I have bows that shoot between 35 and 56 pounds. In the next few years, I'm going to get about a 65-70# bow for a moose hunt that I'm planning on going on. My favorite for whitetail would be between 45 and 55 pounds.
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"I do not Hunt animals to Kill them. I kill animals because I Hunt." Roger Rothhaar
I prefer about 52....... It just feels right at this point in time...... However, I do plan on getting some 58 lb limbs made next summer if money isn't too tight......
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" If he smells you its over. If he gets in your wind stream its over, If he smells where you walked, he probably aint coming back... Your talking about an animal that can smell a fingerprint. Any amount over 0% is to much." Dan Infalt
I've had my run with testorsterone challenging draw weight. Had a couple of longbows 100 pounds and over, at my draw length. The hundred pounder was 'Thumper' and I called the 120 pounder 'The Beast.' Had a Martin compound that would go up to 110, but it didn't last long. I shot The Beast for the first field archery tournament I competed in. After 112 arrows that day, not to mention about another 20-30 I shot to warm up, I felt like somebody had swatted me between the shoulderblades with a baseball bat.
After those monsters, I dropped down to 55 pounds with my sticks and was a lot more comfortable. Shot 'em real good too. Besides, 55 pounds would handle any critterI was likely to run into in the woods.
Then I slid down to 50 a couple years ago and I'm fixin' to slide down some more now. Once I drop below 40 pounds, I'll be limited to target shooting and small game. Have to get me a muzzleloading smokepole (traditional style, of course)for hogs and deer, but that's okay too.
Fred Bearhunted all over North America, India and Africa with a 65 pound bow and only went over that for the extra large stuff, like elephant.
Heaviest I've shot on a regular basis was 82#. Like Arthur, I shot in a field archery tournament with it (my first and only) and it whipped my tail. I could handle a 30-40 target range with it, no problem, but field archery was a whole new ballgame. I've bounced back and forth, my lightest being about 48# at my draw. For the last 8 years or so I've been shooting 66#. The heaviest I've shot is around 120 at my draw; heaviest I've pulled was 125@28. I still have the flatbow that is pulling around 120--it's 98@28, but stacks like a bear past about 27". I don't even pull it much--too hard on the fingers and shoulders, and in foam it doesn't penetrate much if any better than my 66# longbow (the flatbow is straight limbed, my longbow is deflex/reflex).
I've noticed a big trend in folks going lighter in draw weight--most are realizing it doesn't take that with the right designto shoot through a deer; and the lighter weights are more fun to shoot and most will shoot more accurately with them. I'm comfortable with 66#, but I know I don't need that much weight. I'll eventually get myself a 50-55# at my draw. Got an 85@30 on order for a special hunt, and after that hunt I'll put that bow on the wall--not going to risk screwing up my joints.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Water buffalo in Austrailia. Even getting beeswing figure eucalyptus veneer on the limbs. Named it "The Whizzer of Oz". Just got to figure out how to get the funds together for the trip--thought about selling a bunch of blood, or maybe a kidney. This is my dream hunt--got to pull it off one way or another!
Chad
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Both my longbow and recurve pull at 74 lbs. I was thinking about picking up a 100 - 105'lber but it wouldn't really be practical, and those posters in here who are more experienced and sane than myself convinced me of that. I have a 64 pound bow but I don't really like the zip in it compared to my other bows. Oh yeah, I also have a 176 pound (actually THE 176 poundShultz-Howard Hill bowthat Gary Sentman used to set the World Record in 1975) longbowthat myself and a friend strung up last week just for kicks. Of course, I had to try to pull it back, being a macho guy. Wow, talk about a humiliating experience! I felt like a little wuss, lol. But I did shoot a 2540 arrow from what pull I was able to obtain, and I was surprised how far it stuck into the bale even with my "wussy draw". Amazing how much stiffer that pull is than a 100 lb bow. Bending a short 2X4 is easier than trying to draw that beast. Gary Sentmanmust be anabsolute gorilla to pull that thing back.
Gary's not exactly in his prime anymore, and when I last saw him (at least 3 or 4 years ago) he was shooting around 60#, if I remember correctly. He wasn't shooting anything extra heavy for sure. He's not a huge guy--not what you would expect. Pretty tall, broad but slim build. He discussed when he broke the record, what kind of training he did, etc.
Chad
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Chad-
Gary is 62, so I guess he is past his prime.Yes he is shooting in the 60 -64 lb range. I guess when he pulled 176 lbs, part of the reason he chose that pull weight was because it was how much he weighed at the time. Not too many of us, probably none of us,can literally pull our own weight.
Draw weight
Had a Martin compound that would go up to 110, but it didn't last long. I shot The Beast for the first field archery tournament I competed in. After 112 arrows that day, not to mention about another 20-30 I shot to warm up, I felt like somebody had swatted me between the shoulderblades with a baseball bat.
