The Arguement FOR Heavy Bows

[longbowman]

Rob, good questions.  I think we'll have almost as many definitions to your questions as we do reasons why people shoot what they shoot but I'll bite from my perspective only.

1.  Heavy bow - 80# & up
2.  Light bow - 60# & under
3.  + Points for heavy.  Better release, ability to shoot heavier arrows with more punch.  Better penetration on game.  Just makes you feel beter inside!
+ points for lighter.  People unable to shoot good weights due to physical problems, gender or age.  I'd rather have them hunting than not as long as they are ethical & know their limitations.

[Terry Green]

Rob....I really don't think we need to define what a 'light weight' bow is on this thread(don't need that can of worms)....only what heavy is.  We don't need to draw a line in the sand on what is light.

On average, based on being on this forum for nearly a decade.....60# is heavy to most....just as ONE  example(yes, I have many), we have only HALF of the months taken for Hope and Faith this year due to them being 61 and 63#s.  When we started, we only had a third of the months booked....most years we have more folks wanting to hunt with them than months available.

So, in my book, based on HUNTERS THAT ACTUALLY HUNT AND KILL STUFF, 60#s and over is considered heavy.  NOT some weight determined by folks that just want to pull a heavy bow just so they can claim they can.

[pdk25]

Glad to see this thread back up.  It is difficult to come up with what exactly is a heavy bow, but as Terry has said, 60# seems a pretty good weight.  If you don't agree with that, try to sell one over 60#.  That being said, in the orignal post the weight referred to was below that, but for that individual it was a heavy weight.  I guess the main point of this thread is about shooting what is a heavy weight for an individual and the advantages that it would have.  Many people have already described some of those reasons.  I haven't been doing the trad thing as long as some folks, but have killed stuff using trad bows ranging from a little over 45 pounds to a little over 80 pounds, and both weights have some advantages over the others, IMHO.  When I started out, 55# would have seemed heavy to me, but now it seems fairly light.  I agree with others that having a heavier weight makes for a slightly improved release, but eventually you get to a weight that is heavy enough that you don't relax your fingers and have more trouble holding steady on target for more distant targets, so those advantages can go away.  This happens at a different point for everyone.  Obviously, the heavier weight for a given bow design will have penetration advantages, but at some point there will be accuracy issues.  If you aren't shooting over 25 yards, that will be less important than for a target archer shooting longer distances.  We each have to find where we are comfortable.  For me, my HH Rogue that is 95# @ 29" is a nice bow to practice with for strength and as a training bow, but for now I would not be accurate enough with it beyond 15 yards, so it isn't going hunting with me.  Maybe that will change in the future.  As so many have said, shoot the heaviest weight that you are comfortable/accurate with in a hunting situation.  Also realize that you may be tired from hiking up a mountain or stiff from sitting in a cold treestand, where a slightly lighter draw weight may be helpful.  One thing is fairly certain, though.  Shooting heavier bows makes it easier to handle the lighter weight bows.  I usually shoot whichever bow that I am shooting regularly the best.  YMMV.

One thing that I will mention, which my be a curiosity all to myself. I find that when I have a lighter weight bow I have more of a tendency to short draw and develop target panic.  With the heavier weights that I really have to work at, I seem to focus more on getting to full draw and the problem goes away.  That may be just me and some mental issues, but I have definitely noticed it to be true.

[Terry Green]

As a side note, based on one I just removed, all smart a$$ remarks will be removed.....and the smart a$$ that makes the remarks may also be removed.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Rossco7002:
Once you're getting up over 60 lbs are most using a touch and go anchor?

That is how I shoot ANY weight bow.....but can and DO hold at full draw if the game dictates....once the shot is re-acquired, I apply rearward tension and release.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Sam McMichael:
I hate to see a thread such as this get so off track. It should not be a rock throwing contest. If I understand correctly, the initial request was simply for heavy bow shooters to try to explain what benefits they feel they get from shooting the heavy bow. The heavy vs. light argument was injected but is not part of the original inquiry. Not trying to be rude, but people who only shoot light bows are not in a position to add anything relevant to the original posting, since it specifically asks the question of those shooting the heavy bows. Please don't take undue offense at my bluntness, but that is how the original question was posed.

Yes...this thread is being cleaned up...and these types of posts will be removed.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Rossco7002:
So when shooting these beasts do you guys pre-aim through the draw to minimize your holding time? I'm tempted to go heavy with my next bow and would like to hear what you guys do differently (if anything) when shooting heavy bows...

I would suggest shooting the exact same way you do now....just work your way up if you so desire.

[Terry Green]

Also, if you have only been shooting a few months, and have never killed anything.....please reserve your 'opinion'.  All you are doing is wasting bandwidth, and the internet has enough keyboard cowboys already.  (yes, I am referring to someone that posted with ZERO experience in shooting and killing)

Go kill some stuff, and come back and tell us all about it.  After all, this IS a hunting forum, and that's what we want and like to hear.

Sorry to be so blunt, but this thread WILL remain on topic.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing    

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

A Hill style bow of #60+ keeps me honest, I can shoot any light fluffy arrow with a #40 - #50 bow but when I get into a #60+ Hill style I have to shoot heavy arrows or it will kick me like a mule.  If I am using heavy arrows it is as smooth and quiet as any bow I have ever fired but with a light arrow it will kick me hard enough to rattle my teeth (the infamous hand shock).  

I read some one in this thread say heavier bows are more forgiving of form, I am not sure about that but I do feel that I can feel if my form is bad, it amplifies my mistakes to me.  If my hand flies away from my face it REALLY flies away.  
 
 

Originally posted by Rossco7002:
Once you're getting up over 60 lbs are most using a touch and go anchor?  

Originally posted by Rossco7002:
So when shooting these beasts do you guys pre-aim through the draw to minimize your holding time? I'm tempted to go heavy with my next bow and would like to hear what you guys do differently (if anything) when shooting heavy bows...

I usually shoot a #63 Hill style bow and I hold at anchor for about a 2 count, not always but usually.  At times I practice holding for a 5 count just in case I ever have to.  I pre-aim not because of the weight of the bow but because I need to keep focused on my "spot" through out the shot sequence to be consistently successful.

These are just my observations.

[moththerlode]

[Pat B.]

Back in the 70's I shot bows in the mid 80 pound range, certainly not heavy by some acounts, but generally speaking that would qualify. I also shot some bows upwards of 100# but simply couldn't shoot them well, consistently.. The bows in the mid 80 pound range shot well for me and I handled them easily.

I shot the heavy weight because I could !!  I was accurate with them and they performed well on game..

As the years have gone by I have gone down in the weight but still occasionaly miss the performance of the heavy bows..

Shoot 'em if you can !

[Looper]

The definition of heavy and light is too subjective to define, imo.  A 100# bow to Marlon Torres is akin to a 50# bow for me. A better question might be why would a person choose to shoot a bow that is in the upper range of poundage that he can shoot accurately versus one from the lower range, toward the minimum legal limit.

Rossco, I'll give you an example from my current line up. My two favorite bows are both Hills. One is 50 @ my draw, the other 60. Both are more than adequate for anything I hunt, from squirrels to black bear.  I have them set up to where they both have the same arrow trajectory. The heavier bow will shoot a 650 grain arrow at the same speed the lighter bow does with a 550 grain arrow.

I've found the lighter bow to be more sensitive to my release and to torquing the string. Prior to getting the 50# bow, I had been shooting bows in the 65# range for some time.  Years, in fact. Shooting the 50# bow revealed I had some issues with my release (too much tension), and, frankly, my accuracy with it was not anywhere close to what I had become accustomed to.  I put the heavier bows away and devoted myself to improving my overall form. After several months of shooting nothing but the lighter bow, my accuracy increased by leaps and bounds, with all of my bows.

Now, which bow do I hunt with? I tend to lean towards the heavier of the two. I hunt in areas where some very large wild boar roam and like the added benefit of the heavier arrow. I'm not shooting a bunch of arrows while hunting, so fatigue isn't an issue; the poundage is such that I can easily pull it, even when cold and stiff; and I can hold it at full draw for several seconds if necessary. I'd have to say, too, that if push came to shove, it would be the bow I'd keep if I had to sell all but one.

[longbowman]

My reason for the weight I shoot IS because of my hunting experiences.  I shot a bull elk in Montana after a long stalk and took him quartering towards me at 8 yds.  The 800gr. arrow went in tight behind the left shoulder and broke the back leg on the right side with the broadhead sticking out, he went 35 yds.  I shot a 504# black bear after a good stalk and hit him behind the right shoulder with the arrow angling up through and sticking out the left shoulder 6" after breaking that leg.  I couldn't count the number of deer I've killed with my arrows severing the shoulder bones on the opposite side and completely passing through.
     Attempting to answer the original question, that is my argument FOR using the heavy stuff, not just being able to pull it back.  I'm a hunter first and always will be.
     Now, before half the people on here begin telling me I'm not ethical because I shot at an elk quartering towards me..he wasn't when I shot but spun that way before my arrow covered the 8 yds.  I was very glad for the weight of bow I was using that day.

My first longbow was an 89 pounds at 28" reverse Tembo. I figured that I was going to lose speed but gain stability, so I went heavy. Then I found that my Hill draw was only 27" maximum, then later I found that I shot better at 26&1/4".  I shot a few deer with a Schulz that pulled to 65 pounds at that shorter draw, but ended up going back up in bow weights with the hopes that I would get more arrow speed along with more forgiveness.  I did get more forgiveness in some cases for my release, but the added speed was not apparent and in some bow I lost speed.  One thing the heavy bows did was to slow my form down a bit; with light bows, I would rip the arrow back almost as fast as the bow could shoot it forward so in that way I was more accurate with the heavy bows.  However, with time the heavy bows started to beat me up and I had to drop back to the mid 60s, now my heaviest hunting bows are those and my standards are in the 50s.  I can still shoot my 90 pounder, but I pay for it in the wrist and finger joints.  Heavy bows are fun if one can handle them, but just because someone can go real heavy that does mean that it is necessary to go overboard and there are physical hazards to consider.  I really did not like the influence my heavy bows had on the younger guys that wanted to get into traditional archery, I always had to talk them down.  The cases where I did not succeed with my warnings about going too heavy too fast, the person got a heavy bow despite my efforts and quit shooting in frustration.

[Bill Turner]

I have not read all the post(shame on me)here but personnally I seem to get a cleaner release with my heavier bows. With that said, heavy to me is anything between 55 and 60 pounds at my 28" draw. I just don't get the same consistancy when shooting bows 50 pounds and below.

[oxnam]

Heavy bows are going to hit harder or shoot flatter and usually both.  It is harder to get away with poor back tension, which CAN lead to better shot execution.  Vertical misses/errors are reduced.  Moving targets are easier because less lead is required.

During 3D shoots, people were often impressed by how flat the arrow flew.  Some didn't like that they had a harder time tracking the arrow, but the flatter trajectory reduces vertical errors in judgment and helped to post higher scores.

Many people think that heavy weight shooters are snap shooters which can cause poor accuracy and fatigue rapidly.  I had a guy at a FITA shoot snicker at me when I told him the poundage.  He said there was no way I would last the 160 shots.  By the end he complimented me regarding my long hold and maintaining consistent draw and accuracy.  I feel fortunate that 65# is very managable, even after long periods of no shooting.  I have to work hard to stay comfortable with 80# because that exceeds my normal abilities.  

Everyone is different but some of the advantages of higher poundage bows are undeniable.

[Kituwa]

I am not an for or against heavy draw wieght or more moderate draw weight. An arrow kills only by cutting,if a sharp broadhead pokes out both sides of a deer,it has done all it can do no matter what bow it was shot out of or how fast the arrow was going. Hits on bone can make a diffrence of coarse but from many accounts even lower poundage bows set up right can do this on deer. For the most part,A heavy bow shoots around the same speed as a lighter bow but just does so with a heavier arrow if the bow is tuned right.Of coarse a heavy arrow is going to have more penatration than a light one at bow speeds. Of coarse a lighter arrow shoots flatter than a heavy one.However from several threads here in the past,,the vast majority say they seldom will shoot at game much over 20 yards so a  flat trajectory hardly comes into play.So what it really comes down to is only what bow weight you shoot the best and are most comfortable with.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Kituwa:
So what it really comes down to is only what bow weight you shoot the best and are most comfortable with.

AND....it also depends on the game you are hunting.  Bows are tools, and one size don't always fit all.

Certain game requires heavier weight bows, heavier arrows, and different broadheads, and if you are going to kill them with consistency, you need to work to achieve a level of proficiency with the tool needed to get the job done, and the equipment required to go with them. In other words, if you are going to kill an elephant or buff, you need to get comfortable with a heavier bow.

Again, this thread about the case FOR heavier weight bows and why...and there are reasons why that are legit.  Lets talk about them instead of trying to discourage them like there is no need for them.

   

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

If you only hunt Northwest Blacktail deer then you can hunt your whole life using a #55 bow, but if you go on a Southeast pig hunt with the armored plate over their heart (I love those pics you shared Terry), or a Montana Moose hunt, a heavy bow is definately the right tool for the job.  I have a #75 Tembo I am working up to in case I ever hit the lottery on a Moose hunt.

[59Alaskan]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000381;p=1


I hunt bows that are too light for game pictured in this thread.  I shot a couple of 60# bows with much less difficulty than I thought I would at the time but it was only a few shots.

This thread and the one I have linked here are inspiring me to consider working up a bit in bow weight before I work up too much in age!