How much is too much draw weight?

[Evoac05]

I was curious to see what other people thought on what might be too much draw weight. How many times would you say that you should be able to shoot in a row without taking a break?

[sebek556]

to me its not how many times you can draw, but how long you can hold it back. 3 times more you will have to hold long then draw repeatedly... my goal is 3-5 minutes with out shaking. if I cant hit atleast 3 I back it off, over 5 I messed up and drawed to early...

[luckyman]

Get your self cold then sit in the most uncomfortable position you can and draw it smooth and quick.
If you fail, its too high.

[Evoac05]

to me its not how many times you can draw, but how long you can hold it back. 3 times more you will have to hold long then draw repeatedly... my goal is 3-5 minutes with out shaking. if I cant hit atleast 3 I back it off, over 5 I messed up and drawed to early...

I guess I never really thought about seeing how long I could hold my draw and then following up with a few shots, will now have to try this. I usually shoot about 24-30 arrows while drawing back for 10-20 seconds each arrow before releasing.

[sebek556]

I didn't either till my first year bow hunting, had a buck hang up on me behind a tree at 15 yards, didn't wanna ride it forward and not have another chance to draw but by the time he walked out I was shaking to bad to take a shot  after that it turned into how long can I keep it back, and it has worked well for me so far if they hang up I have a good while I can wait them out for 

[Dan-o]

My max draw, which I can only hold steady for about 18-20 minutes, is about 120 pounds.

I mean, this is the internet, right?

[sebek556]

damn dan-o what let off is you bow? 

[Dan-o]

damn dan-o what let off is you bow? 

I try to keep it challenging,so I actually shoot a 200% let-on bow.

[sebek556]

your my hero  and here with my 70lb bow at 85% let off I'm only holding back 10.5 lbs for 4 mins...

[Dan-o]

your my hero  and here with my 70lb bow at 85% let off I'm only holding back 10.5 lbs for 4 mins...

I hate to be serious fora moment, but isn't there some max let off percentage, or didn't there used to be?   I'm thinking 50%, but that could have been Utah, or I could have had a bad dream......     

[DoubleJ]

I've seen Shannon Alwine kill too many large animals of all types shooting 46lbs so, I stopped caring how much I draw.  What Luckyman and Sebek said both apply.  Combine the two techniques by sitting on a steep slope on a hard cold rock in 25 degree weather with a breeze and hold your draw for 3-5 minutes and feel the humble sweep over you

[sebek556]

quote author=Dan-o link=topic=102235.msg1330438#msg1330438 date=1343790387]

your my hero  and here with my 70lb bow at 85% let off I'm only holding back 10.5 lbs for 4 mins...

I hate to be serious fora moment, but isn't there some max let off percentage, or didn't there used to be?   I'm thinking 50%, but that could have been Utah, or I could have had a bad dream......     


[/quote]
think they used to but it's not in the regs any more, also most of the new bows out are 75-85% so 

[Button Nubbs]

Loaded question. There's a lot to the equation. How long can you hold, how fast is your bow, how heavy are your arrows, how long is your draw, shot placement, ect.

That said my wimpy 60lb bow blew threw both sides of my bull and stuck in the dirt last year.

[CAMPMEAT]

I wish I knew more about bows, but mine is set at 60 lbs. It's easy to hold at full draw for a couple minutes.

[bobcat]

The maximum legal let off was 65% a couple years ago.

Now there is no limit.

[Todd_ID]

The way I size draw weight to a new shooter is to have them sit in a chair, and have them raise their feet off the floor.  The weight they can draw without struggling is the weight I recommend them starting with.  For most that's about 50-55#, so I tell them to go with a 50-60 pound bow.  There's a chance that they'll shoot enough to be able to draw more, but many don't.  Most people that think they need a 70# draw weight haven't hunted much to get into the contorted draw positions and trying to do it without excess motion; some can at 70#, but it takes a strong person to do it effectively.

Most of the problem with holding a bow at full draw is the weight of the bow in the bow hand and not the draw weight.  Drawing and holding the weight uses huge muscle groups in your back.  Supporting the bow's weight at arm's length uses the relatively small shoulder muscle.

[bloodhound]

some good stuff here, but i think you should be able to draw your bow strait back while held on target and do it slowly. if you can take 4-5 seconds to draw your bow and pull it back without shaking like a rag doll you can shoot the poundage. none of this shoot for the sky draw, looking behind you to see whos watching while you use your neck muscles twisting your back trying to make a standing pretzel draws. nice, easy, slow, strait back draw without changing your shooting stance or form.

[Miles]

The answer to your question is:  whatever is comfortable for you.    There is no one size fits all when it comes to draw weights.    I shoot an 80lb bowtech and can shoot 150-200 arrows a night if I feel like it, but I've also been shooting a bow since 10 years old and developed the proper muscle groups to be able to do so.   As a kid I started low, and would add a half turn on each limb every so often.  I built myself up to the minimum 45lb draw weight for hunting (NH)  and just kept going after that.  Poundage is not everything...but it helps in some instances.   

[pianoman9701]

A good trick to keep your compound bow at full draw when an animal hangs very close up is to drop the both arms until your shooting hand is at shoulder height and lock that elbow into your side. You can hold it there for quite a while while waiting for the critter to step out.

[pianoman9701]

Too much? I knew a guy who shot a longbow at 100 lbs, consistently and accurately.

[bloodhound]

i dont agree with the if you can hold it back deal. i feel thats crap. i dont care how long you can hold an 80 pound bow back at 85% let off, if you cant do it without waving the bow around like a crazy person all over the place trying to pull it back. all that movement will give you away in a heart beat. slow and steady wins the race.

[sebek556]

Too much? I knew a guy who shot a longbow at 100 lbs, consistently and accurately.

fred bear 

[Todd_ID]

Too much? I knew a guy who shot a longbow at 100 lbs, consistently and accurately.

fred bear 

Well before that.  Saxton Pope and Art Young did it at the turn of the century.  And they shot at stuff out to 200-250.

[cocogirl]

Draw weight is subjective to the owner and how honest they are with themselves. Shouldn't be difficult to pull back but there is situations that we all can get into hunting that can make a bow harder to pull back then just standing there shooting targets. Just be comfortable shooting, don't need to impress anyone. To many folks shoot way to much draw weight and it hurts their shooting form.
I don't know, I've killed everything from moose, elk, bear, and many other animals and all that really matters is making a perfect shot. 

[Todd_ID]

Draw weight is subjective to the owner and how honest they are with themselves. Shouldn't be difficult to pull back but there is situations that we all can get into hunting that can make a bow harder to pull back then just standing there shooting targets. Just be comfortable shooting, don't need to impress anyone. To many folks shoot way to much draw weight and it hurts their shooting form.
I don't know, I've killed everything from moose, elk, bear, and many other animals and all that really matters is making a perfect shot. 

  You've got it figured out!

[blacktailcody]

I'm 14 and I shoot a 70 lb bow at 29in draw length.

[demontang]

Go hike around for a day carring your bow then see how hard it is to pull back and hold. I dont know how many times I would hike up a steep hill to find elk waiting there for me and have to draw and hold tell one would give me a shot

[N7XW]

The maximum legal let off was 65% a couple years ago.

Now there is no limit.

Yep, I had the same question before buying my new bow.  Got it confirmed by wdfw.

[RadSav]

Too much? I knew a guy who shot a longbow at 100 lbs, consistently and accurately.

fred bear 

Actually Fred Bear was a firm supporter of heavy draw weights for hunting.  Many called him an extremist with a holier-than-thou attitude.  It surprises most these days when they find out "Heavy" in Bear's mind was 60# @ 28" shooting about 185 fps.

[windygorge]

i was pulling #70 at 65% mathews ultramax.  i got busted in the open drawing back on a bull at half draw. at 20 yrds.  at about a minute of excruciating pain and a zillion "now what do i do's"  i decided to pull my bow to full draw with him looking, it worked and i was able to get that bull.  if you have never tried holding your bow at half draw for an amount of time, you should try it.  then draw it back.  you find muscles you never knew you had

[BOWHUNTER45]

if you have to struggle in pulling your bow back then its to much weight ....#70 lbs works go for me with a 65% let off ...when I am practicing I hold my bow back a little longer so I am used to it incase I need to stay at full draw longer than normal ...it works !

[rebal69972]

when i was much younger my bow was set at 75 then i grew up and figured out that 60 will kill an animal just as dead and my arms are not dead after wards. i figured this out after i had a wt buck hang up behind a tree and me being young and dumb tried to hold that 75 with 20% let off for what seemed like forever when he did step out I couldn't keep a pin on him to save my life.

[ribka]

When I was younger I used to shoot higher weight bows in recurves, long bows up to 80 lbs. had a 90 compound for a few years

learned my lesson sitting in a December tree stand for  6 hours at 10 degrees . A huge wt buck walked by my stand and could not for the life of me pull back my 70 lb bow because I lost too much energy in the cold.

Over the years shifted down to 50 lbs and have shot through quite a few animals at maybe 180 FPS with heavy arrow and COC broad head. Now keep my compound around 55 lbs because I want to avoid shoulder problems after 30 plus years of shooting bows.

I have books about the exploits of Saxton, Pope , young , Howard Hill Ben Pearson and amazing the poundages these guys shot.

[krapmit]

Ribka, completely agree. 2nd day of the late archery season in the Nile two years ago was 6 degrees.  Try sitting in your tree stand for 4-5 hrs and pull back your bow.  That was the day I realized I need to drop from 70 to 60. 

Try sitting on your butt and pulling your bow straight back and steady. keep your draw weight at the poundage you can do that at comfortably

[jaymark6655]

I like to shoot what I can draw easily.  By that I mean extend my bow hand out to the shooting position and then slowly and smootly draw the bow.  No shaking, no starting at my chest and pushing the bow out, and no having to point up in the air to draw it.  I also believe that I should be able to do this multiple times, not just once.  What happens if you draw, have to let down and then can't redraw the bow without making a whole bunch of movement and noise?

Had a very good teacher tell me once, "You and a professional are capable of getting the exact same results; the only difference the professional can do it repeatly and makes it look easy.  If you can't make it look easy, then you haven't been practicing enough."

Just FYI, I used to shoot a 45 pound bow.  Now I am up to a 60, although I think the shop turned it up to 65 when they replaced the limbs.  They swear they didn't.  It is easy to shot now even after a few hours of practice, so I might step up to 70.  Maybe someday I will get up to 100, but I bet I will be 70 years old by then and have to shoot everday just to be able to keep the draw easy.