Just curious about a little something I am dealing with because of health/muscle issues. How many of you shoot more than one bow where the draw weight difference is at least 10 pounds?

For those that do is the transition between bows any sort of problem? Which do you shoot most, the heavier or lighter bow?

I find that moving up to the heavier bow is a bit more difficult because I can't shoot as many arrows as I would like. But it seems that I am able to make a certain number of shots with the heavier bow fairly well but then things will get a little iffy at some point. But I can shoot my lighter bow quite a bit more without fatiguing.

I suppose that is all logical but I am wondering if there are many who deal with the same issue and how do they deal with it.

I shoot with 4 different weights and styles of bows. A 28lb/70in ILF olympic style recurve , a 68lb/56in great northern ghost recurve, a 50lb/64in tradional D style long bow and a 60lb/62in reflex/deflex great northern fireball long bow.

I find shooting the heavier draw weights makes shooting the lighter weights feel much lighter than they are.

I enjoy shooting different style bows and weights,it makes me focus more. I would say my accuracy is very close to the same with all my bows after a few arrows but will fall off when I start to fatigue no matter what bow I'm shooting.

I made the mistake last year of taking twelve weeks off from shooting and could not even draw 50lbs when I came back to it.I wont take time off like that again if I can help it, took me twice as long to work my way back up. I use the same swing draw, three under release and anchor points regardless of what bow I'm shooting.I think that helps my accuracy more than anything.

Usually I shoot higher draw weight bows(60 and up), then when I drop down 10- 25# lbs, it's very easy to shoot them.

Well there are many that think they need a heavy draw weight for different reasons. You did not mention what kind of weights you are shooting. I assume that you are also talking about hunting bows.

Bottom line is you need to shoot a comfortable draw weight that you can practice with enough to become effective.

I feel safe saying that there are more overbowed people here than underbowed.

Pretty much shoot with in 5 pounds year around. Have dropped down 10-15 pounds when injured though and then worked back up.

Usual for me is 60-65 lbs but I've shot from 40 to 80 lbs for form work and strength work. I shoot heavier bows more. I also like to draw bows left handed to balance shoulder strength. I'm up to 70 lbs left handed... just draw and hold a few seconds. Actually shooting lefty just totally feels queer... and I'm left handed. Go figure.

Years ago I had a problem when shooting a 50 pound, that I would yank it back like I would be expecting to pull hard. The empty water bucket mixed in with the full bucket brigade, like I saw on an old black and white movie of goof off fire fighters. it took a bit to cross that hurtle when going from 85 pound bows down to a 50. It did not change anything else for me as long as the arrow gpp was about the same. Actually with my Hill style bows it probably changes less than a fast recurve would even if the arrow weights to vary. Arrow weight variances do not affect a thick cored Hill style bow as much as a fast recurve.

My longbows range from 35# to 44#'s. I just grab one and shoot. Same Boyer so have the same grip. Length ranges from 64" to 68". I can shoot them all day without getting fatigued.

If I grab the 44# bow first it makes the 35# bow super easy to pull. I do pull left every once in a while to work both muscles.

I have a partially torn rotor cuff on my string shoulder. I bought a pair of stretch bands and use them daily to work both muscles and increase blood circulation in the shoulders. Really helps with my shooting and rotator cuff tear. Shoulder does not bother me.

I recently realized I'm working out more with stretch bands than dumbels. Stretch bands much better on the joints.

My bows are 56, 52 and 42 in draw weight. Since my last flare up of my muscle problem I have recovered to the point where I can shoot all of them and can shoot them with acceptable accuracy. And I would be comfortable shooting any of them for the kind of hunting I do.

In my subconscious I can't shake the feeling that I should concentrate on practising with the heavier bows and that is what I am doing right now. But I also just like shooting and I can shoot the 42 pound bow for 70 or more shots and still be fine. Shooting the heavier bows I start to get fatigued enough that my shooting deteriorates after about 35 to 40 arrows. I shoot all of them the same, split finger, draw, anchor and a brief hold.

I have a few high 70s that I rarely shoot, and that i use as workout bows. Most of my bows are around 65. Recently I added some 55s. With my ILF I have pretty much every weight. I find there are weights that don't seem to be there, light bows, accurate and powerful, powerful, too much. All these being subjective.

Throughout history people have had power bows, it's not a new thing. If you have to work at shooting your heaviest weight, it is a different deal than shooting the kind of weight you might shoot on a really long target round. People often say you need to shoot light bows to perfect form, but I also think it is true that shooting heavier bows teaches you how to recruit all your muscles. That is part of form also. If you look at how the muscles across the back are laid out, you will notice there is a fan shape to them, you can get by with pretty minimal recruitment when shooting lighter bows. Being in your back feels like a band between the two shoulders. But shooting a heavy bow you feel it across a wider area.

You have to decide what you want to shoot and work toward that. If it's giving you trouble or making you sore, then you need to back off to every other day or so...if that is the weight you want to shoot.

My bows are 47 and 52 pounds now, and I really like the 47# the best. That said, I can shoot a 35# target bow for a week or so, and go right to my 47# with no issues. I don't plan to hunt anything that would require more weight so I'm comfortable where I am.

I no longer shoot targets or 3D. All my stickbows are used for hunting and all are within 3 lbs of each other. In my opinion 10 lbs difference in draw weight is a totally different bow even if it's the same model or made by the same bowyer.

I'd rather shoot 15-20 good arrows and call it quits than to shoot 100 many of which aren't going to be good shots.

Bill, I'll give you an extreme example. My shoulders are pretty well shot and I have to be really careful shooting my 50# bow. Usually just a few arrows a couple times a day, or my right shoulder will get so bad I can't shoot for days. The last time it got so bad that I couldn't shoot my bow, I started playing around with my grandsons little all glass bow that probably draws somewhere in the neighborhood of ten or twelve pounds. I'm sure I looked foolish shooting it, but I'd rather look foolish than not be able to shoot at all. I was off with the first shot or two, but after that, I was hitting about as well as I would with my hunting bow.

There's about a 10# spread between my lightest and heaviest bows. I shoot about the same grains of arrow weight per pound of bow weight so arrow trajectory is pretty much the same across the weight range. I prefer to shoot my heavier bows. Get a cleaner release and just a tad more accurate to start. But, as you note, fatigue sets in fairly quickly and accuracy goes down hill. Can shoot the lighter bows all day.

I hunt with my heavier bows until the temps drop to freezing. Then I break out the lighter bows.

I currently have 4 bows that are 38#, 44#, 48# and 57#s and I shoot them in varying ways.

My 38# Borders recurve and 44# Tsunami longbow are shot 3under with well controlled form and long holds at anchor.

My 48# Herters recurve is shot split-finger with solid form but the hold times at anchor are only a second or two long.

My 57# Hill style longbow is shot swing draw style with a touch and go anchor.

I enjoy learning and practicing with different bows and styles which is enhanced by knowing if all I ever shot was my 38# bow?...within a few short weeks my light bow would begin feeling like my heavier ones...which basically serve as an upper body workout so I can physically dominate my lighter bows.

I only have three recurves, and they are #45, #45 and #50. Even at 5# to the heaviest I can tell the difference.

I guess I have conflicting feelings. In the past I had always felt I should be using the heavier bows for hunting and back then I could shoot them all day long. But my muscle problems have caused me to spend more time with the lighter one which I can still shoot for extended periods of time. I shoot the heavier ones as well as I always did. I just can't shoot them as long.

One thing I should work on is transitioning from lighter to heavier more often so I get better used to the switch.

I have two 68 inch longbows. 45@30 and 50@28. My draw length is 30". I try to shoot them both every other day and start with the 45. I shoot that one for 30-45 minutes and then switch to the 50 and shoot that one for 30-45 minutes. I find it easier to go from light to heavy as the light draw weight helps with warm up. But I also do some specific weight lifting to keep my muscles in shape for pulling my bows.

Shoot a bunch that can vary as much as 10 lb. No problem if I stick to one of those bows for a day or two.

Same in the past where I shot a 32# target bow and a 48# hunting bow. Didn't often practice as much with the hunting bow, but did usually fly some into a piece of cardboard pinned on a hillside at the railroad tracks before it went out for serious hunting to get used to pulling it back as more than adjusting to how it shot. Now, I work up to the heavier bows too for a day or two starting with a lighter one. Like getting off the coach - Just takes a step or two to get my legs going nowdays.

Bill -

For some of my more advanced shooters, it's a requirement.

Viper out.

Bill, when people bring "subconscious" into discussions they literally never know what "subconscious" means, but they "believe" in it. Doesn't matter what we "feel" about these things, except for our pain tolerance.

George Stout's answer makes sense (and this time he's right as well as sensible):

"My bows are 47 and 52 pounds now, and I really like the 47# the best. That said, I can shoot a 35# target bow for a week or so, and go right to my 47# with no issues. I don't plan to hunt anything that would require more weight so I'm comfortable where I am."

My "comfort zone" draw wts. for just plain shooting is 38lb. - 52lb. My serious remedial training wts. for

1. Form training 25 - 35 lbs, esp. for RH shooting; getting better with RH, but still cleaning up old TP issues & fighting the left dominant eye. Long, effortless holds in order to sort out sighting issues while forcing the right muscular efforts (hard with a very light draw bow that does not automatically "force" proper muscle recruitment) is absolute necessity for me. LH shooting, none of these issues, just good practice to go light now & then.

2.Strength training & maintenance, anything over 52# up to 57#; used to go up to 75# but no longer care to struggle with that.

I build selfbows and I usually give them to family and friends. The weights range from kids bows to 70lb thumpers. I won't let them go until they are shot a couple hundred times.. So, I shoot a lot of different weights and have learned that tired is tired. Fatigue is going to kick your accuracy in the butt. Heavy bows bring on fatigue quicker so I shoot them in sets of lower repetition. My shot sequence is pretty grooved and I don't find a lot of difference in accuracy regardless of draw weight. The right arrow for the bow and draw weight doesn't mean much to me. I am 52, and in spite of a rotator cuff surgery (injured coming off a horse -not archery related), I can shoot most any draw weight with few problems. I have always done some regular strength training through the years (light weights and high reps) and I think it has helped me more than anything else. A big part of that is knowing when to let your muscles rest when they need it.

In preparing for Elk season I start shooting 59, 55, then by august 60lbs. then I am good.

H Rhodes said: "Heavy bows bring on fatigue quicker so I shoot them in sets of lower repetitions."

That is something that I have found helps a lot. When I shoot my lighter bow I can shoot a dozen arrows one right after the other with no problem. But in shooting the heavier bows it helps a lot if I only shoot 5 or 6 arrows and then go pull them from the target and walk back to where I am shooting from. I can usually manage to take a lot more shots in a given shooting session by shooting smaller groups at a time.

I own two bows, #40 and #55 1966 Grizzlys. I shoot both the same. Make no mistake the #40 is an easy to handle twinkie bow, and alot of fun to shoot. But the power factor of the #55 is definitely more satisfying. Both are easy on the joints where #65 wouldn't be, or I'd be shooting #65.

I recently lightened up my 3d bow to 38 pounds. At distances past 20 yards I am struggling some with the elevations. It was previously 45#.

I prefer my hunting weight rigs to be nearer to 50.

I shoot 40-60lbs , It don't effect me at all. I don't shoot far enough to even notice a difference . Only one inch difference at twenty yrds with my gear. aside for the grip on the bows being diff, they are tuned to shoot wear I aim.

I rotate through a bunch of bows ranging from 39# to 69#. Might shoot a 45# then a 60# right after.

Not much difference except the heavier weights are four arrow rounds and the lighter are six.

Both weights demand concentration of a different type.

For 3D around here 38# isn't enough...wish it was. I'm looking for 45# for that Hoyt.

If I have not shot for a while, I start with my wife's 48 pound recurve. When I get warmed up, I go to my regular 66 pound bow. I shoot only 3 arrow groups anymore. This allows me to shoot for an extended period.

Murray

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