Whats your thoughts?

Depends on what you're hunting, rabbits or elephants..

Efficiency of bows decreases when the draw weight gets to a particular point. However, if one can find arrows that are heavy enough to take advantage of the additional energy generated, and can shoot the heavy bow as well as the lighter bow, there are certainly disadvantages I don't think.

The only true advantage I can think of is penetration.

That would depend I guess on a persons definition of "heavy".

The only real advantage is "more arrow energy" if you want it, or need it.

As a general rule of thumb, the heavy bows are capable of casting a heavy arrow much faster than the lighter weight bows. Take note, I did not say heavier GPP.

The reason for this is, as a bow gets heavier in draw weight, so too does it generally get stronger as far as structural integrity goes, thus allowing the shooter to utilize much lower arrow weight as determined by grains per pound of bow draw weight.

An example:

From my 96# bow I shoot arrows that weigh 605 gr. Yes that is a low gpp, but still a heavy arrow by most standards. I have shot this bow & another heavy with arrows that weighed from 5gpp to 6gpp for many MANY years with absolutely ZERO problems, and can tell you that a 50, 60, 70, or even 80 lbs of draw weight will not even come close to shooting that 605gr arrow as fast.

In short, a 60# bow shooting a 600gr arrow will never shoot that arrow with anywhere near as much energy/speed, and the same weight arrow shot from a 90# bow.

Rick

Well , my arrow have 530 grain ,bow weight 60# and i'm happy !! So ...that's it . Be happy

If you match them gpp to bow, they won't be any faster than a lighter bow, but the advantage is they can handle heavier arrows and that's important to some folks. The key is being able to handle the weight; if you can, there will be advantages in shooting heavier arrows.

Last night I shot a +700 grain arrow at a steel dumpster at 12yds with and 80lb bow. Though I meant to destroy that arrow with gusto, it just bounced off unphased. Practically speaking, I'd wager the stouter spined arrows do stand up to abuse better.

The bottom line is:

Delivered energy isn't free.

Aside from the cost of achieving the best efficiency possible, the only way to increase output is to increase input, and increasing input without increasing load will always give you the biggest boost. Even the most efficient bows out there will get massive boosts when the draw weight is increased without large increases of arrow weight.

Whether, or not you need it is a different subject.

Rick

More energy is always more cool. And flinging an extra heavy arra with more authority is extra more better-er, needed or not.

.... But another realistic advantage to heavy(-for-you) bows is personal exercise, strength, and stamina. Thus better control of any lesser weight.

Can't forget we are all athletes just as much as we are hobbyists here. ;^)

2 holes instead of one.

When a 50# bow puts a balanced arrow through a deer there are two holes...I hunt with everything from 45 to 65#. I don't feel handicapped with any of these bows. My heaviest bow is 70#...I shoot it just fine but prefer lighter bows when hunting. 50-60 is the norm but I will try and take a deer with a 1960 42# Hi-Speed this year.

I cant shoot bows under 65# because of a horrible release due to a dead finger also u ou cant have to much peno lol

Rick, Is there a point in draw weight where you would depart from 9-10 GPP and start going down, like 8, then 7, then 6 and so on?

A question that really honestly, requires a simple common sense answer.

more arrow weight, more penetration ect..ect

Rick pretty well summed it up.

[[[ N. Y. Yankee - "Rick, Is there a point in draw weight where you would depart from 9-10 GPP and start going down, like 8, then 7, then 6 and so on?" ]]]

James, it would be hard to put a hard followed scale on it, and the quality of the bow would have a large part to do with it being ok with the lighter gpp arrows.

All I can saw is, I shot as little as 5 gpp arrow weight on a regular basis with all of my bows from 80# & above with great results, and no problems. The only heavy draw weight bow I ever kept at, or above 8 gpp was my 81# Blackwidow, and that was only to keep from voiding warranty, but I have no doubt it would have been fine with a 6 gpp arrows.

Generally, a bow will tell you via sound & feel whether or not it is handling an arrow weight ok. My Martin bows at 96# & 98# & 5gpp arrows were very quiet shooting, and dead in the hand, but I could feel & hear a little/better difference between the 5gpp & the 6gpp, so I eventually opted to stick with the 6.

Rick

Depends on what you can handle accurately, and what you're hunting. I shoot two holes in all of my whitetails with my 49# bow....never had an instance where I didn't. So the "more penetration" is relative. You still have to make a killing shot with any bow...weight or no.

Shooting 800-900 grain 11/32" hickory arrows as flat and fast as arrows half their weight is impressive. They hit hard and carry their momentum very well.

I concur on the durability factor of arrows of much stiffer spine. Holy crap are they tough. They also tend to stay straight better than lighter spined shafts.

I shot 73-76 lbs most of my life, with a year or so with 82. Now that's I'm in my 60's and was layed up for a few years I dropped to around 60 lbs. Just too lazy to build back up to higher weights. Shooting Easton 2419's out of 82lbs gives you arrows that will blow thru a moose 100 percent of the time without even slowing down. Some guys live where the deer are smaller and they don't hunt anything else, plus all shots are 10 or 15 yards so yeah heavy really loses most of its advantage.

You can throw a heavier arrow and depending what you are hunting it can be an advantage. If I could shoot #55 as well as I could #45 I would. But I can't so I shoot #45. If it does't hit the right spot the extra weight is waisted.

A lot depends on how much you shoot. You're not gonna build into and shoot well with heavy bows if you shoot once a week. I got a friend who shoots 2419's with a 2219 inside it. Now that takes a heavy bow to get the full benefit.(at least I think its 2219's inside, but it could be something else).

I am more than happy with a 60 pound bow with 600 grain arrows for elk or moose...my current elk bow will shoot those arrows at 175 fps

DDave

Put that in a context for us... What's your draw length, holezone?

I shoot 2219's out of 60lbs and 640 gn spruce outa 62lbs. I get in the mid to high 190's for speed at 32inch draw. I'd like to shoot heavy weight again but at this point its just not feasible. I'm blowing thru elk and deer with this so I'm happy in my old age.

Well, heavy bows give you a nice workout. And they can make you feel good about your manliness. I once shot heavy, up to 100# for those reasons. I could shoot 70# really well for a time and enjoyed it.

But then I got more interested in field archery competition, 112 arrows for score plus warm-up, 7 to 80 yards. So I worked my way down to 50 pounds, then 45. Then I could practice as much as I liked and score well. I figured that was enough for any game I was likely to hunt unless I won the lottery and could go after something big and bitey.

But going heavy for a while was fun and probably built fit muscles and joints that I still benefit from years later. - lbg

I'm with ya Holezone... I haven't seen a conversation here YET about heavier draw weight bows that didn't attract their bias and twisted reasoning.

The reality is, heavier bows offer options within their advantages. If one truly has no want or need for practical gains from increased momentum and energy, they can shoot the same weight(and even heavier) arrows faster for their flatter trajectory, which makes range estimation less critical and can improve accuracy. And that can be a benefit while pursuing ANY size game animal.

Not boring at all! In fact you're telling something important that can be easily overlooked and/or ignored when we're talking bow efficiency/performance-- and something that bears pointing out...Draw Length!

Not only are you getting extra zip and umphhh from extra, unseen pounds but your bows (and GF's bows) are blessed with several more inches of draw! Hence, the bows forces are acting on the arrow that much longer! Similar to lengthening a rifle barrel by several inches... All else equal, you just get significantly more velocity and efficiency.

So Back to the OP, it might be fair to say that heavier bows are more realistically advantageous to those with longer draws.

Is a guy drowning 80# @ 31" and better off than a guy drawing 80# @ 27. Both are holding 80#. I would think the short draw would have an advantage. Arrow gets off the string sooner and would be more forgiven.

Most of the interviews I've read with well known bowyers all say 60lbs is about as heavy as you can go before efficiency drops off.Beyond that they say you will only gain around 1 fps per pound of draw weight.

See what I mean?

The biggest advantage I see in shooting a heavier bow....,

...which BTW allows to propel a much heavier arrow at a faster speed, which significantly increases the chances of getting an exit hole, which also increases your chances of blowing thru bone, which in turn really gives you a much better opportunity to create a dead recovered animal that moved on the shot (unlike your backyard mannequin target) than you would with a less powerful bow, which is kind of the whole point of going hunting...

...is that you don't need to think up a different biased way to justify why you prefer to shoot a light weight bow and arrow and elimeinating the chances of having a real converstion about the topic without it be twisted with so much insecure bias.

I currently shoot fairly light weight bows, soooo..... 1. Judo points on rabbits. Kills them great with 540 grain arrow from 60# bow. Won't do it with 360 grain arrow from 40# bow. 2. You can get 8.5 to 9.0 grains per pound for good speed and trajectory with wood arrows. Try that with a 40# bow...ain't happening. 3. Confidence when you are hunting bigger animals. I only hunt little deer and small game, so I don't have personal experience with this one, but it makes sense to me. I think that is pretty much it. MB

Jeff,

Why would one become so vehement about the advantages of heavier draw weight and then use the least efficient bow design possible?

+1 on sight and sound of a big arrow impacting.

JRW, I don't know. I suggest you go find that guy and ask him.

Just out of curiosity, what's the least efficient bow design possible?

lol, who cares if its efficient or not if your shooting 900 gns at 190fps or even 650gns at 200 fps. It may be less efficient but shoots a heavier arrow faster thus more momentum that takes alot to slow it down.

I know this couldn't be but sometimes it seems like some have an inferiority complex about their bow weight so need to put down anyone shooting heavier than themselves. For those who this doesn't fit my apologies in advance.

I found him. I asked him. He ducked the question.

Heavy bow for me, I'm 5'9" 155#S. 65# bow 775 grain arrow. I've made the same shot with 55# bow 650 grain arrow without recovering the hog. Trailed him for 3 hours and made it onto someone elses property. This one made it about 80yards.

JMO, the advantage of heavier draw weight is just what Rick said: Velocity.

Light-Bow advocates always proclaim that an arrow of about 450 grains will kill anything in NA.... IF YOU HIT IN THE RIGHT SPOT.

OK, so let's roll with that for a minute. The two biggest obstacles to hitting The Right Spot (under real-world hunting conditions) are (within the confines of my reality) Animal Movement and Unknown Shot Distance.

So let's make the reasonable assumptions that the archer is using a well-tuned rig and that he can shoot the line at any weight that he might choose. Faster Arrows are more accurate (vertical component, at least) and they have a shorter hang time, which allows the animal less time to move enough to turn a Perfectly Good Shot into a Bad Hit. Both of those are Very Real Advantages.

And if anyone disagrees with the 450 Grain assumption... Pick a weight. Any weight will do. Same with bow design and anything else: if the only variable is peak draw weight, the heavier bow will throw the same arrow Faster. And if it flies faster, it hits harder, sooner, and with less holdover error. What's not to like?

Get down to it, and the only disadvantage to higher poundage is that We Humans have our limitations, and at some point our accuracy potential begins to suffer. Too much weight, we start missing.

Not saying that high poundage is essential, just that if it doesn't hurt your shooting, it can't possibly hurt anything else.

GLF,

I personally don’t care either. I just find the lack of consistency a bit humorous. I still get a kick out of the guy on another site several years ago who took me to task for hunting moose with a 56# recurve (never mind two complete pass throughs) while he hunts the same species with a 60-pound-plus selfbow that puts out less energy than most 45# recurves.

Quite frankly, I’ve never understood why people get bent out of shape about what someone else chooses to shoot. I guess some people need to be offended by something.

I have heard from folks that I believe know what they are talking about that there is diminishing returns after 65#. That doesn't mean that 70 isn't better, just that going from 65-70 may not give as much of an increase as going from 60-60. I have no idea what tiny percentage that equates to and it really doesn't matter to me.

And that doesn't really mean anything to anyone shooting a bow. A person shouldn't need more than one reason to shoot whatever weight they choose. That reason is - because they want to. Trying to justify it or criticize is is a waste of time.

dr. kenagy wrote an article back in 1955 in the nfaa magazine describing some deer kills he had witnessed. one he described was a shot across a canyon at a deer on an opposite ridge by a guy in doc's hunting camp. he shot one arrow and missed and the second shot dropped the deer with a hit from a falling arrow into the spine. doc hired a surveyer to measure the shot, and got 180+ yards. don't remember the exact measurement. point is, even an arrow with just gravity as it's propellant will kill so why waste time arguing about stuff that's really a moot point? agree with phil and rick barbee.

Its funny actually. I've been in a ton of hunting camps all over north America and not once has the subject of bow weight been brought up after a days hunt. Theres more interesting things to discuss. No one cares what others shoot in the real world and probably on here till someone starts putting people down for their bow weight.

As far as gpp, I shot 2219's/8.7's out of 60 lbs, 73lbs, 76lbs, and 82lbs by tuning my bows instead of arrows. I'm sure the gpp doesn't sound impressive out of 82lbs but it works.

Beware statements that 70# bows at 10 gpp don't shoot any better than 60# bows at 10 gpp. In limited experimenting I have found that heavier limbs do have a slight advantage. I have only run 35# to 56#, but it does show up. It also depends on the bow. Some bows are designed to be shot with heavier arrows, and perform better. See Border Covert Hunter. I wish I could shoot more poundage, so I am stuck at around 50# with a 420 grain arrow. If I could, I would shoot 70# with a 600 grain arrow. Poundage, (speed from that poundage) and arrow weight yield momentum. I will always take too much over too little. Better to have an arrow stuck in the mud after a complete pass through than to watch the deer run with an arrow sticking out of it.

I'm a strong believer that a person should hunt big game using the heaviest bow (within reason...no need for anything over about 70) that they can shoot accurately and with comfort. Having that extra energy can come in handy when a shot is less than perfect and you need to bust through a shoulder blade, etc.

Too bad Elmer Kieth and Jack O'Connor aren't around to help settle this one for us...

There is only one reason to shoot a heavy draw weight bow....to shoot a heavy arrow at enough speed to shoot through critters.

FASTEST WAY TO TARGET PANIC YOU CAN GET. IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN A MAINLINE YOU COULD HAVE INSTANT ISSUES.LOL

HEAVY BOWS ARE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO CAN ACCURATELY HANDLE THEM WITH CONSISTANCEY.

MY HORSE RAN AWAY AND NEVER CAME BACK AND SOLD OFF ALL MY HEAVYS AND NOT LOOKING BACK.LET SOMEONE ELSE RIDE THEM WHO'S YOUNGER AND STRONGER.LOL

That's strange. I went from having target panic with bows under 55 to zero panic with bows over 70. I shoot 70-100 because I like to, and the string doesn't have to be shaken off my fingers. Yeah, my accuracy suffers a bit with my 100# longbow during long sessions, but I don't hunt with it. I shoot it for fun and fitness, That's why. I also agree that some just want to be offended all the time. Whether its Heavy bows, vehicle brands, automotive oils, flags, bullet size and capacity etc... someone is always offended. Where's my popcorn and beer.

After years of using different combinations of bows and arrows, for me, this is what I know/use. 90# straight limbed longbow. 900 grain 23/64 woodies (just because that is what I have made up at the moment). 160 grain points.

I have pretty much settled into this combination for all things large and small. I am done testing, changing, experimenting.

justin

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