Would I feel a difference if I dropped just #5 or do I need to drop #10?

In my experience 5# makes all the difference in the world. 50# Is too much for me these days, but 45# is like butter! Good luck. Tom

You'll definitely notice a 5# difference. Whether that's enough depends on if you're overbowed now and by how much.

Drop a ten pound weight on your right foot, and a five pound weight on your left. Or better yet, use your buddy's foot. Do not use the wife's foot. You will note a difference. )

I should say, yes...you will notice a difference in tension between a 50 and 55 pound bow, or whichever level you try...50 to 45, etc.

5# makes a big difference to me.

For target shooting I always drop 10# from my hunting weight.

All personal preference, but just depends on how overbowed you are now. I’d consider dropping as much weight as you are comfortably hunting with.

Consider this, 55# pound+ bows sit in the classified ads for months.

Funny you should mention that now. My shoulders are pretty much shot from arthritis, and I am in the process of dropping down. To answer your question YES, to me it makes a huge difference with just going from about 52# to 47#.

Absolutely my friend!!

I have two 1972 Bear Super Kodiaks and both are 60"amo. One is 55#@28" and the other is 60#@28". And with out a doubt I can tell the difference in the weight.

It's hard to get it back if you drop to much, and 5 lbs will make a difference, especially with the same style of bow. IMHO.

Agree 5 lbs makes a difference, I took it too far and went down 10 lbs. and going back up for a hunt was too much and I was over bowed at my old weight. Got weaker by going too light for too long.

Shooting 20yd indoor range I watched a big woman getting mostly 10s with a 30# Groves and a skinny dancer-built keeping all of her arrows inside pie plate with a very short 25# whisp of a horse bow.

Im a 3d guy. I've just started indoor...my 50# and my 40# seem equally accurate. I think the heavier bow forces more consistent draw but is more prone to aiming error.

I've owned bows from 40# to 55# and they all feel the same..............................in my hand,lol

5# makes a really big difference,actually

5# makes a difference for me. Tuning me is very important. :)

It depends on the bow, for me.

A 55# Howatt Hunter feel almost the same as my 63# Gorr bow.

The Howatt measure 57# and the Gorr 59# @ 28"but the Gore has smoothness all the way through 27" anchor and feels like less poundage than the Howatt.

I had a Traditiol Fox longbow and it was 45@ 26.5. It felt like well over 50 pounds at 27.5" draw for me.

Pounds are pounds, I went from a 60lb Mamba to a 40lb. self bow, my accuracy went from placing five arrows in an 18" circle to placing the same five into a three inch circle.

Everyone needs a lesser poundage bow to help them correct their form and take away the stress on the joints.

For hunting I prefer the 60, how many times are you going to shoot at that hog or deer.

At home practicing, get a much lesser poundage so you can shoot 100 arrows in a session and have fun without damaging your bod.

I am building a 55lb self bow right now for hunting.

I'm 72 years old.

I got this info from Viper four years ago and I would not be in archery if I hadn't dropped the weight.

I know this is over answering your question, but you must have a problem with the heavier weight, what is your bow weight now, you know in most states you can hunt with a 40lb bow.

If you take ten bows all marked 50@28, they can each feel like different weights from start to anchor. IMO , yes you can feel a difference. Maybe you should get one bow 5# lighter and another 10# lighter as you could never have too many bows to try!

Forget weight, go by feel.

Until this past year weights only meant how nice the arrow dropped at 30 yards. But since I got older this past year 5# even 10# feels better after a hundred or so arrows. Really makes a difference when shooting two days in a row.

But my arrows don't fly the same with 40 lbs as 60. I don't want to spend all summer learning my 40 lb bow then switch to 60 right at hunting season.

If you are shooting the bow now,and any where near your max. weight, a 5 pound reduction makes a huge difference. If the bow has been in storage and you haven't been shooing in some time 10 pounds might not help.

Set your bows up with the same GPP arrows and two bows 10 to 20 pounds difference in draw weight will basically have the same trajectory. No new learning curve. >>>>-----> Ken

What Sarge said !!

You will know........when you feel it!!

My thought on dropping weight would be say from fifty to fourty three then many years later fourty three to thirty five and that should be all the dropping weight.

Due to a wrist injury on my string hand I had to drop weight for rehab. My experience was the lighter I went the more form and release had to be perfect for me to achieve consistent accuracy.

just went from 48# to a new 42# long bow, and Now I can shoot all day with zero neck, shoulder stress. In addition I also just picked up a used 40# bow (which is actually about 35# at my 26.5" draw) for warming up the muscles and joints before going heavier. I guess getting older has made me play smarter. And it is working so far!

Yes if you are near your max, 5 pounds is huge. Like Shawn and charlee just stated. It often makes the difference in being able to shoot or not much less hitting the mark. We all tend to buy bows that are the max we can shoot. As it has always been repeated "use as much weight weight as you can handle." It takes very little mussel loss,age,or surgery for the weight to become too much. Most have benefited and their shooting improved immediately with a 5 pound reduction. >>>>-----> Ken

I don't know your exact situation but just the fact that you know that you are over bowed says to me that you should go down 10 lbs. Most people don't want to admit that they are over bowed until they can't get the bow back to anchor let alone have any accuracy with it. So, if it were me, I would go down 10 lbs. from where you are now but pick up a cheap bow (or set of limbs) that are only 5 lbs. less. As was stated above, once you go down your body gets used to that lower weight and in a short time that lower weight will become your max. comfortable draw weight. Having that 5 lb. heavier bow to use as a workout bow will keep the one 10 lbs. lighter feeling much easier which in turn will help with accuracy.

5 lbs makes a huge difference........as long as both bows are marked correctly

5 pounds off the same bow is where it really makes a difference. The bow you are used to the feel of. >>>----> Ken

I shot my 50 pounder my 53 pounder and my 55 pounder yesterday. I had every intention of going light, 42 pounds, for spring turkeys, but I cannot feel the difference between the three mentioned above, so the 53 will be it for spring turkeys.

Babysaph, it only takes me five arrows to relearn the sixty from the forty, all you have to do is point the arrow a little lower, no big deal.

The big deal is that you need to use the arrows that are tuned for the 60 pounder.

Try it then you will see what it might feel like. I know when I go 50 to 45 I feel it and then from 45 to 40 even more so. But you have to experience this for yourself.

I think you did yourself injustice maybe by putting whats said in your head before you tried it out for yourself now.

This game of archery is mental and its whats in your head that leads you astray.

Well said it is all in the feel of your bow. Not what someone says. >>>----> Ken

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