How do I determine my own maximum draw weight.

[frank4570]

A friend of mine gave me his first longbow a while back. I had shot competition when I was younger, compound. He was surprised I could draw it. It's a hickory at about 65lbs, maybe a little more. I shoot it well enough and enjoy shooting it. I mentioned to him that the first shot of the day feels kind of stiff to me. He said the bow is too heavy. Well, I don't want to screw up my shoulders. So how do I determine exactly what is "heavy enough"?
 I plan on using it for deer next year. And I really want an arrow to get full pass through, in the interest of causing minimal pain to the deer.
 I'm collecting shoots now for shafts now, straightening and all that. My stone knapping is not yet good enough, but I will get better. And stone points are not legal in my state, I'll just leave it at that.
 The hickory bow came from a very experienced stick-bow maker and he has offered to help me make one. I'm really, really fortunate.
 So, anyway. Stickbow, tuned natural shoots, feathers, points, and an osage bow to drive the arrow all the way through from 20 yards or so.
 How much? How do I know how much I can handle.

Thanks!

[30coupe]

While it is hard for someone else to determine what is best for you, generally speaking, 45# @ your draw is a pretty good place to start. It is plenty of weight for whitetails. My 46# Kanati with 525 grain arrows and Zwickey Delta two blade broadheads will shoot through whitetails with no problem. I don't know about your primitive setup, since I have no experience with that type of equipment.

Most important is to start with something light enough to get your form down before you head out to hunt.

[nineworlds9]

With time and patience, and barring any preexisting musculoskeletal issues, you can make 65 your 'normal' draw weight.  I highly recommend you acquire a second lighter bow to shoot along with the 65, say 40-50#, so you can focus on proper shot sequence etc.  Shoot them both often, and when unable to shoot, draw and let down the 65, doing negatives to increase your strength.  You shouldn't hurt yourself if you use your back muscles and proper mechanics.  There is nothing wrong with shooting higher draw weights, especially if you shoot often.  It's my humble opinion that far too many able bodied men get stuck shooting less than 55# bows simply because they don't take the time to shoot often enough and build up to it, or they spend hours trying to justify the physics of why a light bow and sharp head will do the job.   It seems many able men may not shoot much outside hunting season and so never build their strength to handle anything above 50#.  Anyway, this topic has been covered over and over.  I enjoy bows of all weights and respect all archers no matter what weight they shoot.  I for one enjoy the challenge of maintaining my strength and shooting anything from 30# all the way to 95@28.  Just keep at it and warm up and keep yourself limber.  There doesn't have to be anything macho about enjoying shooting 65#.  Everyone is different.  Like I said, get a second bow.  You will make faster progress.  Warm up with the light one, shoot the heavy, then finish session with the light one.  Some days shoot just the heavy.  Mix it up, do pulls/negstives.  And occasionally give yourself rest days to heal and grow stronger, don't overdo it!  Have fun!!

[Stumpkiller]

What you can do in the summer 15 minutes after arriving at the range is MUCH different than what you can draw in heavy clothing while scrunched and twisted to find a window at the end of a day of huting.  Pick a bow you can hold at full draw for a count of 20 during ideal conditions

I can shoot a 65# bow well - but am hunting at 50# and that is where I like to be.  50# to 55# will do what I need comfortably.

[nineworlds9]

He has a point, I live in North FL so I never deal with truly cold temperatures.  Hunting in snow and ice conditions 'bone cold' I'm sure affects a person when they're trying to use near or at their max strength.  See how you do and remember to keep at it if its truly a goal.  It will likely take several months of conditioning to get truly comfortable with higher weight.  Definitely pick up that second bow.  It can be something cheap like a Samick Sage or even a selfbow.  You'll get greater enjoyment and actually as you get stronger from pulling the 65 you'll marvel at how easy the 40-50# bow becomes.  Learn to tune your bows and achieve good arrow flight.  Good flight and sharp heads will do the deed while draw weight will be a secondary concern.

[LittleBen]

Just shot a deer with a 44# @25" recurve, was enough to kill it. You don't need big draw weight to get it done. I'd say shoot whatever you shoot best. I can shoot 45-50lbs pretty well, but 35# is much much much more accurate ... obviously I can't hunt with that so ... whatever you're comfortable and accurate with.

[nineworlds9]

I forgot to mention that some of this topic depends on the type of bow you are shooting.  Many of todays designs and materials allow for superior cast and power at lower draw weights.  Take for example the Centaur Triple Carbon I just took delivery of.  It is 56@28.  Could I draw it if it were 65@28? Or 70@28?  Sure, but why would I need to when I know that at 56 it is already so fast and powerful that I am covered for just about any species in NA.  In such an efficient bow there'd really be no point in going higher unless I were going on safari or exclusively hunting moose or bears or something.  Now with less efficient or older designs like simple selfbows or Hill style bows, higher draw weights come more into play if you want to have a flat cast, especially at higher arrow weights.  So, my point is it depends not only on your goals as a man and desire to test your strength but also what your true goals are hunting and what type of bow you are going to shoot.

[frank4570]

^It will be an osage or hickory self bow, a stick. The goal is to drive an arrow all the way through a deer, consistently. That's pretty much it.

[Rick Moss]

I shoot a 73 pound compound, and it is pretty easy for me to draw slowly, and hold for almost two minutes, and then let down slowly and smoothly...while sitting flat on my butt. that being said, my new tall tines is 60#@28...and it is a bit stiff for me. I can draw to my anchor and have a good and repeatable release while drawing my hand back to my ear as my 'second anchor' at the shot, using good back tension...I have only had it a few days and shot it very little. I know that this will take some 'build up' of my strength and technique to be accurate with it. right now I am shaky right away if I try to hold my draw...but I will take it slow and make sure to use proper back tension(something I learned with compounds), and I will be fairly comfortable with the 60 in a month or two. I agree, just take it slow and always keep form and repeatable technique your top priority and you will do well. good luck and have fun.

It is quite easy to reduce the poundage on a hickory self bow.  I have one that is made of true pignut hickory.  It does lose a couple of pounds when it has been loaded for a day, but at my 26" draw it will easily drive a Grizzly broadhead through a deer. It is about 66 pounds at 26" after it has been loaded for a few hours. It likes 50-55 spine wood shafts that cut 27" to the point with 160 grain heads. As for cast maybe a crono could tell me how slow it is, but today we shot against a 52 pound Pearson recurve that I need to give to someone and found it to be the same. The prospective bow recipient could not handle the 52 pound recurve so no deal for him. I figure if one can draw 70 a few times and control it, one can hunt with 55.

[frank4570]

" Anyway, this topic has been covered over and over."
 Sorry. I didn't mean to start another one of "those" kinds of discussions.

[Don Stokes]

I've worked my way down from a 65# Bamboo Longhunter, which I could handle easily back then, to a high-performance 40# Patriot II recurve (Archery Traditions), which shoots the same arrow as my 60#/28" Osage/hickory Torges bow. I can easily handle 50 still (at age 65) but I prefer the ease of the lighter bow, and I'm confident it has the Moxie the way I have it set up. I'm shooting 65# 30" barreled woods tipped with Snuffers beautifully from it, with 575 grain arrows. That's 14 grains/#.

[longbowman]

If you can shoot the bow accurately then shoot it.  Worrying what "might" happen in the future is folly.  During my 50 yrs. of shooting my "perfect" bow weight is 72# @ 27".  I have a few 80# longbows that I shoot and have killed a bunch of deer with but the most comfortable weight is the 72#.  Maybe when I get old I'll have to lower my weight but I'll do it when my body says so, not from somebody else's idea.

[TraditionalGuy]

I'm with longbowmen here. I hunt with a 65# longbow that has never failed to kill what it hit, nor have I ever had trouble pulling it when needed. I used to worry about the whole "I'll get older" thing and then I saw a guy at the range that was a little older than I was. He was shooting an 85# selfbow without any issues whatsoever. How much older? He was a spry 72 at the time.