A forced move to a heavier poundage

[whiskyweasel]

I have been shooting an old Standard Hunter Ward's recurve at about #48. Unfortunately that bow cracked on me last week. A buddy of mine has generously let me shoot a #60 Bear Montana he has lying around. I have been wanting to move to a longbow and I am a broke graduate student, so rather than look this gift horse in the mouth, I am interested in jumping #10 in bow weight.

I am having a ball shooting this bow but I am clearly over-bowed. Any suggestions on how to build up to that weight without learning bad habits along the way? Thanks to all for your wisdom.

[Draven]

Daily training without arrows is the single way I know. Around 10 minutes/day of controlled pulling and let down (no dry firing please) until you will be capable to get to the anchor. Once there you know the rest. Don't rush and try to keep the form even if you pull it just 3/4 from your draw.

[McDave]

I think Draven is correct, although you don't necessarily have to pull it without an arrow in it. Just don't accidentally shoot the arrow through a window or something. I'm an old man and I have been gradually losing strength through age.  I'm trying to reverse this, successfully so far although I know this is a battle I will ultimately lose, by drawing bows of lower weight and holding for extended periods. If I were a poor graduate student and couldn't afford a lot of bows to play around with, I might try doing the same thing with stretch bands.

I think drawing the weight and holding it does a lot more for your strength than just shooting it would, without the possible injuries and bad form habits that might result from shooting a bow that is presently too heavy for you.

Or, you could just sell the Montana and buy a lighter used one for about the same price.

[KeganM]

PVC bows make a cheap training aid. For $10 you could have two or three in different weights.

[Draven]

That's why I said without arrow McDave, sometimes **** happens and an arrow shot from a 60# even at 27" draw will go through drywall like a hot knife through butter.
Stretch bands can be an option - there are some for #50, I did not seen for 60 though- but I think the real problem to solve is to accomodate your fingers to the thin string @60# also. He will develop a sort of calus on middle finger if the glove or tab is moderate thin that will help if he will not change for something thicker. Muscles is not a problem to develop, the fingers need to be able to hold the string and in the crease of the fingers there is not much muscle.

[whiskyweasel]

Thanks for all the good advice! Looking into both stretch bands and how to make a PVC bow.

I'm actually able to fully draw the bow to my anchor. The trouble I am having is that my string arm's elbow wants to drop in order to horse the string towards my face with my bicep/shoulder muscles. Arne Moe's rotational draw has really helped me out though. At this point I can get a handful of solid shots off before my elbow starts to drop.

Now it is a matter of shooting until I can feel my form deteriorating and then hanging up the bow until the next day. Strength training through stretch bands may help speed this up. Thanks again for everyone's advice!

[KeganM]

If you haven't already, adding in a push up/ pull up regimen should help, too.

[whiskyweasel]

Well, I feel the need to report back on my progress.

I have always short-drawn my bows at around 27.5 inches regardless of draw weight. After 2 months of building my strength up to shoot this 60 lb Montana, I checked my draw length yesterday and realized I was pulling 29.25 inches! I figured I might gain half an inch or so using Mr. Moe's drawing technique, but this is kinda crazy. Needless to say, I've jumped about 15 lbs.

The trouble I am running into is some pretty painful blistering on my shooting hand ring finger (I shoot split). I have upgraded to a heavier glove, but any suggestions on easing some of the friction and pinch on that finger?

Also, I am not sure if this is a question for this particular forum, but what spine carbon will I need to be shooting to ensure I still have arrow clearance and at least 10 gpp? It seems like 340s will be too weak/light at the arrow lengths I need.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

[McDave]

Congratulations on your increase in strength.  That's a good thing.

The big jump in draw length makes me wonder if you are drawing the bow correctly.  Are you familiar with the difference between drawing the bow with your arms/shoulders and drawing with your back?  Are you familiar with the J shaped drawing curve vs. straight line?  If so, no need to go further on this; if not, we should probably discuss.

Are you conscious of whether you are releasing the string by relaxing your hand, or whether you are opening your fingers?  Opening your fingers doesn't get them out of the way in time, and may result in the sore fingers you discuss.  Once they are sore, they will stay sore until they recover, so it would probably be a good idea to get a heavier glove, such as the American Leathers Bigshot, at least until your fingers recover.

At 29.25", you're probably drawing 63-64#, so to get at least a 10 gpp arrow, you would need an arrow weighing 640 grains or more.  If you had a 350 grain carbon shaft, you would need a tip or broadhead weighing about 300 grains.  The shaft needed to make that work would be way out of my realm, but I'm sure some of the EFOC folks could field your question, if you pose it on PowWow where they tend to hang out.  Personally, I would be more inclined to use a 225 grain point yielding about 9 gpp, and then I think 340 spine on a 30.25" arrow would probably work.

But first, determine if you have a J shaped draw.  If not, you might want to work on getting one, which would probably shorten your draw length some.