I've been shooting an OMP Mountaineer 2.0 for the past six months or so. It's my first bow. It's 35# at 28". My draw length is 29ish. I'm shooting 500 gr Black Eagle Vintage with 125 gr field tips or Magnus Stingers.

I've gotten comfortable with it and can shoot fairly consistently up to 20 yards. I'm working on getting up to 25 yards.

I'm looking forward to my first whitetail hunting season with a recurve. 35# is legal here, but I'd feel more confident with a more powerful bow. Here are my questions:

-- One option is to buy heavier limbs for my OMP. Would 50# be too heavy for the next step up? Do I have to go to 40# next, or 45#? I don't know why, but 50 feels like the weight I'm ultimately shooting for. I can shoot the 35# very easily for 30 minutes at a time.

-- Should I even bother investing further in a bow that's not that great? Is my next move just saving up for a high quality bow, like a Widow or Bob Lee, and continuing to practice with my 35# OMP? Then again, given my experience, would I even notice how much better those bows are? I just want to quickly kill deer with as little meat damage as possible. I don't care how pretty the bow is, but I prefer to invest in quality.

I'd love to try more bows in person, but COVID has limited my options. Thanks for your help.

15# is a pretty big jump. If it were me, I'd go to 45#, which is also plenty for deer.

I'd also stay with another set of less expensive limbs until you find out the weight that works best for you. Samic stuff is pretty popular, and won't be terribly difficult to unload when you want to move into custom stuff.

Going to #50 isn't out of reason. But it's a big jump to go with only the summer to get your body, back and shoulders completely comfortable to the weight before this deer season. Now #45 would be a pretty easy move to make and adjust to especially with a few months. Now this is also dependent on your age and health level. Now if your in good to very good shape, and you're willing to train and practice every day for 20-40 minutes a day, you can jump to #50 without much problem before deer season. What also needs to be mentioned is you'll have to have time to tune your bow and arrows as well. I'm sure everyone will agree. Our pray deserve the best out of us, because they'll damn well be give us the best out of them. What ever you decide I wish you luck! ??

Thanks, all. I'm 37, healthy and fairly strong. I don't have any health issues. My back and shoulders are fine. I shoot 20-40 minutes a day almost every day.

New limbs for your bow are only $70 plus stiffer arrows. I would go 45# (47-48#'s at your draw) for now and this weight will kill deer all day long if you put the pointy part of the arrow in the boiler at reasonable ranges.

M -

Given the price of limbs, why not try a heavier pair (or two) and settle on a weight you like, THEN invest in a "better" bow.

Viper out.

If the bow fits you, you need not go farther than a set of limbs at the poundage you want, but we all seem to buy more than one bow, and if money is no concern then buy a high dollar bow, but you still have to learn good form to become a good archer.

Put your mind to it and you will be able to do it

You have been given a lot of good advise. You might want to consider 40# and at you Draw length would be around 43# you should work into them rather easy. Unless you state or state that you are going to hunt in requires more poundage for that game you are hunting. Some states for Elk and Moose require higher poundage usually 50# plus. I would buy the extra limbs and arrows with what you got and I would keep them always. Then keep my eye out for a Good used bow in your 43 to 47 pounds at your draw length. In my life time 40 to 50 # is all that I have owned and I hove found that 40 to 45# is a lot more pleasant to shoot and to hunt with. I will pass this a long that I got from an old timer when I was your age;" you control the bow and the bow doesn't control you." My next advise to you is use a sharp cut on contact broadhead. Put them in the boiler room and you will do well

45# JF

If you go with the 40# limbs you will be drawing roughly 43#ish with you draw and if you go with 45# limbs you will be pulling roughly 48#ish since you draw is 29"ish. For some a 5# jump in draw weight can be a good bit. Not knowing how easy the 35# limbs you are pulling now are for you at your draw weight, it is tough for us to truly judge. I will say if you jump to many pounds in draw weight all at once, it can affect you form and start causing you to form bad habits because you will be fighting the poundage at your draw length. Since the limbs are inexpensive you can slowly work up to you draw weight goal, which will be easier for you in the long run. Drawing bows is like lifting weights to much to fast you can get hurt do to poor form. With bows it will affect your accuracy and as I mentioned cause you to form bad habits. Just my 2 cents worth. DANNY

Seems somewhere I read 10# increments was the norm. But that was back in the 70’s. But I would do some excerises to build up rather than just shooting. When your tired your shooting efficiency goes down. Be surprised how just plain old pushups can work your shoulders and arms.

If you can get a hold of a heavier bow, like 40-50#, take it with you and work it into Your practice. Just pull it back carefully, and hold it at however far you can get it back. I believe using a heavier bow will help you develop those muscles. When I wanted to go up in weight, I bought a cheap pvc bow from a guy on etsy. I used it a little every time I shot my regular bows. It took nine months to increase my draw weight by 15#. Just do it carefully, utilize your back muscles.

Depends on you. None of us can tell you. When I was young going up 10 or 20 pounds was nothing. Now at 66 and having a layup make me weak a 3 lb jump is alot. Depends on how strong you are.

45 pound limbs is your answer. 48, at your pull, is perfect. That would be as fast or faster than 50 at 28".

Joe

Wow this is all great advice, thank you. I really appreciate it.

I’ve ordered a set of 45# limbs. I’ll let you know how I fare.

I 'd go with the 10# increase. Also,take a look at this Clay Hayes video. Try what he talks about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOSI5D52hpE&t=33s

I think you can make those 500s work on a 45lb bow. cut them 30" don't get in a hurry to crank up the poundage 45 n 29" draw is plenty ...ron

If 35# is the most that you have ever shot, I think that you are in for a big surprise jumping up 10#. Samick bows are a good value. I have bought the whole bow used for what a new set of limbs would cost. Since you already ordered the 45# limbs I would mix shooting them and the 35# limbs. The 35# you will find becoming very easy to pull as you get used to the 45#. I would have bought 40# limbs and they would have been fine for deer hunting, they would obviously would be 43# at your draw. As you get more comfortable with the weight you may end up selling the 35# limbs and jump up another 5#. I like to have a bow that is 5# heavier then I normally shoot and shoot that heavier bow every other day or so, it keeps your muscles toned. You should be fine with the 45# by hunting season though.

I shoot a little heavier than some, but honestly 10 pounds is a pretty big jump. That being said, I started at between 53 and 58# and didn't suffer greatly from it, but everyone is different. I feel that if I were in your shoes, and since the limbs were not very expensive, I would probably start with 40# as the next step. It would be easier to not develop bad habits. Young and strong, doubt that 45, or even 50, pound will be a problem for you if you put your mind to it. I also probably wouldn't order a high end bow until I had sorted out what poundage I wanted to use for the bulk of my hunting, and only after I had tried some different models. I can't claim that I followed my own advice though.

I would 100% take Tony’s advice (Viper) and figure out the weight that you want to shoot before you sink a lot of money into a bow.

And given that you are young and have no bio mechanical issues, you should have very little trouble adjusting to a set of #45 limbs as long as your drawing technique is solid. I was your age when my 17-year-old was on the way, and a year ago I went up 10 from net #52-#53 to about #62. Zero problems with the weight, although I guess I have always been geared for it. YMMV, but really… #45 is not all that much.

Too much for most to start out with, yes, but if you have developed a pretty good form with what you have, I would be surprised if you didn’t come out just fine. And one good thing about #45 limbs is that if you can’t use them, there’s no question that somebody else out there is looking for them…

I you can do so, try shooting a heavier bow first. How long can you draw and hold a 40#? 45# etc.

I can shoot heavier weight no problem when target shooting in the back yard. It's warm, muscles are loose, walking back and forth to the target, etc.

That same weight feels A LOT heavier during hunting season especially sitting for hours in a cold tree stand, not loose, and not moving at all.

I'd much rather have a weight I can dominate an err on the low side. 43 pounds feels perfect to me and more than enough for whitetails.

Bend over at waist, pull desired weight by aiming at ground, if you can manage that weight in that position you are good.

That makes zero sense to me...

Not that I’m a huge fan of sitting up a tree freezing my tail off....

Never liked that bending at the waist thing. Feels uncomfortable with zero pounds, and not a position I would ever take a hunting shot with.

Tell you, though… I got out and shot a couple dozen this afternoon; first time out since maybe September due to an elbow injury incurred at hockey practice with my boys. And after that much time off? #52 seemed a little stout. Not shaky or unmanageable, but certainly enough to make me think about how much weight I was holding instead of just shooting.

For my purposes, if the weight even registers when I’m shooting, then I’m not really in shape to shoot that weight. Which is not exactly the same thing as being overboard, but it’s getting pretty close ;)

But will 43 lbs kill a deer?

Jack I don't know if 43# is enough bow for those huge WV deer, but here in MI where our does often weigh 170# - 200#, and our bucks rarly weigh over 250#- 275# it's more then enough.

Good to know.,

What gr8 said. If you feel like it's too stiff, it is.

No matter how much you go up you will feel it after several shots. Hunting a one shot order or 2 maybe at times you can handle it. Going up in a hunting weight 10 or more you can start to fall apart and get bad form habits.

5 increments at a time is good. You will need to condition for it and practice.

Dan, The replies to your post are full of good suggestions. Here's a couple of things to consider as you work on draw weight.

Forty plus years ago when I got into traditional archery the common phrase was shoot the heaviest bow you can handle. Well, the 'can handle' part was never well defined. I shot 55-65# because I could.

So in the spirit of if I'd known then what I know now, what might I do differently? I'd pick a weight I could 'dominate'--for example hold for a number of seconds when the deer you want to shoot turns out of position.

I suspect 45# at my draw length would have been a better choice for target and hunting (mostly whitetail deer). That is what I'm shooting now and had that been where I started, I'd still have a bunch of really nice bows. Over time I've had to sell/trade the heavy bows since weight reductions of more than five pounds weren't possible.

Picking a weight that is a chore to handle has been the cause of a lot of problems for a lot of archers. I think issues like target panic can become a problem with a weight you can't 'dominate'. Yes, there are a lot of examples of folks working out and adding to the weight they can handle. Number of folks who have hunted in Africa and other exotic places have done this successfully.

Most game animals in the US can be handled effectively with a 45# bow at your draw length. So you might consider this as a good weight that you will be able to shoot for a long time barring any injuries.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

The 35# is ok for deer with a sharp 2 blade. At the price of the limbs, get the 40# and maybe heavier later. Don't wreck your form by pushing the weight unnecessarily.

Got to work up to it.,after my shoulder surgery I worked back up,to 80 lbs. But I settled on 48.

I think you did good ordering more limbs for your bow . I would have ordered 45lb ones as well. Take your time and don’t rush it , rushing it can cause hurting yourself. It takes to long to heal up from shoulder or elbow injury. If it was me I would settle off on my draw weight before ordering expensive bows. The reason I say that is because early on I bought and sold more bows than I can count. Some production and some high dollar customs . I should have slowed down a little and it would have saved me a ton of money . Also I would have had more understanding of the qualities of the different bows I bought. Anyway best of luck and hope you enjoy the ride !

I seriously doubt anyone would know better than you when it comes to bow poundage...

you would be surprised how big of a difference in people there is sometimes

Go up 5# increments

5 # increments & best of luck to you.

Get some stretch bands, or even surgical tubing. Hold one end of the band under your hand on the grip. Go behind the string, and tuck the other end of the stretch band under your hand. Now draw the bow. You have increased the draw weight by whatever the resistence is of the band.

And yes, you can even shoot arrows this way. You can work up in weight without buying a new bow. And it will allow you to handle the bow you have now easier even if you don't want to increase draw weight.

I'm near 58 yrs young, weigh 145 and shoot my 70 pounders several times a week by going up slowly in 10 pound incriminates. Even though I can and still do shoot heavies, there's nothing like 45-55 pounds on those cool Oct. and Nov. sits when the muscles are stiff and not so ready for action. Go slow and let your body tell you when enough is enough and not someone else as we all have different strengths and abilities.

There you go again, Frank!

Good, solid, practical advice as always....

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