Accuracy of draw weight marked on bows

[Shooter#21]

The two bows of mine below are both marked 40 pounds. However, the newer Super Kodiak seems to feel a little heavier. But the Sage is 62" and the SK is 60". I was wondering if it is merely to due to the length?

I shoot Easton 2016 cut to 31.5" with 145 grain points out of the Sage and they hit slightly weak when bare shafting which is preferred from what I can research because the fletch will stiffen it up and they do shoot very well when fletched. The same arrows shoot well from the SK also.

I had bought some heavier Easton Gamegetters 2117 400 full length 31 3/8" early on so I decided to shoot a bare shaft 2117 from the SK. It impacts almost straight, ever so slightly stiff. What is neat is that they hit harder and rock the little block target. The same arrows impacted too stiff out of the Sage so I had put them away before I got the SK thinking that some day when I gain strength I would use them on a heavier bow.

All of that to ask this. Would it be better to shoot the fletched and slightly stiffer 2117s from the SK to gain the hard impact or just stick with the 2016s? I just want to get maximum power because I am shooting a lower poundage bow  compared to most folks. Sorry if I seem to be splitting hairs here. Thanks for any ideas guys

Sages are pretty notoriuos for being heavier than marked by a few pounds. Not all of them, but I have personally seen several that were heavier than marked.

The only way to tell for sure, esp in a comparison, is to get a bow scale and measure them both on the same scale.

Either of those shafts will work just fine, if they tune well!

Bisch

[LBR]

Before digital scales, bow scales (or the hanging scales lots of shops and bowyers used) were inaccurate.

[dirtguy]

What Bisch said is right on.

The accuracy of the marking on the bow varies with manufacturer.  I just bought a takedown recurve that is marked #40 at 28" but the digital scale in the shop showed it at #42 at 28" and #50 at my draw of 31".  I had them check it at my draw so I could get a start on choosing the right shafts.  I lack the experience found many here but have found that for recurve cut to or past center, you can get more than one shaft to work.

Go to your local bow shop and have them check the draw weights for you.

The Bear dealer in this area had a spring scale that was dead on, but he checked it with a test weight before he weighed a bow and adjusted it accordingly.  He even had an add-on wood thing to mimic fingers. A few years ago a trad shooter at an area shoot claimed his digital was off four pounds.  He first thought his two identical poundage bows were both off.  Checking his digital scale with exact weight proved it was off.  Apparently just because a device shows numbers, things can still go off.  Can they be adjusted like the old brass spring scales?  I use steel weights and a ruler to weigh my bows, I use three loops of thick rope to mimic fingers.

[damascusdave]

Chad could tell you that a string can make a big difference in dynamic spine as can actual draw length, and therefore draw weight...a 2117 arrow is right on .400 spine and a 2016 is I think somewhere around .520...unless you have a very good string on the Super Kodiak it does not make sense that the 2117's would be anything but way too stiff

DDave

I would bet that 2117 is doing some serious shelf skidding.  To bad they no longer make the 1920s, that would be just a tiny bit stiffer than the 2016, but a lot heavier.  You could get that same 2117 weight by going to Surewood doug firs.

[BigErn]

I have a Bear Kodiak Mag marked 45lbs,it's right at 48lbs
checked on two different scales!  It's perfect for me!
                                          Ernie

[Shooter#21]

The Super Kodiak I shoot is marked 40 pounds but it feels heavier than my Sage also marked 40 pounds. My draw is over 30" and the SK feels almost like 50 pounds. Man does it sling those arrows!

Pavan, I just may try some woodies some day as well. Thanks

[zagaya]

When Bill Kerner weighed my bow, he used buckets of lead weights that he had calibrated on a scale used for trade (grocery store). He simply hung the bow and kept adding buckets until he hit my draw length (27 5/8 - a joke between Bill and I), and then added up the weight hanging from the string. Since I watched him do it, I know for a fact it is accurate.

As far as different arrows from the same weight bows - I would posit that draw weight is but one measure of potential, the rest are in the limb, the riser/rest, the release etc.

[PEARL DRUMS]

IMO opinion there is nothing more accurate than a super light weight digital that goes out 2 places and weighs nothing on the string. Spring scales in any capacity are not accurate IMO. +/- 5# is all I would expect from them. I'm surprised at how many guys still use them when good digitals are under $50. Hansen spring scales cost big bucks.

[tomsm44]

Most new production bows are marked in 5# increments.  Many old bows were weighed at the factory and marked exact.  I've seen many custom shops that say they can hit your ordered weight +/-2#.  If custom shops have a possible 4# range from a given limb design/length/width/thickness, I doubt that Bear and Samick are hitting dead on 40/45/50/etc. every time.  If one is -2 and the other is +2, they'd be 4# apart.  That could explain the felt difference.  As for arrow tuning, even if the weights were identical, the inherent performance difference due to design differences and the difference in how the shelf is cut between the two can cause tuning differences.  I have a 53# 58" Red Wing Hunter from around '64-'65 and a 55# 60" '66 Kodiak.  With a marked 2# difference, the perceived weight is virtually identical.  Using the same arrows, one tunes perfectly with a 150gr point and the other with a 190 gr tip.  And it's the heavier of the two that tunes too stiff with the 150 and requires the 190.  Speed looks about equal, though I've never measured it.  Its the opposite of what conventional wisdom would have you expect.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
IMO opinion there is nothing more accurate than a super light weight digital that goes out 2 places and weighs nothing on the string. Spring scales in any capacity are not accurate IMO. +/- 5# is all I would expect from them. I'm surprised at how many guys still use them when good digitals are under $50. Hansen spring scales cost big bucks.

I'm definitely into the light weight digital scales we have available today... But those Hanson spring scales can be calibrated and are pretty darn close.

as far as accuracy of draw weight marked on bows goes..... I've seen a pretty wide spread on different bow makes.... if the bowyer uses a fingers hook, or a straight scale hook, it can make 2-3 pounds difference depending on how steep the string angle is. typically a fingers hook at 50 pounds will read 48 on a straight hook with a moderate string angle.