Moving up from 45#...

[JoeArizona]

I have been shooting my 45# bow for a few years now...since I got back into trad.
I like it because I can shoot a reasonable number of arrow without getting fatigued too soon.
But now I'm ready to move up some and the question is...how far up?
I don't know if I should move up to 50# or all the way up to 55#.  Would I really gain a lot between 50# and 55#?  
I am looking for help and advice from the group on any similar experiences...both good and bad...when moving to a heavier weight.  
Thanks in advance for your help!
Joe

[JoeArizona]

Oops!  Just saw William Penn's post.  I will be watching his also.
Thanks,
Joe

[GRINCH]

I wouldn't move up more than 5 lbs,work on your form and work up at the same time.

[Kip]

In my 20's I started with 45 moved to 50 then 55 and finally 58/60.I stayed with that for a few years and lo and behold my 60's arrived and started to like 50 plus or minus a couple of lbs.so I am almost back to sq. one and really like the wgt. now and the deer are just as dead.Five lb. jumps works better I think.Kip

[30coupe]

Originally posted by Kip:
In my 20's I started with 45 moved to 50 then 55 and finally 58/60.I stayed with that for a few years and lo and behold my 60's arrived and started to like 50 plus or minus a couple of lbs.so I am almost back to sq. one and really like the wgt. now and the deer are just as dead.Five lb. jumps works better I think.Kip

I'm about the same, except I never went past 55#. My big game is whitetail deer, so I never saw a need to go higher. Accuracy trumps everything else. Bad shots seldom have good outcomes regardless of the weight of the bow.

That said, five pounds is plenty in one jump. These days 50# is no problem, but 55# makes my shoulders hurt for 2-3 days, which is why I sold my 55# bow. From 45 to 50 is an 11% jump. From 45 to 55 is just over 22%.

[Matty]

Go up by 5.  Not much performance difference @20 yards. From 50-55. And I think going up 10 might be a bit drastic.
Just my opinion

[Stumpkiller]

I started hunting at 45# (I draw a hair over 30" so maybe 47 or 48#) and went as high as 70# at 28" (76#).  That was WAY too much bow for me and I sufferred for it.  I have settled on 52#@28" as my ideal (57# +/-) as that gets me as much power as needed to launch my wood 620 gr arrows at a speed my brain can handle ballistically.

But there is so much more to it than draw weight.  I have seven bows all within a fifteen pound range of draw weight.  With the same arrow length & weight the speeds vary from 150 fps to 200 fps.  Hill-style gripped longbow to an extremely high wrist deep recurve.  They all feel different in the hand. I definately have a favorite, but if you brought six other guys over we'd probaby have as many different favorites out of that pile.

But yes, five pounds is a good step interval.  ;-)

[helo]

I also shoot around 47# most of the time, I do have one bow that is 52# I find that when I shoot my 52# that when I go back to my 47# bow I have better mechanics when I shoot . I think you could do 5 more pounds . What part of the great state of arizona are you in.

[Biathlonman]

I'd go to the classifieds and find a bow that turned me on between 50-55.  Unless you are routinely shooting huge game #50 or thereabouts should  be just fine.  I recently had several bows of the same make set up the same way.  #5 on average got you about 7 fps with the same arrow weight, for what that's worth.

[ron w]

What is your draw length........if you draw 28" and your not having any problems with 45#, I would go to 50#. If you draw over 28" 50 would still be enough to kill any game animal you ever encounter.

[Petrovic]

I jumped from 52# to 61# and now after a year I am getting decent groups and feel confident at hunting. I still get tired after about 5 dozen shots and my groups go louzy.

I now ordered a 56# bow and i think that and my 58# longbow will be my primary bows, with the 61# used for training.

[The Whittler]

I wouldn't go over 50#. Try diff. bows at 50#, some will pull easer then others. Have fun and enjoy.

[JoeArizona]

Originally posted by helo:
I also shoot around 47# most of the time, I do have one bow that is 52# I find that when I shoot my 52# that when I go back to my 47# bow I have better mechanics when I shoot . I think you could do 5 more pounds . What part of the great state of arizona are you in.

Helo...thanks for the info...I live in Kingman...are you in Dixie?  We were in Zion this year again...love that overlook over Hurricane on the way home...
Joe

[JoeArizona]

Originally posted by Biathlonman:
#5 on average got you about 7 fps with the same arrow weight, for what that's worth.

Thank you sir...that's one of the big questions I had also...how much gain for the increased pain.
Sounds like my 45# is where I may stay....

Joe

[helo]

Hey Joe I am up in the northwest part of the state about one hour west of salt lake. I will be making another trip to arizona in late dec early january to bowhunt coues deer. Do you by chance go after the grey ghost ?

[Red Beastmaster]

I started at 45#, worked up to 65#, and then back down again to 45#.

It took 26 years, a dozen bows, a couple thousand dollars, and hundreds of dollars in chiropractic bills to get back to where I should have stayed. I'm shooting better than ever and my back, neck, shoulders, and elbows thank me!

I found no advantage whatsoever shooting the heavier weights.

To answer your question, I found moving up in 5# increments was much better than jumping 10# or more.

[JoeArizona]

Originally posted by helo:
Hey Joe I am up in the northwest part of the state about one hour west of salt lake. I will be making another trip to arizona in late dec early january to bowhunt coues deer. Do you by chance go after the grey ghost ?

Hey Helo...sorry...been out of town for a while.  No...haven't gone after coues yet.  But good luck with your hunt.

Joe

[JoeArizona]

Originally posted by Red Beastmaster:
I started at 45#, worked up to 65#, and then back down again to 45#.

It took 26 years, a dozen bows, a couple thousand dollars, and hundreds of dollars in chiropractic bills to get back to where I should have stayed. I'm shooting better than ever and my back, neck, shoulders, and elbows thank me!

I found no advantage whatsoever shooting the heavier weights.

To answer your question, I found moving up in 5# increments was much better than jumping 10# or more.

Thank you Red...you just saved me a lot of time, money, and frustration!    

I think I will stay where I am right now.  Thanks for all the replies.

Joe

[wingnut]

Another way to look at it is moving up in performance.  Not all 50 pound bows are created equal.  Maybe a move to 50 in a high performance bow would be easier on you and harder on the game.

Mike

[RecurveRookie]

However much you go up in weight, be careful and go easy!  Don't over train or strain yourself and get injured.  I went from 37# to 47#, but 37# was kind of light for me by the time I switched.  Then there was a big learning (and strength) curve for me to get ACCURATE again with my new 47# limbs.  A 5# jump won't be as much of an inconvenience.  Good Luck