I have been shooting my 45# bow for a few years now...since I got back into trad.
I like it because I can shoot a reasonable number of arrow without getting fatigued too soon.
But now I'm ready to move up some and the question is...how far up?
I don't know if I should move up to 50# or all the way up to 55#. Would I really gain a lot between 50# and 55#?
I am looking for help and advice from the group on any similar experiences...both good and bad...when moving to a heavier weight.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Joe
Oops! Just saw William Penn's post. I will be watching his also.
Thanks,
Joe
I wouldn't move up more than 5 lbs,work on your form and work up at the same time.
In my 20's I started with 45 moved to 50 then 55 and finally 58/60.I stayed with that for a few years and lo and behold my 60's arrived and started to like 50 plus or minus a couple of lbs.so I am almost back to sq. one and really like the wgt. now and the deer are just as dead.Five lb. jumps works better I think.Kip
QuoteOriginally posted by Kip:
In my 20's I started with 45 moved to 50 then 55 and finally 58/60.I stayed with that for a few years and lo and behold my 60's arrived and started to like 50 plus or minus a couple of lbs.so I am almost back to sq. one and really like the wgt. now and the deer are just as dead.Five lb. jumps works better I think.Kip
I'm about the same, except I never went past 55#. My big game is whitetail deer, so I never saw a need to go higher. Accuracy trumps everything else. Bad shots seldom have good outcomes regardless of the weight of the bow.
That said, five pounds is plenty in one jump. These days 50# is no problem, but 55# makes my shoulders hurt for 2-3 days, which is why I sold my 55# bow. From 45 to 50 is an 11% jump. From 45 to 55 is just over 22%.
Go up by 5. Not much performance difference @20 yards. From 50-55. And I think going up 10 might be a bit drastic.
Just my opinion
I started hunting at 45# (I draw a hair over 30" so maybe 47 or 48#) and went as high as 70# at 28" (76#). That was WAY too much bow for me and I sufferred for it. I have settled on 52#@28" as my ideal (57# +/-) as that gets me as much power as needed to launch my wood 620 gr arrows at a speed my brain can handle ballistically.
But there is so much more to it than draw weight. I have seven bows all within a fifteen pound range of draw weight. With the same arrow length & weight the speeds vary from 150 fps to 200 fps. Hill-style gripped longbow to an extremely high wrist deep recurve. They all feel different in the hand. I definately have a favorite, but if you brought six other guys over we'd probaby have as many different favorites out of that pile.
But yes, five pounds is a good step interval. ;-)
I also shoot around 47# most of the time, I do have one bow that is 52# I find that when I shoot my 52# that when I go back to my 47# bow I have better mechanics when I shoot . I think you could do 5 more pounds . What part of the great state of arizona are you in.
I'd go to the classifieds and find a bow that turned me on between 50-55. Unless you are routinely shooting huge game #50 or thereabouts should be just fine. I recently had several bows of the same make set up the same way. #5 on average got you about 7 fps with the same arrow weight, for what that's worth.
What is your draw length........if you draw 28" and your not having any problems with 45#, I would go to 50#. If you draw over 28" 50 would still be enough to kill any game animal you ever encounter.
I jumped from 52# to 61# and now after a year I am getting decent groups and feel confident at hunting. I still get tired after about 5 dozen shots and my groups go louzy.
I now ordered a 56# bow and i think that and my 58# longbow will be my primary bows, with the 61# used for training.
I wouldn't go over 50#. Try diff. bows at 50#, some will pull easer then others. Have fun and enjoy.
QuoteOriginally posted by helo:
I also shoot around 47# most of the time, I do have one bow that is 52# I find that when I shoot my 52# that when I go back to my 47# bow I have better mechanics when I shoot . I think you could do 5 more pounds . What part of the great state of arizona are you in.
Helo...thanks for the info...I live in Kingman...are you in Dixie? We were in Zion this year again...love that overlook over Hurricane on the way home...
Joe
QuoteOriginally posted by Biathlonman:
#5 on average got you about 7 fps with the same arrow weight, for what that's worth.
Thank you sir...that's one of the big questions I had also...how much gain for the increased pain.
Sounds like my 45# is where I may stay....
Joe
Hey Joe I am up in the northwest part of the state about one hour west of salt lake. I will be making another trip to arizona in late dec early january to bowhunt coues deer. Do you by chance go after the grey ghost ?
I started at 45#, worked up to 65#, and then back down again to 45#.
It took 26 years, a dozen bows, a couple thousand dollars, and hundreds of dollars in chiropractic bills to get back to where I should have stayed. I'm shooting better than ever and my back, neck, shoulders, and elbows thank me!
I found no advantage whatsoever shooting the heavier weights.
To answer your question, I found moving up in 5# increments was much better than jumping 10# or more.
QuoteOriginally posted by helo:
Hey Joe I am up in the northwest part of the state about one hour west of salt lake. I will be making another trip to arizona in late dec early january to bowhunt coues deer. Do you by chance go after the grey ghost ?
Hey Helo...sorry...been out of town for a while. No...haven't gone after coues yet. But good luck with your hunt.
Joe
QuoteOriginally posted by Red Beastmaster:
I started at 45#, worked up to 65#, and then back down again to 45#.
It took 26 years, a dozen bows, a couple thousand dollars, and hundreds of dollars in chiropractic bills to get back to where I should have stayed. I'm shooting better than ever and my back, neck, shoulders, and elbows thank me!
I found no advantage whatsoever shooting the heavier weights.
To answer your question, I found moving up in 5# increments was much better than jumping 10# or more.
Thank you Red...you just saved me a lot of time, money, and frustration! :archer:
I think I will stay where I am right now. Thanks for all the replies.
Joe
Another way to look at it is moving up in performance. Not all 50 pound bows are created equal. Maybe a move to 50 in a high performance bow would be easier on you and harder on the game.
Mike
However much you go up in weight, be careful and go easy! Don't over train or strain yourself and get injured. I went from 37# to 47#, but 37# was kind of light for me by the time I switched. Then there was a big learning (and strength) curve for me to get ACCURATE again with my new 47# limbs. A 5# jump won't be as much of an inconvenience. Good Luck
I had the same question. This posting if full of great information.
I am not a physician and the following are only my opinion and what worked for me. Remembering to get professional advice before proceeding in any physical activity for an increase in strength.
First you are going to have to be completely honest with your self on what you can handle accurately (something we sometimes have a hard time with if ego or macho gets in the way) in poundage to consistently hit your mark. You can use the same science to build the specific muscle groups involved in to shoot a traditional bow as in any body building but concentrating on the muscles involved with drawing/pulling aiming/holding and releasing your string to allow the bow to finish the job of sending the arrow to your target. Do not use more force than is necessary than to trigger the growth mechanism and build an inroad, then rest enough to fill the hole you just dug to gain strength (thus regulating your volume and frequency for proper recovery). If your body has the rest it needed you will notice the increase in strength and proceed taking the time necessary to do it properly and not hurt yourself. It only takes one properly done set to momentary muscular failure to stimulate growth for an increase in strength and size usually goes along with it (IMPORTANT do not dry fire your BOW when attempting this). You have to choose your proper weight selection for reps to momentary muscular failure to trigger the growth mechanism then once strength increases adding additional weight. Remembering that the role of genetics plays an important part to how strong an individuals potential is for how strong one can get and every body has different limits of capability. I worked up to 68# @ 32" for my limit for accuracy. I did believe that the extra weight helped the arrow in kinetic energy. I handled this for many years until aggressive degeneration took over my body and I am going with less weight to keep hunting Traditional versus going with one of them cro**guns. I can not stress enough to get professional advice before going on any training regimen so you know how to and sure you can handle it. These are my thoughts and what worked for me and take it for what it is food for thought and a place to start.
I shoot 46-48 lb bows at 27". I hunt deer,Turkeys and pigs and would not think an increase in 5 lbs would be worth the trouble. The broadhead gets out the other side of everything I shoot and I do shoot big broadheads.
Took a long time for a dummy like me to figure out shooting was much more fun and advil free with less poundage and the freezer still keeps plenty of meat.RC