Lightest draw bow you can shoot well?

[GreyGoose]

Since returning to traditional archery and bowhunting 3 years ago, I've gradually acquired several bows (mostly via this site) of increasing draw weights, with the goal of hunting with the heaviest bow I can shoot accurately.  As I've done so, I notice that I've become less comfortable and less accurate shooting the light bows compared to how I shot them when they were at the top of my scale.  Anyone else ever notice this?    :confused:

[hunthold]

Your muscles are conditioned to the heavier bow weight. Shoot the lighter ones strictly for a couple months and you will then be used to the lighter weight.

[damascusdave]

I think shooting heavier draw weight bows actually allows one to get a bit sloppy on their release...a heavier draw weight bow simply pulls the string out the fingers with more and quicker force smoothing up the release...practicing with a lighter draw weight bow helps to keep your releases sharp...do not get rid of those lighter draw weight bows...I am dealing with weakness in my bow shoulder and am unable to shoot my heavier draw weight bows right now for more than a couple of shots

DDave

[nineworlds9]

I agree with hunt' and 'Dave.  I am conditioned to shoot 50#+ at my DL and I recently acquired a bow that is around 40 @ my draw to use as a 'form' bow / light hunter and it makes me laugh how many more fliers I get shooting it vs. the bows I am used to.  I can tell the lighter weight is forcing me to clean up my release and focus on being totally solid in my shot sequence.  I agree it can only help with the 50#+ bows.

[monkeyball]

A 28# SKY T.D.  It is 66" long and has Medalist limbs on it. Couple it up with 1813's and your jaw will drop when you release the arrow.

  Like the guys said above ...release is very critical when you get into light bows,not to mention form and everything that goes with it.

  They are a joy to shoot when the body is crying "Uncle".

                                        Good Shooting,
                                                        Craig

[Paul_R]

I can't get a clean release with anything much under about 45#. Shooting bare fingers helps but I'm too big a sissy to keep it up for long

[Brianlocal3]

My 32@26 Pearson colt.
It's amazing how lights out that bow shoots at some pretty good distances.

When I shot target bows, I could shoot any weight, but when I went to only shooting heavy longbows things changed.  To shoot a 90# longbow well! I had to work hard to stay in shape.  Weights, flex work, bicycling and over a thousand draws and shots a week.  The heavy draws required me to draw right or not at all and I think my natural tempo was slower as well.  When I would grab a light 50# longbow, my tendency was to jerk it back as fast as the bow shot the arrow forward.  The empty bucket amongst the full buckets in a bucket fire brigade, like in an old movie from the 30s.  Your brain thinks it is going to take effort, so you throw it in the air.  When one shoots a heavier bow, more than just main drawing muscles get stronger.  Then when a light bow is drawn, it can be done without using the big muscles and often at a faster draw.  I think it is good to have a lighter bow on hand and to shoot it often enough so that your heavy bow form and your light bow form are the same.

[McDave]

For my classes for kids and for my own grandkids, I have bows down to 15#.  They all shoot fine. I wouldn't give a bow to a kid or grandkid to shoot unless I could demo for them how it should be shot and what it is capable of hitting.

[reddogge]

If you can't shoot a lightweight bow your form need working on. We regularly shot mid thirties bows in the 60s and 70s for field archery and switched to our hunting bows in the late summer with no ill effects to our shooting.

[ForrestGator]

That is helpful info, I may jump back and forth from my heavier bows to a light recurve that I have to fine tune my form for hunting season. Let ya know how it goes

[dbd870]

Yep I shoot my 45-50# bows better than my daughter's 35# Ben Pearson. I think some of it is with the light draw weight I don't concentrate on what I am doing and get sloppy.

[Bladepeek]

I bought my 7 year old granddaughter a MadDog bow in the St Jude's auction - 20# @ 25". It took a bit of trial and error to find an anchor that would work without over-drawing the short arrows. With the heel of my string hand on the front of my cheek bone it worked fine. Groups like I would not have believed out of that little bow.

And yes, it really does make you pay attention to your release.

[oldbohntr]

Age and several health issues have worked together to turn this old heavy bow shooter into a better shot.  I won't guess about anyone else, but I was kidding myself that I needed a heavier bow to get a good release.  What I considered good shooting-for me-is not the same as how I view it now.  

Monkeyball and dbd, you made good points.  When I shot heavy bows, nearly all the many arrows in my shop were FOR heavy bows. My lighter weight bows (at one time that meant anything under 55#) didn't shoot them very well.  And I didn't dedicate myself to using the right arrow and mastering whatever bow I was shooting.  "Hey, it shot like crap....must have been my release needs to have the string jerked out of my hand! Oh well, I like the heavier bows anyway!"

Not to deny the truth of the old maxim.  A heavier bow surely does clean up some bad releases, by just not giving your "fast twitch muscles" the chance to affect the shot.   I gave up golf decades ago, and will probably show my ignorance here, but I'm betting a pro golfer doesn't fix problems with his/her swing by just using heavier clubs!

[monkeyball]

This thread had me thinking about my SKY so much that as soon as I got home from work I got it out of its case and strung it up. Grabbed a couple of 1813's and headed out to the target and got a couple of flights in before the light faded.

  The last I shot this bow was at Greencastle over Memorial Day with some buddies. The first flight was at 15 yds and that cardboard deer was hurting bad. Took a few more and worked back to 30 yds.

 Unbelievable cast,but you better have a release as crisp as a fresh potato chip or you are in trouble........

                              Good Shooting,
                                                  Craig

[Sam McMichael]

The lightest bows I shoot are 40#, but I do not shoot them as well as some of my heavier bows. The extra weight helps control a sloppy release, even though they don't totally eliminate it. Truthfully, I do not enjoy the lighter bows as much, so I am not really willing to do the extra work to shoot them better.

[GreyGoose]

Thanks, a lot of food for thought.  The lightest bows in my stable were critical to re-establishing some form in the first place, which I may have been getting away with neglecting,if a poor release is being masked. I'll spend some more time on the low end of the scale and see how it goes.  McDave - I never said the light BOWS didn't shoot well anymore - I said the SHOOTER didn't shoot them well    

[KenH]

10#?  15#  IMHO it takes more skill to shoot a light bow well than a heavier, faster bow.

[Jim Picarelli]

I'll find out soon. I have a 43# '65 Kodiak coming in soon. I usually shoot 49-53# bows

[Stumpkiller]

In college I shot a 35# bow and if I couldn't reach my finger and thumb around a five shot group at 20M I was disappointed.