why is less always the answer to some guys?

[bornagainbowhunter]

Originally posted by JamesV:
Why not just paddle your boat and let the next guy do the same??

Sometimes the boat has a hole in it.

I would rather someone tell me that there is a problem before I get into the water and sink.

[Jake Diebolt]

It is possible to be as accurate with a 70 lb bow as a 50 lb bow.

In theory, it is possible to be as accurate with a 150lb bow as with a 50 lb bow. But it will require more practice, more muscle building.

The point people make is that, for a given amount of effort, most people can be more accurate with the lighter bow. IMO, if you're a youngish guy shooting a lot, heavier bows are worth it. If your shoulder muscles joints are deteriorating, the work and price you pay for a 60lb bow are probably not worth it.

As has been proven in other threads, there are a lot of heavy bow advocates on this site. These people put the work into shooting a heavy bow. The problem is when newbies come to the sport and think they need to shoot 60lbs when a 40 lb bow will do until they get better.

I shoot 50 lbs right now. I'm working on holding longer and using a bowfit so that in a couple of years, when I've saved for a new bow, I can go up in weight and not sacrifice accuracy. It takes more effort, but since I have the time it will probably be worth it.

[tuscarawasbowman]

Originally posted by JamesV:
Why not just paddle your boat and let the next guy do the same??

Thank you for saying what I wanted to say.

[ddauler]

Jake you hit the nail on the head I have been at this 30 years and have shot heavy and light. I have known maybe two guy's that are really good shots with bow's over 70 lbs and 100's who try to shoot 70 and should be at 50. I killed 25 deer a hog and a elk with a 50 lb hickory selfbow and I was deadly with it from 20 feet it shot 150 fps with 550 grain arrow. Now I am dropping down to 47 lbs so I can shoot all I want without shoulder issues. It's a personal thing.

[Bjorn]

Originally posted by JamesV:
Why not just paddle your boat and let the next guy do the same??

Works for me too!!

[Knawbone]

Bornagain, How old are you? See if you have the same perspective when your 50. No offense and I understand what your point is, I just think your view is somewhat limited. I don't think most of us trad shooters shoot lighter bows because of some underlying cop out. On the contrary I think most would like to shoot heavier bows if they could. I know I would. I just think your not seeing the whole picture, evidenced by your statements.

[Gun]

Couple of thoughts. I agree with you. I'm your size and shoot 55-60 weight bows. I'll be 60 this year. I used to shoot 75# all the time. I need to work at what I shoot now as poor genetics is giving my body a hard time.

I used to run 6-9 miles every other day too. Buggered heel and bad knees won't let me ride a bike. I walk but it's not the same. I have sore joints in my shoulders from playing too rough when I was young. Bum ticker, crooked spine, etc.

I'm wondering if our overall demographic is getting older compared to younger people getting into it. The young folks seem to want things to be easy these days as is our culture.

I'm dreading the day that I can't shoot hunting weight bows.
But then there's always fishing.

[Roadkill]

Easy answer, age. In my case anyway
Some younger guys coming from wheels and cams askfor what they shot in that world.  Ego makes them buy 70 pounder with nohope of ever shooting it welll, for a host of ego and socioecomonic reasons as stated above. Dropping down makes sense for them to begin enjoying the trad journey.  Physics of mass times acceleration is cold science and leaves out enjoyment, at least for medicare guys who lived a full, active and damaging to joints lives.  We ran in Keds and combat boots.  We did pullups and used our bodies as leverage.  And we pay.
Nice thread and maybe we should strive to go up in weight.  The advantage is we would shoot our normal weight bows better perhaps

[ron w]

I shoot what I'm comfortable with.......I shoot everyday it's possible and work out so that I can keep shooting. I shot 50-60# bows for along time and shot them well, then I had a issue with Target panic.....dropping poundage has helped battle that mental problem. It's not totally gone but 40-50#'s seems to work for me and I have confidence that I can make the shot when I need to on anything that I would hunt! I also think that as we age all kinds of things can affect the things we do,[arthritis, flexibility, and others]. Shoot and shoot often, have fun!      

[jebeckjr]

I agree with the idea of a person trying to shoot as much bow as possible for them to shoot well, especially in the context of hunting.  Now, if you are not hunting, but just into shooting stumps, or 3d events, etc, why would you want to shoot a heavier weight bow?

Dropping down in weight is effective when you are focusing on issues (like anchor, release, target panic, etc).  It allows the mind to focus on the task at hand, and not be distracted by physical limitations or stress.  Even then, though, there will come a time when the improvement "phase" needs to include working your way back up to hunting weight.

[Rob DiStefano]

i can see yer talking from a youth's perspective.  yer making me jealous, nathan.   :D

imho, as long as you have enuf bow for the species of game you pursue, bow holding weight just don't matter at all.  there are more important matters to consider.  

far Far FAR more important is yer overall consistent accuracy at game killing distances, having arrows that track true, and really sharp coc broadheads.

shoot whatever you think will work best for you and never be concerned what other folks shoot.    

oh yeah ... i used to shoot 65# longbows back in the day, many decades ago.  that day ain't never ever coming back for me as i knock on the 70 year old door.  50# does me just fine.  ymmv.  hah!  

[joe skipp]

I'll be 61 this year and my hunting bows range from 52# to 57#. I never shot over 60# my entire life, no need to. Talk to western bowhunters back in the late 60's early 70's...and even into the mid 80's and they all advocated bows 65-70# because of elk, moose and long range shooting when bowhunting the prairies.

I believe todays bows are much more efficient than years past and you can shoot a lighter weight bow and get the same speed and power of past bows. I'll shoot what I feel comfortable with until I need to reduce the weight. I have shoulder surgery coming up Feb 9th...I already packed up my Kempf Stealth to send back and have wt reduced to 55# from 58#.

Bottom line, shoot what feels good to you until your no longer able to handle that weight. Bad form is not learning to shoot properly from an experienced trad shooter when you first start out. No one can control when TP hits..rears it's ugly head when you least expect it.

[Danny Rowan]

I shot 80# bow for years. Then one day I could no longer control my shot with that much weight, could still pull and hold the weight but could not control my shot, dropped to 60# and still shoot 55-60#. Shoot what you can control. By the way, I am 6'1", 240, 62 years old and I can still pull and hold an 80# bow but like I said, cannot control my shot at that weight, so I shoot 55#-60#.

[Rob DiStefano]

i'll add one important imho caveat - IF you clearly are able to way more than handle a 65# stickbow, but choose to play with a 45# bow, THAT is a disservice to yerself and the game you pursue.

maybe that's what you were really gettin' at, nathan?

[tuscarawasbowman]

[lad]

A few weeks I stopped by an archery shop which has a little indoor range.  Two guys walked in.  One nice looking long bow and wood long fletch arrows. Nice bow. The other had a beginner recurve of the type the shop sold.
Watched them shoot for a few minutes. The beginner was able to pull the lightweight recurve and did pretty well grouping on the bales.
The long bow shooter. Well he never made it past 3/4 draw on any shot and some not that far. And needless to say the arrows were all over the place.  
I guess I am saying shoot what you can handle.

[Archie]

John (whoops!), are people getting your point?  It seems to me that a lot of the responses are not getting to the heart of the discussion you started.

As for me, I like to push myself.  I could shoot my 48# bow literally all day long, with practically no muscle fatigue.  I don't like the fact that it feels too easy.  I also have begun shooting 69# limbs on my recurve, which -- I will admit -- were tough to shoot when I first got them.  So I started a pretty dedicated workout routine:  Every day I do 3 sets of 10 draws (10x right-handed, 10x left-handed), holding for 2-3 seconds at each draw.

By the way, I'm 6'0", about 195 pounds.

Now I can draw that heavy bow to 31", hold it for a count to 10 if I want to, and still shoot a controlled shot.  I don't ever hold that long in real life, but you get the point.

It is a natural tendency for a person to take the path of least resistance.  The same for animals -- you find fish escaping current by hiding behind rocks, and we know that deer prefer to walk on clear trails instead of bush-whacking.  Let's face it:  We all prefer walking a trail up a mountain instead of fighting through alders all the way.  But I like to hear about people who worked hard to achieve something, instead of just settling for something because "it will work".  

Isn't it the guys who are willing to get off the beaten path (the easier road) who find pockets of game that were not found by the less-committed hunter?

Certainly, there are people who are older, or who have health problems or physical limitations, who are GLAD that a 40# bow will get the job done with that sharp, well-placed arrow.  But even if I get to that point someday, I hope I will want to shoot 46# if I can work up to it, instead of 40#.

I don't think Nathan wanted to start a discussion about bow weight.  I think he was talking about pushing ourselves to strive for excellence, instead of settling for mediocrity.  And we must remember... one man's excellence (my shooting a 69# bow, for example) is another's mediocrity (bcause the guy who shoots 85# bows considers mine a lightweight).

[threeunder]

I agree with you completely on shooting a heavier bow then coming down to my "standard" bow weight.  Always much easier.

I think the differences come from a number of the things pointed out by the other posts.

Physical capability is the biggest.  Some guys just can't pull #60 because of age, old injuries, etc. (let alone 70#).  I think we also have to recognize that not all of us are in trad archery to hunt big game.  A bunch of guys here only small game hunt.  Others are in it only to kill a 3D target or punch wholes in a piece of paper.

For those that are capable of it, I think your post is spot on.  For the others, it probably doesn't fit as well.

Like Terry said, you won't get slammed here.  We respect your opinion, as, I'm sure you do ours.

Good post Nathan.

Ken

[Izzy]

What a brave post, kinda like my predator control on raptors post but you have graciously and intelligently  worded it so as not to offend anyone.

     I shoot from 46-55 lb bows and have killed big game dead and with a quickness with all of my set ups. I dont recall what made me buy a 46# bow but man o man when I got it it was a dream to shoot and I put my heavy bows up for a while.

     Some may sneer at me for saying this but I think hunting with a lighter yet proven adwquate bow is kinda like a feller that shoots deer with a 22-250 cause thats all it takes to kill his game. I think it adds an extra measure of challenge to the game due to the fact that you have further limited yourself and have to choose your shots more wisely.

     After all, if we wanted to hunt with the most effective weapon available we'd be toting 30.06s

     Just my thoughts but let me warn you Nathan. If you ever shoot your wifes bow you may get hooked on them bantam weight bows.  

[longbowman]

Good post but won't get you where you want.  I 100% agree with you and while I say I know I'll never kill a single thing with your bow and you'll never kill anything with mine so does it all really matter?  These guys that say they are old now and "have" to shoot lighter are in the same place as the ones your talking about.  If you work at it you need to be "OLD" before you need to drop weight unless there's a real medical problem.  I'm 60 and shoot my 72# Bear T.D. daily and throw in my 80# longbow just for fun sometimes too.  The thing I noticed as I aged is that the time "between" practice session has to be shorter than it used to be or I really need to work hard to get it back.  The key is working at it.  I use either my 72# Bear or my 80# longbow for all of the 3D shoots and I average 85% at them shooting always from the compound stakes.