I've been a recurve/longbow guy since the 60's and the topic of bow weight seems to go through phases about every 10 years. When I started shooting there were no compounds and the average bow weight (for men) was about 45-50#. About 1980 there was a push towards bows running about 65# average. Now the average longbow/recurve guy shoots 50-55#. I guess it's what you've trained yourself to do. I was always a believer that you should shoot as much weight as you can handle accurately. I worked on my bow weights over the years and now I can't hold a bow under 65# still enough to shoot! While I've shot a few arrows out of bows pulling up to 115# I've found that my personal limit is a comfortable 80#. I can shoot this weight accurately after sitting in the cold all day or I can shoot it at a 3-d tournament. While I weigh in at about 155# myself my 24 yr. old son who weighs in at 135# actually shoots heavier bows than I do. So while in the old days they didn't have the bow materials we have today and they needed that much weight to hunt with, I find it fun to still shoot the big bows while I can. I realize that at 50 my time will come when I need to move down in weight but I'll face that when the time comes!