Since the age of about 16 years old when I began archery and bow hunting ( my first bow BTW bought right off the rack of hundreds hanging up in a row at a shop in Milwaukee WI. a 51# 52" red wing hunter) I have always shot somewhere between 45 and 58# bows. Longbows, recurves, hybrids. And my draw length from day one has been 26.5 inches. ( as given to me by the shop at the time as I recall and have never questioned). I have always cut my arrows to 27 1/2 - 28 ". I Never really felt over strained or uncomfortable thru the years drawing my bows. I shoot good groups and have taken my share of 4 legged food. But..... I have had an Amazing Revelation. Who knew?? Because of a shoulder injury (actually from mountain biking) I was recently forced to drop my bow weight .I went to about 43# and 26.5 inches. And strangely I have been noticing that my arrows are getting shorter. Haaaa? whaaat? For the heck of it I purchased one of the in expensive Black hunter takedowns at 40#'s and have been NOW paying super close attention to my drawing and arrow length with mirrors, exact length marks with sharpies along the arrow shafts etc... I do not feel like i am doing anything particularly different but it seems a natural extension is occurring in my left arm (right hand shooter) While still coming to the same old exact split finger release point at corner of the mouth. Back tension , relaxed neck blah blah balh. DANG! I have a 28 inch draw length. And I need 29 inch arrows and 40 # bows. which I never bought because I figured I be shooting 35#@26.5". I realize I have been shooting from day one too heavy of bows and without ever questioning it I have actually never been experiencing complete extension. Because I have either never built up correct strength or have just gotten used to the feel of draw I began with at the young age. I have also used the charts that give you your draw at your arm wing expansion and they say I have a draw of 26-27 inches. Well I have observed this to be not so. I am wondering if there is a good number of archers out there that may be over bowed without any idea as I was . Or maybe not. With this revelation I am excited to go forward with a new chapter and experience a greater use of the limbs with a full 28 inch draw . Anyway, there is much more to be said about this experience but I'll end my mental stream for the moment. Signed Clueless !!
I shot a 38 lb recurve this past fall due to a fall and rotator cuff surgery. It was like butter. I used a clicker with heavier bows so I don't think the lighter bow effected my draw length but it was much easier to draw.
You have no idea how many times I've seen that exact same story play out. Unfortunately, I've also see way too many people rather short draw with a bow that's too heavy, than shoot a lighter weight bow better. Go figure.
Viper is right, sorta (usually,). Making theories about draw weight when the problem is injury or lack of physical fitness is too common. I think most healthy, average size, marginally fit men can comfortably shoot 50# (for example).. if they hurt themselves at work or in sports their theories are out the window.
I shot 50# Longbows in tourney for many years (my fav 3D Longbow 21st Edge was 52#)and shot them well, when I was in my mid 20's I could shoot 60#, then I was very fit and my job was manual building work, I dropped down to 50# when I started office work.
When I moved to Estonia I dropped a little weight, it's very easy to injure yourself shooting in subzero temps. Up until last year I was 42# with my Recurve, today due to health it's now 37#, I think in about 18 months even that will be too much and have to think again.
We get older, have injuries or unrelated medical issues, you have to listen to your body and make changes when needed, I would much rather be shooting a girly weight than not shooting at all.
I was in the same boat for many years. I also had to reduce weight because of an injury, and never even had interest in returning to my original weight as my form improved so much.
I suspect it's because a too-heavy draw weight actually makes it -harder- to develop the back muscles that are used to draw a bow correctly. ** We then 'cheat' and use our arm muscles instead of getting that elbow back.
The question isn't 'how much can you shoot' but 'how much can you fully control?'
And by control I mean get it back to anchor, hold it as long as you need to, and release cleanly.
**Developing muscles properly means that they are strong at full extension or contraction, not just in the middle of the cycle.
This is Redbow Dana Chatoo at 2010 Worlds in Germany shooting 50y downhill, he taught me how to shoot 34 years ago, small guy 5.6" controlling 50# bow with excellent Form.
Charlee- I think it’s very common. What do you think about the performance of the bow at the longer draw length? I guess overall draw weight is still a lot less. I’m guessing but I’d imagine if most guys gained draw length by lowering their poundage from the 50’s to the 40’s they wouldn’t notice a huge difference in performance.
I have big ,young, strong men new to the sport that can not handle a 50 lb. bow with any accuracy or form.More like 35 lb to begin with, and then maybe work their way up to 50 lbs, and most stop at 45 lbs.That is the way it was in the 50,s 60,s and 70,s and I don,t think it has changed much since then.JMO.
This just happened to me. I was feeling something wierd when I was drawing my bow. As I reached full draw it just didn't feel right. So I had my wife watch me draw and she told me the point of my arrow was behind the front (back) of the riser.
I thought she was seeing things because I had a brand new set of arrows that I had cut to my usual 29.5" oal. So I got out the measuring arrow at the archery shop and had my wife tell me what the measurement was on that arrow.
Sure enough my DL was 29.75". I thought this was crazy as my DL had always been 29" with a recurve. Turns out that me dropping in weight due to injury and not being able to shoot for almost 2 years made me start shooting basically from scratch. So my form was better and the lighter weight allowed me to reach my full extended draw.
Again, who knew. So now I have 2 sets of arrows cut to 29.5" that I shoot from an elevated rest, but I can't shoot them from the shelf because the tips hang up.
“Viper is right, sorta (usually,). Making theories about draw weight when the problem is injury or lack of physical fitness is too common. I think most healthy, average size, marginally fit men can comfortably shoot 50# (for example).. if they hurt themselves at work or in sports their theories are out the window.”
Nope. Viper is 100% correct, as usual. Being overbowed has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the poundage that a given person could potentially shoot if he were to develop the strength and mechanics to do so. It’s ALL ABOUT where you ARE, TODAY.
And JMO.... if you’re of average height and have an honest, 26.5” DL, you’re probably overbowed. I’ve never owned a shirt with sleeves that weren’t 2” too long, and I draw 26.5” or better, depending on the grip of the bow.
had a very nice kmag 55lb. friend said I would grow in to it. sure enough I did. shot it pretty good too. had the wife mark the arrow at full draw........ 19" :)
Smokedinpa, kind of funny but getting injured (mountain bike not by bow for the naysayers) has really been a positive thing in my eyes. I started this lighter journey with a who hunts with light bows (35-40#'s) thread, along with the many other threads on this topic and it would seem there are a ton of archers out there that are doing it with great success . It really makes one wonder if the heavier bow weight decision is simply an ego driven thing vs what is actually required to do the job. (with proper set up and tuning of course) ie: State bow hunting weights on an average are much lower then the bow weights that most hunters claim to use. Why is that? As far as bow performance most of my bows have been custom thru the years at my draw so I do not believe the performance suffered. But If I can spend less money on non-custom bows ( just bought a 40# slick stick for $200 (vs a $800 custom). I am enjoying the fact that my 28" draw allows for complete use of the bow limbs as designed for at the amo 28 inches. So that probably DOES translate to better performance. I feel my draw is becoming more expansive , opening up my chest more and with definitely more ACTUAL control that I always assumed I had but obviously did not. Anyway, I am pleased with this new journey accept for the fact I need to buy all new arrows. But life could be worse. Thanks much. C
I'm not so sure that the short draw is caused by heavy weight alone. Definitely a contributor. I think the main cause is not knowing what aligment is. And even if you know alignment, it doesn't mean that you don't get lazy and short draw once in a while.
Always good to go back to light weight, shoot and THINK.
I seriously doubt you were overbowed for 39 years. You were probably overbowed the first month or two and developed bad habits that stuck with you for 39 years.50 pounds ain't that much for an adult male
Whatever the cause , I've discovered an issue, a natural longer , more complete draw , getting fuller use out of my equipment and simply shared my experience because I believe the best use out of these bow sites is to learn and improve ourselves ! peace, C
Awesome post Charlee. I have experienced the same thing recently. I really think I get much greater performance with a lighter bow and getting to full draw and expanding with back tension. Really makes a difference with a dynamic release and full extension versus short drawing a bow that is too heavy and lousy form.
I had a back injury 25 years ago and as I age it is getting worse. I used to shoot 45# bows and my draw was 28.5 inches, Now when I shoot those bows my draw is 26. So now I usually shoot bows around 35# but In am struggling to get to my full draw consistantly. I can feel my lower back struggling even at these low weights and after a dozen shots or so I have to quit. Kind of depressing. I want to dominant the weight I shoot so I can shoot longer. So I am thinking of dropping way down to the low 20s just so I can concentrate of my form and shoot more.
Thanks Brad for the positive comments. Funny my name is Brad as well(Charlee is my handle ... from one of my dogs ) , love to learn and improve , not judge etc... thanks much!!!
Charlee, i wasn't trying to be argumentative or anything, just pointing something out. Also i am glad you are getting your form worked out after injury. A guy i shoot with short draws all the time, but that is his thing i guess, I think he like you might do better dropping weight. Also i do agree with some that have posted that by using a lighter bow and getting it to anchor you might get the same performance as a heavier bow drawn short. I haven't chronoed it with trad bows, but a solid rule of thumb with compounds is; all else being equal 1" of draw equals 10fps. So real world it works out an inch of draw equals ~3-5 pounds of weight to get the same performance, remember though, that is compounds.
I'm not really convinced there is any such thing as "over drawing". The guys in England draw their warbows to their ear, and they do just fine for game they are playing. And I especially don't think there is any such thing as overdrawing if he is keeping his anchor in the same place like he described. Adding draw length is as an Olympic archer told me one time "free horsepower". Earl Hoyt said the same thing. Lower your brace height and increase your draw length an inch. You'll add efficiency to your set up. One thing is for sure, if you can't come to anchor, and then push your bow shoulder toward the target you are overbowed.
“Whatever the cause , I've discovered an issue, a natural longer , more complete draw , getting fuller use out of my equipment and simply shared my experience because I believe the best use out of these bow sites is to learn and improve ourselves!”
Careful there - you’ll get your Trad Man-Card pulled if you suggest that Archery is a form-dependent discipline to be learned.
Well, I gave the lighter bow thing a try. Being told I am to old to shoot over 50#, my arrows hang over the shelf, etc., etc. My shooting hasn’t improved at reasonable ranges, 30-35 yards, to make that much of a difference. So for now that 42# bow will hang on the rack until I am 80 something.
