 500 Grain arrow at the same velocity a heavier arrow will penetrate much better and SHOULD   give better results.   Hitting the desired target is much more important ( Once you get to a minimum needed for adequate game dispatch ) .   MY OWN  idea of being over bowed ( AND I was for many years causing Target panic ) Is that when I go to practice  I am starting cold and If I cant make the first shot WITH EASE ( like you would  if your on stand for a while then then the shot appears)   then I have a bow that is too heavy . Building up your muscles, to shoot a heavier bow with EASE   is a product of shooting a lot of arrows AND practicing with heavier bows . I shoot two bows for hunting  both are at 50#  BUT I do  shoot a 60 #  regularly to build up strength and stamina, building up the number of shots I can take in a practice session with both weights to increase the process.

[BowHunterGA]

Originally posted by DanielB89:
 

Originally posted by GDPolk:
I consider over bowed to be when your draw weight is too heavy for proper form or uncomfortable for what your doing. If all your doing is hunting and you only need 2-3 good shots with the ability to hold and aim well for 20-30 sec each, that bow will be a LOT heavier than a bow you need to make 200 shots with.

"With the ability to hold for 20-30 seconds each"???

Where does this come from?  If i hit anchor and shoot within 3-5 seconds, why do i need to be able to hold it for 30? [/b]

I have been in situations where I was caught at 3/4 draw and had to hold. A few times when hunting on the ground I had to draw as the deer passed behind a tree and I hit anchor before they stepped out and had to hold. I shoot heavier than average bows and I do spend some time each week holding at full draw for 20-30 seconds and then making an accurate shot. It is tougher than it sounds (the making an accurate shot after part) but it has helped me take animals I would normally have not gotten a good shot at without it. Now.....all that said. I am not a snap shooter. I can do it if I have to but I am much more confident and consistent if I hit anchor and take a couple seconds to really focus on the spot I want to hit and then release.

[Captain*Kirk]

Originally posted by DanielB89:
 

Originally posted by GDPolk:
I consider over bowed to be when your draw weight is too heavy for proper form or uncomfortable for what your doing. If all your doing is hunting and you only need 2-3 good shots with the ability to hold and aim well for 20-30 sec each, that bow will be a LOT heavier than a bow you need to make 200 shots with.

"With the ability to hold for 20-30 seconds each"???

Where does this come from?  If i hit anchor and shoot within 3-5 seconds, why do i need to be able to hold it for 30? [/b]

It happens. Deer walks behind a tree, deer turns it's head your direction...let down the string and you're busted.

My wife just cleaned in my archery room, she declared that I am most definitely over bowed, over arrowed, over back quivered, and over hunting booted.

[Bowwild]

If my form is affected by the discomfort of the bow's draw weight, I'm over-bowed.

The discomfort results in the following:
- Short draw
- Too brief draw
- Pain
- Contortion of neck or shoulder as I try to "meet" the bow
- Poor follow through with drawing arm because I didn't get extended enough to involve my back in the shot.

Like a couple have written above, it doesn't take much for me. Three to five pounds is too much more (depending a bit upon the bow).

I have very little in common with a spring chicken these days. Therefore, I'm not as tolerant of a bit higher poundage as I was years ago.

[Captain*Kirk]

Honestly, I (personally) believe many trad bowhunters are overbowed.
Let me explain...
OK, in the woods, one draw/one shot...they do fine. But if you hand them their hunting bow and ask them to do 100 arrows in front of a qualified archery coach, my guess would be that he would point out the following:
*form would begin breaking down after a dozen or more shots
*muscle fatigue would begin to have effect
*draw length would shrink by 1 to 1-1/2 inches
*hold time at full draw would decrease dramatically
*as a result, groups would open up and accuracy would go out the window

Now, if you don't practice much, don't feel the need to, and your "one shot" is good for you, then it doesn't matter. But if practice is your game, you aren't doing yourself any favors by pulling a heavy bow. You might be overbowed but the symptoms aren't showing.

[LBR]

"You are overbowed when the bow controls you rather than you controlling the bow."

Yep.

[pdk25]

I don't consider someone to be overboard just because they can't do this.