How heavy bows?

[Stumpkiller]

Doing all my shooting this past year with a 52#@28" that I draw to 29-1/2" for about 55#.

[WDELongbow]

I am getting back into trad archery after a 20 year absence.  I used to read about how (in 1950's & 60's) that conventional wisdom - influenced by field/target archery - was not to "overbow" yourself.  That a 50# bow will shoot through any N. American game animal.  Well, after 20 years it's like I took a ride in a time capsule.  This "don't over-bow yourself" mentality is apparently back, in full force.  I used to shoot bows in the mid-60# range.  I currently shoot 57# and have plans to increase poundage after my archery muscles are conditioned.  Trad archers I talk with seem to raise eyebrows at my plans to shoot bows in the 60+# range (Heaven forbid me telling them I want to shoot bows in the 70+ lb range!)

[WDELongbow]

Also, seems like there are a ton of heavier bows on the market with the seller indicating "must move down in weight due to a shoulder injury". No joke, I have seen dozens on this site and the big auction site I can't name.  This may be me in a few weeks, lol.

[Rob DiStefano]

where is that voice of reason we all sometimes need to hear?

shoot whatever you like as it doesn't matter one bit what anyone thinks but You.  i sure don't give a hoot.  and i sure as heck ain't telling anyone what bow or arrow or holding weight i think is best for them.

geez louise, it's all subjective and conscionable stuff, as long as you meet the hunt land's legalities.

[WDELongbow]

Where did the heavy bows go?  Dan Quillian was a promoter of shooting heavier bows.  Of course I was a 20-something and quite impressionable when I would pick his brain at his shop.  He once told me that one day he quit listening to the "don't over-bow yourself" crowd and began defiantly shooting heavier bows, with a great deal of success.  He really had strong points for going as heavy as you comfortably handle.  And if you read Howard Hill's book he certainly leaned toward a very heavy bow by today's standards.  Things tend to go in cycles, and I think we may be in a light-bow phase in the world of trad archery.  Also, the core base of trad archers is getting older.  20 yrs ago you did not hear all these arguments for light bows around every corner.  Now a light bow is almost like a badge of honor for many trad archers.  I agree to each his own, but I prefer a heavier bow as long as I can shoot one.  At least 60+ lbs.  Just me and my opinion.  I realize it is relative though, based on the shooter.

[Bob B.]

I like to shoot high 40's to mid 50's - I draw a solid 30 inches and the extra power stroke helps me out.  I think 50-52 feels best to me. The biggest animal I hunt is a white tail, so I guess I got plenty of juice with my set ups.

Bob.

[Night Wing]

During my last 47 years of bowhunting, I've "never" shot a bow over 44#.

[Kid's Pastor]

I shot mid 60's for many years, but have just ordered a new Stalker recurve 55lb at my draw.

[Thumper Dunker]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
where is that voice of reason we all sometimes need to hear?

shoot whatever you like as it doesn't matter one bit what anyone thinks but You.  i sure don't give a hoot.  and i sure as heck ain't telling anyone what bow or arrow or holding weight i think is best for them.

geez louise, it's all subjective and conscionable stuff, as long as you meet the hunt land's legalities.

+2  

[Huntschool]

Between 45 and 55 at 28" makes me a happy camper.  I feel comfortable in that weight range and that range with a good arrow, sharp BH put where it needs to be and the results are going to be good...

While I enjoyed shooting bows over 80 pounds for years, the dumbest thing I ever did was to not get a low 50s bow from John Schulz. There is nothing wrong with working up in weight, although a quick shooting 40 pound bow can easily be a more deadly hunting bow for many shooters.  Everyone is different, what ever works for you and does the job is good enough.

[duncan idaho]

61# to 72# on all my recurves.

[Raging Water]

Gents,

These kinds of threads are more fun than anything else. Why? Just brings out strong opinions that really don't matter. But, fun to read.

I agree with Rob DiStefano. It doesn't matter. Shoot heavy, shoot medium, shoot light. Whatever makes YOU HAPPY.

I like heavy bows - 80# - 100#. That's just me.

But, my "Long Term Keeper" brand new bows that I spent a fortune on..... they are all in the 60's LBS range. Why? Because, I sunk a ton of money into them and want to shoot them when I get much older.

Again, just shoot what you want. Please, only yourself. Archery or Hunting is personal, not a group thing. Make yourself happy.

My 2 cents.

Matt

[deaddoc4444]

I USED to shoot nothing but farily heavy bows  My first custom order was for a HH Big 5   71 # (Still have it )  Graduated to 86# BIg 5 . Shot that for years and shot a bow or two in the 100# range a few times and handled it .
 AHd a nother custom made for me  74 @26" .  THEN blew out one shoulder in Martial ARTs Practice . Then screwed up the other shoulder In another Marial arts practice    NOW im handling a 45 to 50 Pound range OK and shooting OK   The hsoulde rinjuries kept me out of Archery   for almost 10 years     NO MORE heavies for me !!!!

[dave19113]

45# 52# 56# 58# 67#

[WDELongbow]

I truly appreciate that archery is a personal thing, and that each chooses their weight.  But at times it comes off that a light bow is a virtue or something.  I guess I was heavily influenced by the writings of Howard Hill and writings and advice of Dan Quillian, who seemed to think that a heavy bow had some inherent advantages for hunting.  Don't want to offend any lighter equipment archers, but a heavier bow may have some merrit.

1)  Shoot a very heavy arrow with a respectable velocity (helping you pass-through animals, even if miss-hit, aka shoulder hit or similar).  To me, this almost seems "responsible"???  By simple physics, a 85 lb bow slinging a 900+ grain arrow will be more deadly than a 45 lbs bow shooting much lighter weight arrow.

2) Help get a clean release. Again, accuracy would be beneficial for a clean shot at game.

3) Better transfer of skills from practice to hunting.  The nature of hunting is that you actually shoot very few arrows (a handful of warmups, then likely just 1 shot, if any).  If you train with a lower frequency of shots per session - maybe desirable, making each shot really count - and allow adequate rest periods between shots it would be doable to shoot a heavier bow, for most people.  Verses shooting a lighter bow for repetitive arrow flinging (target shooting, 3D, etc.).  I have been shooting 1 arrow, retrieve it, and then shoot it again.  Seems like the practice, by nature of how you have to train and shoot a heavy bow, would be better to prepare you for hunting.

4) Observation of what other top hunters of trad archery do (or have done in past).  Dan Q. pointed out that almost every notable trad shooter throughout history shot a fairly heavy bow (H. Hill, F. Bear, Art Laha, and the list goes on an on).  Most of these guys shot bows of at least 65 lbs or more.  Dan actually shot bows as heavy as 85+ lbs rather late in life . . . after suffering a heart attack!

5) Shooting a heavy bow just seems to be part of the "tradition" of traditional archery.  Reading H. Hill's Hunting the Hard Way this seems as plain as the nose on my face.

I know this is my opinion.  Just curious what the inherent advantage of the light bow are, besides less risk of injury.  Example:  Easier to stop mid-draw if a deer suddenly looks at you, able to draw and hold (say you draw before an animal comes out from behind brush), etc.  I am certainly no expert, and I if I am wrong I would like to find out why.

[WDELongbow]

I could even relate to one wanting to shoot a lighter bow to add to the challenge.  Say how in sportfishing you have various lightweight line categories for world records.  Doing it as an added challenge.  Particularly if you were shooting a self-bow or something (say with a stone point).

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by WDELongbow:
I could even relate to one wanting to shoot a lighter bow to add to the challenge.  Say how in sportfishing you have various lightweight line categories for world records.  Doing it as an added challenge.  Particularly if you were shooting a self-bow or something (say with a stone point).

I don't think that's cool to 'relate' that....when fishing with light stuff....killing the fish doens't happen if the light tackle fails.

If the light tackle fails in hunting the animal suffers for the 'challenge'?  Un-Cool....MAJOR Un-Cool.

[WDELongbow]

But at some point, you would have to stick to broadside shots at 10 yds, or just use a 30-06 to ensure a kill.  Whatever weight bow you use, there is a fairly high wound rate with a bow compared to a rifle.  I think this logic supports my premise that a heavier bow is a better hunting weapon because it packs more wallop.

[Javi]

Originally posted by WDELongbow:
But at some point, you would have to stick to broadside shots at 10 yds, or just use a 30-06 to ensure a kill.  Whatever weight bow you use, there is a fairly high wound rate with a bow compared to a rifle.  I think this logic supports my premise that a heavier bow is a better hunting weapon because it packs more wallop.

I suspect that you'd be surprised if there were factual compilations of animals wounded and lost with firearms versus those from archery unfortunately there is no such data, because most people who wound and lose deer do not report it..

After 53 years in this sport I can definitively tell you that no one needs a bow of more than 40 lbs at their draw length to kill any deer in North America especially a bow made of modern materials and using modern methods of construction.

And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I was shooting a 70 pound bow when I was 16 and a 85 pound bow when I was 20.... I've drawn and shot bows of over a 100 pounds many times but I've never needed a bow that drew more than 40 pounds to hunt deer...  All that said.. I shoot between 46 and 50 pounds at my draw length because I can comfortably shoot them and because if I drop to less than 38 pounds I begin to have problems getting off the string..

I won't tell someone they need to shoot less poundage “IF” I see they are handling the weight well, but I will recommend that any student I see hunching in order to draw the bow and shooting less draw length than they should in order to shoot that weight should consider a different bow.