More accurate with more poundage?

[laddy]

I often use the empty bucket analogy.  If you on a bucket brigade and someone hands you an empty bucket when you have getting nothing but full ones, the tendency is to throw it in the air. When I was shooting 64 to 96 pound bows I could not shoot a 50.  I tended to jerk the string back almost as fast as the bow shot the arrow, and my fingers did not know how to let go of the string.  I have since settled down and can shoot the light weights just fine.  I sometimes miss that automatic pilot thing that heavy longbows give.

[Diamond Paul]

By the way, the "heavier bow" thing is pretty relative.  I know a guy who used to hunt deer with a 120 pound compound, and he could pull over 200lbs.  He used to pull 70lb bows just like you would pull one of those spring chest pull exercisers, with both arms straight out in front of him, like it was nothing.  Only the shooter can define what a heavy bow is to him/her.  Paul.

[Jeff Roberts]

I have bows of various wieghts but shoot my 65# bows remarakbly better. I have basically shot 65# since the early 80's and have a problem with double clutching and having to mentally release the arrow on lighter wieght draw bows. My release is automatic with my 65# bows. I do shoot daily and that around 50 times or more at 65#. It is definetly what your body is accustomed to and able to handle. It is more phsyical than mental.

[KyleAllen]

It may be the fact that 58#'s is what i cut my teeth on. I definitely think it is harder to be accurate with lighter bows. I just couldn't let go of the string. I like the way that the heavier bows rip it from your fingers. Perhaps the difference will show on this weeks score card...

[Ulysseys]

Same deal here - I had a 62# Widow that I used to tack drive with.  I figured if I hit that well at that poundage then I must be a freak of nature with lower pounds so I dropped all the way to 50# and was absolutely horrible with it.  Weird.

[Rick McGowan]

Isn't it funny that every time one of the hunting with "lightweight bows" threads comes up, someone chimes in with "its better to shoot a lightweight bow accurately, than a heavier one poorly". I've never seen the connecdtion myself and the opposite seems to be closer to the truth.

[George D. Stout]

I've shot both and can tell you there is not a lot of difference as long as your form is settled.  I have shot field rounds with 34 pound bows and also 60 pound bows.  I never had any release problems, and after 112 arrows....each one shot to score....I had a lot left over after the 34 pounder and my score was much better.

There is an optimum either way, but form errors will show up on lighter bows.  It's not the bows fault.  I shot the best barebow field score of my life with a 38# target bow.

My hunting recurves are 51 and 52 pounds, and I have no release problem with them...nor do I struggle.

[Diamond Paul]

Rick: If you can shoot a heavy bow well, no doubt it beats a light bow shot well.  But an arrow in the gut from a 70lb bow ain't as good as an arrow in both lungs from a 45lb bow, I wouldn't think.  I've seen lots of people who shot "heavy" bows (60lbs or more), and most of them could not hit a room from inside it.  JMHO

[flatlander37]

I'm really glad this subject came up also.  I've been practicing alot more recently and my bow just seems to light, and I feel like my release isn't what it used to be.  It wasn't perfect to begin with but I was consistent.  Like some others have said, the string just doesn't "jump" from my fingers like it used to.  At first I just attributed it to a few bad days of shooting but it continued.  Still could be me but I'm searching for a heavier longbow as we speak to see what's up with it.  Mark

[laddy]

I have found that coating my shooting glove with powder encourages me to release smoother with the light weight bows.

[robertson]

And what about shooting a heavier bow after two or three hours in the stand during a very cold morning !!!

That the reason i took a lower poundage bow for hunting .

Hunting situations are not the same that shooting in the backyard .

[Rico]

58# is not heavy for Instinctive shooting but maybe a little much for Oly target shooting style.

[SteveB]

Very very very few American traditional archers shoot"Oly target style".

Steve

[Rick McGowan]

Diamond Paul, yes and an arrow in the guts from a 45# bow is not as good as an arrow through both lungs from a 75# bow, so what? I have watched many MANY bowhunters shoot and if anything the guys hunting with heavier equipment shoot BETTER on average than those shooting the minimum. Howard Hill attributed his shooting skills to the fact that he shot heavy(very)bows. Since my bows are for hunting, I really don't care that I can't shoot several hundred arrows in a row, as target archers do, I wouldn't do that even if I could, its not realistic practice for hunting and in my experience, tends to create bad habits. If you want to make it easy to draw your bow after standing in the cold for hours, don't hunt with the same or heavier weight bow you practiced with all summer, shoot a lighter one, shoot 3-D with a 60# bow and then drop back to a 55# and it will feel like nothing, although I've never had that problem, even when hunting in the arctic with an 80#, I think that largely comes from hunters shooting lightweight bows most of the time and then switching up just before hunting season.

[Mike Burch]

Well said Rick...and I agree.

I've owned a ton of bows and seem to shoot 58-68# at my draw the best. I seem to hold steadier.

I've settled on about 60-65# @ my 30ish draw simply because I can find a good weighted carbon easier around that poundage...as for gpp.

Mike

[ishiwannabe]

I got to shoot a couple of heavier bows yesterday...I usually shoot 45#, and increased by 5-7 #'s yesteday. Accuaracy wasnt an issue, as they were not my bows. One thing I noticed was that my form was A LOT better than usual. Just saying...

[Diamond Paul]

Rick: If you can shoot the heavy weights, that's great, nothing but a plus.  I haven't personally seen many guys shooting heavy bows well; they tend to have too much tension in the drawing hand and arm, short draw, and snap shoot.  Maybe we just don't have many good shooters down here.  Everyone I know that dropped significant weight says he/she shoots better, has better form, can actually get all the way to anchor, and can shoot a lot more.  I'll use the rifle analogy here: lots of guys shoot the big magnums, but they kick the snot out of them, so they develop a flinch, and don't shoot the rifle much because of the punishment they endure.  Guys who shoot .243's, 25/06's, and .308's are usually much better shots simply because they aren't flinching and they can shoot the rifle more without being punished.  I like to shoot A LOT; I used to shoot a minimum of 2 hours a day when I shot compounds in competition.  I usually shoot 100 or so arrows daily from my recurve.  I don't think many people can do that with heavy bows.  Most people think I'm a pretty good shot, and I would guess it's because I can practice a lot without tearing my body down.  I know I shoot much better now than I did when I shot 63lbs, whether for one shot or many.  If you like heavy and CAN SHOOT IT WELL, I think it's great, but I think you would be in the minority on the latter statement.  Good luck, Paul.

[draco]

Paul; this weight thing may all be related to shooting styles. You switched over from compounds and may still have that draw,settle in,aim and shoot style. I could see that lighter weight would certainly help there. But in an instinctive, touch your anchor and its gone style, a little more poundage might be helpful. Most of the people I`ve seen shooting lighter weights tend to stop at thier anchor a bit before they shoot and when I shoot a lighter bow thats what I have a tendancy to do as well. And I shoot bad and cant let go of the arrow well.
I`ve shot stick bows for 45 yrs. and middle to upper sixtys is what works for me. You have to shoot what works for you. Like Charlie said,we are all built differant and we all have a weight range that fits us,but it dont make us wrong.  Bob

[George D. Stout]

First of all, we know what works from decades of history.  Second, you have to stay within your means; if that's 80 pound then so be it...if it's 45 then that is fine also.  This crap gets old, especially when we know both will work fine.

Take a trip to Denton Hill this summer....I will join you there and we will watch shooters on the practice line.  You will learn a few things about bow weights and how people shoot them.  Don't shoot light weights because someone else does, and don't shoot heavy weights because someone else does.  Find a comfort area where you can utilize good form and shoot well, no matter what is written on the side of the bow.

[Orion]

Charlie:  I'm just about the same age as you(a year older), and I've just gone through the same process you did.  As you well know, there is a fine line between too much bow and not enough.  I've always shot as heavy as I could shoot accurately and relatively comfortably.  It's a little less now (about 60#)than it was, but not as much less as I was trying to talk myself into.  That make any sense?

Rick:  I agree as well that shooting a heavier bow for practice is a good idea.  That's what I do all summer.  I stay with the heavier bows for my western hunts in September (warmer weather and bigger critters), but usually drop down about 5# when I'm sitting in a tree stand all day in northern Wisconsin during the rut in mid-November with the temperature hovering at 0 degrees.  When I do get a shot, it feels just about like my heavier bows in warmer weather.