Seems that most guys have hunting bows in a certain weight range that is comfortable to them.

And most have a lighter weight bow that they shoot when they want to work on form.

But I never hear of guys shooting heavier bows to help build muscle strength/endurance. Does anyone do this?  Or does it result more in bad habits? I.E. Bad form, bad release?

I would say you are correct, bad habits are more likely to offset any gains in strength. There are commercial contraptions that are built to strength your drawing muscles.

I've got a 60# bow that I shoot once in a while . After shooting it my 45# feels like stretching a rubber band .

I use one occasionally... but don't shoot it... I just use it to pull and hold...  I have too many bad habits already ;-)

Be sure to pull(exercise) with both arms to equalize the muscles in the back...

Jonathan

Consider using a lighter weight bow and holding longer, like 20 seconds. This also builds strength without as high a risk of injury, like elastic bands in a gym.

The form problems are within your control.  You don't have to move up so much in weight that you can't control the bow.  You may not be able to shoot as many arrows, and in fact you can practice drawing at home without even shooting.  I used heavier bows to allow me to be more comfortable with the existing bows that I had, and eventually was able to be comfortable with bows up to 100# ( up from 55-60).  This being said, it is a perishable effect.  If you stop shooting the heavier bows, you will have to work your way up again.

at this moment in time a 45#  bow feels good to me, however I was feeling extra manly when I ordered my last stick so I asked the bowyer to make it 46#

I shoot both right and left handed so when I got a chance to buy a 77 pound dual shelf I jumped at it...I do not believe shooting a bow that you have to short draw builds any sort of bad habits for an instinctive shooter...Glenn St Charles talks quite extensively about doing that in his book Billets to Bows...of course in Glenn's day there were not a whole bunch of "internet rules" that needed to be adhered to

DDave

I use heave a couple of bows I use for work out....sometimes I take them afield....HH 78#  ...100# Javaman recurve and 110# war bow

Mainstay bow,are 60 to 70#s hunting

QuoteOriginally posted by Graps:
I've got a 60# bow that I shoot once in a while . After shooting it my 45# feels like stretching a rubber band .

Same here.

Thanks guys. I have 45-52lb bows that I use for hunting. I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 60 to help build strength especially for those winter months when bows draw twice as hard.
That and it gives me a good excuse to buy another bow  

Go for it, and have fun.

I can take my lightest bow I bought for my wife 35 years ago and hold it so long I can sing Rock of Ages before I release. Keeping it for form training and for one of my grown daughters who keeps asking about shooting it at the Florida 3-D's next winter.

I've thought about buying a take down riser just to work up through limbs that way with. I've never done it though.

I still shoot my 75# recurve on occasion. 30-40 arrows is about all I can manage before fatigue becomes a factor. That was the only bow I had when I got back into trad about 9 years ago. Killed my first archery elk with it and a few blacktails. I then traded a guy for a 60# Samick predator and thought I was in heaven! I went from that to a 60# Bear Montana, and from there to a 62# Tolke classic whip. I think I'm set for a few years now.

During my first round with recurves, in the 1970's, I built up by simply drawing and holding my hunting bow (I couldn't afford more than one bow) for extended periods. I would count. I got  up to a minute with that bow (60" B-Mag). This made the bow (only 51#'s even in those days) much easier to draw, hold and shoot.

Fast-forward to 2009 and I thought I'd draw a bow heavier than I intended to hunt with. It was only about 10 pounds heavier. Within days I hurt my shoulder enough to be out of shooting commission for 8 months.  I'm not 100% it was the bow's "fault". I had also been carrying a bunch of lumber on that same shoulder during the same week on a home remodel project.

Could have been the lumber carrying.

However, I will never again attempt to draw a bow that is more than 5-6 pounds heavier than my regular bow.  There are some beasts that I would no longer be able to even dream of hunting...but I could never afford Cape Buffalo anyway.