Have You Ever Bought a Bow And Wished You Had Gotten A Different Draw Weight?

[GrayRhino]

Just wondering how often this happens.  Is it more common to order a bow with too much draw weight thinking "I can work into it".....and then find out that you can't, too much strain, etc.

Or, is it more common (I doubt it) to go too low and wish you'd gotten a few LBS more?  

There is the advantage of a 3 piece bow that it is cheaper to order another set of limbs rather than a complete bow.

I read of quite a few guys saying that they had to sell a bow due to a shoulder injury, surgery -- and I wonder if it is from too many years of shooting a heavier than necessary bow, or some may be non-archery related injuries?

Seems like there are quite a few classifieds mentioning someone selling or trading a 55-60# bow and looking for 45# or thereabouts.  I've noticed that the lighter weight bows sell much quicker than the 65#, 70# and upward.

I have a 2pc on order but have another week to change the draw weight if I want.  I want to do it right the first time.    
I'm erring on the side of caution, but there is this lingering thought, "I can go a few pounds more.....or can I?"

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Ive always ordered my bows a tad lighter. I like to shoot alot and dont need some heavy poundage bow tiring me out or (causing injury). My bows are all in the mid 40's at 28". I pull them to a 31.5" draw so i guess im around the low 50's. More than enough # for the whitetails.

[reddogge]

Depends if you are an experienced recurve/longbow shooter or just beginning.  I would err on the conservative side if just beginning or haven't shot the heavier weight.  If you know what you are in for, go for the heavier weight.  

What weights are you considering?

If you shoot any 3-D make sure you can shoot it all morning without fatiqueing.  If you just hunt and plink in the backyard you can be a little more aggessive.  I feel you should be able to shoot 4 dozens arrows at a session without feeling like your arms are going to fall off.

[longbowben]

Yes i ordered a 54lb long bow and it was too light,I seem to shoot better when im holding more weight.

[GrayRhino]

I'm a recurve shooter, but have my first longbow on order.  I shoot 50# comfortably, and have a heavier set of 62# limbs that I have to work with a couple months to shoot comfortably.

Since this longbow will be a 2pc, I want to get a good all around weight.  Right now I've ordered it 53 @ 32.  I draw 32.5, so I'll be pulling about 54#.  

I'm wondering, since my recurve is 64" and the longbow will be 66", will it 'feel' smoother, or 'feel' like less weight?  Should I go a little heavier?  I'm stepping out on this one, having never owned or shot a longbow before and being overseas I could not do a demo.....but it's a WIDOW, so I know I'll not be disappointed.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I think you will probably be right in the ballpark myself? I can tell a big difference in the smoothness from shooting my recurve and my own Osage longbows. The longbow feels smoother all the way through the draw and doesn't stack like the recurves are prone to do.

You may not even notice the extra few pounds much at all?

I'm planning to do the same thing shortly. I shoot 48# with my Bear Grizzly, but I want a new bow possibly a R/D longbow and I plan on going up to around 53# with it. I don't forsee it as being an impossible hurdle especially if you shoot alot, and it doesn't take me long to adjust to a different wt. bow.

Good luck with your new set up.

[term]

I think you will be fine with 54#. It will not test you like your62# limbs. I have bought to heavy most of the time, not smart enough to change. I went from 63# to 54# last year and my shooting in hunting situations has never been better. I live 15 miles from nixa and I know you will love it.

[DeerSpotter]

I will jump in for the "Younger"
(In Experience)Guys,

When I came back to traditional archery I saw a good buy on a john Mcdonald I grabbed it, It was 53# @28 ,I struggled with it for a long time can't figure out what was wrong .Until I started noticing my bow arm shaken like a twig in the 50 mile an hr wind. And then I thought well of go down to 48# And then to 45#.  

Well the difference between 28 and 29 " D/L Is about 3 pounds in most cases .

I just recently right now today picked up all three of my bows 36# 43# 47# ,And shot each of them 4 arrows a piece I do best with my 47#,

That's after building up a little strength ,And gaining some experience on what I wanted to as far as split or three under and also arrow weight.

I have a new bow that should be here in about one weeks and it is 48# @ 28 ,The smoothness ,And the non stacking are key factors ,I think I wil shoot fine with it .But pay attention to the shoulder problems ,I'm over 60 now and it does come into play .The mid 40's Will probably be my range in the future .In the quality bows ,That's another thing that this newbe learned ,I spent so much money in cheap bows ,They would equal about 4 to 5 custom bows ,I will be sticking with two custom bowyers that are both sponsors on this website,I have found it makes a world of difference .

Disclaimer

No offense meant to newbies I am one myself .Although I've been shooting from the age of 10 it hasn't been continuously.You're never too old to start over !

Carl

[maineac]

My first bow I ordered limbs that I felt were lighter than I wold have liked.  Being a take down recurve I ordered a second set of limbs at #65. I can shoot them well, but not as well as the lighter limbs.  Now I will shoot he #65 limbs for July and into August, then switch up ans hoot the lighter ones for a couple of weeks before season.  I find after shooting the #65 limbs the #55 limbs feel like nothing.  I'll use the same strategy this year, but go over to the longbow.

[Bill Turner]

No doubt. Better to be to heavy then to light. You can always have the bow reduced in weight. Course, I'd rather be on the money, but if you buy used, unseen its just tough.

[Raging Water]

Yep

[Al Dean]

I think you will find the longbow feels like more weight even though it is 2" longer.

[Mike Vines]

In the days of the "Old" archers...I say that nicely...45# was shot at just about every animal in the USA, untill you decided to hunt either moose or bear to which they would shoot a big boy bow of 55-60#.  I have a 57# @ 28" RER LXR that I pull 27 1/2", and I do believe it will kill anything I ever decide to hunt.

Not only being able to shoot it well, you also need to have complete confidence in the equipment you are shooting.  I think you will be completely fine and comfortable with a 54# bow at your draw length.

[BWD]

Oh yeah.

[SveinD]

Yup.. Jumped from a 35# to a 50# bow with no training to upscale.. that was one year ago this week, and I'm still injured..  :(

[xtrema312]

My first custom I knew I should get a couple pounds lighter than I was shooting for my max weight with the plus minus 2 lb. range required by the boyer.  It came in plus 4.  I struggled and finally put it on scale and it was really plus 7.  A weight reduction got it down to plus 2 marked so in the promised range, but it was still plus 4 on a scale. I worked up to the weight about the time my form correction put on plus 1 inch of draw.  I finally sold it.

My second custom was the same bow I was shooting at the time I ordered the new one, but longer limbs and heavier riser wood.  I ordered it plus 1 pound of what I was shooting.  I really planned to use the new longer heavier mass weight bow for high volume shooting and targets, but figured the longer limbs would make 1 pound no big deal.  I was going to order it - 3 and changed my mind at the last minute.  It came in right on at plus 1, but felt heavier than that.  I put both on a scale. The bow I had was really minus 2 of marked weight and the new one was about plus ½ of marked weight so 3 ½ heavier .  No big deal, but my target bow was now my heavy bow.

So now I have a long waiting time bow on order and a short waiting time bow on order.  The hunting bow I ordered right on my hunting weight because I was told the boyer could hit weight.  The short weighting time bow will be geared a little more towards targets and a longer bow.  I ordered it -3# of my standard hunting bow weight.  This time no changes.

I have learned that bows are not always as marked and the variation is most times the way the boyer scales the bow or the scale they use.  Now I never order a bow without shooting more than a couple of the bows I plan to order at or real close to the weight I want.  I also trying to scale a couple if I can to see how their bows run.  I take that and any range of weight the boyer requires into account.  

I would rather be a couple pounds light than heavy.  I currently shoot at a weight that I can pull full draw first shot and 100th shot warm or cold every day.  I don’t want to end up with another bow three or four pounds heavier than I am 100% comfortable shooting now. I see no need for more bow weight.

[Clint B.]

A lot of bowyers can only promise to hit within +/- 2 lbs of your desired weight. The moral of the story is don't request a weight so close to your upper limit that an extra couple of pounds is going to sour you on your new bow.

[Bonebuster]

I bought my first longbow used, here. The same guy had two for sale, and I chose the lighter one.

It is about ten pounds lighter than my recurve. I wish I would have gotten the heavier one.

Before I went to Africa in '09 I ordered a new Sarrels Blueridge takedown. I ordered it heavy thinking I had 6 months to work up to it and knowing that I planned to shoot some good sized critters. During that time I was working on correcting some form issues which eventually added 1.5" to my DL(which equalled another 5# of DW). I just could not get used to or control my shooting at the heavy weight. I had Bob take 5# off the limbs before I went and used it like that in Africa. It was still too heavy. I have since had him chase another 5# off of it and now it is perfect (for me), 50@my DL.

[Larry m]

You'll find as you get older the ability to draw and hold a heavier bow becomes more difficult. Add on a few shoulder injuries, throw in some target panic due to the rush of coming onto target and then the wish of lighter poundage. For me, I eventually found that 40 to 47 lbs (way to many bows) matched up with the correct spined shaft equals excellent flight and penetration. Remember bowyers can only reduce so many lbs... But then again you can always sell if to heavy sometime later on....